shivvy
19 Mar 2005, 01:19 PM
Here we are, our last proper day in Austin. The last few days have been exhausting and exhiliarting at the same time. On Wednesday and Thursday nights the crowds were not all that crazy, but by the time it Friday night this town was INSANE. The main drag where most of the shows happen (6th street) was blocked off from traffic and people were everywhere.
Our first stop last night was the Blender Bar to see GIANT DRAG. After the very, um, interesting performance at our Lounge Live party, we were curious to see if a club setting would get a different performance from Annie. It turned out to be just about the same, but the banter was different. There was a guy up front with a video camera filming everything and she told the crowd to keep an eye out for them on a new MTV series: "Raping The Band". She then mumbled a few unrepeatable lines and said "Check it out in the 10 spot!" which almost made me fall over. (Speaking of MTV, we walked past the Real World house last night. They always pick interesting properties. It will be very interesting to see their SXSW coverage on the upcoming season.)
After Giant Drag, we rolled over to Eternal to catch our place for ASH's set at 11pm. In our experience, Eternal is the worst venue in this town. The sound is bad and it isn't nearly big enough for the kind of bands that have been playing in there. We watched ROLLING BLACKOUTS who played at 10 so that we would have a good spot for Ash. They were actually much better than I expected, but the crowd of fans that they had were obnoxious slamdancing kids who were on our very last nerves.
The crowd literally changed in about 30 seconds after they ended with all of the Ash fans engulfing the floor. The place was SO hot and filled to the brim with people in mere moments. ASH took the stage and even though they had some technical problems, they sounded amazing. The sound guy there just could NOT do anything right. Charlotte looked so frustrated at different points that I was worried she would walk off the stage. Her monitor kept stopping and then her mic would go out over and over. She was unhappy, but you honestly wouldn't have known things were amiss unless you were looking for it. They still gave it their all in a venue that they never should have had to play in. I'll still never understand how they aren't HUGE here in the states. They are, without question, one of the best bands out there.
After we poured our hot and sweaty selves out onto the street after their set, we ended up just people watching and walking around for awhile. Bryan Jay waited in line for "The Best Wurst" stand, which I just wasn't up for. He enjoyed it and that's all that matters. We then ran over to the Pecan St Ale House for a 1am set from RAINER MARIA.
Somehow this band is currently unsigned, which I don't get. They've got a finished album that they've been shopping around and they performed several new songs during their set. The venue was REALLY small, but it was a fun show. They really played hard and the place was filled with people. It was a lot of fun screaming along to "Ears Ring" with a crowd of hardcore fans.
It's a little after Noon on this beautiful Saturday. We're headed out for lunch here shortly and to get over to the Touch & Go party to see ENON & SUPERSYSTEM play. I hope we'll also be catching a private party with THE GO! TEAM this afternoon. Who knows if we'll be able to get in, but I've got our passes! Tonight I think we're headed to the Astralwerks showcase with KINGS OF CONVENIENCE, WEST INDIAN GIRL, and ED HARCOURT. After that we may catch something else 'official' before grabbing a cab out to a warehouse afterparty with BLOC PARTY...
I have a feeling that I'll be going to bed shortly after landing back in Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon and sleeping for like 15 hours. :-)
Our first stop last night was the Blender Bar to see GIANT DRAG. After the very, um, interesting performance at our Lounge Live party, we were curious to see if a club setting would get a different performance from Annie. It turned out to be just about the same, but the banter was different. There was a guy up front with a video camera filming everything and she told the crowd to keep an eye out for them on a new MTV series: "Raping The Band". She then mumbled a few unrepeatable lines and said "Check it out in the 10 spot!" which almost made me fall over. (Speaking of MTV, we walked past the Real World house last night. They always pick interesting properties. It will be very interesting to see their SXSW coverage on the upcoming season.)
After Giant Drag, we rolled over to Eternal to catch our place for ASH's set at 11pm. In our experience, Eternal is the worst venue in this town. The sound is bad and it isn't nearly big enough for the kind of bands that have been playing in there. We watched ROLLING BLACKOUTS who played at 10 so that we would have a good spot for Ash. They were actually much better than I expected, but the crowd of fans that they had were obnoxious slamdancing kids who were on our very last nerves.
The crowd literally changed in about 30 seconds after they ended with all of the Ash fans engulfing the floor. The place was SO hot and filled to the brim with people in mere moments. ASH took the stage and even though they had some technical problems, they sounded amazing. The sound guy there just could NOT do anything right. Charlotte looked so frustrated at different points that I was worried she would walk off the stage. Her monitor kept stopping and then her mic would go out over and over. She was unhappy, but you honestly wouldn't have known things were amiss unless you were looking for it. They still gave it their all in a venue that they never should have had to play in. I'll still never understand how they aren't HUGE here in the states. They are, without question, one of the best bands out there.
After we poured our hot and sweaty selves out onto the street after their set, we ended up just people watching and walking around for awhile. Bryan Jay waited in line for "The Best Wurst" stand, which I just wasn't up for. He enjoyed it and that's all that matters. We then ran over to the Pecan St Ale House for a 1am set from RAINER MARIA.
Somehow this band is currently unsigned, which I don't get. They've got a finished album that they've been shopping around and they performed several new songs during their set. The venue was REALLY small, but it was a fun show. They really played hard and the place was filled with people. It was a lot of fun screaming along to "Ears Ring" with a crowd of hardcore fans.
It's a little after Noon on this beautiful Saturday. We're headed out for lunch here shortly and to get over to the Touch & Go party to see ENON & SUPERSYSTEM play. I hope we'll also be catching a private party with THE GO! TEAM this afternoon. Who knows if we'll be able to get in, but I've got our passes! Tonight I think we're headed to the Astralwerks showcase with KINGS OF CONVENIENCE, WEST INDIAN GIRL, and ED HARCOURT. After that we may catch something else 'official' before grabbing a cab out to a warehouse afterparty with BLOC PARTY...
I have a feeling that I'll be going to bed shortly after landing back in Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon and sleeping for like 15 hours. :-)