DAY THREE, MARCH 17: NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER!
12 p.m.: Just because you can drink for free at noon doesn't mean you should.
12:29 p.m.: Two band guys sit in a sandwich shop discussing their singer: "I think the qualities that make him an asshole also make him a good lead singer," one says. The other counters that it's part of the "good guys, bad band" phenomenon: Nice people make shitty music, or so the theory goes.
1:56 p.m.: Reverend Dave Ciancio of The Syndicate (the company that manages screamo band Thursday, among others) snags what he says is his 42nd pair of sneakers at the Riot Act Media/Flameshovel Records showcase. He apparently has 41 pairs of Vans and, now, one pair of retro-looking Sauconys.
3:01 p.m.: The Go! Team is supposed be going on right now at the Spin party at Stubb's, but apparently they're already done. The Stills follow with a fairly boring performance, but We Are Scientists are convincing. Apparently Charlatans UK are still together, too.
3:40 p.m.: Back at the Flameshovel party, Headphones—the newish project of Pedro The Lion's David Bazan—battles a mic stand that won't stay up. He prefaces a song with a bit of history about how the Romans privatized their army just before the empire fell. "I pray America crumbles soon," he says. Umm…
4:20 p.m.: Legendary '90s punk band Lifetime, who broke up in '97 but reunited last year, begin their set at Emo's. (My Chemical Romance is the not-so-secret headliner.) The crowd erupts. Frontman Ari Katz says, "This is the most girls there's been at a Lifetime show ever." A guy with a visible bald spot stage dives. People run and jump off the stage continuously during the set, and the crowd itself jumps up and down, moshes, and generally freaks out. The group's members clearly didn't expect such an ecstatic reception, but they love it. Afterward, a kid exclaims, "That didn't just happen, did it? I can't believe that just happened!" Just how big of a deal was it that Lifetime played? After My Chemical Romance takes the stage (to much squealing from young girls), frontman Gerard Way says, "The greatest fucking honor of our lives is to play with Lifetime."
5 p.m.: RJD2 is playing DJ at the Pitchfork day party, which takes place in a tent. No one seems to notice that RJD2 is playing DJ, though, as it just sorta sounds like someone is playing records between bands. Which, come to think of it, is exactly what's happening. Art Brut closes out the tent party, and the British band is funny, sloppy, and weird. Singer Eddie Argos has a killer moustache. They blaze through 25 minutes, including a new version of the song "Emily Kane," in which Argos updates the story of his long-lost girlfriend. It's fucking charming.
7 p.m.: The big story of day two is a surprise appearance by the Beastie Boys, who open a show at Stubb's that also features Deadboy And The Elephantmen, Noisettes, The Fiery Furnaces, The Dresden Dolls, Gomez, and Nickel Creek. Word travels quickly late in the afternoon, and the teeming masses converge. A TV news van parks outside, a news helicopter circles overhead, and the staff tries to cope with a crowd intent on getting in. The Beasties take the stage to "Brass Monkey" of all things, and the crowd goes crazy. Enthusiasm makes it easy to forgive the B-Boys' obvious rustiness, and the trio keeps the goodwill going with a set full of hits, from "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" to "Body Movin." A guy exclaims, "Damn, they look motherfuckin' old!"
7:25 p.m.: A giant MySpace bus gets mobbed by kids on Fifth Street. They disappear inside of it as it pulls away, perhaps never to be seen or heard from again.
8:49 p.m.: Members of female trio The Like sign the autograph wall at Arirang sushi on Sixth Street. One member draws a big heart, then writes "The Like are cunts 4 eva" inside of it.
10 p.m.: Same hotel as We Are Scientists, same floor, different side, it's Eric Bachmann playing the No Depression night. He's not necessarily a fit for that crowd, but he is amazing, especially with the addition of some new songs and a violin player. The instrumental "Islero" is fiery. A solo album—how is that different than a Crooked Fingers album, you ask?—is due later this year, and the bits we hear are great.
10:15 p.m.: With all the available choices, Sukpatch at Latitude 30 turns out to be a bad call. The Minneapolis band apparently forgot that it used to make great, beats-y pop that was like a more drugged-out, less eager version of Beck. Now Sukpatch is just a run-of-the-mill indie-rock band. Sadly, Toto, we aren't in the mid-'90s anymore.
11:05 p.m.: It's time to leave civilization and make the trek east for the Fiery Furnaces show at Red's Scoot Inn. Though there's a line to get into this unsanctioned event, a hill behind the venue is just high enough to allow for a perfect view of the stage. There's no denying that the Friedbergers are rocking the place with all their might, but once it becomes clear that they're not going to start throwing punches at each other, it's easy to stop paying attention.
11:15 p.m.: Clem Snide's Eef Barzelay plays solo, battling against bad sound, another band playing outside, and even—oh the inhumanity—a sound system right behind him that won't stop playing hip-hop. He plays an angry set, which is still pretty damn impressive. But ideal conditions these are not.
12:07 a.m.: Binky Griptite, guitarist and emcee for The Dap-Kings (blues maven Sharon Jones'), warms up the crowd before Jones makes an appearance. He tells the bartenders to turn off the TV over the bar: "There's only one show going on here tonight."
12:20 a.m.: You haven't been to Austin in March until you've been nearly bowled over on the sidewalk by Juliette Lewis. Slow down, rocker!
12:40 a.m.: Text message from Kyle: "Make the blues music stop." Note that he still wants music, just not blues. Good for you, Kyle!
1:27 a.m.: Neko Case laments her choice of pants. "I have a bit of a camel toe going on," she says, laughing, and requests that people don't take photos of it. Everyone cheers, particularly the dudes. Her backup singers, Kelly Hogan and Rachel Flotard, laugh before Flotard says, "Really? We have a moose's paw over here. It's clams' night out, if you know what I mean." The crowd roars. After Case plays "Dirty Knife," a track from her excellent new Fox Confessor Brings The Flood, a woman in the crowd says, "She's blowing my mind! I'm going to buy all her albums tomorrow!"
2:05 a.m.: St. Patrick's Day ends with Snow Patrol at Stubb's, and the dramatic pop is a bit underwhelming. Maybe it's all that Shiner talking, but suddenly everything starts to sound like The Goo Goo Dolls. It's time to get some sleep.
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