SXSW Day Crawl One

Started the day at KGSR's morning concert series at the Four Seasons where The Greencards started it off at 7:00 AM. (note that it's still dark outside!)

If you want a good seat for these FS shows, you really need to be there by 6:00. I was up around 3:00 (couldn't sleep!) and at the Park'n'Ride bus stop in time for the 5:30 bus, so it worked great. There's a $5 charge for the Four Seasons shows but that covers an all-you-can-eat continental breakfast: orange juice, coffee, tea, wonderful pastries, breakfast tacos, etc. After The Greencards, there was Matt Morris, My Jerusalem, Charlie Mars, Shawn Sahm (Doug's son) and The Gourds. The bands only play 2 songs apiece, but it's still a fun way to see them.

After going home for a short nap, MrB (who had to work the morning) and I headed back out on the bus again. We are now BIG fans of the city busses for events like these. What were we ever thinking trying to deal with parking issues? First stop was 6th Street, Radio Room, for the first Paste Magazine party. No free beer [frowny face] but we did get to see one of the hot new Austin transplant bands: The Heartless Bastards (from Ohio). Here's a pic of Erika. They are a hard-rockin' band and that's the best way I can think of to describe them.

After Radio Room, we went over to Red River to the Mohawk, but it was just way too packed so we ditched that, hopped on another bus and went to the Pop Culture Press party at the Dog and Duck. As you can see, there is no duck, but there are dogs a-plenty on the patio, and a few remnants of the St. Patty's Day party they held the previous day. It was a lot less crowded than last year, but the lack of crowd was a relief. No free beer, but there was a table to set it on, and a chair to sit in - also room to walk around and the volume was just right. This is the Handsome Family below, and we also saw Future Clouds and Radar, an Austin band with a bit of buzz.

After Future Clouds, we got back on the bus and headed to SoCo, where we saw friends at Jo's but really didn't listen to any more music.