[hut's. commence drooling.]

After an utterly delish hamburger at Hut’s, R and I went across the street to Momo’s for the Chicago Pop Renaissance party. The outdoor deck was my favorite things as it provided me two things you really need during SXSW: A) a comfy place to sit and B) and excellent view of the stage. Oh, and free water. It’s so hot down here that you need fluid pretty much all the time.

Head of Femur, as much as I like them, had moments where their songs sounded like the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, no thanks to all those horns. I even glanced around to room to see if there was a lot of plaid and any skanking going on. Luckily, there was not.

Manishevitz, a band I’ve heard much about but have never had the chance to sit down and actually listen to their records, impressed me the most out of this showcase. Their songs bounced back in between sounding like the Cars and the Fall accented by flute and saxophone, yet it didn’t seem like they were going for an obvious post-punk/new wave frame of reference.

What was most impressive though, was when they changed hats [figuratively, of course] to become Edith Frost’s backing band. I’ve seen her perform before, so I’m pretty aware that her songs become quite stripped down in a live setting. I honestly don’t think there’s any way she can replicate what happens on her records [especially Telescopic, which is like My Bloody Valentine taking an al-country turn] but that’s what I find so interesting about seeing a band versus merely hearing their record. [and of course, that’s what I find irritating about people who only choose to do one or the other – I mean, why bother? In order to understand any work of art fully, seeing it in all its contexts is necessary. But I digress.] Most of the material, save for 2 songs, was new and sounded quite good. And by good I mean, utterly depressing yet having the unique ability to be seething with rage and bitterness without all trappings of cliché angry girl rock. Edith’s unique knack for straightforwardness [yet, without naming names] is what sets her apart from the usual boozy, often whiny alt-country set. At the end of her set, the sky broke open with a Texas-sized thunderstorm, the kind that puts the fear of god in you. You never experience these kinds of storms on the east coast and after you see lightning in six different parts of the sky in Texas, everything else pales in comparison.

My friends and I took this as our cue to stay in for a bit at the hotel. Luckily the weather subsided and it became perfect all over again for the evening showcases.

Timonium (8pm, Blender Bar) rocked the “quiet is the new loud” thing but attacked the genre aggressively, like the way a bully beats up on a nerdy kid in grade school. The drummer hit so hard on his kit I was convinced it would break during their songs and when it didn’t, it honestly shocked the fuck out of me. The guitar was droney and blended nicely with the mellotron which was being used in place of a bass guitar.

As soon as it was done, I ran over to see Doug Gillard (9pm, Friends) perform. I’m so happy to see Doug as a solo performer instead of being Bob Pollard’s tunesmith. He’s got such a knack for power pop that was always buried underneath GBV’s incessant desire for anthemicism. Aside from a technical glitch with guitar pedals, it couldn’t have been better. With some extra time to spare, the band played “I Am A Tree” that was loose and wondorous and really, the best version I’ve ever heard of it, mainly because you-know-who wasn’t trying to turn it into yet another teenage symphony for the porcelain gods.

I ran back to Blender Bar to see Stars and I encountered my first line of the festival. Thankfully, it moved quickly. I should note that this was the only line I encountered during the festival. Then again, I didn’t try to get into the overly hyped bands [m.i.a., bloc party, etc etc] so it wasn’t a big deal. The band combined the livewire energy of broken social scene with the drunken demeanor of the pogues in the body of a solid indie pop band. Great!

After that was Austin’s I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness, a band name that probably best describes my romantic life. Enough about me, though – I had heard Britt Daniel of Spoon had produced their record, so I was curious. It was really going for the whole echoey joy division thing sent through an Interpol filter. They were good to watch but I couldn’t help but think they were Interpol-lite.

Topping off the final night of showcases were the American Analog Set, who really summed up the whole experience for me and in a lot of ways, epitomized the spirit of this festival in that they were unsigned, local, gracious and most importantly, supportive. The songs slipped out of their instruments and lips and glided over the audience and wrapped the rundown blender bar in silk. Like the last few moments spent with a hot summer fling, the audience fell silent to soak everything in before we knew it would all be gone.

friday’s already a blur but if i recall, my first stop of the day was at the spin magazine party at stubb’s. the weather was splendid, which is why they threw a band like louis XIV on the stage. clearly the big blue perfect texas sky needed a dark cloud of suck. bands like this make me ashamed to admit that i am a fan of post-punk. at this point were only sticking around because we ran into our friend amy s. and the garnier fructisse tent was holding a raffle for prizes. oh, and i was kinda hoping i’d run into ultragrrrl.

we freed ourselves somehow, and went next door to red eyed fly to another party and checked out the apostle of hustle, another broken social scene related band. not too bad, but i wasnt there long enough to really make any sort of real judgement.

i found myself over at the levi’s / fader tent and caught the whigs, who hail from athens. i really liked these guys, who smartly traversed 60’s pop and indie rock terrain, kind of similar to the elephant 6 collective.

after some short stops at other parties to boring/short/etc to mention, i finally found myself over at the merge / KEXP / barsuk party at pok-e-jo’s bbq. tucked away from the downtown area, this party was pretty much the best thing ever. it was crowded without feeling like a mob scene — tons of folks splayed out on the ground or on picnic tables, listening to the music and drinking complimentary red stripe or sweet tea. [to clarify: the tea was not free.]

the radar brothers win my personal “most improved from sxsw 2004″ award. well, to be honest, i was too tired last year to appreciate them, but this year their graceful tunes perfectly complimented austin’s golden hours. maybe it was that i played kickball with the band at mergefest… i missed matthew caws of nada surf due to waiting in line for some sweet sweet BBQ. i think i spied ex-archer of loaf member matt gentling in line! [turned out to be right – matt played with crooked fingers earlier in the day]

in what was quite possibly one of the best performances of the festival m. ward played last to a hushed crowd, hanging on every note played. it was so fucking good, i cant even describe it to you. just had to be there. even if you’ve seen him play before, its never the same thing twice. m ward always throws me for a loop, in the best way possible.

after recharging my batteries at the hotel for a bit, i set out to see the double (parish, 8pm) at the matador showcase. i used to work with a member of this band, so i was super psyched to finally check them out. turns out they’re like interpol that discovered new weird america. make of this what you will.

i left there to check out zykos (blender bar, 9pm). i had seen them once before in philadelphia and really loved their strange, discreet takes on new wave. they didnt disappoint this time around either, this show being more energetic than the previous.

from there i wound up at the touch & go / jade tree showcase to see supersystem (red eyed fly, 11 pm). im loving their twist towards the mutant disco sound [i covered their new 12" in the march issue of xlr8r magazine]. apparently, other people liked them enough to scale the walls of the club and unsuccessfully sneak in. i would have danced were it not for the oddly shaped floor of the club, which not only was made out of fieldstone, it was curved. one false move and i probably would have re-sprained my ankle, which was killing me by this point in the night.

i spent the rest of the night by the rockpile table, chatting it up with some friends with occaisional glances of enon [who are like, a philly band now – how weirdly awesome is that?] & pedro the lion, both who put on pleasing performances. there were plenty of late night parties, but i partook in none. sometimes, sleep is much better.

[jason faulkner with doug gillard @ emo's]

philadelphia’s jai alai savant (emo’s annex, 8 pm) were the first band of the night but i only caught one song.

i made a quick dash over to the velvet spade to check out edie sedgwick, whom we’re doing a show for next month. edie is justin of supersystem in drag, ranting about celebrities. its pretty awesome.

up next were the nein, an excellent post-punk band from NC. lots of new material at this show which i was unfamiliar with, but it sounded great.

i tried to get into the merge showcase to see spoon but the line was around the block. it was so packed that even those with badges couldnt get in. so i wound up at the GBV hoot nite (emos, 11 - 2 am). hoot nites are an austin tradition, the guided by voices one falling on the night before the showcases. its usually the de facto sxsw warm-up party but it was moved to during the festival for its final time. essentially, a bunch of bands gather to perform works of a selected theme or band, each getting 10 minutes to perform. its really crazy and random and a lot of the songs are bad but its still really really fun.

the best performances: carrie clark [of the pretty please, singing along to a playskool tape recorder], robbers on high street, jon auer [yes, he did "gold star for robot boy"], jason faulkner [with doug gillard on bass! JF is also like, sooooo cute], sally crewe & the sudden moves [not only is she awesome, we share the same brain apparently because she covered "game of pricks"], calexico [full band doing "non-absorbing"! ben, apologies if you got a call super late, you just had to hear it], swearing @ motorists and of course, wonderful fivehead [who put this thing on].

the bad ones were pretty forgettable but the ones that stuck out the most were: robert pollard, whoever backed up robert pollard, bloom and the band that forgot the words to “shocker in gloomtown”. i shouldnt criticize those who cant remember gbv lyrics because it is a proven fact that i can never remember them either.

doug gillard closed out the night with “larger massachussetts” and then told the audience to go fuck off. yay!

also entertaining: watching robert pollard hug stephen malkmus and malkmus recoiled in horror. OK, it was like, the best moment of the night. he was also being accosted by every corny indie rocker who wanted to tell him how much they love pavement.

on a personal note, it was nice running into a lot of old friends from the postal-blowfish mailing list.

R and i are early risers, so we took the opportunity to walk on down to whole foods and pick up some food to last us through the trip. i mean, we’ve got a kitchen, why not use it? also, while its very nice to eat out all the time, those dollars start growing wings and fly right out of your wallet.

after shopping, we headed down to south congress and checked out a few stores. [including yes, parts & labour. again.] then it was off to the church of the friendly ghost for the arthur magazine party. i guess the closest approximation for this space is C.O.D.E. space in philly. its 100% awesome. check out their wishlist. yeah, plain parade wishes for a crazy old person with money too.

pyschic ills started the party and i really liked them. very space rock… but i have to ask — why does like, every noise dude have to own a camouflage / tiger striped shirt and a scarf, which they wrap around their head?

the personal high point was jennifer gentle. i had really expected them to play a lot of the wonkier songs on valende but they went from playing their more pop-oriented stuff to full on drone by the end of their set.

i totally forgot that austin is located in the hill country and that the trees are out in full effect. without any allergy medication in sight, i sat there on the couch, incapacitated.
i wanted to stay longer for dead meadow but between my allergies [whoa, and their set being pushed back, R, R and i hightailed it back into town.

[my hotel. i wish!]

after settling into our hotel, my roomates and i head out to the showcases.

if i had to pick the most disappointing showcase of sxsw 2005, that special award would go to the watchers (Parish, 9:00 pm). despite loving their record, they had the worst stage presence, thanks to their singer. see, im all for that category of performers that fall under “antic rock” but there are some people who do it, and get it all wrong. this dude happened to be one of them – his moves just screamed hey look at me! im jumping into the audience and messing with you! you’re gonna think really deep thoughts about the third wall of performance now! oooh! plus, he had a move that looked like the funky chicken. im sorry, the funcky chicken will never be cool.

i was a little bit worried about the quality of the rest of the evening showcases, if that’s how things started out. all it took were two little girls to make things right in my world again. despite looking terrified, the members of smoosh (Maggie Mae’s, 10 pm) rocked as hard as two ten year olds could. i ran into my good friend amy phillips there and took a couple photographs that wound up here. i couldnt decide which was more disturbing – the group of creepy old dudes in the audience or the fact that smoosh were dead ringers for hanson. also hilarious: the club played r. kelly during their set-up. i hope this was intentional. please let it be intentional.

after that, i caught eugene mirman’s act (Emo’s, 11 pm). it was funny but you know, i have to wonder what the appeal of indie rock comedians are. is it like, they gave a microphone to that drunk guy at the bar? or is it that funny? perhaps i lack a funny bone. well, it wouldnt be the first time someone accused me of such a thing.

in the opposite end of the space, the thermals were performing. they sound like it on a note by note basis, but the thermals are the second coming of superchunk. [yes, im fully aware superchunk are a functioning band.] they’re thorny, mildly irritating and jump around on the stage as spazzy as their music. kathy foster is also doing a really good laura ballance imitation. after their set, i turned around, just to see how large the audience was and sleater-kinney were standing right behind me. normally id be shocked at this, but its sxsw and the city turns into an indie rocker’s wet dream, so you have to kind of get over these moments of being star struck.

i ran into a couple friends at the show and spent some time wandering the streets, figuring out what to do. aside from the sub pop showcase, billy idol was performing but the line was too long. at some point i hightailed it to see fivehead (Co-op, 1 am). i dont know if it was the waitress that was serving shots out of test tubes or the sharp pain in my ankle [i sprained it 2 weeks back], but i couldnt stick around long and headed home.

overall, not a bad day. the first night of sxsw is kind of dull, as people are still getting into town and dealing with jet leg. things would pick up on thursday.

thanks to a last minute change in flights, im here in austin much earlier than expected and greeted with windy 30-degree weather. instead of escaping the lousy weather of the east coast, it followed me here.

i was spending the night at my friends house and after settling in, i hightailed it directly to parts & labour, this incredibly awesome store on south congress that sells only locally made clothing and other goodies. you may have seen me wear the “mudflap” tee courtesy of all dressed up and shy before. its pretty much my favorite thing, like, ever.

like any good tourist, also ogled the cowboy boots at allen’s but seriously how can you not? their boots are divine examples of leatherwork – much finer than anything kara saun could muster. if i had 600$ to blow i would have picked up the ones that looked like a gram parsons suit.

the key to tuesday night was to remain laid back, as the next week would be all heat whirlwind and flash. so i stayed in and watched camp with my friends wife and snuggled with their pets. i am not exactly a film buff, but camp was definately one of the worst things i’ve ever watched. at least there were plenty of things to laugh at in the film.

afterwards, the friend i was staying with and i went to the parish to check out drums & tuba for a bit. they were quite good and had lots of jam band / reformed raver types in the audience. we had other plans to hit up a show at the co-op but with the chilly weather, we wussed out and headed home. best to save our energy for insanity to follow!

its the last day of sxsw, and im feeling a little sad about having to head back east.

1:00 - 9:30PM - Tillery Street Theater
Porchlight Pop Fest [sponsored by noisepop]
after some fumbling about downtown, i discover that the tillery street theater is located in east austin, which is a predominantly mexican section of town or as my cab driver would put it, “where all the illegal immigrants live”. you wouldnt know the area’s economically depressed because it has rolling fields of grass, wide open spaces and everyone owns a pretty little ranch.

i get to the theater just in time to catch the pretty please, which is carrie from 16 deluxe’s band. its loud, fuzzy, fun girly punk.

up next are the winter pageant, which features paul newman, formerly of the band, uh, paul newman. their music is comprised of simple melodies layered over one another to create something akin to a louder version of ida.

kaito were the main reason i wanted to check this event out, as i have never seen the band. seems like everytime they play philly, i miss them because im busy or too broke. they ripped and roared through their set like veruca salt in the chocolate factory. blissfully snotty and charming. so so so good.

austin group bedbug played after them, but i missed most of their set due to some phone calls. from what i remember they were loud and fun indiepop.

volcano, im still excited!!! played an energetic, super-hyper indie pop set that included a slide show. yes, there were drawings of unicorns, because indie rockers apparently like them. i dont get that.

subset features a member of silver scooter, an austin band i really liked back in the day. this band reminds me a lot of them, but the connection goes beyond sharing the same drummer: solid song structures, nice melodies, etc. ill have to check out more of their stuff.

palaxy tracks were the hardest rocking band on the show, but this was a good thing. fans of the band idaho, take note.

fivehead is my pal beaty wilson’s band and they’re awesome. very much on the pavement-influenced side of things.

architecture in helsinki had to play next since they needed to load-in for their showcase. its a good thing they moved up in the schedule, otherwise i would have missed out on a really fun band. 7 cute australian kids picking up the crown of the lucksmiths and weaving orchestral magic with trombones, clarinets, handclaps and more.

preston school of industry, the project of ex-pavement member scott kannberg was up next. people love to slag on psoi and call it crap but i disagree. scott’s made some really great pop music since the demise of his previous band and this set did not disappoint. he’s got a great repoire with his band and it shows. everyone on and off the stage were having fun.

10:00 - Emo’s Main
i caught some of sweden’s danko jones, whom i wasnt really impressed with, and har mar superstar, who was hilarious as usual. then i left to pack and head to the airport.

the sxsw community weblog is a great place to start for hearing about everyone’s experiences at the event. lots of writing and photos.

12:00 PM - Kerbey Lane Cafe
eating is important.

1 - 2:00 PM
i wander guadalupe street - its one of those days to be on my own. i buy some film at the co-op. i try on some neat vintage sundresses. i figure out how to ride the mass transit system. i go to the convention center and visit flatstock, where dusty and kevin are exhibiting their work. kevin is selling a package that contains all the posters he’s made for plain parade shows. aw. i spot the most beautiful spoon poster, only to discover its 200$. i buy some postcards and a little pocket notebook from yeehaw industries.

2 - 3:30 PM - Escapist Books Arthur Magazine Party
i head to south austin for the arthurmag party at this teeny little bookstore that is also exhibiting work by mark mothersbaugh of devo. i wind up seeing don, an old co-worker of mine from my days at insound. EZT performs and i like them a lot. i have my second beer of the entire trip.

3:30 - 7PM - South Congress
i wander around austin’s hipster section known as south congress. [thats also the name of a band from philly who are also equally cool.] i find an amazing store called parts & labour, which specializes in selling handmade items from local austin deisgners. i purchase a very cute brown tank topthat has sushi drawings on it and i realize later that it will be another month until i can wear it out without freezing my ass off.

6 - 7:30 PM - Pyramid’s
amy and i eat. food is good. i should note that it is incredibly cheap to eat [and drink!] in austin.

8:00 PM - Buffalo Billiards secretly canadian showcase
scout niblett performs. she is amazing.

9:00 PM - Exodus touch & go showcase
CoCoRosie is parts edith piaf, parts opera singer, part toy machine music and completely mindblowing.

10:00 PM - 6th & Brazos Streets
i see a disproportionate amount of people clamoring around someone singing on a streetcorner. i think, “who is this mary lou lord wannabe?” then i realize it is mary lou lord.

11:00 PM - Blender Bar at the Ritz sub pop records showcase
as i am denied access to the sold out david cross performance at emo’s, i head to the sub pop showcase a bit earlier than expected and am suprised by the energetic performance by the catheters.

12:00AM - Blender Bar at the Ritz
kinski melts my brains with their sonic assault. i text message a friend: who would win in a fight? kinski or bardo pond?

1:00 AM - Blender Bar at the Ritz
the constantines pick up where kinski left off and proceed to completely slay me. best band on the planet. they play until the club turns the power off. i talk to their drummer doug, he points out that im standing right next to j mascis.

in the style of television without pity, i bring you a recaplet of thursday.

Weather Report: 70 degrees, no humidity, but it looks like its going to rain any moment.

10:00 AM
i get sick from eating the awful pizza in texas the night before.

1:00 PM - Emo’s Jr. Tag Team Media / DIW Party
I see the dears perform, largely because i confused which part of Emo’s i was in.

2:00 PM - Emo’s Main
the american analog set performs. i kid you not, but ive never seen them in a live setting.

3:00 PM - Emo’s Main
broken social scene continues to astound me and actually makes me feel 100% better. dan has a brought a pair of earplugs for me to use, which helps a lot. you wont believe how loud the shows are.

4:00PM - Caucus Club Patio Touch & Go / Merge Records Party
dan and i stand around on the ground floor of the patio, listening to tv on the radio. we spot a few people from philly. i have a watermelon ice pop.

5:00 PM - Caucus Club Patio
The Rosebuds perform, once again. dan points out that ivan is wearing the same shirt from the night before.

6:00 PM - Caucus Club Patio
britt daniel of spoon performs solo. i am enthralled. i record it to my cell phone. i call up bucky and force him to listen along to a fiery furnaces cover.

dan and i meet up with my friend will and we proceed to have the longest wait for food ever — 2 hours! i miss out on seeing 27 at emo’s annex.

9:00 PM - Buffalo Billiards
Domino Records, Too Pure & Cold Crush Showcase
Sons and Daughters hail from glasgow but they sound like they’re fresh off the early 80’s LA drag with their boozy X-inspired tunes.

10:00 PM - Emo’s Jr. GSL Showcase
finally! i get to see austin’s rhythm of black lines! they were awesome!

i leave right before they finish up to see if i can get back into buffalo billiards for franz ferdinand. no dice. even ted leo is looking at the line, which snakes around the building and onto brazos, with a disappointed look on his face. turns out we were lucky in not going — the fire department showed up later and the club started throwing people with wristbands out to keep the space under capacity.

being as its midnight, and im tired, i go back to the hotel and sleep.