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I’ve never attended the famous music and film festival South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, but because of its proximity to Albuquerque, some of the bands stopped by Sister Bar on their way out.
The Allah-Las headlined a show at Sister, a new Downtown bar, on Monday, and the bandmates described the madness that ensues when Austin opens its doors to thousands of musicians, filmmakers and fans from all over. The city’s population is said to triple during SXSW and many residents rent their homes out months in advance, because finding a hotel is next to impossible.
“Austin City Center turns into a giant amusement park,” said Matt Correia, the band’s drummer.
“It’s a lot of fun if you like crowds,” said lead guitarist Pedrum Siadatian “And likewise not a lot of fun if you don’t like crowds.”
The band played 15 shows over the course of six days and attended heaps more, including performances from Jacco Gardner, Night Beats, Black Lips, Gap Dream and even the Zombies.
Apparently, musicians get in to many of the shows for free, so pick up an instrument, record something, get booked and let’s suit up for next year’s SXSW. If we can’t make it, the good news is this festival tends to bring cool music through Albuquerque.
I felt blessed to catch this show on a whim and get a healthy amount of fun in for the day. The Allah-Las play classic garage surf rock that sounds like the boys traveled in from the 1960s, rather than from modern-day Texas. They approach their music with careful attention to vintage sound, rock and roll roots and a deep surf-culture influence.
Lead singer Miles Michaud, bassist Spencer Dunham and Correia met in high school and have been surfing together since. They even take their surfboards on tour. Pedrum joined the group later after working with Spencer at Amoeba Music, one of the most acclaimed record shops in the country.
The band has been playing together for four-and-a-half years and has created music the band members describe as sunny yet moody — and very danceable, in my experience. The band’s first album, “Allah-Las,” remains true to classic surf rock, but also demonstrates the depth of the band’s musical knowledge. The one instrumental track, “Ela Navega,” turns out to be obvious samba rock, right out of the Tropicalia movement of the ’70s in Brazil.
Audience member Tiana Acosta, who helped get the Allah-Las get booked at Sister, described the band’s sound as “psychey-surfey.”
The band members hail from Los Angeles, and were returning there before starting their next U.S. tour.
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You should check this band out online, or try to catch a show if it comes back through town. You can also listen to the band’s weekly podcasts on ReverberationRadio.com, where band members present a great variety of music they enjoy, admire and hope to share. It is a good way to find out about lesser-known artists, upcoming genres and fresh sounds.
