Reports from Wednesday, March 15

You know it's going to be a good SXSW when you step off the plane and the first person you see is Harry Shearer. Sure, Austin is lousy with famous people (and a whole lot more who wish they were), but to see Shearer -- voice of most "Simpsons" characters (including Principal Skinner, Ned Flanders and Rev. Lovejoy), host of the brilliant radio program "Le Show" and, oh yeah, DEREK SMALLS, bass player for Spinal Tap!!! -- can't help but bode well for this year's festival.

It almost makes up for the loudmouth lady blabbing on her cell phone about the deal she's trying to make with Coldplay while her companion loudly and rudely beckons a porter to help with their four (designer) suitcases.

Did I mention I haven't even gotten my luggage yet? Oh yes, it's SXSW, always a collision of the sublime and the ridiculous. It's my seventh visit to the festival, and like every year, I vow to see as many bands I've never seen as possible, and like every year, I know I won't be able to resist the chance to see as many of my hometown friends as I can.

Rather than conserve my resources, I decide to dive right into Wednesday night's offerings. First up is the Reputation, a Chicago band led by Elizabeth Elmore, who stands no taller than 5 feet high (in heels), but whose unmistakable prowess as a guitar-battering frontwoman makes her seem like a giant. The Rep is a powerhouse band, with tight, crushing song structures and melodies that can fairly be said to shimmer. Their set, under a tent on an outdoor patio, is glory itself -- yet another reminder of the simple, eternal resonance of guitar-driven rock. In short, a perfect beginning.

Hey, that's Carl Newman from the New Pornographers crossing the street by the hot-dog stand!

Next up, 12 blocks across town, is another Chicago outfit, Bound Stems, whose Flameshovel Records EP, "The Logic of Building the Body Plan," is full of almost perversely complex, and unabashedly enthusiastic, music. The same can be said of their short set, which, despite a late start on account of technical issues, radiates with the band members' obvious joy in playing -- a big chunk of their set-up time was devoted to draping their drums, keyboards and microphone stands with strands of ivy. Never seen that before. That joy was untarnished even when it became clear that the noxious smell at the Lava Lounge had been caused by a ruptured pipe that sent raw sewage leaking out from under the stage. Ouch.

From raw sewage to raw brilliance: I then witnessed an earth-shattering performance by Norway's Serena Maneesh. Massively loud, throbbing and powerful, the six-person combo (including a blonde Amazonian bassist who never stopped bobbing along to her own basslines) whipped up an absolute frenzy of drone, conjuring a dense forest of Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine memories.

From there to the Blender party -- sidestepping the rumored secret club show by Flaming Lips, during which, I learn via text message from a lucky friend, Norman, Okla.'s finest play a set of Ozzy Osbourne covers (sad to miss it, but one must be zen about these things).

Minneapolis's Tapes 'N' Tapes played a genial set in a massive, half-covered warehouse space. The crowd swelled significantly for Austin's own Spoon (a great, soul-influenced indie-rock band that is positively ubiquitous in the local press coverage of SXSW, after having walked away with basically every conceivable prize at the Austin Music Awards, and deservedly so. I first saw them playing to empty rooms throughout the South eight years ago; their rise to glory is one of life's sweeter success stories), and in sweaty anticipation of Echo and the Bunnymen's 3 a.m. headlining set. But 3 a.m. is too much for me, given an ambitious interview schedule beginning only a few hours later, so I bail (but not before spotting Carl Barat of the Libertines swaggering past the security guards on his way in).

-- Sean Nelson, MSN Music Editor

Old guys can rock. I learned this when I caught Austin's own Jon Dee Graham's Tom Waits-style blues rock at the Guitartown party. The buzz so far has been rain. I don't know how SXSW could function in a thunderstorm as most of the day shows are outdoors. I suspect I'm going to find out.

Wednesday evening found me planted firmly at Exodus for what I think will be the best bill of the festival: World Party, the Plimsouls and the Go! Team. What is it about playing a show once every six years that lets a band pack a place?! World Party, who -- rumor has it -- have a new album coming out in the spring, played all their old favorites. The set was fun and solid, though I was hoping for a nugget of new material.

The Plimsouls, who also make it a habit to play a show once or twice per decade, absolutely brought the house down, while the young kids in the Go! Team closed out the night with their '70s inspired cheers.

-- Scott Balikian, MSN Entertainment