That's a Wrap

I've had a day to try to adjust to normal life again, and I have to say, I prefer the fantasy life of SXSW. I've been incredibly lazy today, allowing my feet and legs to recover from the insane amount of walking and standing.

Here's a brief round-up of my experience:

Best show by an old band I'd not heard of before SXSW: The Homosexuals
Best show by a new band I'd not heard of before SXSW: The Breakers
Best show by an old favorite: New York Dolls
Weirdest show I saw (in a good way): Tigercity - white dudes who look like they belong in an Anthrax tribute band doing pretty excellent disco soul (think 1979 Prince meets Duran Duran, complete with falsetto)
Shows I'm sad I missed: Ida Maria, Gordon Gano, DEVO, Ladyhawke, Titus Andronicus, Tinted Windows
Shows I'm sad I saw: Wild Light, Wavves, whatever that awful band before the Moaners was called
Best moment of SXSW: (tie) Meeting Melissa Swingle (and having a complete fanboy freakout, probably making her think I was just let of a halfway house) and Peter Murphy covering Joy Division's "Transmission"

Thanks for reading the blog. Sorry about all the typos, misspellings, and unfinished thoughts - I started leaving in the "Sent from my Iphone" signature so you'd know I was typing on that horrible virtual keyboard while standing in line or walking somewhere. (It proved to be a little difficult to do anything but watch bands and drink.)

I haven't even gone through all the CDs I brought home with me yet, but I'm already trying to figure out how to go back next year. Here's hoping...

Saturday

We spent most of the day at Mojo’s Mayhem at the Continental Club, though we couldn’t drag ourselves out of bed at 9:30 for the free jalapeño pancakes. The Continental is a fantastic lounge that looks like nothing has been touched since the sixties, and that includes housekeeping. There’s a lot of red velvet and curved booths against the wall. It served as the perfect backdrop for this punk/soul/ psychobilly show. And thankfully, there were chairs. By Saturday morning, neither of us could bear standing or walking any longer.

We caught a great Irish punk/rock band called Mighty Stef, who closed with a cover of “Dead Flowers,” saying, “I think we can all agree the Rolling Stones are badass mutherfuckers.”

Next up was Jon Dee Graham, whom I’d probably name as the best all- around entertainer we saw. He was funny and sad and performed some heartbreaking songs. At one point, Graham said, “I aim to entertain, and failing that, amuse. And failing that, I aim to make you really damned uncomfortable”; To varying degrees, I’d say he succeeded at all three.

Following a set of pretty bland rock by James McMurtry, Andre Williams took the stage in a bright red suit and shades, looking very much like the “black godfather” he professes to be. He had a large backing band whose job seemed to include praising Andre loudly during each break. Williams has always been keen on smutty novelty songs (“Jailbait”, “Pussycat”), but at some point later in his career, he ditched the small amount of subtlety he had in favor of all-out X-rated material. Though he can get away with it, mostly because of his age and goodwill, I wouldn’t say the change is positive. Still, Williams’ haunting growl on slow burners like “I Can Tell” is a marvelous thing to experience.

Dash Rip Rock delivered a solid set, though I have to admit I’m bored by their more straight ahead country rock songs. They played enough raucous psychobilly to make it worthwhile, though.

Mojo Nixon closed out the show. I have a lot of fondness for Mojo, but I wasn’t really in the mood for his extreme obnoxiousness, and after a long tirade about fucking the octo-mom while her kids watched, we went to dinner.

After dinner, I stopped in to check out Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, mostly because I love their label, Bloodshot. The first song was fun and energetic. The second song was fun and energetic and sounded exactly like the first. The third song was fun and energetic and...well, you see where this is going. By the fourth song, I decided to go check out the showcase of Japanese bands at Elysium.

I arrived just in time to see three songs by an impossibly adorable band called Stereo Pony. The impossibly adorable vocalist/guitarist had her between song statements written on a sheet of notebook paper so she could deliver them in English. And at the end of their set, she asked the audience to throw up their arms while the band posed for a photo on stage, prompting the man next to me to say, “That had to be the most adorable moment of SXSW.” The band was so impossibly adorable that even when the drummer threw her sticks (rather forcefully) into the unprepared crowd, we all cooed.

From there it was on to PJ Harvey and the rest of the evening I’ve already written about.

I’m now about to board a flight full of tired rockers and bid farewell to Austin.

Sent from my iPhone

Can't stand anymore

I stuck around for two songs of Wayne Kramer's set but left when he started bitching about file sharing. Not that I don't think artists have a right to bitch about people stealing their work, but I don't think it's appropriate to bitch at an audience who paid to see you. So, fuck off, Wayne Kramer, you old bastard.

Hit Japan Night again and was planning on catching Titus Andronicus, but I cannot physically stand anymore. Bourbon on the rocks in the hotel bar and to bed.

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Uh Oh

Wayne Kramer just pulled out an acoustic guitar and sat on a barstool.
Might be time to head back to Japan Night.

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Oh No Her.

PJ Harvey was probably the biggest disappointment of the week. Predominantly new songs that were very mellow and very dull live. Wish I’d gone to see Tinted Windows (weird super group with James Iha, Bun E. Carlos, Adam Schlesinger and Taylor Hanson) instead.

Decided not to brave the line for Silversun Pickups and am now waiting for Wayne Kramer to start.

Sent from my iPhone

Friday Night

I made in to see the Sonics last night. They put on a solid show, though it seemed to lack the raucousness of their recordings. A small complaint, I guess, given the band's age. And there was a large number of younger fans in attendance. It was nice to see the kids enjoying that brand of Little Richard-inspired rock.

From there, we headed off to Red 7 to catch the Dollyrots, the Girls, and the Cute Lepers. I like the Dollyrots, but their set seemed a little sloppy. I couldn't tell if it was a sound problem or a performance problem but something was lacking. The Girls were entertaining enough for me to buy a disc, and the Cute Lepers were
great. Very tight and choreographed.

Then I had to make the hardest decision of the week: Devo or the Dolls? I'd been leaning toward the Dolls all week, and that's where we went. As soon as they walked on stage, I knew I'd made the right choice. They ripped through several songs from the first album and a couple from One Day, as well as two new songs. The new material sounded pretty great and got me excited for the new Rundgren produced album. I don't know why they always ignore Too Much Too Soon live, though. It's one of my all-time favorite albums, and the Dolls seem to prefer it didn't exist.

The New York Dolls

The Sonics

Cocktail Slippers

The Breakers

Poor Planning

I'm thinking I should have gotten in line for the Sonics a little
sooner. Might have to find a plan B.

Sent from my iPhone

Damn You, Rabbit!

I "rocked the rabbit" a little too hard last night, taking full advantage of the free Jack Daniels at the Playboy party and am suffering my first full-fledged hangover in Austin. The rumored Jane's reunion actually happened after a seemingly endless set by some DJ I've never heard of (because I like watching musicians, not people who play other people's music on a turntable). The couple hours I spent in the old Safeway -- the strange locale for the party -- before Jane's was pretty intolerable (except for the free booze), but when Jane's hit the stage, they surpassed all, admittedly low, expectations, opening with "Three Days" and plowed through a series of rockers ("Whores," "Standing in the Shower Thinking," "Had a Dad," "Oceansize," "Ted Just Admit It," and many others). It was enough for me to nearly forgive Dave Navarro for being such a reality TV whore.

We got up early this morning to see Little Steven's presentation at the Convention Center. He was very funny and a little cantankerous, but I'm not sure if I agreed with his core message that the music industry sucks because musicians suck these days. He argued for more proficient, more produced, and more polished music as in the days of the old songwriting and production teams. It seems strange coming from a man who champions bands like the Ramones, Dead Boys and the Patti Smith Group. They were anything but polished and produced.

We then headed off to Antone's to spend the afternoon at the Underground Garage party, emceed by Little Steven. The Krayolas were good, but I was a little puzzled when they introduced their new single "Twelve Heads in a Bag," apparently inspired by a news report from Mexico City. Are you supposed to dance and cheer to songs about mass murder? Seems a little gloomy for single. We also caught the Cocktail Slippers (plagued by technical problems and a bad mix), The Bo-Keys with Roy Head, and The Breakers. And holy fuck do The Breakers put on a good show.

Heather went back to the room, and I went to catch a couple songs by Girl in a Coma at a proper venue. They started late, and the desire to eat made it a short visit.

We also caught a short set by Dressy Bessy. They were crammed into a tiny stage and not too happy with the sound guy, but they still managed to put on a great show. Adorable singer Tammy Ealom was wearing white hot pants and go-go boots, though, and made me feel like a total letch, as I found it difficult to avert my eyes.

I nearly caused an international incident by confusing the Australia Party with the New Zealand Party, which was too full to get into. Sad, as that was my last chance to catch Ladyhawke.

Off to stand in line for the Sonics...

Little Steven

Jane's Addiction Reunion = Awesome

Rock the Rabbit

Scored entry to the Playboy party. So far pretty lame, but the rumor
of a Jane's Addiction reunion, as well as free Gentleman Jack will
probably keep me here.

Sent from my iPhone

Peter Murphy Singing "Transmission" = Awesome

Homosexuals = Awesome

Rhapsody

We kicked off the day at the Rhapsody Party. We were given press
passes (nor sure why) but the VIP status meant no waiting in line plus
free booze and tacos.

The Vivian Girls were good, but after a few songs, they all started to
sound the same. I love their sound, though. When they're all singing
together, they have this ethereal Valkyrie death howl kind of thing
going on. And I mean that in a good way.

Wavves was not so good. I really don't understand all the hype around
that guy. It reminded me of being at a party where some dude says,
"Let me play you this song I wrote."

I saw School of the Seven Bells a few months ago at Barking Tuna, and
though I like their sound, they're a little boring live.

Glasvegas was fucking great. They have a very late-eighties sound and
remind me of The Mighty Lemondrops both in style and appearance. The
drummer plays standing up, Moe Tucker-style, and there's tons of echo,
giving them that booming Phil Spector sound.

Tonight it's off to Elysium to see Peter Murphy.

Sent from my iPhone

Vivian Girls at the Rhapsody Party

Grrrrr!

I have no idea why the pictures from my iPhone are not posting to the
blog site. Thankfully Jason's are going up.

On a side note: I'm faced with the decision to keep drinking beer and
risk the chance of being wrecked by 3:00, or do I play it safe? There
are quite a few good bands to see today (Peter Murphy is playing
tonight!), but tomorrow is the big day. I view today as being the
"whatever happens" day.

I think that I've made my decision.:)

- Heather

A reminder that I'm not THAT cool

So my head was getting a little inflated being a VIP, I'll admit it. That was until we accidentally found ourselves in the Greenroom for the Rhapsody show and were promptly thrown out.

Hey, the seats are still great and the drinks are free!

Heather

Foot Transplant

After spending several hours standing on concrete I am now in need of a foot transplant. In fact, let's just transplant the pair. I always felt they were a little too big anyway.

- Heather

Yes, that's Juliette Lewis and yes she is insane.

Wednesday

I decided late this afternoon that I couldn't pass up the chance to see the Moaners (they never tour the north), even if it meant I might miss the Circle Jerks. It was the right call; the Moaners were fantastic despite a sparse audience, and I was able to meet Melissa Swingle after their set.

I rushed down to Emo's just before the Circle Jerks were about to go on and thought I'd never make it in, as the line snaked down the block. But it moved fairly quickly, and I caught most of their set. Their cover of the Soft Boys' "I Wanna Destroy You" was a highlight for me.

Juliette Lewis' new band was sandwiched between the Circle Jerks and Echo and the Bunnymen, which made for an odd lineup. Juliette Lewis has a great voice (listen to her PJ Harvey covers in the movie Strange Days), but as a musician, she's always lacked solid material. Her original songs are alternately very generic and very corny. But I have to say, as a performer, she works it. Her stage persona is wild and tacky, bordering on camp(among her moves: some sort of frantic dog paddle over the crowd). I half expect her to announce she's researching her new role in the Janet Jopler biopic. Overall, she comes off as completely insane, and I'm incredibly happy I caught her set. Funniest moment of the night - Juliette: "We've got two more songs!" Random audience member: "You're kidding me!"

Emo's was packed by the time Echo and the Bunnymen went on at 1 AM, and the body heat was overwhelming. Nevertheless, Ian McCulloch hit the stage in a black hoodie and pea coat and wore them through the entire set. Lots of great songs ("The Cutter", "Lips Like Sugar", "Back of Love", "Seven Seas", "Rust" - abruptly stopped because Mac said it was "too sad") and lots of incomprehensible between song banter. I'm pretty sure this was the original lineup of the band - minus Pete de Freitas, of course. I'll have to look that up later.

Bonus: We shared an elevator with Justin Kirk (Andy Botwin from Weeds). There was an incredibly drunk woman who knew she recognized him, and the conversation went something like this:

Drunk woman: I know you! I fucking know you! Who are you? Did I fuck you?
Justin Kirk: Yes.
Drunk woman: I fucked you? How was it?
Justin Kirk: Bad. But good for you, though. I promise.

I don't even want to know what's on the bottom of my Chucks

I'll leave it to Jason to provide the details, but what an awesome day/night!

Echo and the Bunnymen at Emo's

Melissa Swingle and Me

The Moaners at Mother Egan's

All is Well

Just caught a glimpse of Melissa Swingle.

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Southern Rock is Dead

Or rather, it should die. I'm watching a terrible Black Crows knock-
off, waiting for the Moaners. The singer did the whole thing where the
vocalist tries to get the crowd to clap along. It worked out for him,
but it always seems like a terrible gamble to me.

Texas Chili Parlor

The second stop on our Death Proof dining tour.

So far...

Girl in a Coma = Awesome
Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs doing Americana-style country folk = More Awesome
M Ward = Pretty Awesome but goddamn the venue was hot
Wild Light = Not even a little bit awesome

Special note to Wild Light: It might be fun for the band to switch instruments every song, and you might think you're showing off your ability to play multiple instruments, but it's really fucking annoying to the audience. Or to me, anyway.

Girl in a Coma

We just saw Girl in a Coma (Blackheart records). I strongly encourage everyone to check out this band: http://www.blackheart.com/artists.php?artistId=3

Amazing!

Adventures in Breakfast

We eased our way into the day this morning after a pretty late night. Breakfast was immediately on my mind (I so love the local food applications for the iPhone), so we headed east through the not-so-glamourous part of downtown to seek out a place called "Cisco's."

This place looked like a hole-in-the-wall kind of joint, so we immediately felt right at home. Good eats, people. I don't know which I enjoyed more - the food or the atmosphere. I think we're going to head back for lunch at some point this week.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the cool little gallery to pick up a gift for Jason's Mom since they are watching the dogs this week. They had the most beautiful metal work by local artist, Susan Wallace there. Everyone should check it out: www.susanwallace.net. I would love to have one of her pieces in my front door.

- Heather

Get a Job

I was just called yuppie scum by a dirty hippie.

A Sign That You're Old

When you have to buy Dr. Scholl's inserts for your Chuck Taylors because they just don't offer good arch support.

Harlingen

Filler

The first day in Austin was pretty great. We got checked in at the Convention Center easily, although the "big bag," the SXSW swag bag that's given to all attendees was pretty disappointing, composed mostly of magazines and flyers. (There is a comp of Japanese bands I'm looking forward to checking out, though.)

We had a great dinner at Guerro's Taco Bar (featured in Deathproof, one of my favorite movies) and met a couple of people from the SXSW Baby boards at Lovejoy's. They turned out to be very cool, so we went with them down to Mother Egan's. Being St. Patrick's day, everything was packed, but we had a great time. Afterward, Heather and I went to Red 7 to catch Filler, a Minor Threat cover band. We were too late to see the Ramonahs, a cross-dressing Ramones tribute band, but Filler more than made up for it. We also witnessed a pretty brutal beat-down on the street outside Red 7, after some drunken punker allegedly punched a girl. Who knows what really happend, but we managed to stay above the fray and enjoy the show.

A Minor Threat cover band with members of Rise Against, the Riverboat
Gamblers, MXPX and the Gorilla Biscuits.

The Tangible Benefits of Alcoholism

Jason would like to thank Harvey's on the Mall for participating in
the American Airlines Dining Aadvantage program and making these first-
class accommodations possible. All I had to do was run up a $200
monthly bar tab.

Ugh. These 6:10 AM flights out of Kalamazoo suck. After a restless
night of, "Okay, if I fall asleep NOW, I'll still get three and a half
hours of sleep," we arrived just in time to board. We were supposed to
meet Nate for breakfast at O'Hare, but his flight from Detroit was
cancelled.

That's Right, Baby...I'm VIP

I just won a couple of VIP passes to the Rhapsody party at SXSW via a Twitter contest.  This is ultra-cool, as The Vivian Girls and Glasvegas were both on my short list of bands to see.  I'm not really sure what VIP status gets us yet.  It could just be that we're guaranteed entry.  Or maybe we get free booze.  Or maybe they'll clean the dried vomit off our shoes.  Who knows?  But it's cool to be a winner.

T-Minus Six Days

The music portion of SXSW officially kicks off next Wednesday, but Heather and I will be arriving in Austin on Tuesday, after spending a few days at my grandmother's place in Harlingen.

What I learned early on about SXSW, as soon as they started posting the schedules, in fact, is that there's almost always an opportunity cost for any decision you make. As I'm putting my schedule together, Wednesday and Friday are shaping up to be my most difficult days.

Wednesday night is the Van's showcase at Emo's, which will include Echo and the Bunnymen, Juliette and the New Romantiques, The Circle Jerks, and H.R. (from Bad Brains). By going to this show, I'll miss Roky Erikson, Ladyhawke, and The Moaners. I'm especially disappointed about the Moaners/Circle Jerks conflict, as I've been dying to see Melissa Swingle since I first bought Trailer Bride's High Seas eight years ago.

Friday is going to be pretty much impossible to get right. That's the Onion/AV Club party, the Bloodshot Records showcase, the Spin party, and the Underground Garage party. The evening is going to be even harder to plan. The DEVO, New York Dolls, Queers and Dinosaur Jr. shows conflict, as do the Cocktail Slippers and the Cute Lepers. And I haven't even mentioned the Krayolas, Silversun Pickups, Glasvegas or John Wesley Harding.

I know, it's a pretty nice problem to have, too many bands to see. Check out my tenative schedule below (complete with massive conflicts) or the full schedule by clicking on the top header in the table and let me know if you have suggestions.