Wait, Did We Just See Soundgarden?

                                       SXSW Day 3: Thursday, March 14, 2014:
                                         Wait, did we just see Soundgarden?

    Like going into Barton Springs, I like to ease into my music for the day.  A normal morning setlist might include BeachHouse, Air, Small Black…something along those lines.  I guess Spin Magazine doesn't follow my same mindset.  Being the enabler that SXSW is, my first beer came compliments of the Spin party at Stubb's BBQ as did my first ear bleed. I only exaggerate slightly, but the day did start with raucous sets from both Radkey and The Orwells.  I just was NOT prepared for such energy yet, nor was the crowd that was more intent on lining up for food than they were for paying attention to the bands screaming their hearts out on stage.  The Orwells put absolutely every ounce of energy they had into their set, but only  somewhat got the audience's attention even when they ripped into "Other Voices." Put punk, indie and garage rock into a blender and that is what this extremely young band comes out sounding like. As they age they will have to refine their sound because there is a fine line between maturity and obscurity.  Realizing that the beer in my stomach was quite lonely, we moved on in search of food that wouldn't take 40 minutes of waiting in line to get. I should have remembered that I was at SXSW and not Cedar Park.  There will be lines.

    The line at the Spotify House on E. 6th was hours long. That's right, I am now measuring distance by time.  I'm serious though.  I'm still not quite sure how we cut the line, but I can assure you that it had nothing to do with my good looks. We had just missed Austin phenom, Shakey Graves, but little did we know what we were in store for.  I'm not quite sure what the line was waiting for because, once inside, you realize that the venue is tiny and is almost exclusive in nature.  In other words, they'd never get in because no one was leaving. The Peached Tortilla, one of our original food trucks, did not disappoint with their free Brisket Tacos and Bahn Mi Tacos. They may have disappointed some once they started charging for food, but hey…we shouldn't have had food of that quality for free in the first place. We had just enough time to get through that line before Streets Of Laredo took the stage and they set the tone: today, but not tonight was going to be chill.  After their short set, playing from last September's "God Love You When You're Dancing" EP, the Australian singer-songwriter Vance Joy won over the house with songs the likes of which I haven't heard in a  very long time.  He only has one EP to his name, yet Atlantic just signed him to a 5 record deal. He's going to be kind of a big deal. The lineup seemed, and was, pretty much Americana, singer-songwriter up until St. Paul and the Broken Bones. I have NO idea why they are still playing venues of this size. I mean, how many dues does one band have to pay? They were the standout act and one that deserves to be acknowledged.  Just plain soulful. Our legs would only allow for one more band so we closed out our day at the Spotify House watching The Districts before heading to Manuel's.  

Vance Joy

                On the way I was accosted by an officer friend of mine who grabbed me and asked to see some identification.  Since I also was greeted at the door of the Kettle One party last Friday night by another officer friend of mine, this is the second officer friend of mine that I ran into at SXSW.  I hardly saw any officers this week, yet I knew two of them.  Oh well, keeps me out of trouble...sorta.  Rest was just what the doctor ordered. Well, that, and copious amounts of queso and sangrias. We were ready.  Finally on our way to see a band that is older than I am. 

                We were first treated to The Wild Feathers when we got  to the Guitar Center Sessions.   Well, actually we were treated to an overzealous officer  and this one was not my friend.  As he yelled at me for being in the wrong line: "NO, NO, NO SIR."  I yelled back: "YES,YES, YES SIR."  i really need to watch myself.  Anyway, The Wild Feathers were yet another band that I was unfamiliar with and am now in love with.  Southern Rock with catchy hooks and perfect melodies.  I had never seen Soundgarden live before.  I had seen Chris Cornell several times, however, so I knew I was in for something special.  I mean, Soundgarden.  In front of only 1,000 people.  For me, this was as special as when I saw Metallica at Stubb's.  Here we were, on top of the 503 Colorado Building , beautiful weather, watching one of  the biggest names in 90's music.  It's hard to believe that this was their first time at SXSW and that is was in support of the 20th anniversary/re-issue of their multi platinum "Superunknown" album. Just hearing "The Day I Tried To Live," "My Wave" and 'Spoonman" would have been enough, but it was when Chris Cornell's voice rang through the night sky on "Black Hole Sun" was when I truly realized the magnitude  of who we were watching. it's like when I heard Paul McCartney sing "Yesterday" at the Alamodome in 1993.  You'll never forget moments like these.  Unless of course, you get Alzheimer's which, by the way, we have GOT  to find a cure for.  I mean, to have these experiences only to have those memories stripped from you later? Sorry, I am easily sidetracked.  This was an evening for the ages and the aged. 

The Wild Feathers

Soundgarden

 

Soundgarden

That's What I Like About These SXSW Bands…I Get Older and They Stay the Same Age.

SXSW Day 2, March 13, 2014:
That's what I like about these SXSW bands…I get older and they stay the same age.


    They say that waking up is hard to do. Wait, that's breaking up. Either way, both are hard.  Yes, I'm getting older, but I used to be able to do this.  You would think that it's like riding a bike and your body would fall right back into it. I mean, I even trained for this:  For weeks now I have eaten all of my meals standing up, listened to all of my music through earplugs, put salt on everything I eat (including fruit), have had beer for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but I forgot about one thing…the sun.  It was back and more beautiful than ever.  My head looks like a cherry tomato, but what a day for music.  Although the weather was perfect, it felt quite solemn as we drove down to SXSW for our second day of music after the tragedy of the night before.  I was wondering what the vibe would be throughout downtown.  How would the crowds conduct themselves? Would there be more of a police presence? It was strange having those thoughts as opposed to thoughts about the music. 

Knowing we would go for hours without food, we first decide to go to Searsucker for a quick lunch.  Note to self: Searsucker's green salad and calamari is a delicious, light combination, but it'd still be impossible to keep down if we had, in fact, watched Lady GaGa get thrown up on last night. I'm not quite sure what's wrong with her, but I hope she's using the money people actually give her towards therapy.  Anyway, Filter's Showdown at Cedar Street has always been an extremely difficult show to get into, but we thought we'd give it a try and I'm glad that we did because there was no line this year.  Skaters, a stand out, young, rock group out of New York, played with such ferocity that you'd have thought there was more than 200 people there. When they played their undeniably catchy,  "Miss Teen Massachusetts," there were two extremely energetic, drunk, rotund guys in the front row singing along to every word.  I know that makes a band happy to see, but I'm sure that the next time they come through Austin they'd like to see see a few girls singing along as well.  Speaking of girls singing…Nina Nesbitt was the next artist to take the stage.  This would not be easy for the talented 19 year old singer-songwriter out of Scotland.  Armed only with an acoustic guitar, piano and gorgeous voice, she'd have to win over a crowd that had just been turned up to 11. In all fairness to her, she was not initially supposed to follow Skaters, but the schedule was shuffled around.  We stood next to her upstairs while Skaters played and since I knew how stripped down her set would be, I wondered what was going through her head: " I have to follow THEM?" She shouldn't have worried about a thing, however, because her set was strong and I know for a fact that she made a few new fans.  Skaters made a few new fans as well…even if the bass player did hit Lauren in the lip with his water bottle as she walked by. Anyway, since London Grammar had moved their set from Cedar Street to the MTv Woodies event, we moved along with them. 

Skaters

Nina Nesbitt

  Last time we went to the Woodies was 2 years ago and we literally walked right in as Fun. was playing.  No lines, no fuss. Fast forward to yesterday.  Imagine the longest line that you can possibly think of at Disney World. Then double that. Then double that and have no roller coaster waiting for you at the end of it.  The lines could not have been more insane. It was the place to be. And, with my brother-in-law's connections, we were there. YOU can watch it on MTV this Sunday, March 16, but again, WE were there. The afternoon kicked off with Wild Cub playing a perfect set. If this isn't a buzz band then I don't know who is. We had seen them last Friday at a Kettle One party and they were still going strong almost a week later.  They run a tight ship once inside the Woodies and there is hardly any gap between artists as they bounce back and forth between two stages. Vic Mensa took the stage next.  I'm not sure what he was yelling about, but I didn't care for it.  Echosmith came out in full force. They are a band comprised of the Sierota siblings: lead singer, Sydney, and her 3 brothers, Noah, Graham and Sydney.  So, no matter how special you think your family is, all of Mr. and Mrs. Sierota's children play instruments and get along with each other just well enough to form a band and play music that 14 year old's would love. Bleachers followed them and were an absolute blast to watch! London Grammar was one of only two of our must see acts this SXSW and they were amazing. I'm looking forward to seeing them when they come back through a play a smaller venue more conducive to their haunting melodies because they were a little too quiet for this crowd.  That was the game plan though as their set was a perfect lead in for Sam Smith.  Phantogram apparently doesn't sleep because I'm pretty sure this was their 219th show at this year's SXSW. They have been everywhere promoting their new CD, Voices, and will be back at Stubb's in April to perform.  Our legs had turned to jello so we moved over to Rachel Ray's Feedback house to sit for a bit before calling it an evening.  

Wild Cub

Echosmith

London Grammar

Phantogram

In The Valley Below was performing to the crowd of just a few hundred people, but their presence felt like they were playing a music festival. Rachel Ray always has about to break bands at her Feedback House and this is one to watch. 

In The Valley Below

    Final observation. I'm not quite sure when Austin turned into New Orleans, but Dirty 6th has gotten way out of control and there is not enough police to monitor the madness.  We walked up 6th Street to get to our car and, for the first time, I felt unsafe in the city I've lived in since 1980.  We were only on 6th Street for a few blocks to get to our car and were treated to a fight that people just stood and watched. So, that was pretty neat. A beautiful day of weather and music tainted, albeit only slightly, by an unnecessary act of violence.   
    

SXSW

SXSW DAY 1:
EVERYTHING COSTS $20


    In the beginning was the music, and the music was with SXSW, and the music was SXSW. It was with SXSW in the beginning. Thanks be to Austin. 
It's easy to forget that at one point in time SXSW was not about schwag, Grumpy Cat or Doritos.  You look around and all you hear about is what artist is rumored to pop up where so it was nice to see last night be all about the music. 

    I started the evening as early as possible by heading down to meet my wife at her office where I was greeted by a parking attendant asking for $20 to park where I normally park for free. It turns out that this is not an uncommon denomination during SXSW.  Park? $20.  Pedicab? $20.  Lone Star Beer? $20.  Ok, maybe a Lone Star isn't $20, but for the $8 they charge you during SXSW it might as well be.  Lauren and I were soon fighting the crowds over to the NPR Showcase at Stubb's.  This was a lineup fit for a Skinny Jean King: Eagulls, Kelis, St. Vincent and Damon Albarn (of Blur and Gorillaz fame).  Stubb's has always been one of my favorite places to attend shows because they just have their stuff together and the pulled pork sandwich doesn't hurt either.  Temperatures started dropping very quickly so we decided to take shelter amongst the masses at the Clive Bar on Rainey Street for the Haggar Clothing/Filter on Rainey showcase. 

    If you're not familiar with Emily King, you need to be.  She was nominated for a Grammy (Best Contemporary R&B Album) in 2007, however I just now discovered her.  Her silky, smooth voice soared beautifully through the night air.  At least, I think it did. It was hard to hear with all of the yelling going on next door from the newly opened Container Bar.  I'm being facetious.  I was able to hear her and she put on just an incredible set.  In fact, someone needs to get her an ACL Live taping set up stat.  Since Aloe Blacc was playing there at midnight, the crowds started pouring in so we decided to head across the street to Bangers for the Dickies showcase. 

Emily King

    Now, normally I would never set foot in a place that had just recently been defiled by the presence of Justin Bieber, but Polica was playing and I wanted to see if lead singer, Channey Leaneagh, had refined her stage presence since the last time I saw her two years ago at The Parish.  Oh, and for the record, my computer has now been defiled by the Biebs…I mistakingly spelled his name "Beiber" and it corrected it to "Bieber." Now I know why he had to announce to the crowd at Bangers that "I go by the name of Justin Bieber."  Ok, back on track. Polica put on an amazing show and Channey, has in fact, found her groove.  Polica and Channey are just getting better with time and I am excited to see what they keep coming up with. 

Channey Leaneagh of Polica

    I never dreamed that I'd actually catch a pedicab, but when you have to hoof it back to Stubb's from Rainey Street you find yourself doing many inexplicable things.  We arrived back in time to catch St. Vincent (AKA Annie Clark) and she put on an energetic, guitar infused spectacle of a show.  I had seen her years ago at The Mohawk and, much like Channey Leaneagh, she has perfected her stage presence and I will most definitely be picking up her new self-titled album. 

    As you can tell by the Stubb's and Mohawk references, I have to mention the terrible tragedy that occurred last night. A little after 1:30am my wife received a text from her friend who is in from out of town and was at Cheer Up Charlie's for a showcase.  Her text read "Big accident outside Cheer Up Charlie's."  We had left Stubb's after St. Vincent so we were unaware of just how big and tragic this accident was.  Turns out so was her friend.  Earlier in the evening while waiting in line for the NPR showcase, I looked around, took notice of the crowds, the lack of police and I told Lauren that something bad was going to happen at SXSW sometime soon.  Little did I know that it would be just hours later that SXSW 2014 would be forever remembered for this tragedy instead of the music.  I commend the APD, the establishments affected by this accident and those that were there helping others. Please pray for the families, their loved ones and the lives that are now forever changed. As I woke up this morning my phone had many texts and missed calls asking if I were ok and it's nice to know how loved I am.  I never plan on taking that for granted. 

#SXSW
#NPRShowcase
#SlacksAreBack
#Dickies