Neko Case's show last night at the Pageant wasn't that different from her September 2008 appearance at the same venue. However, the comfortably crowded show was, shall we say, loose. Not musically - oh no, Case throws her head back, shakes her tomato-red mane and out pours her sweet, unadulterated voice, like clockwork. And her backing band - which includes long-time vocal foil Kelly Hogan and pedal-steel wizard Jon Rauhouse - helps her gently replicate the studio versions of her songs.
But C
Big Star's shadow is looming large at this year's SXSW.The text that Alex Chilton had died came through just before midnight on the first full day of South By Southwest 2010 in Austin. I was on my way to the sleeze-and-cheese-and-bathroom-cologne club Prague to see the anti-Alex, Billy Bragg, at his 1 a.m. Strummerville and Jail Guitar Doors showcase. Chilton was to appear at SXSW on Saturday at a Big Star "reunion," a show, to be honest, that was not high on my dance card. Out in the str
