SXSW 2013: Depeche Mode and Green Day make use of the fest

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Gram Rabbit of Joshua Tree, Calif., finishes its performance. (Erich Schlegel / EPA)

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New Zealand rock band Six60 performs. (Darren Abate / Invision for Doritos)

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Director Zal Batmanglij, left, actress Ellen Page, actress Brit Marling and actor Alexander Skarsgard attend the premiere of “The East.” (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)

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Joe Ty sets his guitar on fire as fellow Black Top Demon band member Jamie Atwood is on the drums on Red River Street in Austin, Texas. (Erich Schlegel / EPA)

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A Tribe Called Red, Native American DJs and producers from Ottawa, Canada, perform in Austin, Texas. (Erich Schlegel / EPA)

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French Horn Rebellion performs on the Doritos #BoldStage in Austin, Texas. (Darren Abate / Invision for Doritos)

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Gram Rabbit of Joshua Tree, Calif., performs in Austin, Texas. (Erich Schlegel / EPA)

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Questlove of the Roots performs at Myspace Secret Shows. (Jason Kempin / Getty Images)

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Molly Hamilton of Widowspeak performs in Austin, Texas. (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)

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Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale of the Milk Carton Kids perform. (Mark Davis / Getty Images)

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Justin Timberlake performs at Myspace Secret Show. (Jason Kempin / Getty Images)

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Michael K. Williams, left, Bokeem Woodbine, Jesse Williams, Jeymes Samuel, Nate Parker, Isaiah Washington and Felicia Pearson at the premiere for “They Die By Dawn” in Austin, Texas. (Jack Plunkett / Invision)

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To help launch Doritos’ “For the Bold” campaign, British electronic rock band Modestep performs on the Doritos #BoldStage at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. (Darren Abate / Invision for Doritos)

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Vampire Weekend performs on the last night of the 2013 SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas. (Jack Plunkett / Invision / Associated Press)

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Actor Zac Efron, actor Dennis Quaid and director Ramin Bahrani arrive for the screening of “At Any Price” in Austin, Texas. (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)

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Zac Efron speaks at the screening for “At Any Price.” (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)

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Prince performs in Austin, Texas. (John Sciulli / Getty Images)

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Prince performs in Austin, Texas. (John Sciulli / Getty Images)

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Actors Michael K. Williams and Felicia Pearson attend the Prince/A Tribe Called Quest show at SXSW in Austin, Texas. (John Sciulli / Getty Images)

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A Tribe Called Quest, with Jarobi White, left, Q-Tip, Phife Dawg and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, perform in Austin, Texas. (John Sciulli / Getty Images)

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Destin Cretton, director of the film “Short Term 12” and winner of the Grand Jury Award for Narrative Feature, and director Michelle Savill, Short Film Jury Award winner for Narrative Short for the film “Ellen Is Leaving,” show off their awards in Austin, Texas. (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)

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Director Geoff Marslett, winner of the Louis Black “Lone Star” Award, with his plaque. (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)

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Singer Charlotte Church poses for a photo during the SXSW Music Festival. (Jack Plunkett / Invision/AP)

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A musician performs on Sixth Street during the festival. (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)

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Director Jared Leto attends the Samsung “Artifact” after-party. (John Sciulli / Getty Images)

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Actor Tishuan Scott, winner of the Special Grand Jury Prize for Acting, poses with his award. (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)

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Director Saman Keshavarz, winner for the Short Film Jury Award for Music Video, speaks at the awards ceremony. (Mark Davis / Getty Images)

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Director Xan Cassavetes, actors Roxane Mesquida, Josephine De La Naume and Milo Ventimiglia attend the “Kiss of the Damned” screening. (Mark Davis / Getty Images)

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Keith Jeffery of Atlas Genius performs onstage at the iHeartRadio SXSW showcase. (Roger Kisby / Getty Images)

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The rock trio The Virginmarys from the north of England perform. (Robert MacPherson / AFPGetty Images)

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Jamaal Charles of the Kansas City Chiefs and Martin Griffin of the Tennessee Titans attend the iHeartRadio showcase. (Roger Kisby / Getty Images)

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Josh Baze performs (Roger Kisby / Getty Images)

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Macklemore performs. (Roger Kisby / Getty Images)

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Macklemore performs onstage at the iHeartRadio showcase. (Roger Kisby / Getty Images)

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DJ Skee performs. (Roger Kisby / Getty Images)

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Wanz performs onstage. (Roger Kisby / Getty Images)

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Actress Josephine De La Baume attends the “Kiss of the Damned” screening. (Mark Davis / Getty Images)

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Guitar Shawn plays for donations from atop his van on South Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas. (Alberto Martinez / Associated Press)

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Matthew Inman, the Oatmeal, gives the closing keynote for South by Southwest Interactive Festival. (Rodolfo Gonzalez / Associated Press)

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Rebecca Feferman of SXSW, director Joseph Gordon-Levitt, producer Ram Bergman, actress Brie Larson and actor Tony Danza speak after the film “Don Jon’s Addiction.” (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)

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Actor/director Joseph Gordon-Levitt arrives at the screening of “Don Jon’s Addiction.” (Michael Buckner / Getty Images )

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Actor Tony Danza arrives at the screening of “Don Jon’s Addiction.” (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)

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Brie Larson poses at the Greenroom Photo Op for “Don Jon’s Addiction.” (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)

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Actress and producer Lola Bessis attends the “Swim Little Fish Swim” photo op. (Mark Davis / Getty Images)

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Actors Nikki Reed and Thomas Dekker attend the “Snap” cast dinner. (John Sciulli / Getty Images)

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Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom appears via Skype video link from New Zealand, with journalist Charles Graeber on the stage below him, during the South by Southwest festival. Dotcom explained his fight against extradition to the United States, which alleges that Megaupload cost the U.S. movie industry millions of dollars. (Robert Macpherson / AFP/Getty Images)

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Artist Talib Kweli performs. (John Sciulli / Getty Images)

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The Samsung Galaxy Experience hosts a Q&A with Will Arnett, left, Mitch Hurwitz and Jeffrey Tambor. (John Sciulli / Getty Images)

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Director Alex Winter and Janet Pierson, producer of SXSW Film Festival, attend the world premiere of “Downloaded.” (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)

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Founder of Napster Sean Parker and fiancee Alexandra Lenas attend the world premiere of “Downloaded.” (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)

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Actor Matthew McConaughey, left, producer Sarah Green and director Jeff Nichols attend the “Mud” screening. (Michael Buckner / Getty Images )

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Michael Barker, left, co-president and co-founder Sony Picture Classics, producer Sara Woodhatch and director Richard Linklater attend the screening for “Before Midnight.” (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)

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Director Joe Swanberg, left, actress Olivia Wilde and actor Jake Johnson attend the world premiere of “Drinking Buddies.” (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)

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Director Joe Swanberg, left, actress Olivia Wilde, actor Jake Johnson and actor Ron Livingston attend the world premiere of “Drinking Buddies.” (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)

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Captain Kirk Douglas, left, Mark Kelley and Black Thought of the Roots backstage at SXSW Presents Band Of Horses. (John Sciulli / Getty Images)

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Actors Emile Hirsch, left, and Paul Rudd attend the “Prince Avalanche” dinner. (John Sciulli / Getty Images)

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Actors Steve Carell, left, Olivia Wilde and Jim Carrey arrive at the world premiere of “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone.” (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)

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A general view of atmosphere at the world premiere of “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone.” (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)

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Banners hang in the atrium of the Austin Convention Center on the eve of the opening of the 27th South By Southwest interactive, film and music festival. (Robert MacPherson / AFPGetty Images)

By Mikael Wood

March 16, 2013 11:10 AM PT

AUSTIN, Texas -- Big bands in small venues -- it’s become a ritual at the South by Southwest music festival, where even A-list rock stars recognize the opportunity to launch a new project or heal a wounded reputation. But if Depeche Mode and Green Day found themselves Friday night in venues a fraction of the size of those they normally play, neither group pared down its show to accommodate the cozy environment.

Roaming across the stage at Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong -- whose treatment last year for addiction derailed promotion of the band’s albums “¡Uno!,” “¡Dos!” and “¡Tré!” -- roared through hits such as “Holiday” and “Welcome to Paradise” as though he were aiming for the cheap seats at a cavernous enormo-dome. And he held onto his favorite arena-concert tricks, whipping out a toilet-paper gun and blasting T-shirts into the crowd from an air-powered cannon.

Musically, too, Green Day kept the scale expansive: Early in its set it played “Oh Love,” from “¡Uno!,” but later honored a request by reaching back to the early 1990s for “Christie Road.” Armstrong rolled out some of his favorite covers as well, stitching together Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine” with “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC. During the latter he put on a cowboy hat passed up to him by a fan, who didn’t appear concerned in the slightest with whether he’d get it back -- a small sign, perhaps, that confidence in Armstrong has been renewed.

PHOTOS: The scene at SXSW 2013

Depeche Mode didn’t have anything to live down later Friday at Brazos Hall: Judging by the reaction to the first few notes of oldies like “Enjoy the Silence” and “Personal Jesus,” the capacity crowd here arrived at the concert already convinced that the veteran synth-rock band still has it.

Instead, Depeche Mode was at SXSW (where it also took part Wednesday in an onstage interview with Jason Bentley of L.A.’s KCRW-FM) to build some buzz around a new album it’s releasing later this month. The group’s first record since 2009, “Delta Machine” is bolder and more obtuse than what we’ve heard from Depeche Mode in a while; it strips away the danceable beats and lush melodies of the band’s big hits. So Friday’s show provided a chance to sell the fresh material onstage.

And sell it did, with frontman Dave Gahan striking a succession of the shirtless rock-god poses for which he’s known. Though it was playing inside a smallish warehouse space, Depeche Mode performed in front of a billboard-sized video screen flashing images out of its library of gloom, including visuals from the band’s music video for its current single, “Heaven.” It also did the new album’s “Soothe My Soul,” but calm, of course, wasn’t really what Gahan and his mates were aiming for. They were looking to excite.

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Follow Mikael Wood on Twitter: @mikaelwood