Last Chance to Reason is a metal band originally from Augusta, Maine. They’ll be playing here in Austin on Friday, March 16 at 8 p.m. at Valhalla (710 Red River St.). WRCT DJ Dan Curhan had the chance to talk to AJ Harvey and Michael Lessard of Last Chance to Reason a few weeks ago about recording their newest album Level 2.

Level 2 just came out. It’s sort of tied in with the concept of a video game kind of thing. Where did that whole inspiration come from? Was it just like, “dude, I fucking love video games, let’s write a record about it?”

AJ Harvey: We all like playing those types of games, like, Super Nintendo style.
Michael Lessard: That and the soundtracks for a lot of the games, like super Metroid and stuff like that, all the music is progressive in itself too. We all just kind of felt like video games and metal go hand-in-hand. Two kick-ass things, you know?

Who wrote most of the lyrics?

ML: Actually, Evan did. I joined the band kind of late in the game, and Evan had a notebook full of lyrics, and pretty much went “here you go” and we went through everything, found stuff we thought could work, and revised them all. And eventually we got what we have on the record. The lyrics go through the story of the game, or the concept of the record. If you read them you can sort of see the story of the game.

You had a video game that people were playing at the merch booth. Who wrote that?

ML: Evan designed it, and he did all the concept art and a bit of the artwork that’s in the first level, actually. He worked with a programmer and pixel artist on it. Pretty much they worked back and forth over the course of two years to put it all together while we were working on the album and dealing with record labels and management, and things of that nature.

How long did the whole level 2 process take?

ML: It’s still kind of going on, so a long time. Three and a half, four years… so it’s been a while for sure.
AJ: Lvl. 1 came out in August 2007, and Level 2 came out in 2011.
ML: Yeah, there was a big gap between albums, and even the second level of the game is in production right now. And there’s still stuff on the album still being worked on, so…

Is it going to carry through? Are there going to be levels 3, 4, and 5?

ML: It hasn’t really been decided on. I feel like the story line will continue, but I’m not sure about everything else. Possibly? Probably? Maybe? I don’t know. Anybody else can chime in if they like, but as far as I know, nothing’s been decided on.
AJ: I like the idea of doing a level 3, but we haven’t really all talked it over yet.

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Yesterday, March 15, was the last day of Warby Parker’s 3-day Citizen Circus, a showcase that featured tons of awesome bands like La Sera, Quilt, Yellow Ostrich, Big Deal, and Hospitality. I saw some great acts there and also had the chance to see one of my favorite performers, Dee Dee from the Dum Dum Girls.

I love the Dum Dum Girls. They make consistently good music and always look really fucking cool. I play them all the time on my radio show and have been looking forward to Dee Dee’s solo performance since I heard about it however many weeks ago. And her show totally lived up to my expectations.

It was just Dee Dee and her guitar — a super stripped down performance of Dum Dum Girls songs. Dee Dee said that she felt naked without her band, but I really enjoyed hearing her play her songs the way that she originally wrote them. I’m pretty sure this was the Dum Dum Girls’ equivalent of an acoustic set. Dee Dee’s voice was just as strong live as recorded, and her performance showed her true talent in song writing.

Here are a couple of photos from Dee Dee’s show on Wednesday.

Post and photos by Allison Cosby

Andrew Bird made his first and only performance of SXSW 2012 last night, March 15, at Stubb’s BBQ. Bird closed out the talent-heavy NPR showcase, following the likes of Alabama Shakes, Dan Deacon, and Fiona Apple. I had been looking forward to this show since hearing that Bird was making the trip to Austin, and he did not disappoint.

For the past few years, since releasing the album Noble Beast in 2009, Andrew Bird has been touring solo, standing on stage with nothing but his collection of foot pedals, violin, glockenspiel, and guitar. I was lucky enough to see one of these shows when he played at Benefit Braddock near Pittsburgh last October. That setting was intimate, a one-hundred seat theatre in an old library, extremely fitting knowing Bird’s reputation for using $10 words. The night was amazing, and is to date one of the best live shows I’ve experienced. Seeing Bird construct such layered and intricate songs all by himself was mesmerizing, and I’ve been dying to see him again ever since.

However, his show at the NPR showcase was a different beast. Bird just released his newest record, Break it Yourself on March 2, and its sound is far more raw and energetic than the airy, natural Noble Beast. After a few years of solo touring, Bird has brought the band back, now accompanied by drums, backup vocals and bass, and it resulted in a much more high key show. But this doesn’t mean it wasn’t equally enjoyable. This set up was far more fitting for the setting, and I found myself completely absorbed for the duration of the set. The crowd of about 2000 at Stubb’s ate it up, cheering at every pause and whistle, and going nuts when he played older favorites.

Bird started the set with a few songs from the new record, as to be expected this close to the release. Although you could tell that the crowd was mostly unfamiliar with the new tracks, people were still energized, especially during one of Birds more rough-and-tumble songs, and the first single off the new album, “Eyeoneye”. But the highlight of the set for me was the closer, “Fake Palindromes” off of an older album, The Mysterious Production of Eggs. Bird is known for changing up the rhythm and melody of his songs live, one of the things I love most about his shows, and he had a blast twisting and turning the words of his last tune.

Check out more photos from Andrew Bird’s performance at the NPR Showcase:

Post and photos by Eden Weingart