SXSW Overflow 2011: Day Four (Megan Jean and The KFB, Joe and the Jungle, 28 North, & Pearl and the Band)

Late, late, late on these, I know — sorry, had to deal with sick family members & sleep-deprived kids and was only briefly able to get online ’til now. But hey, there’s still time to get on over to Super Happy Fun Land for Day Four of the SXSW Overflow Festival; here’s who’s playing tonight:

MEGAN JEAN AND THE KFB: This one’s, um, a little weird — honestly, it pretty much fits the SHFL crew perfectly. The misleadingly-named band is actually a duo, one of whom plays the banjo and bass while the other plays the guitar and washboard(!) and sings these bizarre little tunes that swing from backwoodsy gypsy-folk to dramatic, jangly, quasi-country pop and touch Patsy Cline, Neko Case, Johnette Napolitano, and Bette Midler in equal parts.

JOE AND THE JUNGLE: And then, switching gears, we go from quirky, multi-instrumental freak-folk/country to sleazy, long-haired, metal-edged rawk that could’ve come off of LA’s Sunset Strip back in the mid-’80s; listening to these guys, I feel like I’ve fallen back through a hole in time or something. The guitars are dirty, the solos sound like pretty much any song off of Mötley Crüe’s Dr. Feelgood, the vocals shriek and roar, and the drums pound away in the background. Like it or not, it’s like the ’90s never happened.

28 NORTH: Pittsburgh’s 28 North fits a little better with the band preceding it, anyway; not as sleazy or glam-y, no, but they definitely play fairly straightforward, bluesy rock, albeit with more countryish, rootsy elements. They’re supposedly one of the best bands in Pittsburgh, but I have to confess that I can’t do much more than shrug — they’re pretty much just a basic, no-frills rock band.

PEARL AND THE BAND: Okay, so this one’s a little like a twofer, because not only is Pearl and the Band playing the Overflow Fest tonight (playing last, apparently) and tomorrow night at The Mink. Which is a very good thing, in my book, because the Brooklyn trio(?)’s delicate, somber, near-crystalline folk is easily the best damn thing going on at tonight’s Fest. Seriously, they’re really, really good, especially on Tori Amos-ish tracks like “Good Dog,” which flat-out makes me want to cry.

That’s it for tonight — get on over there if you get a chance…