Soft Healer (Austin). Dug it, but had a hard time figuring it out. Guitar confused me, at one point i wrote "surf punk?". Enjoyed multi-instrumentalist -part-time sax, mouth organ (oh yeah, i said it), keys. Sundress (Denton). Sweet baby jeezus, what an awesome experience this was. Sitting 10 feet from this band, totally enveloped by their sound -what can I say - 'twas orgasmic. Definitely some phenomenal songwriting going on here, with some awesome vocals, but the ethereal guitar playing (second pic) sets them apart. A cross between early radiohead, Travis, and a less-strident Muse - enough to make any serious music fan cream his/her pants. Absolutely phenomenal. Probably my favorite local band at the moment.
Julian Lynch (New Jersey, Wisconsin). Very interesting. Have to admit - you see a guy tuning up his clarinet before his set, you think "not a good sign". then he starts tuning his BASS clarinet, and you think "well, at least i'll get to bed early". But no - this was some some hauntingly beautiful stuff. Just one guy with wind instruments (some unidentifiable), a table full of pedals and such, a droning backing track, and amazing talent. Truly mesmerizing. No way was I leaving early.