SXSW 2010 - My review

South by Southwest is a yearly 4 day music event here in Austin, over 1,800 bands from all over the world come and play numerous times day and night at 70+ venues, hoping to catch the eye of a record label, or their label sends them down to showcase their stuff, or they come to play. (There's also a 4 day SXSW Interactive and 10 day SXSW Film festival that happens at the same time, but I'm not here to talk about those. Some day I'd like to catch some movies, but I haven't quite figured out how that works, and I'm too busy watching my yearly dose of live music.)

My friends and I do all the free stuff. We don't pay for a multi-hundred dollar wristband that gives you possible access to most of the nighttime stuff, and instead, we hit up the free "day shows". We also choose places with free food and open bar, so our wallets take a minimal hit. I bought 2 beers at one place, and 1 beer at another. Not too shabby! Friday I took a half day, Saturday was full of fun, and I also saw some night shows that were accessible during the evening.

Here are the bands I enjoyed the most. This year I had my phone with video so I took a few. Unfortunately, there's a glitch in my phone and at times it didn't record sound. Pretty heartbreaking as it really kills the song, even though it's still pretty ugly sound from a phone recording!

Nonetheless, I think it captures the moment pretty well.

METRIC, out of Canada, a known band. I love them. I have a weakness for rocker women in bands and this one is one of the tops on my list! This show did not disappoint. I loved every minute of it! If you look closely you can see her hair waving gently in the breeze. We talked about that for the rest of the week. (didn't we Jenny?!?!)

Their most known song: Help, I'm alive. (sound issues here and there)

Here's the end of one song, and and start of another. They ROCK!!!

DEAD CONFEDERATE - Athens, Georgia. This is another established band. Last year, they were packed, and I really wanted to see them this year, and was surprised when there was so few people for this at 1:20pm on Friday at Red Eye Fly. This is their most known song called "Rat". A song I look for on my iPod when i need big energy and anger to tackle hard hill runs on the trails. (I had the whole song, but sound cut off, so this is all you get, and you miss out on the BIG energy later in the song.

LOW ANTHEM: Rhode Island. I wasn't a big fan of this, as I had limited time and really like to seek out new stuff I want to listen to repeatedly. They had a great sound and it was nice and mellow, just not the right thing for me on a Friday afternoon.

HARLEM - Austin, TX . A local band I've heard on satellite radio in my car and this was 1 one 3 bands I REALLY wanted to see. I love rock/punk music, and this Garage Rock band didn't disappoint. The guitarist in blue and the drummer swapped places later on. They were tons of fun! They had no specific setlist ready and just talked between songs deciding what song to sing next. I love them!!! This is their current most popular song, it's called Friendly Ghost.

ROGUE WAVE: These guys were fantastic. So so glad I got to Lustre Pearl on Friday to see them. Very melodic, some mellow stuff, but overall, just clean good music. Even better that several SXSW rookie friends joined us for this show, and we got VIP passes. (don't ask how, because i'm not telling you my secret)

This is a short video, but it gives you a sense of their stage presence and sound. Try songs like Eyes or Lake Michigan if you like what you hear on this video.

DR DOG: lots of emails flew around with my friends about this band. They were good, but they had microphone issues so impossible to hear lyrics. Even worse on my recording. After listening to their music online, I'm not sure if I'd like it over their live stuff which was much more alive and energetic.

OKKERVIL RIVER with Roky Erickson - Austin, TX I like Okkervil River a lot. I wasn't familiar with Roky, but later discovered that he's a Texas music Legend. Having him on stage with them changed their sound, but it was still one of my favorite bands. Really enjoyed them. Here's a snippet along with a nice guitar solo by Lauren, their lead gutarist. Chick in a band, fell in love again. ha ha!

In talking to other people standing in lines or waiting for bands, here are some more that they discovered they likes. (with a song or two as reference)

-The antlers - two, bear.

-Kashmir - (Radio head/ Muse'ish sound)

-Givers - up up up, saw you first

-Frightened Rabbits -not miserable

-Lucero - it gets the worst at night

-We were promised jet packs - quiet little voices

I really wanted to catch We Were Promised Jetpacks, a band from Scotland, but i somehow misread my schedule, and missed them. Oh well, no big deal. Here's what they sound like:

Some fun videos:

My friends Phil and Shorey have Air Bass guitar abilities...

This dude was kind enough to show his dance skill to us so I could record them. Too funny.

Riding my bike towards the Red Eye Fly down 6th street then up Red River at around 1pm on Friday. The day is just getting started and people are already packing in. Riding a bike is the ONLY way to go so you can quickly get from place to place.