Last weekend was SXSW. In years past I have done a daily blog. This time around, I guess maybe b/c I was focused on other things, I couldn't keep up. And now, a week past the event, I'm going to keep it simple and just list the bands that I saw. Notice that I could not have seen all these bands if in fact, I had fallen asleep at 10 every night as my "friend" likes to think. One night, people. One night. I fell asleep at 10. I think I was roofied.
Wednesday
Ruby Isle: No.
Modern Skirts: A great way to kick off SXSW
Giant Cloud: What a jam band should sound like.
Book of Black Earth: Just kidding.
Warpaint: Huh?! A girl band? From LA? Yes, kids, yes. Now sit down and prepare to have all of your pre-conceived stereotypes annihilated.
The Morning Benders: If Lennon and Ono had children and those children didn't look like Sean Lennon, they'd look and sound like these brothers. They rocked.
Thursday
The Veils: Hearts, man, I see hearts. Too bad they're junkies.
Holly Miranda: Unh uh.
The xx: Sigh. I really wanted them to just kill it. It didn't happen. Maybe a few more years playing together will bring some depth.
Friday
Jukebox the Ghost: I think this was the name of the band with the booty-poppin' lead singer. Mesmerizing.
I could have sworn I saw more than one on Friday. At any rate, Friday night we drove to Waco to get 1/2 way to Ft. Worth for a funeral on Saturday. This sounds really odd, but I felt so blessed to have been in Austin so I could attend. (RIP, Pete Durham.)
Saturday
I have never had such a solid Saturday at SX as this one. I just kinda got lucky. (Not in that way.)
Matt Pond PA: Hot.
Total Abuse: The name says it all.
KIT: Eh.
Best Coast: I liked.
Real Estate: Oh, Real Estate. I missed you in Brooklyn the weekend before. Now I know exactly what I missed. You delivered. Somehow even you make Blind Melon sound good.
Home Video: So. Much. Fun. Especially the impromptu dance party.
And, last but not least... HOLE: Jesus, I didn't expect to like Courtney Love. She won me over by opening with Big Star's "13." (RIP, Alex Chilton.) In case I'd forgotten what a rock star was, she reminded me. Well done.
And, to close, my flight was supposed to leave at 7 a.m. but it was cancelled. Something about the weather in Dallas. (Yes, it was snowing in Ft. Worth last Saturday.) The only way I could get back to LA before Tuesday since all the flights were booked was to fly out of Dallas that night. Which meant renting a car and hauling ass. The good news is that I got a yoga class in and saw my friends and their kids.
Until next time, Austin.
SXSW
Less than a month /
- Plane ticket: check
- Wristband: check
- Giddy, child-like excitement: check
SXSW, y'all! It's less than a month away. This is my very favorite time of year. I spend the preceding weeks listening to music ad nauseam and cleansing, kind of, since the Wednesday - Sunday a.m. stretch can be a toxic blur. (In the best possible way.)
So far, I'm excited that The Generationals are playing a day show on Thursday at Home Slice. And, I'm crossing my fingers that The XX are playing either a day show or after-party (and that I can get in to that) since I have a No La Zona Rosa policy and that's where they're currently scheduled to play on Friday night.
Awesome like a kitten!
***
This week for my weekly creative date (as part of the Artist's Way) I made homemade vanilla extract. It's super easy, except that you have to have a lot of patience. Like, two months worth. Here's how it goes.
Step 1. Gather ingredients:
Step 1. Gather ingredients:
- 1 vanilla bean (I love this store The Spice Station in Silverlake)
- 2 oz. vodka (use a decent vodka)
- Glass container
Step 2. Slice the vanilla bean in half, then cut into 1/2" pieces. Place them into the container. Add vodka. Take a shot for yourself. (Just kidding.) Seal. Let it sit for one - two months, shaking occasionally.
Step 3. Add a label 'cause it's fun.
I added a little homemade label using a random sticker I found around the house and an old business card.
The other side. /
SXSW is over. I’m on my way back to LA, back to conference calls, guitar lessons, and laundry. I’m tired. Below is a list of the rest of the shows I went to.
On Friday afternoon I headed to Fader Fort to meet up with Havis and Lance. If you’re not from Austin, nor a frequenter of SX, then you may not know that it’s really common to get free beer at the day shows. Fader continued the tradition but with Anheiser-Busch as a co-sponsor, instead of getting Shiner we got a choice between Budweiser or Budweiser’s new test-market product: American Ale, which did NOT pass this User Acceptance test case. I guess I shouldn’t look a beerhorse in the mouth.
I got there for Solid Gold, whom I liked about ten to twelve carats worth. They do have a sassy little number called “Get Over It” that I’ll download when I get back. (Btw, Havis made the observation – and I tend to agree – that it takes more energy to write bitter break-up songs than it does to just, umm, move on.) Next we watched a band from Brooklyn that I really liked – some kids called The Pains of Having a Pure Heart. By the time they finished their set, Dre showed up. We christened the first song from We Have Band with shots of Southern Comfort, which sounded like a good idea until I found myself walking three miles in 85 degree heat because driving was no longer an option. Anyway…
At night I went Cedar Street to see Pete and the Pirates (so good) and Beach House (tied for my favorite of the festival). Then I headed over to Buffalo Billiards where I caught the end of As Tall As Lions. The lead singer invited everyone up on stage for the last song to “sing along if you feel like it.” I mean, it’s his show and all, so I guess he has that right, but here’s what I want to say to the people who took him up on it: no one, besides you and maybe your mother, wants to hear you sing OVER the musicians. Fittingly, the next band was called Funeral Party. Dre and Christine met me and we hung out for a while until the songs all started to sound the same. We ended the night at Beauty Bar Backstage to watch Shout Out Out Out Outs. I’ve seen this Canadian gem on YouTube before and was like “eh.” But they killed it. Ohmygosh, their set was so much fun – a ton of energy; the whole crowd was dancing. They may not be one of those bands that translate on an iPod, so fair warning.
Btw, there’s a new late-night pizza place in town called Hoboken which I now like better than Stoney’s. I’ll say nothing of the name. (Ahem, Brian.)
On Saturday I spent much of the morning getting ready to co-host April’s shower, which transitioned into attending the shower and introducing a game to everyone that went over like pork at Hannukah. The game required everyone to list a fact about themselves that no one else knew and then you had to match the secret with the person. I found it online and it *sounded* like a great idea at the time but then it totally crashed-and-burned because a) not everyone knew each other and b) people made up dumb facts. I guess it was a better choice than my second idea of bobbing for knives. Anyway, I haven’t seen April since she was around 3 ½ months pregnant and she looked awesome. All belly.
After the shower I headed back to the convention center to catch Echo and The Bunnymen. Seriously cool. From there we went to watch some basketball (boo Texas, boo) and then off to the Parish for Merge/Barsuk night. Telekinesis kicked it off. They’re a band from Seattle where the drummer is also the lead singer. Holy shit. I can barely get two limbs going at the same time, let alone four, and vocals on top of that. We headed to Club deVille thinking that we’d need to get there early for Violens who came on at ten. Instead, The Warlocks were playing and after they were finished, the crowd cleared. I was really looking forward to Violens. They didn’t disappoint, but it was a different show than I had imagined from listening to their music online. I ended the night back at the Parish to catch The Rosebuds and Ra Ra Riot. I saw the Rosebuds a few years earlier at the same venue, but at the previous show their bass player dogged out and the sound was really lopsided. This time, they had a bass player and had since replaced Quirky Girl with Hot Girl, but I still would rather listen to them on an album if at all. By the time Ra Ra Riots came on, I was over the whole thing. I ended the night wishing I would have gone to watch Kanye instead (because Kanye is sooo indie).
So that’s it – all the shows I saw this week. I missed two bands that I wanted to see, so I’ll have to catch them when they come to LA. (The Wrens and Modern Skirts.) The upside is that I got to spend today at brunch with my friends and visit another friend’s new home, then dinner with other friends.
Bonus SWSX Observations Track:
1. This year, instead of a regular wristband, I was given a green artist's wristband. I've decided that this is the coolest distinction you can have. It way trumps badges. Dre asked me how I got one. "You're not an artist," she said. "Oh, but I am," I answered.
2. It’s WAY over-sponsored. I read in The Statemsen this morning that SXSW is the second most-promoted event in the US behind NASCAR. Really?
3. Third Eye Blind should not be anywhere near SX.
4. Free beer, including sucky beer, is still a good idea.
5. I no longer care about getting to a great after-party. I consider this a sign of growth.
6. Any time at SXSW, even if abbreviated, is rad. (Unless it’s Sunday. Then it’s not rad, it’s just over.)
P.S. Here's me at my guitar lesson. Like how I'm sitting down to play the electric?
sxsw vol. 9, day 4 /
I must admit: I'm tired. I couldn't force down another slice of pizza if it was covered in honey peanut butter, and alcohol sounds about as appealing as drinking grease. Hav just asked me if I want Nueva Onda - my old breakfast taco place- but I'm so carb'ed out I can't stomach it.
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Erin K., if you happen to be reading, I wish you were here. Which is strange because we've never really hung out (unless you count yoga and running into each other at Emo's), and you seem more the sort that more prefers the less hyped scenes, but you've been on my mind, so there you go.
***
Today: Jovita's for the Redwalls at 1 p.m. then I hope to catch Devotchka at 3 or so.
***
Redwalls were solid. A couple of weeks ago I had tickets to see them in LA but I bailed, so redemption is lovely.
At Devotchka. It's packed and unless you're up really close, (which I am no longer), the sound sucks. I've heard enough now though to know that I want to give them a proper listen so it's not a loss. Also I just met the guy who pitched Carrie Brownstein's blog and a really cool girl from NY that we spent five minutes trying to figure out how we know each other (we don't).
We're here at Atlantic Records party to see The Virgins but they're not on till 7. Per Alo: finally, pay dirt - free beer. We listened to some girl (sorry) and now we're at Darwins for that drink I swore off of earlier.
***
Tried to rally to see my cousin's band (Mellowdrone) at Waterloo Park, but we gots no game. We got sidetracked and ended up at Serranos for dinner instead. Plus we might've missed them anyway.
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First show tonight: M Ward at the Episcopal church (solo - no 'she' of She & Him). Badges only. Mothersratcher. Total bullshit. Seriously I'm pissed b/c there went my 10pm too (Jim James from My Morning Jacket). We saddled over to Parish to meet Lance, April, and Lori.
Tift Merritt is first up and she's not even getting a fair shot 'cause I'm still smarting from the M Ward high hat.
On to Esthers Follies (yep - a sxsw venue) to see Edison Glass. The Beatles are on the PA.
Turns out, that was the highlight of the show.
***
Sonlux now. Electonica/ Experimental change of pace. I'm not smart enough to figure it out.
***
Back at Parish for Jason Collett (from Broken Social Scene - or, the most incestous band in the universe). I saw him yesterday at Mohawk indoor and from the 5 minutes I heard I wanted some more. I think a Hasidic is playing tambourine. I wonder if he's spent any time around La Brea & Beverly. Dude would feel right at home.
Hannah came and met me! We just caught up (but too short). I had to leave to go say hi to Mark and that's okay b/c now I'm checking out something else - The Autumns. They're on before British Sea Power which was so good yesterday I'm considering a second helping.
Okay I am indeed staying here. Just finished with The Autumn who are kinda like a heavier Coldplay. Dudes rocked out at the end. And now I'm going w/ a sure thing rather than try another experiment b/c I wanna end it on a high note.
...And it paid off.
***
It's 4 a.m.and we're at Magnolia, having just polished off mag mud, pancakes, and tacos. I'm full, happy, and really sleepy.
This has been one of my favorite sxsw's. I saw a ton of music, and some particularly memorable shows. That said, I'm ready to get back to my healthy eating and yoga. I have a whole bunch of music to buy and I'm looking forward to The Cribs next month.
Until next SXSW... I'm out.
sxsw vol 9, day 1 /
Hi. I thought I'd blog my way thru sxsw this year b/c NOW I get why blogging and music go together like chocolate wafers and vanilla cream filling. At this moment I'm on the plane from Dallas. I'm oddly happy to be in Texas. The flight is chock full o' skinny jeans and long bangs. Here are my new converse cause yeah, I'm tat girl. More later. P.s. Blogging on phone blows bc my 'h' key sticks.
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I'm here in line to get my wristband. The computers are down so it's 100 people long. I'm having fun though - like when I pretend I'm at Emo's w/ a beer in my hand.
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And now I actually am. Havis, me, Lo, Lance n Alo. Just saw longwave. Now we're about to see Delta Spirit. I forgot my earplugs. There's been a no smoking ordinance in Austin for almost 2 yrs but you wouldn't know it. More importantly, you'll be happy to know that Alo and I are reprising DBT for the event. If for no other reason than we need a centralized location to air our err,share our picks.
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Just got out of the Delorean show at Maggie Mae's. They rocked. After two hits of deep alterna I needs me some fast beats. I talked to the lead singer and the drummer. Damn them - no day shows going to MX tomorrow. On to Autolux...
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I'm standing in line outside Buffalo Billiards - a place I've seen many great sxsw shows (Natural History, Soundteam) - to see Duke Spirit. This is the part about this event that sucks it. You wait forever to a hyped show, hoping to get in and then if you don't you move on to 2nd or 3rd choices. In years past cool doormen would always go like 3:1 badge:wristbands but apparently all the decent ones have retired. No secret - I've bashed the badgies forever (not you, Lo- never you) and this year I'm inclined to do the same. I hate you punk ass badgies who are like "Oh who's this band? Never heard of 'em but let's go!" Am I bitter much? Yeah...It's 1 a.m. now so if not Duke Spirit then home. P.S. Autolux not my bag. I shoulda figured but thought maybe live would be different.
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I'm in. And there's a ton of space. I waited in line forever - they're late coming on - and the doormen made such a big deal about no wristbands. I get up here and I can walk straight to the front. Wtf, mate? I can't believe I'm actually complaining about getting in. Yay they just finished the last of the three songs I'd hoped to hear. There's 10 mins left in their set but I'd say that's a night.