Viewing the Rock Formations of the Southwest

Sometimes the music industry can get a little stuffy, and so can the parties it throws for itself. That’s why a simple hand gesture by an audience member during the Cult’s performance on Saturday at the South by Southwest Music Conference here became a defining moment for the 15th annual event.

“It’s OK, no one is watching,” Cult singer Ian Astbury said to a guy stretching his fingers into the universal sign for heavy metal. Mimicking the guy, Astbury declared, “You are free to rock again.”

Such unabashed posturing might have been scoffed at in years past at SXSW, where the newest trends in pop music are often explored as music professionals converge to hear some 900 bands in almost 50 nightclubs.

But this year the five-day conference, which ended Sunday, felt more like a big, classic rockathon for nostalgic music fans rather than forward-thinking professionals. In addition to the Cult, which is gearing up for a summer tour and album and sounded much as it did in its late-’80s commercial heyday, the Black Crowes previewed their May release, “Lions.” Neither band’s set offered any new twists in its music.

Same with other SXSW showcases by loud (and mostly familiar) rock acts such as Matthew Sweet, the Toadies, the Supersuckers, Train and J Mascis, the latter joined by punk hero Mike Watt and ex-Stooge Ron Asheton at a showcase half made up of classics from Asheton’s old band. Maybe all the vintage guitar grinding was a backlash against the underground hip-hop and turntable music to which SXSW, like the industry, has turned in recent years.

In a speech that kicked off the conference’s stream of panels and trade-show business, Kinks leader Ray Davies joked about adding a techno element to his first solo studio album, currently in the works. “MC Ray. Isn’t that what the industry wants?” Davies asked, to ample laughter.

There were plenty of MCs and even more DJs at SXSW, but outside of the big names--Jurassic 5, Mixmaster Mike, the Black Eyed Peas, X-ecutioners, DJ Spooky--the music didn’t draw much attention. Faring better were acts that fit turntables and hip-hop elements between their guitars and drums, including 4th Avenue Jones, the Disco Biscuits and especially Brassy, a Happy Mondays-gone-rap U.K. act led by Jon Spencer’s sister Muffin Spencer.

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For the most part, though, the buzz bands at the conference came from traditional rock circles. The Scottish band Idlewild drew big crowds to each of its three SXSW appearances with an ‘80s Brit-pop sound funneled through ‘90s grunge. So-called “nu-metal” bands such as And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Universal Recovered and I Am Spoonbender gave riveting but not altogether revolutionary sets. And the New Pornographers, said to offer an exciting brand of new rock psychedelia, showed their true colors when Davies joined them on the Kinks’ “Starstruck,” his only musical SXSW appearance.

Perhaps the real groundbreaking was by the many Latin music acts at SXSW. Los Super Seven, the all-star roots group born at SXSW out of jam sessions by members of Los Lobos and the local Tex-Mex contingent, were the obvious highlight with their forays into Cuban and South American music from the new album “Canto.”

But other acts also enlivened the festival, including Los Angeles’ hip-hop big band Ozomatli, Panamanian ska-rock act Rabanes and a brazen new punk/metal act from Monterrey, Mexico, called Genitallica.

“I think the industry is catching on that most Hispanic kids hate Ricky Martin and all that other [Latin pop and dance music],” said Latino Rock Alliance founder Luis Zapata, who co-organized some SXSW showcases.

Austin could not have invited 8,000 registrants to town without offering some twangy Southern flavor. Alt-country bands such as the Waco Brothers, Gourds and Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash were in high demand, as were singer-songwriters Ryan Adams, Gillian Welch, Charlie Robison and the unofficial queen of SXSW, Lucinda Williams.

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During her first of two gigs, the former Austinite promised the crowd her new album, “Essence,” would come out in May. “I didn’t take so long this time,” said a proud Williams, who played SXSW three times to plug her ’99 album “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” before the record actually came out.

Backed by three guitarists and plugged in herself, Williams debuted several songs that sounded like possible rock crossover hits, particularly the Wallflowers-like title track and “Out of Touch.” Yes, it was the kind of year when even the country singers played more rock ‘n’ roll.

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Chris Riemenschneider is a music critic at the Austin American-Statesman.