Friday of South by Southwest started with what was probably the smoothest morning of the week. No rude awakenings. No mad rush to get downtown in time. Everything just went fine, especially due to Kim and Holly serving up some breakfast tacos.
A decent-sized gang of us kicked the day off at the wildly-popular Village Voice party featuring The xx, Surfer Blood, Superchunk and the Pains of Being Pure at Heart.
Chuck and I walked up to La Zona Rosa to see the line extending around the block (twice), but were glad to see Kim, Holly and Lila waiting in the middle of it.
Shortly after noon, the line started moving very quickly and we were inside (with sweet gift bags in tow) in no time.
Then the first band came on.
FREE SOL
I had gone two full days of a pretty much stank-free South by Southwest, but that all changed when Free Sol hit the stage.
First of all, these guys were added to the bill a few days prior and when I saw “Free Sol”, I thought it meant free Sol beer. MAN, that free cerveza would’ve been so much better than enduring those guys for 30 minutes.
Terrible rap-rock with exquisitely bad taste for their “rock” half of the formula.
Final Grade: F
Next came one of the bands that actually made this party appealing…
SURFER BLOOD
I had heard very mixed things about Surfer Blood’s live show and this was Show #9 in a series of about 15 at SXSW for the band, so I didn’t really know what to expect. Plus, these guys are super young and green…so you couldn’t really expect a seasoned live presence.
With all of those things in mind, they were actually really good live. The most surprising thing about their show is how much they jammed out on their songs, which are relatively simple on record.
I walked away pretty impressed with them.
Final Grade: B+
After a quick venture outside, we all headed back inside to see…
THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART
I had listened to this band a little bit before SXSW, but I basically just knew that they owned every album by The Smiths and The Cure.
They put on a pretty solid set and even played new stuff, that basically sounded just like the old stuff.
Final Grade: B
SUPERCHUNK
In my opinion, this was the biggest “get” of the Village Voice party. This was Superchunk’s only show of the week and they absolutely killed it.
It appeared as though a significant portion of the crowd was there specifically for Superchunk, which was very nice to see.
Closing with “Slack Motherfucker” really encapsulated the energy and mood of the show. Two thumbs way up.
Final Grade: A
THE XX
Closing out this great party was super-buzz band The xx. I had held out on other opportunities to catch The xx because I thought this atmosphere (the dark La Zona Rosa) would suit their bedroom pop the best.
The band was surprisingly captivating live, playing versions of their songs that were strikingly true to the album and maintaining a great vibe throughout the set.
If they find a way to expand their sound on future albums, The xx has the chops to really become something big.
Final Grade: A
After we left the Village Voice party, there was a failed attempt to see Local Natives & Dr. Dog (total cluster) and a half-hearted attempt to see Lucero.
For the nightcap, I was hoping to start with Metric at Stubb’s, but the addition of Muse to the bill made that a tough thing to get done.
I decided to give it a go, meaning that Chuck and I spent about an hour waiting in line across the street from Stubbs, only to see the badge line grow…and grow…and grow, almost reaching the interstate.
I had no idea Muse was that popular among people “in the music industry.”
After giving up about 15 minutes before Metric’s set, Chuck and I briefly went into Red 7 to see…
TRAMPLED BY TURTLES
I’m not really sure why we went in here. I think maybe we were anticipating a meet up with some friends, but this was a bluegrass band that actually had one big bearded guy in overalls.
It was the kind of show that should come with complimentary moonshine and cornbread.
It wasn’t my thing, but they were certainly skilled at what they do. And the crowd was loving it.
It’d be unfair to give them a grade.
Next, we walked over to the Galaxy Room’s backyard to catch the tail end of…
FREELANCE WHALES
I really liked this band when I first heard them a few months back, but kind of grew tired of them.
We only caught two songs, which were both familiar to me…but I wasn’t paying too much attention.
After they were done, we crept up closer for…
LOCAL NATIVES
I wanted to see Local Natives and Chuck really wanted to see them, so having this opportunity really made up for the Metric setback. That’s one of the best things about South by Southwest: there’s always another option…or 20.
Local Natives proved to be a great back-up plan.
The band has a ton of live energy and got a great reaction from the crowd (had no idea these guys were getting so much traction).
They closed the set by bringing out a few members of Fool’s Gold for a great rendition of “Sun Hands.” Quality stuff.
Final Grade: A
After that, we headed over to Emo’s to catch a few bands and actually got there for the last few minutes of Royal Bangs, who we already saw on Day 1.
Following their set, I briefly talked to the drummer and found out that, sadly, the once-5-piece is now a 3-piece. Balls.
Born Ruffians came on next, but I don’t remember much about that set because Ginger was just arriving in Austin and I walked out to meet her in the parking lot.
After getting her parking squared away, we walked back to Emo’s to get Chuck and then headed over to The Ale House in hopes of catching Fanfarlo and MG&V (the seemingly brand new Delta Spirit/Deer Tick/Dawes supergroup).
I knew we were in for another setback when we walked into the alley and saw a total clusterfuck by the Ale House door. It was a full hour before Fanfarlo would take the stage and there were already lines of people spilling in all directions.
We ended up sitting on a ledge outside and hanging out, sort of hearing Fanfarlo from outside and hoping to get in for MG&V.
In the meantime, I talked to Kelly from Delta Spirit about their upcoming album and future tour dates. He was really nice. Blah blah blah.
Once Fanfarlo was done, this teeny tiny place cleared out and we were all able to get in for MG&V’s supposed first show.
MG&V
Knowing who’s involved, I guess I knew what to expect from this set. Of the three acts involved, I’d say that it sounded the closest to Dawes, with the lighter sides of Deer Tick and Delta Spirit thrown in.
Kelly did say that there’s really no hopes of an MG&V album, since the bands are on 3 different record lables…so this could’ve been a one-off deal.
We snagged a spot on some couches along the balcony and just relaxed throughout the set. It was a nice way to close out another great day of SXSW.
Final Grade: B+
Day 3 was the first time we experience any real setbacks as far as not getting into the shows we wanted, but it was still a great day (with one more still to go!).
#9
Daytrotter’s been on a pretty good run this week.
THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART “Belong”
