SXSW 2010: Alex Chilton, Big Star tribute concert
AUSTIN, Texas -- The 24th South by Southwest ended in the early morning Sunday at a jam-packed Antone's, the legendary blues club on 5th Street, with a poignant, powerful reminder of how music can redeem even the most tragic events.
The late-night, conference-closing slot was originally set for Big Star, the Memphis band that made three albums in the '70s, then faded into obscurity, only to endure as a guiding light for countless guitar-based pop and rock bands in subsequent decades. The performance turned into a wake and a tribute when one of the band's cofounders, singer-guitarist Alex Chilton, died Wednesday at 59 of a heart attack in his New Orleans home.
The remaining members of Big Star -- founding drummer Jody Stephens and bassist Andy Hummel, and Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer, who joined in the band's '90s comeback incarnation -- carried on in Chilton's name with a host of guest stars. The show became an 18-song tribute to Chilton's Big Star legacy, a procession of music that veered from harrowing meditations to ebullient rockers. Stephens, Auer and Stringfellow were the three constants, holding down the stage as the likes of M. Ward, Evan Dando, R.E.M.'s Mike Mills, and Chris Stamey took turns on lead vocals.
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