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SXSW DAY 2: Loud, Crowded, Drunk.
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SXSW DAY 2: Loud, Crowded, Drunk.
The Fresh & Onlys, 2:45 p.m. @ The Pitchfork/Offline party at East Side Drive-In
Drive-in, parking lot, same diff. When it’s hot and dry, as it often seems to be in Austin, you need a good reason to stand in a rocky, dusty lot. San Francisco’s Fresh and Onlys were pleasantly rocking like some Brit pop band or two, the names of which evaporated from my brain.
The Dodos, 3:30 p.m. @ the aforementioned Pitchfork Mars Simulator
I don’t know if this is the right venue for noisy, textured — oh, earplugs out. This is kind nice, Vampire Weekendy with high male vocals, clean channel guitar and good vibes.
Times New Viking, 4:15 p.m. @ the aforementioned Pitchfork Grapes of Wrath Party Zone
“We come from the beautiful state of Ohio. Fuck the police.” Yes. TNV has been one of my favorites for a while but, somehow, this was my first time seeing them live. As expected, they were loud, fun, a little messy and kind of weird. Beth Murphy is awesome in so many ways a voice that transcends the lo-fi din. Drummer Adam Elliott ended the set by yelling “Go Buckeyes, go Reds” for some reason.
J. Mascis, 5:30 p.m. @ the aforementioned Pitchfork Sand-Malted People Cooker
The Dinosaur Jr. frontman’s new stuff is sit-down bluesy-pointillist guitar stuff with traditional arrangements in the Brit-folk tradition, so they say. His help-me-move-this-couch vocal strain suits it well, and there are a few spots reserved for distortion-pedal solos. Oh and he covered Edie Brickell’s “Circle” and it swell. During the set some dude from the band Dom was putting his band’s shitty stickers on the scaffolding at the front of the stage and letting the peelings blow in the wind. Made me mad. Not cool, Dom.
Dirty Ghosts, 8:15 p.m. @ Beauty Bar
This is why SXSW exists, so you can see some bad you’ve only heard a couple tracks by play a strong, engaging set in the backroom of some club with port-a-potties just 8 feet from the stage. Good shit. Dirty Ghosts are from San Francisco, they play gritty, ambitious, skillful rock songs, and you should check them out.
Nite Jewel, 9 p.m. @ Bat Bar
Before now, I thought Nite Jewel sounded like old school Madonna — sparse, dancey pop kinda stuff. In concert, the song was fuller and less distinct but fine and spooky in a Portisheady way. Jewel Kilcher can really really sing.
OFF!, 10 p.m. @ the Vice showcase at Club DeVille
Keith Morris can really really talk. Here’s how things went: Morris delivers some pointless anecdote-cum-lecture, introduces the song (“This is our take on 9/11”), then the band plays a big, loud 1.5-minute hardcore song with indecipherable lyrics everybody goes crazy. OFF! is a some kind of hardcore super group featuring dudes from Black Flag (the early years), Circle Jerks, Burning Brides, Hot Snakes, etc. Good to see Dimitri Coats again, still rocking hard.
The Black Lips, 11 p.m. @ the aforementioned Vice shitstorm
How do you know you’re at a Vice party? Well, with 5 minutes till showtime, the Black Lip in the little hat is onstage, back to the crowd, peeing onto the fake stonewall backdrop. So it’s like that. The Black Lips delivered musically too. They sound it so loud, and so catchy, and so sing-alongable, and everybody just went nuts for it in a good-vibes-violence kind of way. The night ended with fans moshing and pushing and getting up on stage to share a mic with their punk-pop heroes. Awesome.
Frazey Ford, midnight @ Paradise Patio
Ah. This was a fine time to sip a drink, watch the bedlam going down on Sixth Street and listen to one of the most entrancing voices on the planet works its magic. I’d say, she sounds like scotch poured into ice tea, unless that’s an unpleasant image for you. You might know Ford from The Be Good Tanya’s. If not, it’s worth playing catch-up. Seek out the song “The Littlest Birds” and get Ford’s 2010 solo debut Obadiah. She ended with a woozy Al Green cover. Sublime.
Toro Y Moi, 1 a.m. @ 512 Roofdeck
First of all, it’s not a roofdeck if it has a roof overtop. It’s just a room. Second of all, booking this tiny club was a bad call, and booking a some other, louder band at the bottom of the stairs was a dumb idea, too. Couldn’t hear them, could barely see them. Aziz Ansari was in attendance. Saw Honus Honus downstairs as when I was leaving (early).
Previously: SXSW DAY 1
Food: So far I haven't seen a fork or a vegetable in Austin.
St. Patrick's Day: Saw two different dudes led away in cuffs, and one fight
Drunk?: I'm not sure why that lady was having a seizure at Seventh and Red River but I hope she's okay. Authorities were on the scene.
Water: is only $.69 at the liduor store and you can refill the bottle at the Nokia green zone thing across the street.
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