Matt Pond PA & Youth Group

Matt Pond explained why he was avoiding the hoopla of the Texas extravaganza: "I hate South by Southwest."

Instead the band forges its own identity by arduous touring, and it has taken its toll. But the journey adds to the bittersweet quality of the songs, a wry mix of sentimentality and an alcohol haze. "In complete darkness, I lose balance, I’m getting dressed you're still asleep, think you're a fake, at not being awake." "Brooklyn Stars". He’s trying to escape an already passing love.

Matt laments on the band website: "It's disappointing (to me) -- that most of what goes on is too strange embarrassing to convey..." There is a magic that he discovers on the road. He also expresses it in his attraction for women who are too distant to fully comprehend their own mystery.

"So Much Trouble" begins with an elaborate guitar line from Brian Pearl. "I don’t think I want to think about it/ in so much trouble, can ‘t hide in the covers." He is an artist in conflict; "she" is exposed in her shortcomings.

Matt was comfortable on the Loft stage and exchanged friendly banter with the audience. The band knows how to adapt to his personal approach–Dana’s lyrical styling on the cello and the insistent rhythms of Dan and Steve. Everyone in the audience felt very much at home with the band’s approach.

The surprise of the night was Sydney’s Youth Group . The Australian band is on their third tour of the States. They opened with the haunting "Skeleton Jar". "Why am I so miserable..so gorgeous stay with me." In "Baby Body" they explore lost dreams. " Liz hates her baby body, she hates the way that everyone looks at the way her figure’s changed." Their second to last song "Shadowland" echoes the same longing: " I want to float upon my memories and not sink into the gloaming seas of shadowlands." Their set ended with an intense rave up that draws on the same intensities of one of Toby Martin’s favorite bands, Mogwai.

www.mattpondpa.com | www.youthgroup.com.au