Dinosaur Jr., Flo Milli, Estevie, and More Reviews From Thursday of SXSW

J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. at Parish (Photo by Jana Birchum)

Though South by Southwest and its offshoots always create a downtown muddle, Thursday felt particularly active. Open-to-the-public offerings of headliners the Black Keys and Dinosaur Jr. caused at-capacity huddles at Mohawk and Parish. Prior, our Luck Reunion correspondent saw Dino leader J Mascis wandering Willie Nelson’s ranch.

(Read our Luck review here.)

Downtown, reports of a suspicious package, later found not to be dangerous, caused the shutdown of a block of Sixth Street around 8pm. That’s after a stacked lineup of bands kicked off all afternoon on the Austin City Hall plaza, playing an Anti-SXSW Fest in support of Palestine. Stay tuned for our final day of fest coverage tomorrow.

As for planning your own music weekend, check out the Chronicle’s “30 Breakout Music Acts to See in Austin,” as well as our listing of free and unofficial options.

Lou Barlow of Dinosaur Jr. at Parish (Photo by Jana Birchum)

Dinosaur Jr.’s Ear-Ringing Sludgefeast

Who better to co-sign the Marshall stack than the loudest band you’ve ever heard? Despite a consistently solid recent catalog, alternative rock godfathers Dinosaur Jr. gave the amplifier company’s packed Parish audience, gifted only with a 50-minute set, what they wanted: the hits. Late additions to the SXSW roster, the Boston trio pulled primarily from 1987 masterpiece You’re Living All Over Me, which remains an inimitable display of noise catharsis. King of pedals J Mascis scratched out the static-sounding intro to “Little Fury Things,” while Lou Barlow, still headbanging a mop of brown curls and bringing his bass up to his neck like a stadium showman, strummed out guitar-like chords throughout the set. As on the record, the band kicked straight from the melodic “Kracked” to the perfectly named “Sludgefeast,” inducing a mosh pit during the latter’s chugging final minute. Nineties hits “Feel the Pain” and “Start Choppin’” offered a sing-along cool down before the band closed with indie rock national anthem “Freak Scene.” Ears ringing as I write this, I salute you, Dino. When I need a case of tinnitus, it’s still you. – Carys Anderson

Estevie at Mohawk (Photo by David Brendan Hall)

Estevie’s Cumbia-Pop Exhibits Star-Level Poise

The Madrid-based bands Hinds, who jammed in the crowd during Estevie and excelled on the Mohawk outside stage after, have presented a platonic ideal of Spanish-language SXSW discovery in their many years at the fest – mostly English lyrics, American garage rock influences, and guitars to the front. Prior, California-raised cumbia-pop merger Estevie hopefully pushed a new format at the annual FLOODfest. It’s not everyday Red River sees a clean-cut young accordionist and bassist in crisp button-downs and cowboy hats, who joined a cowbell-clicking drummer as the sweet-then-salty singer’s band. Squeezeboxer Emilio Ortega is a former kid singer of banda classics, matching Estevie’s past on a Mexican TV competition. Frequent Selena comparisons and a major “El Paso” collab with Cuco, who introduced last year’s Austin Psych Fest to vaquero cool, perhaps made a Texas tour inevitable for the 21-year-old. Alongside her understated-but-effective crowd work and boot-kicking choreo blips, a mom-assisted sidestage perfume and lipstick dab showed some serious star-level poise before the show even started. Ahead of sultry-scary folklore refs on “La Cumbia del Cucuy” and the standout cumbia-norteña-modernizing “Como Yo,” she got right to the point: “I’m Mexican American from Cali. I hope y’all like cumbia.” Live minimizing of her discography’s bouncy pop production, with just a few dashes of backing track, clarified further. Instagram stories showed the full Southwestern force of fan sing-alongs, red chaps, and decorative cactus cutouts at Estevie’s prior non-SX Houston stop – hopefully how we’ll see her next. – Rachel Rascoe

MEMI at Empire (Photo by David Brendan Hall)

MEMI’s Thorny Rock Ballads Release Regrets

MEMI opened her 38-minute set with a gurgling surge of guitar trills. Making her U.S. debut at Jaded’s FRIENDS: FOREVER showcase, the South Korean multihyphenate fired thorny riffs and bilingual verses from the Empire Garage stage, amplified by three other band members. The solo project’s alternative rock headbangers reference life experiences, from embracing her thin lips to her vehement attraction toward bassists. Beyond the sleek low end of “Bassist,” the vocalist-guitarist’s fingers stirred wallowing tidal waves on her fretboard in “Waikiki.” While dynamic drums occasionally swamped MEMI’s bubblegum voice, the songwriter earnestly released regrets in rock ballad “Sorry for My Late Reply,” falling to her knees with a message to her late father. “You don’t deserve this/ Can I see you in my dream?” she cried in English and Korean. Punchy, repetitive lyrics returned for “Guitar Pick,” where she administered a “Where is my/ Where’s my guitar pick?” call-and-response with the crowd, which had flooded the venue. As the band surrounded MEMI for a rollicking outro, her fellow guitarist joined the singer on the floor to shred one last time. The bright grin on this rockstar’s face didn’t falter. – Angela Lim

Flo Milli at the Moody Theater (Photo by Miranda Garza)

Flo Milli’s Groundshaking Third Album Celebration

“This night is so special to me because the album is dropping in a few minutes,” mused Flo Milli on the midnight release of her third studio album, Fine Ho, Stay, which was surprise-announced just days prior. A vibrant LED screen illuminated behind the rapper, displaying a rotation of Milli-fied reality television parodies including Flo & Hip Hop and Flo’s Simple Life. Reaching redemption for her thunderstorm-raided SXSW 2023 performance, the Alabama native rapped amid groundshaking bass and melodic trap beats with utmost precision and ardor. The 24-year-old wordsmith offered no shortage of cutthroat lyrics and brazen bars, kicking off with her self-titled opener. “When you see my call, you better not let it ring/ Answer, say my fuckin name,” she spat before a sample of Destiny’s Child’s “Say My Name” flooded the track. While the bulk of the setlist called back to Milli’s first two projects – Ho, why is you here ? and You Still Here, Ho ? – the rest of the night packed ruthless verses from her various collaborations, including Kayla Nicole’s “Bundles 2” and Lah Pat’s “Rodeo.” Quick energy jolted through the crowd during upbeat fan favorites “Conceited” and “Like That Bitch.” Rap ferocity aside, the artist ended her set on a light note with the rose-colored chart topper “Never Lose Me,” garnering one last spurt of vitality from concertgoers before the close of Rolling Stone’s Future of Music showcase. – Miranda Garza

Therapy? at Parish (Photo by Jana Birchum)

Therapy? Isn’t in Need of Its Namesake 30 Years On

Directly after the drum solo and its crowd-pleasing drop into “Iron Man,” Therapy? launched a greatest grenade with “Die Laughing,” bandleader Andy Cairns yelling, “I think I’ll go insane/ I can’t remember my own name.” When the Belfast-born alt-grunge trio ignited the Troublegum tune in Austin on back-to-back tours for that 1994 sophomore breakout and its successor the following year, Infernal Love, the unhinged singer embodied it down to the whites of his aquamarine eyeballs. The song’s lunger riff huffed into a stinging “Knives” and another line Cairns once bellowed with all his might: “All people are shit.” Sealing the Troublegum triptych, “Nowhere” closed the lean, mean, 41-minute set Thursday at the Parish. Therapy? never returned here to either Emo’s or Electric Lounge until this here SXSW, months ahead of a 30th anniversary tour for their best full-length. Three decades on, Cairns now asks an audience “Everybody happy?” – when back then, an affirmative might have meant a guitar to the head. “We come bearing riffs,” quipped never-left bassist Michael McKeegan, now paired with stickman Neil Cooper. Airplane hooks, log-rolling basslines, and blackjack beats: Therapy? still bristles, but adult instead of unhinged. “Stories,” “Unbeliever,” and “Teethgrinder” from debut Nurse represented 35 years total with a deference-approaching sophistication. – Raoul Hernandez

Ada Oda at Marlow (Photo by Dan Gentile)

Ada Oda Sparks Like Belgian-Italian Bottle Rockets

Enthusiasm can be a little hard to come by at 1:20am. I had a long day of great shows. STUTS from Japan put on a masterclass in hip-hop finger drumming. THUS LOVE from Vermont could be the not-so-glam-rock band of the year. Hungarian-American songwriter Zora delivered a chilling Portishead “Glory Box” cover. Hinako Omori’s delicate electro-pop was a mismatch for Seven Grand, but she’ll sound much better at Central Presbyterian on Friday.

I’m glad I saved some energy for Ada Oda, because their closing-time set at Marlow proved to be the highlight of the night. The Belgian foursome plays rock music that is sludgy punk with a sprinkle of Sparks mania. Victoria Barracato sings only in Italian, with electro-clash bursts, post-punk screams, and winks to Eurodance. Aurélien Gainetdinoff adds mustached Television guitar heroics. But most notable about the band was a rare 1:20am wellspring of enthusiasm – very loud enthusiasm.

At their third showcase, any jitters over their American debut were already long gone. Their reckless grins reminded me of a bonkers Snõõper set last year at a West Campus house party. Ada Oda already sound battle-tested, so expect them to absolutely destroy Hotel Vegas on Friday at 10:20pm. Bring earplugs. – Dan Gentile