Stardeath and White Dwarfs Utilize Smoke Machine, Cover Madonna at SXSW

You know what you don't see too often (and not nearly enough of) at SXSW? Smoke machines. Sure, the logistics of bringing them to several small bars that may or may not be actual venues is where the problem lies, but that didn't stop Oklahoma City's Stardeath and White Dwarfs from bringing the haze.

The killer flashing light contraption behind them which only raised the bar even more, but for those in attendance who knew Stardeath's origins, this made perfect sense, as three of the four band members spent years as roadies for the Flaming Lips and lead Stardeather (or Dwarf?) Dennis Coyne is the nephew of Lips frontman Wayne Coyne. So in a weird way, it would seem almost odd if they didn't bring a smoke machine to a tiny bar on Sixth Street and utilize it to its fullest and smokiest.

Stardeath are currently supporting their debut album 'The Birth,' and their SXSW showcase yielded a highly energetic band that surely sound Lips-ian at times, but at others seem to draw upon a hyper, proggy Pink Floyd sound from the 'Animals' era, most notably during their album's title track and the acoustic-driven 'Age of the Freak.'

But even with all these bells and whistles going on, Stardeath caught everyone by surprise by closing their set with a cover of Madonna's 'Borderline.' Their take starts off quite slow; minutes pass before you hear the actual word "borderline," but they've essentially cut the song up into two parts, where the end becomes sprawling mess of guitars -- nothing like what Madonna had originally done. Then again, Madonna probably never played in a bar in Austin with smoke machines either.