Good Vibration Showcase Presented by She Shreds and Hotel Vegas

By Ashley Galvan
SXSW Street Team

Yet another day at South by Southwest has passed and more crazy adventures and shows can be talked about. Yesterday, March 16, Hotel Vegas and She Shreds magazine hosted a Good Vibrations showcase with 12 hours of music and fun. Something that gave this event extra charm was the fact that She Shreds magazine is a magazine that focuses on girls that shred on guitar and bass. A lot of the showcases were girl bands who kill it with their glam and stage presence. Nothing is more invigorating than beautiful women who portray what it is to be an independent woman, being able to do anything and everything, even if it is shredding in an all girl band.

With no line and the sun shining, I arrived at Hotel Vegas when Moving Panoramas had just started their set. The dream-gaze, girl band is an up and coming local band from Austin. With their spring feel songs, Moving Panoramas drew a small crowd to the stage giving new fans a taste of their jams.

The moment of truth for my SXSW experience had come when MR Fest 2016 headliner La Luz came to the stage. La Luz is surf, doo-wop band from Seattle, Washington, who really knows how to get the crowd moving. As lead guitarist Shana Cleveland opened with a beachy guitar riff, they began to play “Don’t Wanna Be Anywhere” from their newest album, Weirdo Shrine. The entire set was filled with luscious harmonies and a starry charming sound as drummer Marian Li Pino set the motion and rhythm for each of their dreamy songs.

After their set, I congratulated some of the band members of La Luz, Shana and Marian. They were appreciative for the positive vibes and dancing to their music. I asked them how they were enjoying their SXSW and what other shows they were going to be playing. Marian was excited to say their next set was a couple hours after their show at Hotel Vegas on a boat. Both ladies were excited to be play their new material and jam on a boat for the first time, nothing beats a boat party show during SXSW.

Shortly after La Luz’s set, a band that I had never heard of came on by the name of Stonefield. Watching their set was a unique experience because the girls were diverse in the instruments they were playing, jumping from the guitar to the drums and back to the mic was an awing talent to witness. After the show, I had the pleasure of seeing the lead singer and guitarist to Stonefield, Amy and Hannah Finland. After chit-chatting with the talented ladies, I found out the band is made up of four Australian sisters who grew up playing music together. They had never been to Austin but both sisters I spoke with agreed that they loved the SXSW experience and how friendly everyone is here in Texas.

After Stonefield’s set, Tacocat jumped on stage with their multi colored hair and flashy, hip attire. Tacocat brought it when it came to an entertaining girl band to see. The band played new material from their album Lost Time, dancing around on stage while giving the crowd a reason to dance too.

Bleached was another one of the bands I was determined to see this SXSW. They opened their set with a new song, “Trying to Lose Yourself,” from their album Welcome the Worms which will be released on April 1. While they debuted some tracks from their new album, they also played their song “Thinking of You” from their first self titled EP. Most of the crowd picked up their feet when the girl band started playing and there was no stopping after that.

One of the best bands to see live over and over again is, hands down, Thee Oh Sees, a garage punk band from San Francisco that has been around for decades now. Lead singer John Dwyer said that this year was his 16th year playing SXSW at Hotel Vegas and there wasn’t anything going to stop him from having the best shows here in Austin. There was nothing stopping the crowd from head banging, moshing and crowd surfing during Thee Oh Sees’ set. I found myself crowd surfing during one of my favorite songs, “The Dream” from their album Carrion Crawler/The Dream. Thee Oh Sees have many more shows to come and if you haven’t seen them, it is a must for you to rage at one of their exhilarating shows. You won’t regret it.

All in all, the Good Vibrations daytime showcase consisted of shedding the light on good girl power driven bands and awesome garage punk bands like Thee Oh Sees throughout the Hotel Vegas & Volstead stages. The venue was one in, one out submission after 4 p.m. because of how many people were drawn to the lineup and music coming from the Good Vibrations showcase. Some of the best shows are happening at Hotel Vegas & Volstead so don’t forget to check your schedule and make sometime to dance!

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