Ending on high notes

There was a paltry selection of ugly shirts, so alas, I return home without.

Fortunately, Saturday's musical selections were anything but paltry. Two Gallants, playing the Stuff magazine NY2LON thing in the afternoon, were astounding -- easily one of my favorite bands at SXSW. In fact, I raved shamelessly about them in Monday's paper.

After the Stuff party, Tia the Photographer and I ducked into the tail end of Centro-matic's daytime set -- just in time to see singer Will Johnson invite a couple up on stage, where the man whipped out a ring and proposed to the woman. She said yes, and there were tears as Centro-matic played the wistful "Love Has Found Me Somehow."

The day's other musical highlight was most of the Secretly Canadian/Jagjaguwar Records showcase, particularly Richard Swift, a Los Angeles singer who writes breathtaking pop songs. He reminded me a bit of Rufus Wainwright, but without the affectations, and with more willingness to experiment. A publicist friend recommended Swift to me, and it was the single best suggestion I heard at SXSW. He's a genius, and his songs are incredible.

Okkervil River wasn't bad either -- the Austin indie band put on an intense, visceral show (think Bright Eyes, or even Neutral Milk Hotel), though you sort of got the sense that if there wasn't a musical thread for singer Will Sheff to cling to, he might be sobbing in the fetal position.

Oh, yeah, and I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness no longer sucks! The band's songs build to something now, where they used to drone on and on before, and there are distinctive sections. Finally, the group's musical skill is starting to match its skill at choosing a name.

It was also hard to go wrong with Pink Mountaintops' sludgy sex-pop. Featuring the all the same people, the Vancouver band is sort of the alter-ego of Black Mountain. A guy I met in the beer line before their set summed up the difference this way: Black Mountain performs songs about drugs, and Pink Mountaintops plays songs about sex. Sounds about right to me.