Michigan music hits South by Southwest music festival: The fourth and final day

As a drum-guitar-bass three piece, the timbre of their songs isn't anything new by far - but this isn't a detraction by any means. Whether it is the uptempo speed of the songs, their under-wrought stylization or perhaps the Awesome's willingness to play what could literally be a blistering 20-minute set in weather that is in the 30 and 40 degree range, their set was invigorating and intriguing. Having heard their recorded songs but never having seen them live, I can now say the two complement each other quite well. A certain headiness abounds. Awesome Color's performance was off of the beaten path at a large cafe that would easily fit in with our area's left of center crowd. I can vouch for the food, too, as I performed (and stuffed myself) there last year.

Next stop: Country. "Whitey Morgan hails from Flint, Michigan. That's nowhere near Nashvegas," intones his biography - and nothing could be truer. Flint has a certain grind to it, a certain built in sandpaper, and it seems to come out in some way for every resident of a city like that.

The point I am trying to make is that tossing aside Whitey's music because you happen to "not like country" is a serious mistake. Whitey and his band The 78's are recently signed to Chicago's venerable alt-country imprint Bloodshot Records - and for good reason. Whitey's music is reminiscent of old school country, harking back to the smoke- and whiskey-filled sounds of Waylon Jennings and perhaps even the one and only Johnny Cash. I was unlucky enough to have to leave after seeing only two-thirds of the Red Eyed Fly set, but wished I could have heard about two more hours. The glassiness of Morgan's voice combined with an intensely solid four-piece backing band was something I quite enjoyed and want to search out more of. I'll be doing exactly this once I get back home, and I emphatically suggest you do the same. You will not regret investing in seeing a show, picking up a record or perhaps both.

I was so rushed due to wanting to make sure to catch these last two acts of the evening. First was Pontiac's One Be Lo. Leaning towards a faster, wordier and more intense style, One Be Lo's style of rhyme is one that forces the listener to think, listen and digest what is being dropped in front of you. Add to this a large live backing band and backup vocalist - whether assembled only for the Audible Treats showcase at Independent or something that he has at every performance - the live performance aspect could have easily been a train wreck but was far, far from it.

I'll admit not having seen One Be Lo perform before this, and that is an error that will be corrected once back in Michigan. I sincerely hope the decision to perform with a live band is a consistent one, as it took an easily engaging performance and turned it into a grabbing one. Stir in the tenacity and tone of One Be Lo's vocalism and rhyme skills, often weaving words around your forehead and leaving them to swirl then attack your understanding, and this performance goes in the book as one of my favorites of the festival.

At the end of the night, due to the windy and cold weather, I was ready to go home. What stopped me was a chance to catch a group of legends to end out the festival. A heavy dosing of Detroit fire from legendary Detroit influencers DEATH warded off the chills, indeed, with a performance so riveting I forgot I only had a thin track jacket on for warmth.

In DEATH's songs, you can hear 1970s Detroit, the politics that surrounded that time and a sense of knowledge in their performance. This is not soul, by any shape or form, but has a soul perhaps deeper and more cutting than the warmed over honey-laden music that is often associated with this term upon first thought. Their performance shook and cut with the precision of a back-alley surgeon - exactly what a band like this should sound like, and this is by no means a backhanded swipe - that sentence is meant to be a compliment of the highest degree. In my book, the punk generation doesn't exist with out having a father, and DEATH just may be it.

DEATH originated in the early 70s as a punk band, with the New York Times' Mike Rubin dubbing the band "Punk Before Punk Was Punk" in the headline of his coverage of the band. Founded in Detroit in 1971 by brothers Bobby, David and Dannis Hackney, DEATH performed a certain hard and heavy style of what could almost be called pre-punk since their music could certainly fall into the genre as it later developed. There was no punk movement at that time to attach to. As most cutting edge artists find out, blazing a trail on musical style can be a rough road, and the fan base surrounding DEATH's music remained relatively small when their music was released originally.

Fast forward to this past year, and you see the release of all seven recordings of the band on one CD entitled "… For The Whole World to See" on Drag City Records. Since the passing of Dannis in 2000, Bobbie Duncan has taken the role of guitar for the band. DEATH only played a short three-city tour this past year and this performance marked and only the fourth since the band originally stopped performing in 1976.

Day four: complete. I was looking for a way to end the festival on a high note, and by all means, I found it. Happy, full of Detroit fire for warmth provided by DEATH's set, I walked back home and collapsed into bed, victim of a near week's worth of eats, bands and drinks, but never happier at the number and variety of music I saw during the week.

[This article is number five in a series of entries covering local artists traveling to Texas for a large music festival. Coverage follows until Sunday morning.]

Jeremy Peters covers what he likes to call the Underbelly of the Local Arts and Music Scene as a community blogger for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-217-4570 or jeremyjohnpeters@gmail.com.