SXSW Day 3 & 4

Day 3, Dana and I started out at the Photofinish Record Label's showcase at the Red 7. They are a client so I wanted to stop in and meet them. I met Jackie, who is a client of mine first. She also introduced me to the head of their record label....Matt. When we got there the band Steel Train was setting up on stage, so we decided to stay and check them out. They weren't really my style...but could definitely appreciate their musicianship. 

Next stop was a reggae bar that Dana really wanted to check out called the Flamingo. The band playing were older white guys. It was like cruise ship reggae, if that makes sense.

After that, we started out towards the La Zona Rosa for the Village Voice showcase....another client of mine. This one we had VIP passes for, so we got to take advantage of free drinks and food. At that show we saw a DJ set by the Bad Knives and also saw the band called ....And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead. After the show let out...we ran into my client, Diane so I got to hang out with her for a minute before we left.

Next stop was a hip hop showcase that we had RSVP'd for at the Whisky Bar. As we walked in, the Knux were on stage. After that Chuck from the Cool Kids was DJ'ing for another act. It was hard to distinguish between artists as the sets just kind of flowed all together....but we saw Kidz in the Hall I know for sure, as well. 

 the Knux

After we left the Whisky Bar we went back towards town and met up with Solution...and then eventually Kevin as well. We tried to get into the Fader Party but it was wrapping up so they weren't letting people in. So we just kind of bar hopped until we eventually found ourselves at the Dizzy Rooster for the band Brother Big Bad, who are from Minneapolis. Their drummer was the one who helped out Solution by playing with them. 

Last stop of the night was Opal Devine's for the North Mississippi All-Stars. Only half of the people I was with were able to get in...Solution couldn't...so I sat outside of the show with them until they left. It was really good to see them...but bummed they had to leave early.

Day 4 Saturday

On Saturday we tried to start the day off at the Rachel Ray showcase...one of the bands playing was Holy Fuck....but that wasn't the main reason for going. I think we were just curious to check it out. But as I anticipated, the line to get in was too long and not worth the wait. So we decided to see who was playing at Dana's friends' bar, Lovejoys. After being there for a short time, a band called Hoots & Hellmouth played. They were a progressive bluegrass pop type band.

The next stop was BD Riley's where a band that Dana wanted to check out was playing. (The Chavelles). They were like a pop type rock band. Not really my style, but they were OK.  After that we saw a band called Old Union at Nuno's. They're a band from Nashville...they're actually really good friends with Josh, who used to live in Reno. We dug them a lot. 

Old Union

After Old Union we walked up to Waterloo Park...which is a huge park where they host a showcase with multiple stages. There were a ton of bands playing, and I wanted to at least check it out. The music wasn't really our style though, and we were more interested in getting back to the Fader party again...which had a bunch of good hip hop acts. 

Waterloo Park

Waterloo Park

The first band that was playing that we saw at Fader was Called Santogold. After that Spankrock and then 2 live Crew. The first two bands were really cool and unique....2 live Crew was OK, but we only really stuck around for a minute..I think so we could say we did. 

Santogold

Spankrock

Next up was Ice Cube in the large outdoor park. The place was overwhelmingly huge and there must have been an noise ordinance because the sound was really low. So we could barely hear...after Ice Cube Kevin and Dana decided they needed to go home to take care of their dogs....so I stayed downtown and took advantage of the music. I went to a bar called Pangea for an electronic show. The artists I saw were Still Going and Holy Ghost...both of whom were excellent. Not too much later Dana and Kevin called from another bar so I left and caught back up with them. We eventually headed over to a friends bar for some more music. We saw a great progressive type improvisational Metal rock band called Tia Carrera. They were extremely talented and impressed me enough to pick up a disc. I actually got 2 discs for the price of one, so it was totally worth it. After last call the bar had to kick everyone out so they could open back up for late night music. They just weren't allowed to serve alcohol so they took the free beer they had been giving away to the alley. (shhh) It was kinda sketchy but added a fun element to the night. We met up with some very nice kids from Houston name West and Yolanda. I think it was both their first times at SXSW so they were just soaking it all in. They were really fun to talk to...glad we did. Unfortunately as I said before, my battery on my camera died, so I missed out on a ton of great photos...oh well. Heading home tomorrow afternoon and will post more soon. Enjoy the photos!



Day 3 & 4 pics

SXSW Day 3 & 4

Update coming soon....here's pics. My camera battery died so I missed out on getting shots of the later night stuff....

photos

SXSW Day 2 - March 13th, 2008

Day 2 of SXSW was just as much fun as the previous night. I got to see a bunch of bands that I didn't really expect to see....so that made it interesting. I ended up working most of the day so I didn't get downtown until around 4 p.m. or so. My first stop was the Convention Center where I met up with Dana at the artists showcase upstairs by the trade show. The Cool Kids were playing and Dana was checking them out so I stopped by. What a totally different show...I'm glad I caught the one that I did the previous day...because this set wasn't as great. The sound in the room was awful and the crowd had no energy. They did do a couple different songs though...and had a guest on stage with them that didn't play with them before. 

After that I went to the Fort where the Levi's Fader showcase was going on. They are a client of mine and we did all the passes and wristbands for it. Unfortunetely earlier in the day, the client emailed me because they had already gone thru 5,000 wristbands and needed more. It was too late in the day to make it happen, but we're printing some more for them today and will be delivered tomorrow. So between calling Jeff and texting my client, I was pretty wrapped up for the most part....but did make it out to the stage to catch some music. The theme was Lou Reed music, and they had several bands covering his songs. The bands were - What Laura Says, Thinks And Feels, Paper Route, Oh No! Oh My!, Ezra Furman & The Harpoons, Joseph Arthur, Dr. Dog, Mark Kozelek, Yo la Tengo, My Morning Jacket, Moby, Thurson Moore & The New Wave Bandits. I'm not sure who was playing when i first got there...but the 2nd artist I saw was Yo La Tengo.

Not too much later I caught up with Kevin and we drove over to another showcase at the Victory Grill. It was a cool New Orleans type themed bar/restaurant. Some of Kevin's friends were there and a local Austin band, Chickenstrut was playing. They were a Funky Meters type band....check out a video of their work:

After Chickenstrut, I headed back downtown over to Darwin's Pub for the Solution showcase. The bar was awesome and the place was packed. Solution blew the roof  off. I ended up filming the whole show with their video camera for them (tape will be circulating soon! I hope I did a good job)...so I did my best to take what pictures I could with MY camera...all the while trying to hold the video camera as still as I could...and fighting the urge not to dance my ass off. After the set, the crowd response was awesome. They handed out CD's and chatted up the folks. Here's some Solution vid:

Once we got their van loaded up and back to the hotel, I caught up with Dana once again at a bar called Volume for a hip hop showcase. I wasn't even gonna hit it up, but Dana was already there so I stopped in. Once again, I was stoked I did because I caught a great hip hop act outta California called Zion I. I saw them at the Treasure Island Music Festival the previous year, and they were great...so glad I got to see them again.

After Zion I we went to the Holy Fuck showcase at the Wave Rooftop. It was PACKED and we barely got far enough in to see the band. It wasn't really worth sticking around so we jetted off once again to a bar where Solution was hanging out at. It was pretty much the end of the night so we did last call and headed home shortly after. Once we got back, we annoyed Kevin for a bit...Dana tried eating ice cream in bed! Haha.....all in all it was an amazing evening. I was really stoked for the Solution boys...as their showcase was a total hit. Sorry for the poor writing...I'm trying to get this done so I can get back out there and see more music! So I raise my bloody mary to all my peeps out there that should be HERE. Which is all of you. Peace!

Here's a link to Day 2 photo gallery:

click here

SXSW Day 1 - March 12th, 2008

SXSW is off and running...day one was both amazing and exhausting. I spent the afternoon at a free showcase at the Peacock called Gorilla vs. Booze. They were running behind on the schedule, so by the time I got in there was plenty of time before Ghosthustler started. I like their music, but their live show leaves a bit to be desired. I was expecting a full band (drummer, bassist, etc.) but it was basically the lead singer and the keyboardist. Check out their song, Only Me to Trust, here.

Here's some video from the show:

After Ghosthustler, I stepped outside for a breather while the band Bodies of Water played. During their set I got back in line, but unfortunately not many people left after their set so they weren't letting more people in...so I had to listen to Holy Fuck from outside. Luckily I had just seen them in San Francisco in February so I knew what their stage presence was like so I wasn't TOO bummed...it was still cool to listen to their set, which I could hear loud and clear. After Holy Fuck wrapped up...the line moved quickly and I was back in the venue for the last act of the afternoon, the Cool Kids. I hadn't planned on staying for their set, but was glad I did because they put on an amazing show. Hip hop acts can be really good, or really bad live....so this set was above and beyond my expectations. The stage at the Peacock was tiny and was at the same level as the crowd, so the Cool Kids stood up on stools, so everyone could see them during their set.

After the Peacock show, I got a ride downtown and picked up my SXSW wristband and headed out for the night showcases. Everything that I wanted to see was kind of under the radar, so I had no problems getting in and out of different showcases. The first band I checked out was the Cansecos from Toronto at the Habana Calle patio. After that I rushed over to see the Spanish band, Delorean just down the road at Maggie Mae's rooftop. The view from the venue was worth it, itself (see photo at the top of this post)....and the set that Delorean put on was icing on the cake. 

After Delorean, I caught up with my friends from the band Solution...at the Smalltown Supersound showcase at the Thirsty Nickel. The showcase featured a few electronic acts, most notably Diskjokke and Lindstrom. After that we just kind of bar hopped and gave our livers quite the beating. I'm still struggling today...but will be back in action tonight. The boys from Solution are playing tonight at Darwin's Pub at 10:30 p.m. They got a great time slot at a bar right in the heart of everything...so we're hoping it goes well for them tonight!

Here's a link to my day 1 photos (gallery) You don't need to sign in....just click View Slideshow.

Thanks for reading!