Our Final SXSW Megapost, #afterthebreak…
South By Southwest Music Festival
Finale
Why a ‘Megapost’?
Too much time has pass since SXSW passed me by. So instead of forcing myself to write every excruciating detail from the remaining five days…I’m here to let you know which showcases made an impression on me. So, here we go!
Please note, each notable showcase listed below will be getting a money rating from $ to $$$$$ thus indicating the price I would’ve paid if I saw each act here in LA. The $$$$$ means more than $150.
Day 2
The first big day of the festival marked the only show from Paramore. which both Pixie & I wanted to be apart of. Our day started at 11am. I did my own thing. Started at The Maine to check out Amamanaguchi’s day show. Then, we met up at the free Macklemore & Ryan Lewis show at Waterloo Records. Afterwards, I waited in line for 4 hours to get an amazing spot for the Paramore, Twenty One Pilots, Kitten, etc…super showcase at the Belmont.
1) Anamanaguchi @ The Main ($$$)
NY Chiptune Band (of Scott Pilgrim SDTK fame) has been one of those bands that I’ve been dying to see since I first heard of them back in 2005. Was expecting more of a electronic 8bit sound than the strictly guitar house band that rocked the Main that March afternoon. All instrumental. Was really feeling it at first, but the grew tired of the never ending sound by the end.
2) Macklemore & Ryan Lewis @ Waterloo Records ($$$$)
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis was one of the hottest acts during the whole SXSW festival. With numerous shows daily, there was no excuse not to catch them…despite the fact all shows were sold out. Waterloo Records sponsored a free non-festival daily showcase featuring many of the headliners. This is was where I saw Ben & Ryan. It was jam packed. Thousands of people standing all around…on rooftops, lining up streets, in the plaza. If you don’t check out my pictures, imagine Hitchcock’s The Birds last five minutes but with humans. I pushed my way through into the gated area and got some of my favorite photos of the week featuring Mack, Ryan, Wanz, and the sea of sunburned fans.
This showcase was plagued by audio issues. For a good two minutes, Ben rapped to himself.
3) Twenty One Pilots @ The Belmont ($$$)
The third headliner of The Belmont’s Nikon Warner Sound Showcase stole the entire festival for me. All year I have been bumping “Vessel” and seeing Tyler & Josh kill it live made the trip worth every penny. They played with such passion. It made their entire set so much fun. And the electricity was palpable. The entire courtyard was feeling it.
Highlight of the night was when Tyler let loose…climbing atop of the Belmont, running around through the crowd, playing freestyle drum battle with Josh, along climbing the speakers. They took the crazy energy that Kitten forged and took it to the next level.
This was a rock show worth remembering…
4) Kitten @ The Belmont ($$)
We saw Chloe’s feline frenzy back in 2012. All I can say is ‘Boy, this Kitten has grown into a cat since then.’ Kitten really impressed me this time around. She is still untamed and wild as ever. Be sure to catch her now before her price rises.
5) Paramore @ The Belmont ($$$$$)
Like pulling a Variant card out of a random pack of baseball cards, Paramore’s only SXSW showcase was equal in hype as anything Myspace was going to sponsor. On top of that, this show began the rebirth of pop rock’s princess — Hayley Williams. I was front row for it all. Got some amazing pictures. They played all their hits. The audio was so loud that I couldn’t keep track of the lyrics for most of them. Also, we got the debut of ‘Still Into You’. Now, won’t have to see them again.
Exclusive shows are what the festival is all about, and this was a sponsored event that didn’t disappoint.
6) Tegan & Sara @ The Belmont ($$$$)
These Pop sisters were better live than what I expected. Not really a fan of their pop. Like their current single. Still impressed. The lighting was really bad overall for taking non-artistic sort of pictures. For one of those hyped bands of the moment who have been working their asses off, happy they are getting the credit they deserve.
It was not the physical that I loved.
Day 3
Day Three was my longest day of all. All the tips & tricks we learned on Day 1 & 2 paid off on Thursday. I spent 80% of the day by myself. Started off at Old School Bar & Grill, Austin Hilton, then to the hip dance club Republic live, the massive majestic iconic Austin Music Hall, the grungy Empire Garage for a LA favorite, wrapping up the Hype Hotel beyond 2am.
Notables:
1) Jake Bugg @ Hype Hotel ($$$)
My favorite new artist of the festival at my favorite SXSW venue. Hype Hotel not only provided an environment worthy of a guerrilla showcase, it also had free drinks & Taco Bell each time you walked in. It’s concrete walls, bright lights, and hipster audience made each showcase feel like it was something from the future. All other venues were western inspired.
Carson Daly brought me to Jake Bugg’s show. Another artist who has garnered Bob Dylan references abound…from unclever bloggers. He is another 19 year old singer / songwriter from overseas who has gain heaps of buzz here in the states for his Beatles / Johnny Cash like British country soul. His new self-titled record is out now!
He came out on stage around 1 a.m., played five songs, and left as quickly as he came. He’s going to be an Ed Sheeran kind of artist. Check him out now or find him on tour with Taylor Swift like pop act.
2) The Airborne Toxic Event @ Old School ($$$)
Sometime around…two. Not midnight. I found myself against the wall of Old School Bar & Grill’s second floor watching The Airborne Toxic Event rocking a full 7 song set full of hits & new tracks off their new EP. Mikel, lead vocalist of TATE, brought the energy like most other rock artists at the festival by climbing atop of the second floor over the crowd at one point of the show. Made for some great pictures.
For a band I had no interest of seeing or was expecting to see, TATE really impressed me with their collection of hits.
3) City & Colour @ Austin Music Hall ($$$$)
Color with a ‘U’ means that Dallas Green is back! The Canadian singer songwriter nicknamed ‘City & Colour’ is prepping for his new album — The Hurry and the Harm — that drops in June and gave a quick showcase at the Austin Music Hall during the festival. He was on my music bucket list for awhile now and walked my way from Republic Live to the giant mega complex on the edge of Downtown Austin to experience Dallas’ unique indie folk rock. He rocked.
The Austin Music Hall was a venue out of my dreams. Large ‘Wiltern’ like ground floor with a balcony with seats and bleacher standing areas. I stood up on the second floor, in the dark. The sound was killer, the crowd electric, and everyone could see.
4) Dead Sara @ Empire Garage ($$$$)
The Roxy Sponsored a LA band showcase at the Empire Garage headlined by personal favorite, Dead Sara. They were okay. Being on tour with Muse and the jet lag from flying into Austin could be felt from Emily as she sang their tracks off their 2012 self titled debut. After two previous times, this was the weakest of all their showcases I’ve seen them do. However, even lukewarm, this showcase still was 10x better than 60% of showcases I saw at the festival. Dead Sara is just one of those bands that kill every show. Love them to death. Had bigger hopes.
This was the only venue that I was warned about my camera. The Garage made seeing Dead Sara as apart of a ‘Battle of the Bands’. The Empire Garage was literally a concrete Garage. Surely oil stained the floor.
5) TOKiMONSTA & Rebecca & Fiona @ Republic Live ($$)
EDM was alive & well at the festival. All you had to do is walk 5 blocks away from downtown’s center and you hit the sexy clubs. Republic Live featured most of the DJs, allowing Austin concert goers a never ending rave of drum beats, electronic pulses, lasers, and dancing. Two of the spotlight DJs were TOKiMONSTA and Rebecca & Fiona. Toki brought her homemade beats and R&F made each of their tracks sensual sexy through their duo dance moves.
Both, get my recommendation. Plus, my Toki pictures were some of my guerrilla favorites.
Day 4
Got sick from a meal on Thursday night, which immobilized me for most of morning. I spent the day show period at the Austin Convention Center watching a select performances from Emmylou Harris, Iron & Wine, Pickwick, Dawes, and Vampire Weekend being sponsored by their NPR channels. Felt better after a quick nap and made my way to Buffalo Billiards, Driskell, & Vice Bar for my final late night adventures being headlined by Fall Out Boy’s one & only show.
I nicknamed Friday as ‘Guys Night’ for saw many Female artists up until this point.
Notables:
1) Jamie N Commons @ Buffalo Billiards ($$$)
Clever name for a bar, huh? I think so. The whole bottom floor is rows and rows of billiard games. The second floor is where Jamie N Commons quietly played. On a wooden stage in front of a bar island full of people. Was expecting it be crowded, but it really wasn’t. Jamie wasn’t feeling well...like myself…and quickly ran through four of his most popular tracks acoustically. Including my favorite track, Walking Dead’s ‘Home’. He said his other shows had a full band and recommend we go check it out. I didn’t mind. To experience an artist like Jamie in his true singer/songwriter form was the dream. I’ll save the real showcase for a venue like the Troubadour where a mixture of both would be greatly profound.
2) Pickwick @ Radio Day Stage ($$)
Inbetween Iron & Wine and Vampire Weekend, I got a taste of the neo-soulful Pickwick at the Convention Center’s Radio Day Stage. One of the bands that SXSW schedule recommended to me, but was always my last choice on the daily battle schedule because I never heard a song styling of theirs before. Upon the first note my mind drew from my collective musical knowledge that put them in comparison to the other Seattle soul child — Allen Stone.
Galen Disston impressed me with his unique soulful voice that equaled in power to Mr. Stone’s. Found myself grooving to their soulful punk as I laid on the convention center floor. Their good music made me feel 10x better.
3) Fall Out Boy @ Vice Bar ($$$$$)
One of my favorite bands of all time in Austin’s most crowded, ill fitting, venues. The problem with this showcase was Vice bar’s horrid stage that gave no lift to the artists. I spent most of the time staring at their heads through a sea of dancing hair, and I’m 6’5″. Make sure you grab a spot on the 2nd or 3rd floors. I was pushed all the way in the back corner. But thanks to my Guerrilla techniques, still got some worth while pictures of FOB and the colorful crowd. It’s what I do.
The setlist featured every standout Fall out Boy song from their past four album catalog with a few tracks from ‘Save Rock and Roll’ (Out now!). Even though it was crowded, still was an epic showcase. The music fan boy in me lost it when I heard all my favorite songs. Singing with fellow FOB fans, all celebrating the return of the tongue & cheek rock we loved so much.
Can’t wait to see them at the Wiltern in June!
4) Matt Nathanson @ Vice Bar ($$$$)
This was the Matt Nathanson I dreamed of seeing ever since I heard of the San Francisco indie rocker with a decade of hits. His Wiltern show, back in 2011, was disappointing because Matt just sang the songs. Not many rants. here at Vice Bar. It wasn’t the case. He joked with the crowd, played all his hits…which 80% of the crowd knew…and performed a couple of tracks from his upcoming 2013 record that will be overplayed in my car stereo in the coming future.
If I could’ve saw this showcase every night, then I would be one happy music blogger.
5) Iron & Wine @ Radio Day Stage ($$$$)
I saw Sam back in 2011 for my birthday. Was disappointed I couldn’t bring my camera into the Wiltern and have been waiting for the day where I could capture Iron & Wine live once more in my digital frame. Got my chance and made some of the best pictures from the week. I stood in the back corner of the Radio Day showcase at the Austin Convention Center and captured Sam’s unplugged set featuring a fan setlist made up on the fly with the audience’s help. I threw out ‘Such Great Heights’, but wasn’t chosen.
This was the most entertaining showcase for the fact that it was like catching Sam at a local Austin coffee house. Way different than when I first saw him back in the day. Very relaxed.
6) Vampire Weekend @ Radio Day Stage ($$$$$)
We saw Vampire Weekend back in 2010 at KROQ’s almost acoustic Christmas and now on the verge of their 2013 release. This was one of their primary showcases in preparation for their summer long tour promoting ‘Modern Vampires of the City’. They played five hits and one from the new record to a large crowd of ‘you and your cousins’ hoarding the stage. The NPR guys made the commentary that they never saw the Radio Day Stage this crowd during the whole festival.
I wanted more new stuff, but seeing how they still were amazing as they were back in 2010…made it easy to forgive.
7) The Lone Bellows ($$$)
Debated long and hard whether to see The Lone Bellow. Quite glad I did. Hell of a show. Performing in a tiny two floor room in the Driskell Hotel. The same venue where former tourmates, The Civil Wars, performed one year before. Odd nugget of facts provided by SXSW regulars I met before they took the stage.
Brooklyn’s Zach Williams, Kanene Doheney Pipkin, and Brian Elmquist performed what seemed like every single track from their self-titled debut record during their 40 minute set with such ferocious passion that it left me with chills. Great record if you are looking for some new music. Two points to the acoustics in the room…made everything so haunting.
Day 5
We were so burnt out by Saturday. Lack of sleep and standing for 12 hours a day does that. Plus, Saturday at SXSW is made for all the non-official SXSW showcases that littered the streets with impatient fans waiting for Timberlake, Prince, Smashing Pumpkins, etc. I’ll chat about that in my Tips section later. However, if you didn’t put in the time, you options a few but worth checking it out.
I, instead, forced Pixie to be a tourist — checked out the State Capital, Congress Ave, ate at a Texas Steakhouse, and just reflected on the plentiful music week.
Notables:
1) San Cisco @ Cedar Street ($$)
Australian indie pop rockers, San Cisco, rocked Cedar Street for Fliter’s Mag weirdly titled “Showdown at Cedar Street”. Wait? Was this suppose to be a battle of the bands? Did someone win a prize? Right on, San Cisco. I’d vote for you. Cedar street was another cool picturesque venue. Two levels, Lush green vines and trees in a courtyard, multiple bars…worth checking out. Same with San Cisco. They performed 7 tracks from their 2012 self titled new record (I’ve written that a lot in this post, need more inventive names people). Made me want to tap my foot and say, “Hey! Hey!”
2) Foxes @ Hype Hotel ($$)
Our last showcase was at my favorite venue, Hype Hotel, and featured British indie pop rockers Foxes! alongside with some Taco Bell. Please note: Taco Bell + Musical Showcase = amazing time. Foxes is Louisa Rose Allen who reminds me of a punky Lily Allen. If the name sound familiar they are featured n Fall Out Boy’s “Save Rock and Roll”. She wears a cool hat and sings poppy songs in short shorts.
Again, the pictures came out great. Hype Hotel really gave me great colorful visuals. Great note to end the week.
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What more can I say? This was a showcase battle unlike anything else I have experienced. My body is still recovering. My tricks & tips are dropping next!
