Short of free meals, nothing's better about SXSW than the opportunity to stumble into something new and
noteworthy in an hour of aimless club-to-club wandering. At this BMI showcase anchored by El Flaco and
Spoon, New Yorker Andrew Dorff was the sleeper you dream of finding: a charismatic frontman (even if he
looked like Ken Leick on a bad day) with a tight backing outfit, and an obvious dose of nervous energy that
managed to hint more at punk unpredictability than impending disaster. And although Dorff would substitute "This
is another song," for real stage patter, it was simply one of the conference's rare moments of truth in advertising --
where hype didn't matter.
And really, there was always "another" song, each better than the last. In fact, the BMI
slot should have been the tip-off, in that publishing companies by nature showcase artists with "songs," and with
"Supercool," "I Splash," "Overneath," and on to the brilliant "InseCuriosity," Dorff showcased songs that not only
brought Lou Reed, Cracker, and Helmet together, but were also simple and catchy enough to remember by their
chorus afterwards. On the way out, people were snickering that Dorff's brother, Steven, is the Hollywood
heartthrob, and that this Dorff was only 19 and had played the Bottom Line less than a year before he inked a
huge Sony deal earlier this year. SXSW discovery? Okay, maybe not. Happy accident? Yes. Supercool anyway?
Andy Langer
this review can originally be found at:
http://www.auschron.com/issues/vol16/issue29/music.liveshots.html
