So I survived my first year at SXSW. I learned that it is possible to live off a diet of alcohol and Zone energy bars. I learned that it is almost ridiculous to make a schedule for SXSW and the best things happen when you are being spontaneous. I learned if you act important enough, you can get into almost anything–backstages included. I learned it is possible to get sunburn in Texas even if you had spent most of your time inside venues. I learned that it is a good idea to carry a power strip, water and batteries in your bag. With all these lessons, I think it is safe to say with all these lessons that my trip to Austin made up for my skipping a week of classes.
I can’t wait to go back next year. By now you’ve seen many of my individual show reviews from the debut of Tinted Windows to the possible finale of Explosions in the Sky. Soon you’ll start seeing some of the many interviews that Joshua, Jessica and I conducted at the festival. But before the interviews I wanted to share a segment I like to think of as “SXSW Scraps”. Essentially, the PopWreckoning team saw a lot of shows and took a lot of photos. I didn’t think I could do some of these bands justice with full reviews, but I still thought we should share the photos.
In “SXSW Scraps” you’ll find many band photos. Jess and I caught some of Omaha’s Beep Beep in the Radio Room. Then Josh snapped a few shots of Brooke Waggoner, who played piano as a part of a mostly string quartet. I saw legendary Daniel Johnston in the equally legendary Emo’s. He had security on either side of the stage and he was tone deaf, but he was classic. Josh caught some of The Elms.
We all made sure to see Kevin Devine play an electronic set with The Goddamn Band. The new songs sound brilliant and we were beyond impressed. I wandered off on my own and caught The Kin play on the top floor of a hotel. It was really sweet when the guys went out into the middle of the audience and made everybody gather around for a ballad. At a small bar called Jackalopes, several of us PopWreckers gathered around a too-small stage for Kitch and the catchy Miniature Tigers. Another time, I found myself at some harder rock shows featuring Louisiana’s The Vettes and Mother’s Anthem, which you may know better as a side project of Blue October‘s guitarist.
I caught some of my favorite artists that I learned about from TV commercials: Landon Pigg and Lights. I also found myself checking out some of my favorite aussies, Youth Group, whom I became familiar with through their cover of “Forever Young”, which they did play. If you haven’t had the chance to check out Von Bondies, I recommend you do. Though they have a male lead singer, they have two rocking females in the group. Finally, Josh and I snapped a few shots of the phenomenal New York Dolls. I felt a little out of place without a leather jacket, but I’m glad I got the chance to see these rock legends.
In addition to leftover band photos, we snapped a few random shots and pics of the street. In these photos, I’ve included a picture of the fascinating port-a-potties, which Austin is kind enough to designate for males and females. In the Convention Center, we found a pile of legos and people were pretty crafty with what they made of them. You’ll see the busy 6th Street that was filled with people, vendors and even more bands that couldn’t fit in the venues. The streets were pretty wild. One day, while I was waiting in line, a pillow fight broke out. That’s right. A pillow fight. Feathers were everywhere. Here, you’ll even find your PopWreckoning editors walking to the festival. Finally, you’ll find a few pictures of our unofficial mascot Gig Pig. Basically, we have a little pig figure that we took to shows and a few bands played around with.
So here they are–these are the leftover photos, or the scraps, if you will. Enjoy.
SXSW: website
