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Frontman Olyphant is just too cool for Texas. Fetish On Ice By Jeff Palfini As Oakland-based rock-punk band Fetish launched into its encore at its South-by-Southwest appearance last Thursday, frontman Matt Olyphant, clearly exasperated by the less than enthusiastic crowd, leapt off the stage and threw himself into a large metal bottled-beer tub, ubiquitous at South by Southwest venues. Seemingly unaware of, or unconcerned with, the danger inherent in swinging around a microphone in a tub full of ice water, the band's singer-scribe provided a stylish capper to a show that seemed strangely misplaced and misunderstood. Fetish, a five-piece outfit that counts AC/DC, the Sex Pistols, and the Foo Fighters among their influences, took the stage at 10pm, oddly enough, at an upscale sports bar called the District Bar & Grill in Downtown Austin. While heavily tattooed arms did greatly outnumber cowboy hats, the band still seemed out of place in the much too well-lit, buttoned-down venue. Olyphant and the band mustered an impressively game performance despite the surroundings, leading off with the hard-driving "Silver Electric" and powering through standouts like "Paint You a Picture" and a particularly inspired version of "Knee High." The band, dressed almost completely in black t-shirts and black jeans, tried to rouse the crowd with Brian Galli and Braden Merrick's driving guitar riffs, the strong rhythm work of bassist Chris Self and drummer Art Tedeschi, and Olyphant's rapid-fire lyrics, but largely failed to rev up the three dozen or so people in attendance. Not for lack of effort or showmanship, however, as Olyphant seemed to emulate Johnny Rotten at the mic and followed the band's rousing version of "Halo" by dumping his half-full Amstel Light that "tasted too heavy" out on the stage in front of him. But if Olyphant was Fetish's Johhny Rotten, they could really have used a Sid Vicious out there. Though musically the band performed well, they needed a means to grab the crowd by the throat and make them pay attention. Lacking this, the crowd managed little more than moderate musical interest and bemusement at Olyphant's antics, making no real spiritual or visceral connection with the band. Ironically, the most enthusiastic Fetish supporters arrived halfway through the show -- a tame-looking couple in cowboy hats that set right into headbanging and loudly cheering the band's effort. Fetish and Olyphant showed signs of losing steam (who could blame them?) towards the end of the show, with Olyphant half-heartedly flipping the crowd off as an afterthought before the last song of their set. Perhaps it was the bizarre arrival of a man in an orange vest and hard hat that inspired the band to new levels of worksmanship, as they tore through a ripping version of "Knee High" to close out their set. But the band's shining moment was yet to come, as they generously responded to the late- waking crowd by offering up an encore that had this writer fearing for the life of their lead singer. Punk met East Texas in the metal beer tub from which Fetish singer Matt Olyphant sang the band's one-song encore. But was I the only person in attendance who had heard that electricity and water don't mix? Apparently the others didn't know or didn't care because, in spite of everything, Fetish had finally won them over. Jeff Palfini is a freelance writer living in San Francisco who you'll never catch swimming right after he's eaten. [ East Bay | Metroactive | Archives ]