Zombie Day and The End

We got downtown early enough to be able to head back to the Waterloo Records parking lot to see The Zombies, a band I have loved since I was about 12. They still have enough principal original people in the band to keep their credentials and sound solid (with Colin Blunstone, lead vocals, and Rod Argent, keyboards).

The Zombies

Some old footage:

We saw them at noon, then again at 2pm down the street at a bike shop (where KEXP of Seattle was hosting their SXSW live broadcasts). We were pretty close at the Waterloo parking lot stage, but really just inches away at the bike shop. Tickled pink.

Our friend who was with at the KEXP show drove us over to Threadgill's for the Folk Alliance party, which was certainly the most relaxed and easiest event of the week. You could go inside or out, order dinner and drinks, sit wherever you like, listen to good music, and chat with friends. I finally got to see Willie Nile (after years of recommendations) and he was good - also a blast when he came out to dance with the audience.

Willie Nile and dancer

It was Saturday afternoon and time to start winding it down for the week. We don't don't anything on Southby Sunday, even if it IS St. Paddy's Day. Dem's da rules (unwritten). We headed down to South Congress to hit the big stage at SXSJ (South by San Jose), another parking lot and just jammed full of folks. MrB was a hero and wiggled us up to the front, where we got to see Dawes for the last time. Here is a well-recorded video of one of their shows from the week.


We saw:
Caroline Brooks, Courrier, Seryn, The Preservation, Emily Reid, The Royalty, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Quiet Company, Dawes, Delta Spirit, John McCauley, Kopecky Family Band, Joe Fletcher & The Wrong Reasons, Quiet Life, The Lone Bellow, Guards, Foxygen, Michael Fracasso, Nels Andrews, Nathan Hamilton, Birds of Chicago, von Grey, Shakey Graves, Milk Carton Kids, The Dunwells, Billy Bragg, Jesca Hoop, Frightened Rabbit, Alt-J, Richard Thompson, Billy Bragg, The Relatives, The Mavericks, Emmylou Harris with Rodney Crowell, The Zombies, Trey Hawkins, Willie Nile, Sahara Smith, Heartless Bastards.

43 shows, 38 acts (a few more than once, accounting for there being more shows than acts).

A pig and a unicorn went downtown...

"Goodnight Austin Texas... wherever you are."
-- Frank Zappa, Armadillo World Headquarters, 1975
-- Jack White, Austin City Limits, 2012

Hop, skip and jump around

Golden glitter cowboy boots had been wrapped around high wires in several places around town. How they got there is a mystery.

As yesterday, we started at the Paste party at the crack of noon. The first band was “von Grey,” which we knew absolutely nothing about… turns out they are a very listenable group of 4 young sisters who sing and play various acoustic instruments (very well), and for lack of a better description I would say they play contemporary pop/grass Americana with just a slight Nashville flavor. Wow - that was a genre salad. See what you think:


We left Paste (The Stages on Sixth) after von Grey and walked some blocks over to the Pandora Discovery Den, which is usually known as Antone’s nightclub (that is until it moves to the Eastside this week). They have great lineups as well, and it’s really pleasant and cool inside. Also, maybe a bit less crowded than some other places because you need to RSVP for a wristband (which is free) and they don’t have free refreshments. Anyway, it makes for a nice atmosphere. We saw Shakey Graves, an Austin-based singer/songwriter who I highly recommend - a little along the lines of John Fullbright and maybe some Ryan Bingham flavor in my opinion - lots of soul. We talked with his manager while we were waiting in line. He was a really nice guy from Canada, although his name escapes me.

Next up was the Milk Carton Kids from Los Angeles. They reminded me of Gillian Welch/Dave Rawlings (esp. Dave's guitar), Chad and Jeremy, early Simon and Garfunkel... and their stage banter was dry and funny like the Smothers Brothers. Sweet stuff.

Milk Carton Kids

We left Antone's and hiked over to the Whole Foods rooftop just in time to catch The Dunwells from Leeds UK. I really like those guys, they are good and lots of fun to watch too. Go and see them if you can. This picture looks pretty comical where the guitar player on the right in concerned.

The Dunwells

The East/West bus was uselessly slow, so we walked back to Antone's in time for Billy Bragg and Dawes (3rd time). I have wanted to see Billy Bragg for years. Checked another one off of the must-see list.

Billy Bragg

Yet another hike back west got us in to see Jesca Hoop, who has a beautiful and hypnotic vocal and guitar style. We sat cross-legged on the floor in a really terrible music venue for her, but during southby there is live music coming from every nook and cranny.

Wednesday Day Shift

It was hard to be at the bus stop, all packed for the day, at 9:30AM after not getting to bed until around 3:00 the same morning. On the bus ride ride in, there was a big thump of a noise in front of us. A motorcycle and car had collided right in front of the bus. The rider was wearing a helmet, and fortunately was able to be helped to the curb, possibly injured but alive. The driver of the car was an old man who I think was probably too old be still be operating such dangerous machinery - but tragedy was averted, as far as we could tell.

We started out at the Wednesday Paste party, they never fail to present a lineup that's very impressive in quality. The venue is a great place to see a band, there's a stage indoors and one outdoors in the back under a tent... and real working bathrooms (not a small benefit, esp. for a woman in the SXSW throngs). They also have (free while they last) t-shirts, good beer, and cold Honest Tea. Yum.

The Lone Bellow was one of our must-sees, and they blew us away. Spectacular! Three strong voices to make you tingle and swoon. Also saw Guards, Foxygen (a young band channeling some mid-sixties and sound and style), and then Dawes (again) (I will try to hold back the gushing for now).

The Lone Bellow

Foxygen

Dawes

There was time for lunch at Koriente, a hike to the bus stop and headed south for Guero's Taco Bar courtyard - something called South-by-Soupfest, a benefit for the homeless shelter. It's a nice area for hanging out, big trees, picnic tables and benches, kids (and adults) romping it up and dancing. Watched several great local and not-so-local singer/songwriters before another of our must-see bands came up - Birds of Chicago (from Chicago and Canada). Soooo wonderful, so under the radar too. LOVE. Here's the scene right after sundown.


A fine day with beautiful weather.

Tuesday rowdiness

We went to the Dyn party last year, so this year when I RSVP'd they sent a code for VIP status. That meant that in addition to the free music we got free drinks, food, and swag (lighted tambourines, sunglasses, t-shirt, backpack, and hardcover journal), plus access to the side balconies where it was a teeny tiny bit less crowded.

A great, high-energy lineup, including Kopecky Family Band, John McCauley (Deertick, Diamond Rugs, Middle Brother) Delta Spirit and Dawes.

Delta Spirit's singer Matt Vasquez has been known to do some acrobatic stuff, and I hope he always makes it back down safely. Fun to watch... but OH NOOOOOOO!

First time to see John McCauley after wanted to see him for a year or so. This was the first of FOUR Dawes shows for us during SXSW, but I believe they played 14 times so it's not like we went to all of them. ;-) SXSW shows range from about 15 minutes to maybe 45, with most being a half-hour.

This was the hardest party to do for us because MrB had to work all day after getting up at 5:00am (not me though, I took Tuesday off). Then we hustled over to the bus transit center. The ride in went smoothly but the ride home with the "Night Owl route" (running on detours due to festival traffic), not knowing exactly where to catch it and then overshooting the transit center because - hey - I didn't not know they CLOSED it... sheesh... but we were walking on blisters after 7 hours of standing for music - and the half-hour commute took 2.5 hours.

Worth it? Yes.

Swan Dive and Springsteen, SXSW day 1

Wednesday was a long one. Started out at a place/party where I hadn't been before, it was the Billy Reid American Songwriter held at the Swan Dive. It turned out to be a pretty stylish little hole-in-the-wall, kind of shabby chic decor and (best of all) the walls were lined with padded seating. We were so grateful for those! I had expected we would be standing up in a crowded, sweaty room for 6 hours - something I was better at when I was a lot younger. Instead we managed to get a wall seat with a sidelong view of the stage that wouldn't be obstructed by people. The "sweaty" part still applied though.

The lineup was great!

The Punch Brothers, Delta Spirit, The Apache Relay, Phosphorescent, Brendan Benson, Jonny Corndawg, Wild Cub, & Shelly Colvin.

Jonny Corndawg was new for us. Really good music in what I would call "California Country" style, or perhaps "Western" (and I can't write that without thinking of that scene in the Blues Brothers where Bob's Country Bunker informs the band that their club plays both kinds of music, country AND western). J. Corndawg featured a damned good fiddler, an amazing pedal steel, and the added feature of guest Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes (a band I love).

Matt Vasquez (from Delta Spirit/Middle Brother) was enjoying the show from stage front and even jumped up for a quick chorus. John McCauley (Deer Tick/Diamond Rugs/Middle Brother) was spied up there too... and as much as I was hoping for a Middle Brother surprise quickie (Middle Brother is Vasquez, Goldsmith and McCauley), that's as close as it got to happening. I just got their CD and can't leave it alone.

Brendan Benson was really good. I didn't realize (by name) that he was part of The Raconteurs and is generally related to much of Jack White's music with mutual influence on each other. Recommended!

The Apache Relay also a discovery act for me, really want to see them again. Check them out.

Delta Spirit is a band we already liked, and in fact, saw them the previous day at their CD release at Waterloo Records. Great songs, great energy!

I dearly love The Punch Brothers, and they played a rowdy, energetic set to finish out Billy Ried's party. All kinds of awesome.

We needed to get to the Austin Music Awards as quickly as possible. The doors opened while we were still at Swan Dive, and the seats fill up fast. I was grateful to a friend of mine who managed to save us 2nd row seats! This is a combo awards show/concert, so they have a little music interspersed with a few awards. They tailor the lineup with local new hotness, local legends, and everything in-between or both. They had Quiet Company, Austin's hottest indie band, performances from Ruthie Foster, Patty Griffin, Carolyn Wonderland, Joe "King" Carrasco, and Christopher Cross with his original Austin band..

It was strongly rumored that Bruce Springsteen just might put in a surprise appearance at the Awards, and they kept on building that suspense. Sure enough, out he came to sit in with Alejandro Escovedo, Joe Ely, Garland Jeffreys and a whole lot of folks. I'm in the process of getting some videos up on my channel, so check it out if you want (and excuse the gawd awful shitty acoustics at the Austin Music Hall).


Spectacular first day. Started out at noon (not counting the earlier line-waiting time - I am an obsessive early bird to the annoyance of certain people - but there are often big advantages to being first in line) and went until after midnight. Ticket cost for all = $15.

How Far We've Come

Here's a video from yesterday's in-store appearance by Dawes at Waterloo Records (taken by the person standing next to me). I'm really loving the latest record from this band. This is the stripped-down version, which is the only one I've seen (the first time was at SXSW 2010 when we hadn't even heard of them, and saw them early in the morning in a hotel lobby). Love the harmonies and songwriting.

How Far We've Come


I felt like such a dork when we were getting our CDs signed and lead singer Taylor asked if we were coming out to the show that night at La Zona Rosa, and I answered "No, can't do it. It's a weeknight." So wimpy. But I get up at 4:30 for work, and it wears this (getting older all the time) woman out. Someday I hope to see their show with the full band.

And Now For Something Completely Juvenile.

It's my birthday today, so "Pffthh pffthh pffthh pfffthh to me!!"

I don't share a birthday with very many 'famous' people that I am familiar with, except for the delightful Stephen Fry, actors Rupert Grint (yes, he WAS a perfect Ron Weasley, but wonder what he'll be up to in 10 years time), and Kenny Baker, the man inside R2D2.

A number of important and earth-shattering events happened on August 24. Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79, Windows95 was released (duh! 1995), Pluto was downgraded from full-fledged 'planet' (2006), Thomas Edison patented the movie camera (1891), Mark David Chapman was sentenced to prison (1981), Charles Darwin was asked to travel on the HMS Beagle (1831).

August 24th is also International Day Against Intolerance, Discrimination and Violence Based on Musical Preferences, Lifestyle and Dress Code, a cause I can definitely get behind. The date was picked because it was the day in 2007 that Sophie Lancaster and her boyfriend were attacked in the UK, and she was killed, all because they were dressed in Goth fashion. The Romanian Humanist Association took up the cause and created the Black Cat Campaign, and it is observed on August 24 since 2009.

As for local events, today marks the breaking of the record (standing since 1925) for most days in a year (in Central Austin) when the temperature is 100°F (37.7°C) or more - with 70 days -- but the record will continue to be broken every day for possibly the next month. July just broke the record for the hottest month... ever... and August is topping it.

Tomorrow I am celebrating by taking the day off work (sleeping well past 4:30AM -- Yaaay) and going in the afternoon to Waterloo Records to see one of my current favorite bands, Dawes. That's about it. Oh yeah, and staying in the A/C as much as possible (hope they don't form a waiting line outside in the heat of the day when it's 105°).

Gah! No end in sight. Looks like a cloudy day coming up next week, but I'll believe it when I see it. via weather.com

SXSW day crawl - Thu, day 2

Thursday, we were back at the Hilton nice and early, and again got a great table with comfy chairs right in front of the stage. We saw 3 up-and-coming bands that we didn’t know much about but probably should have. We saw Dawes, Frightened Rabbit, and the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Now, sometimes at radio gigs you might be seeing a stripped-down version of the full band, but it still sounds good.

Dawes (CA) had really impressive vocal harmonies and songwriting. I might describe what I heard as Fleet Foxes gone Americana, singing a Jackson Browne song with Avett Brothers flair. Jeez, that didn't make sense. No wonder I don't write critiques for a living. Anyway, I intend to buy a CD. I felt sorry for them on Saturday, because their official SXSW showcase was on the big free outdoor stage at Auditorium Shores, a great opportunity for exposure, and the weather was foul and windy and cold, plus the grounds were very muddy from the previous night's rainstorm.

Frightened Rabbit (Scotland) was just a couple of guys with guitars (on this morning). I learned that the radio feed was not really live but a bit on delay when the lead singer uttered "this is fucked" because of a mis-managed capo, then played a song with the same word in it, and the radio folks didn't freak out at all. Great drinking music, I don't care what time of day it is, and coffee will suffice.

Carolina Chocolate Drops (NC) had come recommended beforehand, and they didn't disappoint. Their sound is old-timey, gypsy, hillbilly, folk, gospel, very, very rootsy -- then they mix it up good, all in the same pot. We really do hope they come back here (look at previous posting for video from this event).

After the Hilton, we went to 2nd Paste party. The first band on was Damion Suomi (FL), (yes, that's the name of the band leader). They've got a hard Irish folkie sound, strong percussion. I liked them.


They had one of our favorites on next, Shearwater. They are an Austin band, but we don't get to see them very often here as they mostly tour, and mostly in Europe. They've got a beautiful, eclectic sound. A couple of pics of Shearwater:


Even though there were some possibly interesting bands coming up, we decided to see what was out there on 6th.

Who could resist this kitten?

yup, pretty much everywhere...

loading in


We were planning on seeing Or, The Whale at the Beauty Bar, but that place was a sardine tent with maximum volume (was in no mood for that) so we opted for lunch at Koriente next door, and caught the bus to a far south coffee shop (The Stompin' Grounds) and saw Rocky Votolato (Seattle, WA) and Ben Sollee (Louisville, KY)/Daniel Martin Moore. I wasn't familiar with Rocky, but he was excellent. We were there to see Ben (cellist, pop/folk singer/songwriter).

It was 5:30 and we'd hit the streets at 7am so we headed home. A great day with great weather (just like Wednesday).

{addendum: Statesman gallery Day 2}