Tom Freund, Massy Ferguson, Otis Gibbs, Lilly Hiatt, Parker Millsap, John Fullbright, The Mastersons, My Jerusalem

Tom Freund @ Austin Ale House

I started off my Friday just a block from the hotel to see an old favorite: Tom Freund has been a regular at SXSW since I started going there nearly 20 years ago, and usually he manages to assemble an interesting group of people to join him on stage. For this show they were Michael Jerome (drums), Brett Simons (bass) and Jessy Greene (violin). The first time I met Jessy was in 1996 when she was a memeber of the legendary Geraldine Fibbers. Since then she has recorded and performed with a wide variety of acts including the Jayhawks, Foo Fighters and Pink. Unfortunately I had just missed the set by her latest project, Fauntella Crow, but she added a whole new dimension to some of Tom's best songs such as “Summer Of '92”, “Comfortable In Your Arms”, “Collapsible Plans” (which morphed into "You Ain't Going Nowhere" with Jonny Kaplan jumping up on stage). A terrific version of “Copper Moon” ended the set. 

Massy Ferguson @ Darwin Pub

"Massy Ferguson is a bar band in the best sense -- not a band relegated to bars because it will never rise higher, but a band that plays music perfectly suited to dark, crowded rooms in which there's at least a possibility of a beer glass smashing against a wall." - Band bio
A few block east, the Darwin Pub was dark, but certainly not crowded for this 1:45pm showcase. A dozen patrons hung around the bar, barely paying attention to the music. The sound wasn't great overall, and a second guitar or pedal steel might’ve have resulted in a fuller sound. The band did their best to get the audience going, but it was a tough job even with some of their best songs like "Bent" and "Powder Blue".

Otis Gibbs @ Lucy's Fried Chicken

Over at Lucy's Wayne Kramer was MC'ing an event on behalf of Jail Guitar Doors, an organization that provides guitars to prisons. I was there to see Otis Gibbs. Otis runs a podcast series of him talking to other musicians (check it out if you are not familiar with it), but even with the increasing popularity of the podcast let's not forget that he’s first and foremost a great singer & songwriter, which he proved once again at this show.

Lilly Hiatt @ Lucy's Fried Chicken

"Having John Hiatt for a father must be pretty intimidating for anyone eager to become a singer and songwriter, but it's fortunate for Lilly Hiatt that she seems to have learned a great deal from her father's example without trying to sound much like him. Let Down, the first album from Hiatt and her band the Dropped Ponies, showcases a young artist who loves classic country music but plays it with a rock & roll edge, writes lyrics that are literate but unpretentious and emotionally honest, and marries them to melodies that are at once rootsy and fresh." - Mark Deming, allmusic.com
Otis’ set was very short, but luckily Lilly Hiatt was next after a short break for an entertaining set. Would've loved to see her with a full band, but even as a duo the strength of her songs was showed.
Video: Lilly Hiatt - Big Bad Wolf (live)

Parker Millsap @ St. Vincent de Paul

"John Fullbright came first and, for Parker Millsap, that's unfortunate. Millsap follows with a sound that echoes Fullbright's, a youthful take on folk and blues with a fiery approach. Fellow Okie Wes Sharon might be to blame for producing both albums, because the similarity in sound detracts from 20-year-old Millsap's themes of love, redemption, and what passes for spirituality these days." - Jim Caligiuri, Austin Chronicle
After a late lunch my next stop was the parking lot of this South Congress Thrift store, which had an ace line-up for this afternoon. I wanted to check out a couple of artists that came highly recommended by folks whose musical instincts I usually trust. The set wasn't bad and got the crowd going, but I wasn't blown away...
Video: Parker Millsap - Truck Stop Gospel (from this show)

John Fullbright @ St. Vincent de Paul

"Fullbright's 2012 debut studio From the Ground Up broke hard, garnering Grammy nods and establishing the former Turnpike Troubadour as an emerging Americana star. The Oklahoma songwriter can kick red-dirt country and blues behind a pounding grit, yet also cut moving ballads against a weary drawl stretching beyond his 25 years, winding tales of the beaten and the blessed with a wry slant." -  Doug Freeman, Austin Chronicle
The parking lot was completely packed by the time John Fullbright was introduced. For some reason he played this set without a guitar player, resulting in an overly piano-centric sound for my liking. The audience didn’t seem to mind and hardly let him off the stage.
Video: John Fullbright - Jericho (how it could've sounded - from a show in 2012) 

The Mastersons @ St. Vincent de Paul

"Apart, they've worked with Son Volt, Jack Ingram, Kelly Willis, and Slaid Cleaves. Together, married duo and Austinites Eleanor Whitmore and Chris Masterson are both a band and important part of Steve Earle's Dukes and Duchesses. Following up 2012 debut Birds Fly South, the native Texans release Good Luck Charm in June, demonstrating impressive growth in songwriting and performance." - Jim Caligiuri, Austin Chronicle
Their debut was one of my favorite albums of 2012, so I was really looking forward to this set. It was a wild but fun ride with set of all new songs: George Reiff had problems with the bass amp that lead to some delays, sound problems with the monitors were resolved by simply kicking the misbehaving wedge off the stage, and Steve Poltz joined the band for a song he co-wrote.
Video: The Mastersons - Good Luck Charm (from another show during SX)

My Jerusalem @ St. Vincent de Paul

"In 2013, Austin's My Jerusalem became a real band. Led by Jeff Klein, who previously released three albums as a solo act, the quartet became road dogs, taking their brand of post punk and Gothic soul to every part of the country. Working on a follow-up to the critically-acclaimed Preachers, they recently had their song "Death Valley" featured on the SyFy Network's Being Human." - Jim Caligiuri, Austin Chronicle
To wrap up a busy afternoon, My Jerusalem cranked the energy level up even further, with Jeff Klein pacing up and down the parking lot in front of the stage working the crowd.