shivvy
18 Mar 2005, 10:48 AM
It's another beautiful morning in here in Austin. We're slowly recovering from yesterday. We were at the Blind Pig Pub from 9:30am until a little after 7pm. I know that we caught more bands in the course of the day than I normally see in 6 months. It's really fascinating to be in a place where you can walk a few blocks and every single club & venue has bands playing that you love or would like to try and see.
After we took all of the broadcast gear back to the hotel, we drifted over to a place called HICKORY STREET BAR AND GRILL for dinner. They had some tasty burgers, the biggest salad bar I've ever seen, and all beer was $2. Sold, sold, and sold.
We made a very loose plan for who we wanted to see and we took off for 6th Street (where a good chunk of the clubs are). We made it to see our friends in DIRTY ON PURPOSE at 10pm. They essentially played in a big tent that was over the patio area of a bar. It was kind of strange, but we caught most of their set and they sounded really good.
From there we booked it over to STUBBS BBQ where the Astralwerks showcase was going on. GRAHAM COXON was taking the stage and we wanted to see him. Most of the people we have seen so far have had 30-45 minute performances because new bands usually start on the hour, every hour. Since this was a label showcase, Graham started at 11:15ish and played for well over an hour. His backing band was tremendous and Graham's voice was spot-on. I wasn't sure how he would be live, but I think we were both quite impressed. Stubbs is a really large outdoor venue and the place was full. We even ran into Charlotte from Ash there standing in front of us --- it was a great crowd!
When Graham finished, we caught two songs from THE PEELS. We were hoping to see more, but they started at Midnight and by the time we made it to the club at 12:20 they were basically done with their set. We decided to try and go see TEGAN AND SARA at 1am and got to their venue as PITTY SING were still on stage. We caught the last few songs of their set, as that showcase was running a bit behind. As badly as we both wanted to see TEGAN AND SARA, there were technical problems plaguing this showcase (which is a bad sign because it is where we are going to see ASH tonight!) and at 1:20 they were still trying to get everything setup properly and we decided to head back to our hotel.
There is a LOT going on today. We're going to attempt to see our pals in THE WHOLE FANTASTIC WORLD play this afternoon and make it to a few parties to see STARS and M.I.A. w/ DIPLO. The only sure-fire thing on tap tonight is ASH's 11pm set as part of the Record Collection showcase. After that I think we're going to try and hail a cab out to a house party where IDLEWILD are playing late. We'll see if we make it that far..
One thing that we haven't experienced yet (but I keep hearing and reading people bitching about) is that MTV's REAL WORLD is here in Austin for the next season and their 'job' is creating a documentary about SXSW. MTV was doing interviews at the venue next to the Blind Pig Pub when we were there yesterday, but I don't think that was the Real World...just 'news' people.
I hear that they have multiple camera crews around the city and are blocking people's line of sight at shows all over. Gee, I hope we run into them soon! Regardless, this might make it an interesting season when it airs later this year.
xo
Shiv
After we took all of the broadcast gear back to the hotel, we drifted over to a place called HICKORY STREET BAR AND GRILL for dinner. They had some tasty burgers, the biggest salad bar I've ever seen, and all beer was $2. Sold, sold, and sold.
We made a very loose plan for who we wanted to see and we took off for 6th Street (where a good chunk of the clubs are). We made it to see our friends in DIRTY ON PURPOSE at 10pm. They essentially played in a big tent that was over the patio area of a bar. It was kind of strange, but we caught most of their set and they sounded really good.
From there we booked it over to STUBBS BBQ where the Astralwerks showcase was going on. GRAHAM COXON was taking the stage and we wanted to see him. Most of the people we have seen so far have had 30-45 minute performances because new bands usually start on the hour, every hour. Since this was a label showcase, Graham started at 11:15ish and played for well over an hour. His backing band was tremendous and Graham's voice was spot-on. I wasn't sure how he would be live, but I think we were both quite impressed. Stubbs is a really large outdoor venue and the place was full. We even ran into Charlotte from Ash there standing in front of us --- it was a great crowd!
When Graham finished, we caught two songs from THE PEELS. We were hoping to see more, but they started at Midnight and by the time we made it to the club at 12:20 they were basically done with their set. We decided to try and go see TEGAN AND SARA at 1am and got to their venue as PITTY SING were still on stage. We caught the last few songs of their set, as that showcase was running a bit behind. As badly as we both wanted to see TEGAN AND SARA, there were technical problems plaguing this showcase (which is a bad sign because it is where we are going to see ASH tonight!) and at 1:20 they were still trying to get everything setup properly and we decided to head back to our hotel.
There is a LOT going on today. We're going to attempt to see our pals in THE WHOLE FANTASTIC WORLD play this afternoon and make it to a few parties to see STARS and M.I.A. w/ DIPLO. The only sure-fire thing on tap tonight is ASH's 11pm set as part of the Record Collection showcase. After that I think we're going to try and hail a cab out to a house party where IDLEWILD are playing late. We'll see if we make it that far..
One thing that we haven't experienced yet (but I keep hearing and reading people bitching about) is that MTV's REAL WORLD is here in Austin for the next season and their 'job' is creating a documentary about SXSW. MTV was doing interviews at the venue next to the Blind Pig Pub when we were there yesterday, but I don't think that was the Real World...just 'news' people.
I hear that they have multiple camera crews around the city and are blocking people's line of sight at shows all over. Gee, I hope we run into them soon! Regardless, this might make it an interesting season when it airs later this year.
xo
Shiv