It’s nearing the end of the second day of the music portion of South by Southwest. A group of young, hip-looking Austinites (the vibe is definitely local) crowd in the backyard of independent bookstore DOMY, drinking keg beer. The group spills onto the unkempt lawn next door, and chairs litter patchy grass facing a small stage. LA foursome Abe Vigoda set up, guitarist Juan Valazquez fiddles with a Korg and, for perhaps one of the last times left for them to do so, they start playing for a small but eager crowd. (PHOTO: ABE VIGODA IN AUSTIN)
 
Abe Vigoda are, to put it plainly, seconds away from blowing up. Straight after the festival, the boys are heading to join Vampire Weekend on their national (and sold out) tour. Bassist David Reichardt reports that, “ When my father told me he saw them on SNL, he was like, ‘Well, they were pretty cool.’ Total validation.”
 
The Vampire Weekend tour kicks off a third renaissance for the band, who already have three EPs under their belt, including last July’s critical darling Skeletons. First, they were known as sunny, bubbly tropical punk, and then, along with PPD labelmates No Age, heralded a lo-fi mania. For their next album slated to come out this summer, Abe Vigoda teamed with producer Chris Coady (who has worked with Yeah Yeah Yeahs and TV on the Radio), to create a cleaner, more mature sound.
 
In explaining, they constantly interrupt each other, finishing the others’ thoughts, like a tightly knit all-boy family. “There are a lot more electronic elements. It was sort of a natural progression for us. Everything just fell together,” says singer Michael Vidal. Drummer Dane Chadwick, the newest member of the group, explains: “Not in a snobby way, but at this point, we are kind of anti lo-fi.” Immediately Valazquez chimes in, “I’m interested in music that not only sounds unique but you can actually hear everything. With electronics and more dance-oriented songs, it has to be clean.”
 
Despite the stripped down nature of the DOMY show (and the blazing heat), they sounded polished and energized. (“We had to cut out a lot of the electronic sequences,” Reichardt says. “We aren’t used to monitors,” Valazquez admits. “We can still play house shows like this and actually pull off a set because that’s what we know.” “Different versions,” finishes Chadwick.) The audience pushes up front. A family passing by stops in, and even two small kids come stage side to dance. In back, a photographer stops shooting to tell her friend, “Wow. They sound good.”