A Week of SXSW 2008: The Weather Underground

[March 14]
The Weather Underground
Sounds Like: Indie
Drinking Buddies: Shout Out Louds, The Strokes, The Rapture
Synopsis: Revolutionaries with guitars instead of bombs.
Appearances at SXSW:

• Art Outside (The Enchanted Forest) [8:00PM, March 14th]
• Cheers (416 6th street) [6:00PM and 9:00PM, March 15th]
  

[Myspace]




All this week, Voilà! is covering South By Southwest!
Day three, and it's time for the third Voilà! featurette.
Today, the featured SXSW artist is The Weather Underground.



When looking for new bands that are inspirational, intriguing, and novel, the first thing you must look at are their influences. No matter if you're a writer, poet, artist, or musician, what you have heard, read, and done in life directly changes the medium you dilligently practice. Those with wide ranges of influence tend to produce better works.

This is where The Weather Underground shines. If you haven't heard of the Weathermen, or the Weather Underground, they were a radical political activist group back in the 60s and 70s, who were, how do they say? "Sticking it to the man." There is plenty to read about them if you want to know more (Wikipedia is the source of all knowledge), as well as an excellent documentary film on them (which I really want to buy... but I digress). This Weather Underground, on the other hand, is an up and coming indie band that hails out of Los Angeles, California.

The Weather Underground's influences are instantly apparent when you listen to any of their songs. One can hear tonnes of bands that stick to the tip of your tongue. Their style is entirely original though, very progressive and catchy, while keeping distance from the cliched "pop song." If you like The Strokes, or Albert Hammond Jr., it is very likely you'll find something likeable in The Weather Underground, especially during the choruses.

The Weather Underground is putting the finishing touches on a sexy new EP, titled Bird In The Hand... They also have two more EPs, the When I Was A Soldier EP, as well as Psalms and Shanties, all of which have songs that draw from all sorts of bands, modern and reminicent to The Rapture, to older folks, such as a little Bob Dylan, as well as maybe a dash of Jefferson Airplane if you listen very closely.

But of course, we're celebrating them for their performances during SXSW. The Weather Underground played a show on Monday, which was listed on the SXSW set-list, but they are also attending a special event (which was not listed), at 8:00 PM. It's called Art Outside 2008 (The Enchanted Forest), which is a consistent concert-series that has and will be active throughout SXSW. I haven't heard a thing about their set mates, but you can always do your own research (apparently the headlining act is the Vagina Monologues?!). You can find out more information on Art Outside at their official website. And now it's the weekend! Time for the real SXSW-fun to begin!