My "Ain't Got No Wristband, So What's Free?" SXSW Diary

I moved from Huntington Beach CA to Austin TX last year. Although SXSW was not the primary motive behind the move, it's sure turning out to be a nice perk! However, seeing as my wife / kids / day job / mortgage take top priority in my life, I don't have the money for the overpriced wristbands. So, I'm going to document here what I am able to pull off for free (an abundance of $3 sliced pizza aside).
SATURDAY 3/17/07:

My last day of SXSW madness (and at this point, I was tired). My main goals for the day -- Fionn Regan and Ferraby Lionheart.

I started the day at The Mean-Eyed Cat where Mojo magazine was hosting it's annual Bootleg BBQ. Fionn Regan was slated to play at 1PM with The Polyphonice Spree at 12:20 PM. I arrived around noon (unduly paranoid about not getting in). Then we all waited and waited and waited. Finally at about 1:15 PM, they announced that due to power issues with the outside stage, Polyphonic Spree would be postponed and Fionn Regan would be playing inside first. So, I quickly headed inside to grab a seat about four feet from the stage. Fionn Regan played a very short (about five songs) set, but it was amazing. I honestly love his CD. Highlight of the set was probably "Hey Rabbit", though he gave me a newfound appreciation of "Snowy Atlas Mountains". I could have listened for another hour. However, with set-times already being garbled, he was cut off early. Back outside, I waited for about five minutes and then realized that The Polyphonic Spree were not happening anytime soon. Oh, well, I'm not a fan anyway.

Back in the car and heading east, I ran into the first real bit of traffic yet (The Mean-Eyed Cat is located out of the way from the rest of SXSW). I eventually found my typical (and free) parking spot south of Cesar Chavez and hurried about seven blocks north to Habana for the NY2LON showcase featuring Ferraby Lionheart.

I was greeted by an RSVP line about 50 people deep, so I took it easy and listened to DataRock on the outside stage. Once inside, I rushed to the inside stage where Ferraby Lionheart was slated to play. Asking around, I was informed that he had played earlier. Argh. Last chance to see him now gone. Oh, well. Note: SXSW set times do not run like German train schedules.

Starting up on the outside stage was Thunderbirds Are Now!. Emo-ness aside, they were pretty decent. I left just before the end of their set and went across the street to the Habana annex. Scanning the band list for the day, I realized that I'd missed Winterkids earlier. I had no idea they were even playing. I strolled outside and checked out the last few tunes from The Silent Years (boring). Back inside (with about 12 other people), I listened to Canadian Peter Elkas's "I wish I was Jeff Buckley playing 'Axis Bold As Love'-era Hendrix on an acoustic guitar" set. Decent, but not overwhelming. I split after a few tunes.

I strolled up to Emo's to check their day party list (with a faint hope of seeing The Horrors again). Bingo. The Horrors at 3:40 PM (one hour away) in the much-easier-to-get-into-then-Emos-proper outside tent. One hour to burn before waiting probably another hour for The Horrors to start. I strolled down 6th street looking for random musical entertainment and good pizza. I was quickly sucked into the Chuggin' Monkey where a band called Machine Gun Blues from Colorado (never heard of them) was blazing away. These guys were HEAVY. Fu Manchu meets Black Sabbath toned down an octave. The singer was a freakshow. I was into it. The only issue: When the singer took to the floor like a crazed Iggy Pop, about 15 of the 20 people in attendance started taking pictures. Man, sometimes it seems like we're more worried about documenting the moment than enjoying it (I'm guilty sometimes as well). That's kind of a bummer.

Back onto Sixth Street, I found some good pizza and headed back to the Emo's tent. I arrived at around 3:20 PM to a huge line. At about 3:30 PM (ten minutes before the stated set-time), The Horrors took to the stage playing a swampy Birthday Party-like intro. By 3:40 PM, I was in (missing "Count In Fives"). There was a nice crowd this time, with a mini-pit towards the front. All of the hits were played ("Sheena", "Gloves", "Crawdaddy Simone", etc) and the show was amazing. I'm so sold on these guys. Mid-way through the set, the singer entered the crowd (one of many times), went to the back of the tent and dragged a wooden palette to the center of the crowd, where he stood and surveyed his kingdom all crazed and deranged. Meanwhile the musical chaos continued, eventually simmering out with "Crawdaddy Simone".

After this, I was SXSW-ed out and figured I'd end on a high note. I'd love to have hit the Bella Union showcase that night (My Latest Novel, Fionn Regan, etc), but it was time to return to reality. I love Austin and SXSW.

FRIDAY 3/16/07:

For the second straight day, I wrapped up work early and (given my wife's blessing) headed downtown. The goal of the day was simple -- THE HORRORS! I arrived (way too) early at La Zona Rosa for the free afternoon show featuring Mando Diao, The Cinematics, The Horrors, and The Bravery. About 30 minutes after my arrival, Mando Diao took the stage adorned in the typical tight blackness you'd expect from a mod-worshipping Swedish band (wait, no white shoes?!?!?). The set was pretty good, but they've always been "close, but no cigar" for me. However, they were 10X more fashionable then the other million satorially misinformed bands that plagued SXSW. The Cinematics were next, from Glasgow Scotland. What they lacked in talent, they definitely made up for in earnestness as they strummed through their Franz/Muse/Pulp obsessions. "Keep Forgetting" has a catchy chorus, but I was predominantly bored besides that.

Now, the moment I'd waited for was set to arrive. Yes, my teenage girl obsession that is the Horrors. They took the stage (as you'd expect) under a shroud of darkness and in full character. While the opening strains of "Count In Fives" pounded away, the singer kneeled dementedly at the back of the stage as if he needed to slowly convulse his way towards the front. Strangely, he was opening a pair of the free earplugs being given away at the show, and, when opened, ran to the front of the stage, reached into the crowd and shoved them into the ears of the guy front row center. Odd and entertaining. "Count In Fives" was brilliant. This quickly transitioned into "Death At The Chapel" and then "She Is The New Thing". Surprisingly, next up was "Sheena Is A Parasite". This song is a complete no-lighters-required anthem and they completely blew it apart. For such young guys, they have a tight grasp on loosely-hinged chaos.

Unfortunately, after that, the band left the stage, while the singer was barely just crawling out of the audience (he was EVERYWHERE). He started screaming "where's the band? where's the band?" and seemed distraught. He looked to stage left, threw his microphone down and stormed off stage. It all looked very odd and at first seemed like the kind of petulance you'd expect from a band like The Horrors (like they'd already let their success get to their egos). This however, was not the case (keep reading).

Notes about The Horrors:
1. That keyboard player -- the 60s-bowl-fringed Rhys "Spider" Webb -- is awesome (his myspace page transcribes The Velvet Underground's strange story "The Gift"). He spends the set about 10% focused on his Vox organ (doesn't miss a note) and 90% focused on his ghoulish century-old silent movies-styled dancing. Imagine a worker at Disneyland's Haunted House that had actually taken on the spirits contained therein. He's brilliant (and the mastermind behind the London club Junk where The Horrors got their start) and seems set to personally inform the world about all of those lost and deranged 60s psych 45s (just like The Cramps exhumed the garage ones).
2. This stuff doesn't come for free. These guys (or at least some of them) have done their research. The guitar player, Joshua Von Grimm, has a degree in Physics from University College London and builds his own guitar pedals. And, again, Spider Webb has an encyclopedic knowledge of the very music he aims to recreate.

After The Horrors, I wasn't in the mood for the inevitable letdown that would be The Bravery, so I took off and ventured across town in search of further entertainment. I waltzed into the free Yep Roc bbq/showcase over at Habana's annex and took in a few tunes from Apples In Stereo. I've never loved their AM 70s radio sounds, so I took off and ended up in the Emo's outside tent where I checked out Alexi Murdoch. He's completely derivative of Nick Drake and yet I (at least partially) enjoy it. His tunes are very Grey's Anatomy soundtrack and would sound better with more of a visual front-end like that. Good though.

By this point, I was tired and also needed to get home, so I walked west back to my car. On the way, at the corner of Congress/Sixth, I saw The Horrors singer and, in shock, said "Hey, aren't you the dude from The Horrors?" (he must wear a wig on stage because his hair looks completely different in person). He was really nice and stopped to chat for a bit. Apparently, the show had been cut off by the club's stage manager because the singer had been jumping into the crowd, pushing over cameramen, tearing down the side curtain, etc. Mind you - this "showcase" had about 100 people at it and seemed more like a set-up to film something for later promotion. I guess The Horrors had ruined some of these ambitions. The gig was financed by LA Weekly / IFC / and about ten other "alternative" media outlets that had carefully calculated this entire thing out. Apparently, The Horrors weren't supposed to shove the cameras out of their faces. So, the short set wasn't their fault at all. They were planning on playing on and doing "Gloves", "Crawdaddy Simone" and "Jack The Ripper". Bummer. Anyway, nice guy. With that, I headed happily home.

Within a couple of hours, my wife and I were back downtown with another couple. We went out to eat at a Sports Bar to watch what turned out to be UT's lone March Madness 2007 victory (R.I.P. Kevin Durrant) and then we went walking about (fortunately our niece was kind each to watch our little man -- first time we've left him!). Nothing of interest was happening that was free (tons of interest if you had one of those wristbands...), so we ended up at Stubbs again. Within about three minutes of getting there (and standing in our now standard spot on the street behind the stage), we saw Perry Farrell jump out of his hired car and walk into Stubbs' backstage. He looked about a foot taller than normal thanks to some silver space boots. We could see him for about 10 minutes while he waited for soundcheck to end and his band to begin. Then, just seconds before his new band (Perry Farrell's Satellite Party) took the stage, Perry walked outside and relieved himself on the wall about six feet in front of us. It was hilarious. Unfortunately, his new band is even more hilarious, sounding like countless bar bands you could find on any given night in Milwaukee. Terrible. So, we wrapped it up and headed home to our little man.

THURSDAY 3/15/07:

Day two started at about 1:30 PM after I wrapped up some work details and headed south to downtown Austin. Unfortunately, my first lead (some of the day party information is tough to come by) went awry. I was looking to see Ferraby Lionheart at a venue called Hank Sinatra's, which ended up being, literally, Hank Sinatra's house. The house (and party put on by +1 music) was located in an old residential neighborhood in SE Austin (50+ year-old Texan homes). The house had a detached garage, so I walked between the garage and house to access the backyard party, which was very underwhelming (20 people tops). The highlight for me was the huge 'weird stuff you'll find in Texas' backyard dropping off into trees and complete with three chicken coups and a lazy goat. Imagine weirdness and it was here. A makeshift (and pretty decent) stage sat towards the back while an awesome free Texas BBQ set-up was at the front. I quickly realized (courtesy of Hank himself and then some guy from Trainwreck Riders) that nobody at this party had ever heard of Ferraby Lionheart. Great, SXSW misinformation. So, I settled into some tasty brisket, sausage and chips, had a chat with the resident "bbq chef" (very nice old woman in an Iggy Pop shirt) and took in a few tunes from some undisclosed Swedish guitar/drums duo that (though they'd probably totally deny it) was heavily derative of The White Stripes. Once the belly was full, I took my leave.

Next on the list was the Cream Vintage parking lot party off Guadalupe across the street from UT. I arrived at about 3:30 PM and noticed that things were hopelessly late (go figure) with an NYC "Lou Reed unable to decide between Indie and Alt-Country" band called Hymns just sound-checking up. I took in a few of their songs then walked the street scouring for food. This walk south led me into Urban Outfitters where more free music was on display. I waltzed in and took in the last few tunes from Beach House (criminally overrated). I couldn't get into them at all, but noticed that Au Revoir Simone were next up. So, at this point, it became a back-and-forth between Cream Vintage and Urban Outfitters. Back at Cream, an Austin band called Pompeii were taking the stage. Decent, if not original, they obviously keep their Muse discs accessible at all times.

Back to Urban Outfitters, and I waited for Au Revoir Simone to sound-check (always painful) and fire things up. The 'three girls from Brooklyn who love Stereolab and Broadcast' sounded pretty good. Their slow-to-mid-tempo set didn't match the first 80+ degree day we've had in months, but the melancholy undertones were solid. "Sad Song" was my fave. Back to Cream Vintage, and it was time for Mezzanine Owls (the entire reason I'd come to this part of town). Daylight and parking lot aside, these guys played a great show. "Wake Up" sounded awesome, as did "Lightbulb" (top 10 of the past few years).

After Mezzanine Owls, I raced back downtown to Stubb's where Fionn Regan was supposed to be doing a 7 PM set. Misinformation chapter 2 on that one. Bummer. So, I cruised around town looking for free shows (after 8 PM, it's all showcases). No such luck. The solid shows had lines down the street and that was if you had a wristband. Oh, well, time to head home and pick-up my wife so she could see some of the action. Went home, chilled with the family for awhile, got the baby to bed, hooked the niece up with babysitting duties, and brought my wife down just in time for the midnight Bloc Party show at Stubbs. Mind you, outside of Stubbs. No chance we were getting in. But, just like with Lily Allen the night before, we were able to stand just behind the stage, on the sidewalk, and hear it perfectly. Bloc Party are so good. They played a perfect blend of the older hits ("Positive Tension", "Blue Light", "This Modern Love", "So Here We Are") and the new songs ("Waiting On The 7:18", "The Prayer", "I Still Remember", "Hunting For Witches"). My wife was into it (bands she will almost kill to see - Bloc Party, Sigur Ros, Explosions In The Sky). I was stoked that she was able to take in some SXSW. We have a two-month-old baby, so I've been lucky myself to see anything. But, as the wife said, "Of course you need to see SXSW, this is what you are into. I'm just happy you don't golf". Love you babe.

Just as Bloc Party were doing their encore, I heard the sinister sounds of The Horrors emerging from across the street at the Red-Eyed Fly. I ran across the street to at least hear the swampy burblings of the revamped "Jack The Ripper". What a tease. After Bloc Party wrapped up, we walked over gazed in the door at The Horrors (decent view actually) and took in "Sheena Was A Parasite". Cartooniness aside, I love The Horrors and their perfect fusion of uptight 60s garage punk and swampy Birthday Party vibes. After enjoying a bit of The Horrors, we walked down Red River and enjoyed a bit of Pelican from Chicago at the outside Emo's tent. I'd never heard them before but they sounded OK. Reminded me of Codeine gone Math Rock. We then strolled through the beautiful madness that is 6th Street and headed back to our happy home and safe kids. Long but fun day.

WEDNESDAY 3/14/07:
Went downtown for the first night of SXSW Music and was generally underwhelmed until I walked by Stubbs and noticed how AWESOME it sounded from outside (it's an open-air theater). I immediately drove home, picked up my sixteen-year old niece and sped back into town for the 11 PM Lily Allen showcase gig. We were only able to see her for a few minutes through the backstage door (which was very cool for my niece), but the sound was amazing as we stood just outside. She sounded perfect as she ran through a short 35-minute set featuring her classics ("Smile", "LDN", etc).

When Lily Allen wrapped up, we headed over to Friends to impatiently await the mighty Wombats (fortunately, my niece is on Spring Break). At about 1:15 AM, The Wombats took the stage and tore it up. We stood just behind them (outside) in the open window (the greatest thing about the Austin music scene), literally three feet from the drummer and guitarist (who ended up chatting with us and dedicating "My First Wedding" to me as apparently the sole married dude in the crowd). "Lost In The Post", "Moving To New York", and "Backfire At The Disco" were all amazing. Not getting home until 2:15 AM was made completely worthwhile by every ("she! was!") "Lost In The Post" chorus.