BOULDER, Colorado — Ed Harcourt brought the rain on tour with him.

The skies opened up during his Saturday night performance, when a modest crowd of both the curious and the converted braved a gloomy evening in order to catch an abbreviated set from the London troubadour in the historic and intimate Tulagi theater. Considering the gray-skied feeling that radiates from Harcourt's music, the weather seemed like an appropriate backdrop for his live show.

Since the release of his first full-length album, Here Be Monsters, Harcourt's been likened to The The's Matt Johnson, Badly Drawn Boy's Damon Gough and nearly every other songwriter who shares his penchant for moody melodies. Most of the time, Harcourt writes dreamy, sensitive music about love, girls and what it's like to be young and angst-ridden. He sings beautifully, often in falsetto, and plays piano — as well as about 10 other instruments. Harcourt's music is the perfect soundtrack to a good mope: It is contemplative and lovely, sad and pleasantly self-indulgent.

But it also sometimes rocks — with roots in everything from jazz and Brit-pop to blues and musical theater. Which might explain why Harcourt was moved to kick his leg up on a floor monitor, raise his hand in the air (configured in the universal "rock on" symbol) and move about the floor at various points during the show, which was the third date on his regional tour of the United States. Sporting a fittingly unkempt bed-head style do, torn jeans, and a cheetah strap on his guitar, Harcourt leapt right into the spotlight: He rode onto the stage on the back of his tour manager, piggyback style, before jumping into his seat behind an electric piano, where he remained for most of the night.

While Harcourt's early performances were characterized by all manner of curious props and even the occasional thrashing of this piano, Saturday's appearance was simple and straightforward — though not without its less-than-serious moments. Backed by an excellent band that included a stand-up bassist and the polymorphous instrumentals of the stoically faced Gerry Atkins — who manned trumpet, vibraphone, xylophone and various percussive instruments — Harcourt performed material primarily culled from Here Be Monsters, including "God Protect Your Soul," a wonderfully chaotic and jazzy number that served as the emotional climax of the show, and the ballad-like "Apple of My Eye," which closed it. Showcasing some of the virtuosity that has made him a darling of the British music media during the past six months, Harcourt occasionally took turns on electric and acoustic guitars. With no trace of irony, he assumed a center-stage straddle and a rock star affectation on "Shanghai," a song that attempts a Tom Waits-esque kind of carnival sound but ends up sounding more cartoonish than crazed. More successful was the breathy, acoustic "Sleepyhead." The song, Harcourt said, "is just about being tired ... which we're not, of course."

Throughout the evening, Harcourt did his best to bridge some cultural divides with the audience, professing his love for America even while expressing some exasperation at what it's like to travel here.

"We've been through a lot of your airports," he said. "We've been searched a lot. I haven't gotten the full-body cavity search yet. I'm sort of looking forward to it, really,"

If Harcourt at times seemed more excited about his performance than did the crowd, he can be forgiven: He's got plenty of reasons to feel confident these days. He's young, talented and attractive, with a winning album and a warm critical reception. Harcourt is reminiscent of the equally prodigious Ryan Adams, with whom he shares a fashion sense, a current it-boy status and — most importantly — a knack for crafting both clever lyrics and stick-to-the-brain melodies. Judging by his performance, Harcourt will have plenty to offer audiences for a good, long while — even after the hype inevitably begins to die down.

Following his show, Harcourt was rushed by fans in Tulagi's lobby. One young woman asked how long he expects to be on the road in support of Here Be Monsters. He looked at her and laughed: "Forever," he replied. For their part, Boulder fans will be excited to see him return. They can use the rain.

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports.

• Ed Harcourt

Tenacious D heavy-hitter Jack Black and vampire-slayer Sarah Michelle Gellar will host the 2002 MTV Movie Awards, which are set to be doled out on June 1 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The show, which again boasts categories such as Best Kiss, Best Villain and Best Fight, will be broadcast June 6 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. ... Ashanti is keeping busy. She started shooting the video for her second single, "Happy," in New York City on Wednesday, and on Friday (May 3), she'll receive the keys to her home city of Glen Cove, New York, from Mayor Mary Ann Holzkamp. ...

It's more than two months away, and already Filter's new album, The Amalgamut, has just about spanned the gamut of mid-summer release dates. Originally expected to be released in early July, the group's third album was officially set for August 6, then July 23, and now carries a release date of July 30. ... Ed Harcourt is packing up his toybox and heading out on his second North American tour to support his debut LP, Here Be Monsters. The multi-instrumentalist crooner begins the two-week jaunt May 7 in San Francisco and wraps it up May 21 in Boston. ... Maya and Last Train to Lhasa, the first albums by global ambient figurehead Banco De Gaia (a.k.a.Toby Marks), will be reissued on May 14, and a two-CD retrospective, tentatively titled 10 Years, is in the works for September. ...

05.01.02

The 2002 MTV Video Music Awards will once again pitch its tent in New York City. The 2002 VMAs will be broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall on August 29. ... Cher's final tour will begin June 14 and hit 50 North American cities before ending September 15 in Minneapolis. The Living Proof - The Farewell Tour will promote Cher's latest album, Living Proof. ...

Industrial rock purists KMFDM will hit the road for the first time in five years to promote their just-released 11th album, Attak. Pig will open on the outing, which kicks off May 31 in Seattle and returns there for the tour wrap-up July 3. ... Meanwhile, KMFDM frontman Sascha Konietzko has been in the studio remixing singles for Kittie and the Kidney Thieves. ...

Mike Patton, of Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantômas and Tomahawk fame, contributes vocals on the upcoming EP from New Jersey metal band the Dillinger Escape Plan. The record, Irony Is a Dead Scene, is due August 13. ... Mancunian ethereal slow rockers Doves and Elbow will begin a U.S. tour in Seattle on June 3, the day before Doves' second disc, The Last Broadcast, hits shelves. The 11-date tour runs through June 20 in New York ...

• Tenacious D
• Ashanti
• Filter
• Ed Harcourt
• Maya

• Ed Harcourt

Iann Robinson in Austin, TX
Photo: MTV News

Austin just smells different.

That was the first thing I noticed when I stepped out into the Texas night, bags in tow, to begin the three-day quest that is the South By Southwest Music Festival. My biggest fear for the week was that I would find out SXSW (the "hip" way to write South By Southwest) was an industry schmoozefest and my high idea of bearing witness to the future of music would turn out to be nothing more than a high idea.

Thursday was bright — a little too bright, and a little too hot — but as soon as I stepped out onto Sixth Street, Austin's main drag, things seemed to come to life. People swarmed the streets, even at an early hour, talking about music, bands they were going to see, wanted to see and maybe were pissed they couldn't see. (That was one drawback: There were over 1,000 bands playing SXSW, all of them concentrated in the three days of the festival.) (Click for photos from the event.)

As the day pressed on, I hooked up with the Riddlin' Kids, the Feds, Ed Harcourt, OK GO and the X-ecutioners. I saw everything from rock to soul to indie to hip-hop and it was all good, it was all honest music. I began to wonder if the search for the next big thing was the wrong way to go. Maybe the future of music was in having many different genres all leading the charge. Instead of everything being tagged this and that, it would all just be great music. Duke Ellington once said there's only two kinds of music: good and bad. Point taken.

Friday night lived up to everything that I'd hoped for. Imagine an anthill at the height of the ants' workday, then add loud music and the smell of great BBQ and there you have it. I walked down Sixth Street trying to take it all in. I'd spent the morning with the Mooney Suzuki, and now I was on my way to see the Brought Low, a great band from New York that drew a more rock-oriented crowd. After the Brought Low I headed over to another club to check out metal/hardcore bands Shadows Fall and Killswitch Engage. Talking to kids on the street, they confirmed my earlier suspicion: The next big thing wasn't in the vibe. People didn't care what you were doing as long as it was good. No more slick-produced megabucks templates — only honest music, no matter what genre it was.

I stumbled around Saturday in an exhausted state, talking to kids, seeing more bands, freaking out over the rebirth of true punk rock I saw with L.A.'s own Icarus Line. I found out that on Friday night their guitar player, Aaron, had smashed a glass case at the Hard Rock Café (Click to see the case get smashed), removing the Stevie Ray Vaughan guitar that was in it and trying to play it (see "Long Lines For Clinic, Lynch Mob For Icarus Line At SXSW"). That's punk, that's badass. As the day drew to a close I felt very satisfied, topping the evening off watching High on Fire and hanging out with some friends.

I wasn't wrong when I landed in Austin. The future of music was in these streets, just not in plain view. The next big thing, from what I saw, was not a genre but a quality. If you were making music that mattered, music that spoke to things people could relate to and blend into their own lives, then your genre didn't matter — people wanted to hear it. So the industry slips a little. Maybe it'll use this time to learn how to build a band and make a legend again. That hope eased me into a sound and blissful sleep on my way home.

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports

• The Feds
• Ed Harcourt
• The X-Ecutioners
• The Icarus Line