A.V. Club Blog

After three days of bands, bands, bands, the last day of SXSW is usually a good time to hang out with people you haven’t had time to see and be a little more selective about which shows you attend, since you’re usually about four bad songs away from swearing off live music forever. However, this year the final day of the festival is packed with lots of bands that are either exciting or potentially exciting, so I decide to spend most of the afternoon and evening on my own, hoping to see a few things that will blow my mind.

Saturday, March 17

2:15pm: I forget it’s St. Patrick’s Day until I get down to Sixth Street and see the sea of green, and suddenly I’m quite happy with myself for unintentionally wearing green shoes. I also suddenly realize that tonight might get insane, since the locals will finally be sharing some of the same space with SXSWers as they hunt down green beer and trouble. Inside Emo’s, I’ve decided the hand stamps are more annoying than the bathrooms, since the restrooms aren’t in the process of ruining my shirt. It’s the Alternative Press party, so it’s all emo, all day; New Years Day is on the... read more

Most Austinites have a definite love/hate relationship with SXSW. Wednesday to Friday, it's invigorating to have your town be this nexus of cool, where exciting people from all over the world are gathered and there's something happening every hour of every day. By Saturday, you realize that SXSW is a lot like having one of your old college friends stay over: He's really fun to talk to, and you enjoy drinking with him and catching up, but by Saturday morning your house looks like shit, you haven't had a decent night's sleep in several days, you've spent three times as much money as you normally do, and really, it's time for him to get the fuck out already so you can finally get some peace and quiet. It's no wonder so many locals have been sporting those "Welcome To Austin, Remember To Leave" shirts.

I've hit most of the high points already, so I'm taking a more laissez-faire attitude towards the day shows today. As always, it's good to be flexible, especially when things like Mess With Texas are still ridiculously crowded. I guess it's just not in the cards. In fact, all of Red River is more crammed than it's been all week, and I guess everyone is milking this last day for...

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The final day of SXSW is a test of will, especially when it coincides with St. Patrick’s Day. The drinking holiday is a little redundant during SXSW time, because at the festival, every day is St. Patrick’s Day: The boozing starts early and goes late. The convergence of St. Pat’s and SXSW simply means Sixth Street is even more crowded, supplemented by people in various green outfits—two lamest shirts: “Fuck Me I’m Irish!” (homemade) and “Erin go braghless!”—arguing couples, and dudes looking to fight someone.

An Aside: Inane Sixth Street Bar Names:

Mooseknuckle Pub (apparently The Camel Toe was taken)

Chuggin’ Monkey

The Dizzy Rooster

Darwin’s (with “Survival Of The Fittest” on the sign—no creationists allowed?)

Cheers and Friends, two different bars whose logos use typefaces similar to the popular TV shows of the same name.

Anyway, by day four, when the crowds are starting to get to you, St. Patrick’s Day is another twist of the knife. But it’s still SXSW, and there’s always something going on that’s worth checking out. As the... read more

Friday, March 16

1:06pm: It's nice to put the SXSW badge to full use, and that's why I'm sitting inside convention center room 18. I'm also here because the panel titled "Comedy On The Music Circuit" features guys like David Cross, Zach Galifianakis, and Jon Wurster (Patton Oswalt was also supposed to be here, but his King Of Queens schedule has kept him out of Austin) talking about the phenomenon of "indie-rock comedy." Not too much new light is shed on the concept of bringing comedy to rock clubs and trying to make indie-rock kids laugh, but a few good chuckles are had as I gather the strength for another full day of music.

2:29pm: Sixth Street is already hopping, and every other person who walks by seems to either have a boom mic or a video camera. It's around San Jacinto that I get my first glimpse of Rose Pipette, who appears to be in a hurry with her bandmates. Just as Josh considers following Wayne Coyne wherever he's headed, I consider following Rose, but then we both think better of it and head to Stubb's to check out the Spin party. I don't know what time Mew is... read more

SATURDAY, MARCH 17

12:10pm: A sheriff’s department employee moonlighting as a cabbie tells me he’s happy not to be at his regular job during SXSW, because arrestees in the music biz all think they’re really important and deserve special treatment in the pokey. Self-important assholes? In the music industry? Say it ain’t so.

2:22pm: The Pipettes are more enjoyable close-up. They have different matching dresses today, and their backing band wears matching sweater-vests. Plus seven points.

3:06pm: My jury’s still out on their album, but it was cool to see The Good, The Bad & The Queen play a huge-ass day party, if only to see Paul Simonon in person. The former Clash bassist doesn’t look like he’s aged a day. Singer Damon Albarn looked natty in a top hat, too. Daylight doesn’t suit their dub—smoke and darkness would’ve been better.

3:59pm: Young Milwaukee rapper Juiceboxxx is a shirtless whirlwind. He shouts through electro “thunder jams,” while jumping around in the audience (which numbers in the teens). He scoots a disinterested patron off a barstool so he can use it to climb, then eventually... read more

2pm: I'm tired, yo. "Oh, poor Mr. Rock Journalist is exhausted from partying and now he has to go cover more free concerts all day." Exactly. Thanks for your sympathy.

2:15pm: That line at Red 7 for the Mess With Texas party is fucking ridiculous. Good thing I already saw Les Savy Fav and David Cross on Wednesday.

2:30pm: I scribble the following in my notebook: "Paul Scheer and Aziz Ansari just cut the line at the Pitchfork party!!!" Then I realize that they're probably performing inside. Paul Scheer looks like he's on his way to junior high. He has an unusually large backpack and a "sour puss," as my grandmother would say.

3:20pm: Menomena whips through some of the avant-pop tunes from Friend And Foe, one of my favorite records this year so far. The band looks a little worn out, and their voices are cracking. "Puberty is hard, especially when you're 30," the drummer says. Despite a great set, I spend most of the time worrying about the band's laptop, which is perched precariously on the edge of their keyboard and shudders with every bass note. I have a real anxiety problem about such...

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Friday at South By Southwest seemed to both slow down and speed up. There were numerous day parties happening simultaneously worth checking out—Pitchfork, Merge, Noise Pop, David Cross’ Mess With Texas—but the night’s performance line-up felt a lot less packed. I found myself arriving at showcases early and doing a lot of waiting around. And with boredom comes alcohol.

ZINGERS:

1:33pm: Clem Snide at the Bloodshot Records day party. Why have I had the impression that I didn’t like Eef Barzelay and company all this time? The group opens with an apparently new song, a bittersweet, endearing track about the travails of the musician’s life. I know the topic’s been done to death, but there’s always room for one more when it’s done well.

3pm: Zach Galifianakis takes the stage at the Noise Pop party, as he’s hosting the event. He introduces himself as Banjo Pussy Whistle, the president of Capitol Records, and announces there will be an award for Most Disinterested Hipster at the event. The best line arrives toward the end, when a photographer snaps a few pictures of him: “I’m as photogenic as Terri... read more

FRIDAY, MARCH 16

12:06pm: The line outside Red 7 for the first day of the David Cross-curated “Mess With Texas” party is HUGE. Andrew W.K. will kick off the day there with a motivational speech.

12:45pm: You’ve gotta try one panel at SXSW—they’re what make this thing more convention-ish! “Comedy On The Music Circuit” gathered some funny people to discuss a not-too-funny topic: stand-up performed at rock clubs instead of comedy clubs. Funny panelists made it worth a look, though: David Cross and Zach Galifianakis teased each other and moderator Bob Mehr; Jon Wurster talked about bits that didn’t work; Henry Owings of Chunklet magazine is always good… And it was revealed that Andrew Earles, one half of the crank call team behind a hilarious disc called Just Farr A Laugh had, along with his partner, signed to Matador. (Maybe that was a joke…) Key moment: Galifianakis took the little sign with his name on it, then wrote on the back in marker, “Buy my fucking DVD” and displayed that instead. Here’s another panel title: “Why Does Today’s Music Sound Like Shit?” Duh, I could answer that with three words: “Too many... read more

2:30pm: Throwing your own party means you automatically have some place to go (no matter how tired you are from seeing Les Savy Fav the night before). Unfortunately I've already missed Matt & Kim, but I catch Land Of Talk, who rips through their set with little chit-chat. There's some extra snarl in Elizabeth Powell's guitar today, but maybe that's just a mask for her insecurity. At one point she asks, "How many people here have even heard of us?" to a smattering of cheers. "That's like 80 people," she says. Hey, that's actually a pretty decent percentage for this room.

4:30pm: Never having gotten to see Mclusky, I'm excited to see Andy Falkous' new band, Future Of The Left. I'm even more excited when the distorted bass kicks in and the vein in Falkous' forehead starts throbbing. Within minutes I'm not pining for Mclusky anymore. I could listen to this stuff all day.

5pm: Despite the whole Comedians Of Comedy revolution, I still think it's a hard road to haul for "indie" comics who have to play to obnoxious rock club crowds. Leo Allen makes the mistake of starting a story with the words "Sixth Street" only to be interrupted by...

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Before I start talking about the second day of SXSW, I'd like to point out a few details about Wednesday night that I inadvertently left out yesterday due to being in a rush to get to The A.V. Club's day party. First off, the rumors are true that one of the women in Yo Majesty likes to take her top off; it says a lot about their show that by the time she got naked, it didn't really seem like that big of a deal. Also, it's worth mentioning that the band's best song of the night was "Kryptonite Pussy." A couple of other things: Though I had originally planned to stalk Rose from The Pipettes all weekend, I've decided to save the best for last and just see the band on Saturday; and by that time I'll also let everyone know what is more annoying about Emo's: the disgusting bathrooms (even the backstage one is gross!) or the huge, inky hand stamps that become face tattoos in the morning.

Thursday, March 15

1:05pm: She's one of the first artists to play the A.V. Club/Tag Team party at Emo's, but Kaki King has drawn a sizeable crowd in the inside room and she's transfixed everyone there with her beautifully layered,... read more