Port O'Brien / Photo by Melissa Goldstein

Oakland's Port O'Brien may have been collectively suffering from sore throats, as Neil Young-sounding frontman (and part-time Alaskan fisherman) Van Pierszalowski revealed, but luckily a little extra scratchiness goes a long way for the Americana quintet, who played the SFxSXSW showcase at Bourbon Rocks on Saturday. Beginning with front porch jam session subtlety -- cemented by Cambria Goodwin's nimble banjo-picking -- the set only gained in intensity, reaching its peak on closing number "I Woke Up Today." After Pierszalowski invited "anyone who wants to" to come up and bang on something, some musically-inclined extras seized the opportunity, assisting in a clap-and-sing-and-stomp-along jamboree whose rival we've not seen -- this week, at least.

Folk pop outfit the Dodos followed on the inside stage, battling sound issues from the beginning. Slowed but not stunted by muted drums, the band's energy made up for technological lacks, with doubly-miked vocalist and guitarist Meric Long looping everything from yodely vocals to trombone snippets to layer with drummer Logan Kroeber's galloping drumbeat on the sonically addictive single "Fools."

The Dodos / Photo by Melissa Goldstein

Capping off the British Music Embassy showcase, Liverpool's cheeky Britpoppers the Wombats arrived to the stage down a member -- Cherub, the bands wombat mascot was reportedly hooking up with prostitutes by the pool at the band's hotel -- and with a self-proclaimed "shit-faced" drummer, Dan Haggis. No matter. The trio coerced an overheated house to shun the soaring temperatures and kickstart a dance party to "Kill the Director," "Let's Dance to Joy Division," and "Backfire at the Disco." The set's over-hyped low point: a fake mustachioed Haggis making good on an early promise to perform a karaoke ditty: two garbled bars of "Karma Chameleon."

The Wombats / Photo by Melissa Goldstein