SXSW: Days 2 & 3
March 23, 2006, 1:30 p.m.
Day 1 was long, but we managed to get a few hours
Day 1 was long, but we managed to get a few hours of sleep and gear up for the rest of week. Last Thursday we started off our day at the South By Stereogum party. Brisket on white bread was served, Fat Tire beers were distributed and Aziz Ansari was hosting the show, which had a solid lineup: Aloha, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Thunderbirds Are Now!, Rogue Wave and Ted Leo.
Thunderbirds Are Now! [pictured] are pretty amazing - the energy of their keyboardist alone is enough to make you smile. They seem young, and their sound is definitely that of innocence and experience clashing - letting out one loud sonic (danceable) boom. Listen: Eat This City.mp3 - Thunderbirds Are Now!
After this band was done we were outside in the alley, where we met Ryan Schreiber. We will now take back anything bad we've ever said about Pitchfork, this guy is genuinely excited about music and very willing to talk about it with just about everyone. We discussed Nick Sylvester's departure from the site and he seemed a bit saddened by the whole scenario.
We ran back inside when Ted Leo came on, because for as much as this guy plays in New York - we hardly ever catch a show. He always delivers the rock, however we were all disappointed that he didn't give in to the crowds pleas for his cover of "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson. Listen: Since U Been Gone.mp3 - Ted Leo
Later that night we headed over to the Diesel show where we caught The Boy Least Likely To and Voxtrot. The former has the sound of demented happiness...if that makes sense. Their songs are just a little bit jaded verbally, but sonically upbeat. Voxtrot was pretty much EVERYWHERE during SXSW, something we were happy about - because this meant we got to catch them twice. And just as we'd be ready to give in to sleep they'd play their new song, with an anthemic ending stating "You are so young, so feel alive!" Listen: Soft and Warm.mp3 - Voxtrot
Day 3 began with (laugh if you want) Blogger Brunch! We served ourselves some free breakfast burritos, as the coffee and beer flowed freely. We think this was put on by Filter Magazine, but we can't remember. However we can tell you that the Blogger of the Year award was given to Gorilla vs Bear (honorable mentions to Stereogum and Brooklyn Vegan). Stereogum had a film crew with him throughout the festival and we have a little appearance in it at this brunch. If you want to check it out it's the second clip on this site.
Next up was the Pitchfork party where we caught Jose Gonzalez, Hot Chip (Pitchfork Rating: 8.0) and Love is All (Pitchfork Rating: 8.7). The highlight here was actually the host Patton Oswalt, who joked that Pitchfork trademarked the word "derivative". Love is All earned their hype as well, though their set was short - we saw enough to head to another one of their shows the next day.
Other things we did on day 3: the Fader House (an outdoor space with a stage, deejay booth and more free alcohol!) for Pretty Dirty Things (aka: The Libertines minus Pete Doherty) [pictured], Bravo Silva for their showcase at Habana Calle and the Stolen Transmission party at the Red Bull House.