I caught most of last night's Laura Veirs show at The Waiting Room. The gig started at 8 instead of 9 I guess because Veirs looked to be about eight months pregnant in her navy polka dot dress, her guitar balanced over her soon-to-be brood (see photo). When I got there at around 10, Veirs and her band, which included a violinist and two guys who traded off bass, guitar, keyboards and drums, were already at it. The reason I dropped in at all was because the songs on her Myspace page reminded me of early Suzanne Vega circa Solitude Standing, one of my all-time favorite albums, and sure enough, Veirs kept up that similitude with her voice right down to her phrasing. Where her and the band veered from the Vega course was in the three- and sometimes four-part harmony; and sometimes 5-part if you included the crowd of around 50 that was trained to add "ewws" and "ooh"s and "aaahs" to one song. Afterward, Veirs said we knocked Minneapolis from the fifth-place position in their Worldclass Crowd Participation Sing-along Competition (She was just being nice). Gorgeous stuff, right down to a cover of one of my favorite Fleetwood Mac songs, "Never Going Back Again."

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Back to SXSW coverage. I know, who cares? Especially if you're not going. But I am, and I'll be covering it extensively for this site (daily blog reports, Tweets, Facebook updates) and The Reader starting March 18.

The news: It's True announced its SXSW showcases:

Friday, March 19 at BD Riley's (Official SXSW Showcase) 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 20 at Lovey's Loot (w/Thunder Power) 2 p.m.

It's True also is hosting a listening party for their new CD Sunday, March 14, at The Barley St. Tavern. Still no word on who is releasing their album. The gig also will act as a "send off" party for SXSW, so show up and buy something to get them on their way.

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Digital Leather also announced its SXSW sched.

--Thursday, Mar 18, 2010 8 p.m. - Shattered Records Showcase w/ Hunx and His Punx, Wizzard Sleeve, Fucked Up +more
--Friday, Mar 19, 2010 2 p.m. - At Beerland w/ the Spits, Tokyo Electron, King Louie
--Friday, Mar 19, 2010 6 p.m. -At the Mohawk Patio w/ The Cool Kids, Uffie + more
--Saturday, Mar 20, 2010 6 p.m. -At Parade of Flesh
--Saturday, Mar 20, 2010 12:00 a.m. -At Beerland Digital Leather playing as Destruction Unit
--Sunday, Mar 21, 2010 8 p.m. -Beerland

(I'm looking hard at that Mohawk Patio gig -- one of my favorite spots last year.

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Little Brazil was interviewed at Spinner.com as part of their official SXSW media coverage. The Q&A with guitarist Greg Edds is right here. Greg talks Austin survival tips, and includes this gem: "Now I know why fanny packs are coming back in style. You don't want a man-bag because that's still too bulky, but I might dive into the fanny this time around." Dive into the fanny? Nice, Greg.

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Add Lincoln's Eagle Seagull to the list of Nebraska bands at SXSW. They're scheduled to play at The Ghost Room March 18 at 9 p.m.

So, the current list of Nebraska bands in Austin this year: It's True, Digital Leather, Thunder Power, The Mynabirds, UUVVWWZ, Little Brazil and Eagle Seagull. Are there any more?

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2009 SXSW standouts Box Elders won't be in Austin for the festival this year because they're going to be on the road opening for The Black Lips. Before meeting up with the Lips, Box Elders will be headlining a few shows including March 13 at The Waiting Room with Baby Tears, Yuppies and Well-Aimed Arrows (ex-Protoculture). They'll meet up with the Lips March 17 in Charlotte, NC, and will follow them to the April 5 show at Slowdown, and close out the Lips tour April 10 at the legendary 40 Watt Club in Athens, GA.

That's quite a coup for the trio. Another coup is their new 7-inch, which is coming out on red-hot Chicago label HoZac Records. Says the band: "HoZac dudes have been helping us out for a couple years, they've booked most of our Chicago shows. The 7" is part of their singles club. 400 went to folks that joined the club and we get 75. I think they'll go pretty quick. The Waiting Room show is gonna be the only Omaha show we'll have them. The Antiquarium is going to carry 10 or so copies." Get 'em while they're hot.

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