It's like I was almost there...since I was somewhere else...

One of my fave bands - THE TWILIGHT SINGERS - played two shows in Austin for SXSW. I saw their headlining gig at Friends on 6th Street on Thursday night but I missed their show the next day at the Levi's/Fader tent since I was up in the University district of Austin seeing my friend Kevin's band Holy Fuck at the Off the Wookie Ice Cream Social. Check out the cool aerial shot of Holy Fuck performing. I'm in the crowd somewhere.










Luckily I found this stellar review and pictures of the TS show on Friday.

Austin: Twilight Singers @ The Levi's/FADER Trading Post

Twilight Singers brought some seriously badass rock & roll to the Levi's/FADER Trading Post on Friday. I never doubted the awesomeness of the band, but I had no idea that they would tear it up nearly as much as they did. The great Greg Dulli, former leader of the legendary Afghan Whigs, gave us one of the finest performances of the week as he blasted through tracks from the upcoming Twilight album Powder Burns.

I received a copy of the new record before leaving for Austin, which his totally solid. As much as I really enjoyed the disc, Twilight Singers took it to a whole different level on stage. I never got to see the Whigs perform, but as hard as the Singers rocked, I felt that I finally got a glimpse of Dulli's greatness. The guitars... hot damn they had some amazing guitar sounds erupting out of their amps. The last band I heard with that kind of guitar power was the now defunct group Pleasure Club.

Dulli's voice sounded as amazing as I hoped it would be in person, especially on the new track "Bonnie Brae". Soaring over the wall of guitars, it was one of those live rock moments that give you chills even days afterwards. While I wasn't familiar enough with the new material to remember each and every song performed, I believe it was during "I'm Ready" when badass guitarist Dave Rosse kicked on a police siren through his amp. The noise of his crunchy guitar combined with the siren was indescribable, but holy hell was it amazing. If I am wrong on the song title, don't hold it against me.

Simply put, Twilight Singers are one hell of a rock band. No cheesy stage antics, not gimmicky wardrobe, no mountain of PR driven overblown hype, just great songs performed by stellar musicians. After waiting years to see Dulli live in person, it was well worth the wait.

Make sure you grab the new Twilight Singers album Powder Burns on May 16 via One Little Indian.

- Chip Adams