SXSW 2012 Day Four: Friday, March 16, 2012

Hitting Red River Road again for another big SXSW 2012 day. Heard the awesome Heartless Bastards and Erika Wennerstrom's astoundingly strong vocals on the walk here. The Windish Agency hosts great bands!

As opposed to "free hugs." LOL

The audience for Night Moves at the First Avenue/City Pages/The Current showcase at Swan Dive, which also featured Fort Wilson Riot, Brother Ali, Doomtree, and more!

Night Moves in action!

Chicken Tikka Masala for breakfast from yummy Naan food truck. I'm going back!

The line for Of Montreal was 3 blocks long . . .

Gabe Douglas (4onthefloor) and Allison, a friend of mine.

Dark Dark Dark (Minneapolis/New Orleans/New York . . .) performing the Vita.MN Showcase. I've loved this band for years!

Fort Wilson Riot's Amy Hager and Jacob Mullis. Sweet!

Doomtree! Swan Dive was packed to the max, no room to move, and the crowd was crazy excited and interactive about Doomtree!

The Men (Brooklyn) rock hard at KEXP Seattle's SXSW showcase at Mellow Johnnie's Bike Shop!

My favorite DJ, Kevin Cole, live on KEXP playing Iggy Pop. Yay!

After The Men . . .

Mellow Johnnie's is so rad.

Artcrank poster show! Go Minneapolis artists!

After The Men, I replenished with coconut water, protein bars and pedicabbed it back over to Peckerheads to catch Bass Drum of Death (Mississippi) whose name intrigued me, they had a buzz and entirely lived up to their name! I felt they were psychedelic with tinges of Brian Jonestown Massacre mixed with some Strokes or the Kills, but really did their own thing, with a killer drummer! Band to be watched!

The Japhies, one of Rockstar Motel's founding artists,  at 1808 Minneapolis Mock Duck Showcase at 1808 Bar

Ben Hovorka shreds for The Japhies

Crazy scene of over 1,000 people outside of Jack White's show at The Stage on 6ixth 

St.

We could hear some of Jack White through one open window. People between songs chanted for them to open more windows. Heard 4 songs. Then Jack White poked his head out and nodded, walked off stage toward the door and us . . . and then went back. People were bummed he didn't walk out and say hi. His new record - what we could hear - sounds awesome. Of course!

SXSW 2012 Day 3 (March 15)

Food Truck lots East Austin

PUNK RAWK FOOD TRUCK

Best Burrito ever!

Cults to the right at Tops Warehouse/Gary Clark, Jr. to the left at Fader Fort. Tough decision . . . both!

Tops Warehouse is really cool though it was really hot. Because it is a corrugated metal quonset.

Cults. Amazing. Love this band.

Thousands enjoyed Cults in this airplane hangar scale warehouse.

This could be Rockstar Motel.com next year!

Gary Clark, Jr. - really great revivalist blues. Worth every word of the hype. I'm going to catch him again at the MOG Party Saturday at Mohawk, fe: Bob Mould Band, The Roots, Blitzen Trapper and more!

Fader Fort occupies about 3 blocks, has several different "rooms" to chill, form a band, play ping-pong, take photos with giant magnetic poetry kit words, hear DJs, lounge on various porches in the sun . . . it was my first time there, and pretty overwhelming in terms of scale and commercial aspects. Loved Gary Clark, Jr., Nite Jewel was mediocre to me.

Chill. Except its kind of hard because there is no floor space with everyone lying on it and no chair space. So first-come first serve to relax.

Fader Fort. It just goes on and on and . . .

Back to East Austin, 6th St. Quieter (a bit) than West Side, but lots of terrific venues, such as Hotel Vegas, 1808, The Gypsy Bar, and more.

More food truck lots! There are like 800 food trucks in Austin (it seems). Also I learned I do not like fried chicken waffles. Not my thing. Should've gotten the fish n chips.

Hotel Vegan (Brooklyn Vegan stages Hotel Vegas on 6ixth St daily in the back with awesome rock shows)

I was on my way to the Big Star show, knowing full well I wouldn't have much luck getting in, when suddenly I hear one of the best rock bands I've heard in ages. My Goodness from Seattle (of course!) Wow, they were crowd stopping, and people were shooting photos/video and raving ecstatically about them. They will be big, mark my words. I talked with a guy on the street, an Austin resident and studio bass-player. He said he saw 2 other Seattle bands, playing on the street corner who were really great too!

SXSW 6ixth Street. Like Bourbon Street, for rock 'n' roll and true music-lovers!

The Historic Driskoll Hotel. I dream of staying here someday . . .

Austin Klesmer Band busking on the street! Fantastic! People were dancing . . . there are several bands busking everywhere.

Banners by another music website. Love the message.

Bandpage HQ looks like a rock 'n' roll/electronica carnival. There's a guy on the roof spinning lighted balls.

SXSW 2012: Day 2 Weds., March 14

Lori Barbero on Red River Road outside Elysium, one of 8 venues (and 276 bands) she manages for SXSW Official!

SXSW Day 2 was the day parties really kicked into gear. As I hit Red River Road, rife with lots of bars with music blaring out of all the open doors, from thrash, to pop-punk to twang and hip-hop - Bars such as Elysium, Swan Dive, Stubbs, Beauty Bar, Club Deville, Mohawk (future site of Bob Mould Band, the Roots, Gary Clark, Jr. and more Friday day) and Beerland where I caught one of my favorite discoveries of the festival so far . . . Obnox. Obnox are a duo playing post-punk and thumping blues with tribal drumming. I and Lori B LOVE Obnox!

Peelander Z at the Elysium!

For me, what is SXSW without some wild, zany Japanese punk rock such as one of my favorites, Peelander Z, now residing on "Long Island City" New York. Their shows are quite indescribable. They're highly interactive and easily get the crowds in the packed Elysium to shout and sing along, and laugh at the hysterical games and antics like "Mad Tiger" and "Human Bowling" - yes, they roll a human at band members dressed as bowling pins. No, I wasn't on drugs at the time. Its that surreal. Think Flaming Lips surreal. 

One of the most beautiful merch tables - crazy colors! Beautiful art. Peelander Z! I could not resist buying the most beautiful T I've ever owned.

Big Peelander Z finale!

Pedicap rest area. Many of them drive SXSW'ers around 13 - 15 hours a day! Pedicabs are really the way to go. They and bartenders and servers are working indefatigably throughout the festival. I don't know how they do it. I do know most of the 300+ registered  Pedicabbers working their asses off to get us to the shows we want to see across town fast, take a well-deserved 5-day vacation to sleep after SXSW. Tip generously!

The amazing well-loved DJ Kevin Cole (originally from Mpls. now Director KEXP Seattle) right before Of Monsters and Men, which he loves so much, he plays them daily, he notes. The Mellow Johnnies Bike Shop was packed, maybe 800 or more fans.

Many fans wanted to get their picture taken with Of Monster and Men singers

Whizzing through the gentle night streets heading East for Porland(ia) party.

You know you're on the East Side when you see signs like these . . .haha. I left my cowboy boots at home, because I knew better. LOL.

Scoot Inn, on Fifth Street hosts massive amounts of great shows! Tonight Doomtree individuals and then a performance together. Got there in time to hear P.O.S. new "Fuck Your Stuff" song on anti-consumerism (including no Nikes - please note: this was sponsored by Converse, so that's cool!)

Yes, such things are very sad. I can relate. (Once broke up with someone because I couldn't stand hearing one more Creed song).

Take me to my dream street! Rainey!

A Great Big Pile of Leaves at Clive Bar. Next up, Motion City Soundtrack. Last year, there were very few people here on a Weds. Now, you can barely get in.

96 Bar on Rainey St. Love these old homes turned into cool looking bars. Soon up, Titus Adronicus performing for the Brooklyn Vegan party!

Ah, Lustre Pearl, how I loved thee. Now, I can barely set foot inside your awesome door. Wavves were here. Couldn't get into buzzed about thrash punk. Damn it!

Titus Adronicus at 96 Bar! Missed Andrew WK. This party filled with Brooklynites and punk and rock lovers galore. The coolest party I've been to so far. Titus Adronicus kicked this party into gear with a rousing rendition of "The Boys are Back in Town." I've never loved that song so much. A great mix of punk, pop-punk and indie rock, it made my night to hear rock like Titus Andronicus. It was sooo worthwhile for me to eschew sleep to catch this, my show of the night. Patrick Stickles sang intelligent, wry songs with his nascent vocals and with in-your-face driving Ramones/Dead Kennedys-esque punk rock of his bandmates. It was really NYC punk, like I imagined the you'd hear at CBGBs in the'70s. A fellow journalist whose musical tastes I share, noted this band was a huge deal at SXSW a couple years back. Sure enough, Stickles, who delivered terrific stories and banter between songs indeed talked about how SXSW 2009 really helped them kickstart their musical career, gave them the widespread attention that helped them shape their career. He also noted Andrew WK, who performed before them, was a great guy, who years ago taught him that you could perform great live rock shows and still be just a regular guy willing to talk with his fans and offer advice they asked for. Now, Stickles said, see how we do a live show, inspired by Andrew WK! And kicked into a snarling, leaping Fury of a punk rock song. Later, Stickles got into the Hipster Q that is rampant at SXSW. He said he knows, we (audience) are so not hipsters. But is that true? We don't get to decide. "They" decide, he said. "You are not hipsters. I'm not a hipster. But we are. And I am. And this song proves it," tearing into something that was more pop punk and indie, with some ironic guitar riffs sounding like a song hipsters would get into. You wouldn't understand . . . ; ) They closed with a really rocking song longer than the standard 2:00 or less that is a punk song, with sweet riffs of New Order's "Love Vigilantes." SXSW is officially a party. Now, I've got to get myself to some unofficials, fast!