Jerry Cantrell performs at SXSW 2002
Photo: MTV News

The 16th annual South by Southwest music conference drew to a close Sunday, and the only thing that lasts longer than the seemingly perpetual hangover that results from four debauched days of a music industry on spring break is the buzz emanating from the bands and key moments that defined this year's festival.

Of the more than 1,000 bands showcasing their chops before press, radio programmers, managers, lawyers, label execs and promoters in 48 venues strewn throughout Austin, Texas, a handful traditionally rise above the chaff to become the targets of hype hucksters and topics of critical discussion for weeks following the conference

Of the more than 1,000 bands showcasing their chops before press, radio programmers, managers, lawyers, label execs and promoters in 48 venues strewn throughout Austin, Texas, a handful traditionally rise above the chaff to become the targets of hype hucksters and topics of critical discussion for weeks following the conference (Read Iann Robinson's take on SXSW here, or check out photos from the event here).

Liverpool's Clinic, who kicked off their latest tour two days before their Friday SXSW showcase, were one of this year's must-see performances. The hype surrounding this synth-punk quartet was so intense that the line wrapped around the block and even Courtney Love, who was scheduled to speak at the conference the next day, was denied backstage access.

Newly signed Roadrunner Records artist Jerry Cantrell's gig attracted all those who would gleefully trade the twang that pervaded much of the conference for something a little heavier. Among those who came to support the Alice in Chains guitarist were Pantera's Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell, who made the drive from their hometown Dallas and joined Cantrell onstage toward the end of his set.

The country-fried Drive-By Truckers turned more than a few heads of label A&R scouts with fired-up selections from Southern Rock Opera, the Athens, Georgia, band's ambitious double concept album about the history of Dixie-rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd. It's safe to say that discussions with labels larger than their current indie are eminent.

The Shins, with a style equally linked to the Kinks and Beach Boys — that is, if Brian Wilson reinvented himself as the original emo survivor and Ray Davies never made it out of the garage — provided some decent audio buzz to accompany the alcoholic kind that surrounded their afternoon party as well as their 1 a.m. showcase. Following a similar though definitely rockier road, the neo-garage scene made it's presence felt this year, led by New Yorkers the Mooney Suzuki and Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs.

An annual SXSW staple, the Columbia Records showcase displayed the label's hopefuls with a night that included pop-punkers the Ataris, the aggro-fueled Riddlin' Kids, Icelandic beat-conscious rap-rockers Quarashi, turntablists X-ecutioners and big-beat electronic conductors Lo Fidelity Allstars. Prior to their exhilarating exhibition, the Kids served as the house band for a karaoke tribute to the Ramones during the label's pre-showcase soiree.

Meanwhile, a separate bash sponsored by Capitol Records and MTV2 featured sets from the Feds, OK GO, Ed Harcourt and Starsailor.

More than just four days of concerts, SXSW is double-billed as an industry schmooze-fest and workshop promoting the exchange of ideas and advice. Besides the required entry-level how-to classes, most panel discussions reflected the industry's current state of affairs. Gone are the throngs of dot-com diatribes — both the "next big thing" and "why they fell" discussions — that pervaded years past, replaced by debates on copyright ownership, digital downloads and artist contract reform.

The hour-plus speech/rant/discussion by self-described expert on almost everything industry-related, Courtney Love (her pending lawsuit against Universal Music Group provides some actual validity) repeatedly strayed off-course and started fashionably late, of course. While reiterating claims about contract limitations and unfair business practices made in her suit, Love, complete with dangling cigarette, name-dropped (Bono, Gwen Stefani, Sheryl Crow) and trash-talked ("... and I saw you doing an 8-ball off the back of the Limp Bizkit record!").

But the real rock and roll mayhem was provided by Aaron North, guitarist for the Icarus Line. Near the end of the band's set at the Hard Rock Cafe, which followed a blistering performance by At the Drive-In offshoot Sparta, North broke a display case containing a guitar that once belonged to the late Stevie Ray Vaughan and attempted to plug in and play (Click to see the case get smashed). Considering that the name Stevie Ray Vaughan is spoken with the same reverence as God in Austin, the crowd didn't take too kindly to the blasphemous act, and North and singer Joe Cardamone were chased from the stage by security.

Read about all of the shows we've recently covered in Tour Reports.

• Clinic
• The Icarus Line
• Jerry Cantrell
• Drive-By Truckers
• Stevie Ray Vaughan

Stevie Ray Vaughan
Photo: Robert Matheu/RETNA Pictures

Eleven years after legendary blues-rock guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan died in a helicopter crash, a live collection will give fans the chance to hear him perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival both before and after he reached superstardom.

Overseen by his brother, fellow blues artist Jimmie Vaughan, the double CD Live in Montreux '82 & '85 is scheduled for release November 6. Songs are being compiled from a combination of source tapes and video recording tracks, the project's publicist said. About half the material is previously unreleased.

The first disc documents a gig Vaughan played at the Montreux Casino on July 17, 1982. At the time, he was well established in the Southern blues circuit, but still relatively unknown internationally. And despite his charged, passionate performance, highlighted by future classics such as "Pride and Joy," "Texas Flood" and "Love Struck Baby," the Swiss audience met Vaughan with a storm of boos and catcalls.

Not everyone hated the show. At least two members of the crowd — Jackson Browne and David Bowie — were clearly awestruck. After seeing Vaughan onstage, Browne invited him to record at his studio for free. Those sessions resulted in 1983's Texas Flood, Vaughan's first studio record. Vaughan also played on Bowie's Let's Dance album and tour at the Thin White Duke's request.

The second CD is drawn from an appearance at the same venue three years later, when Vaughan was invited back to the festival to headline Blues Night. This time, adoration greeted the blues giant as he wailed through a variety of tunes from Texas Flood, Couldn't Stand the Weather (1984) and Soul to Soul (1985).

David Bowie helped write the liner notes for Live in Montreux '82 & '85, as did Vaughan bandmates Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon.

Vaughan was killed in a post-gig helicopter crash in East Troy, Wisconsin, on August 27, 1990. He was 35.

• Stevie Ray Vaughan

Jimi Hendrix
Photo: Don Nix/Authentic Hendrix LLC

Several performers from last year's gangbuster Jimi Hendrix jam session at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will get to re-Experience the magic at this year's Street Scene festival in San Diego.

Last September 12, an all-star concert featuring former Hendrix bandmates Billy Cox (bass) and Mitch Mitchell (drums) as well as members of Kid Rock, Double Trouble and Buckcherry celebrated the opening of the Jimi Hendrix Surround Sound Theater and Museum and the release of the box set The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

The Street Scene performance on September 8 will feature Hendrix's post-1969 rhythm section, the Band of Gypsys (Cox and drummer Buddy Miles), performing alongside a roster of guitarists including Kenny Olson of Kid Rock, Doyle Bramhall, Eric Gales and Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos.

Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes, Police guitarist Andy Summers, Jonny Lang and the Reverend Horton Heat may step onboard as well, according to the Band of Gypsys' manager, who is still confirming artists for the tribute.

Non-guitarists who will participate include Stevie Ray Vaughan's rhythm section of Tommy Shannon (bass) and Chris Layton (drums) and Living Colour vocalist Corey Glover, the manager said. He also said he hopes some of the artists already scheduled to play Street Scene — including Counting Crows, Taj Mahal and the Phantom Blues Band, Soulive, G. Love & Special Sauce and the Long Beach Dub Allstars — will also show up.

"This kind of collaboration doesn't happen anymore," said event organizer John McDermott, catalog manager of the Experience Hendrix foundation. "So we're invoking Jimi's legacy to make it happen. The goal is to continue to reach out to music fans of all ages and make them aware of Jimi's music."

In addition to witnessing the all-star jam, Street Scene attendees can visit the Red House Exhibit, a traveling museum of Hendrix memorabilia.

Other acts scheduled to play the 2001 Street Scene include Outkast, James Brown, En Vogue, the Offspring, P.O.D., Burning Spear and his Burning Band, Cake, Big Head Todd & the Monsters, Sugarcult, Third World, Eek-a-Mouse, Rollins Band, Cheap Trick, X, Social Distortion, Doug E. Fresh, Jurassic 5, Whodini, the Fixx, Berlin and Rufus Wainwright.

• Jimi Hendrix
• Kid Rock
• Los Lobos
• Buckcherry
• The Black Crowes

June 9 [10:00 EDT] -- Epic Records will soon release a landmark live performance by late guitar great Stevie Ray Vaughan recorded at New York's Carnegie Hall.

The release, due July 29, features Vaughan with his band, Double Trouble, as well as help from Dr. John Angela Strehli, and Stevie Ray's brother, Jimmie Vaughan.

"Live at Carnegie Hall" captures the band's October 4, 1984 performance, which Jimmie has described as being like "like winning a Grammy or anything really special that you do, that happens to you. In the moment when it's happening, you might not be that conscious of how special it is. You're just getting through it, getting the job done. But later on, when you reflect on it, you think 'Wow, did that really happen to me? That was really something special.'"

Among the 13 tracks on the live album are Vaughan nuggets like "Scuttle Buttin'," "Cold Shot," and "Pride And Joy" as well as covers of Albert Collins' "Collins Shuffle," Albert King's "C.O.D." and Guitar Slim's "Letter To My Girlfriend."

• Stevie Ray Vaughan