Follow That Bird

Follow That Bird
Halley’s
Denton, Texas


A week before the chaotic sprawling of Austin’s South by Southwest music festival, and more than 200 miles to the north, Dentonites were staging their own music festival, North by 35. The festival is named for the highway that connects Dallas to Denton, and passes through a stretch of farms that leads to the prairie town. Follow That Bird!, a young, spirited garage-rock band, made the trek to from Austin to Denton and made a lasting impression with a 30-minute set on the last night of the festival. As a prelude to their seven appearances at SXSW, the trio’s poised to earn fans beyond Austin’s music scene.

Playing to an exhausted crowd at Hailey’s, the band’s frenetic energy did not wane. While Lauren Green’s loose belt and propulsive guitar made her an adept frontwoman, Tiffanie Lanmon banged the drums with aplomb creating a rhythm section with bassist Mitchell Tellstrom that supported measured, wiry tunes that excited the attentive crowd. Midway through their set, they played a requested song, “Houses Under The Sea.” A jangly, start-stop affair, Green mewled as the song abruptly shifted gears to a slower, jaunty intermission before racing, again, to the end.

Earning the lead spot on Matador Records’ Casual Victim Pile, a compilation of Austin’s music scene, “The Ghosts That Wake You” began with an echoing guitar that culminated in a blistering collision of bravura riffs and syncopated drums. Besides an EP and three-song 10-inch from last year, Follow That Bird!’s itching for a full-length CD. While a potential offer has surfaced, since their appearance on Pile, the band hopes that their blitz of shows during SXSW will yield more possibilities. If their fiery performance in Denton was any indication, Follow That Bird! cannot help but stand out during the March SXSW event.

by Joshua Barajas