How did I end up at the posh Four Seasons hotel, sitting across from Bill Murray, Snoop and the rest of the A-listers getting trashed at the bar, as I anxiously waited for An Horse to meet me for a drink? I have to admit that parts of day three and four of SXSW are a bit, shall we say, blurry. Too many shows, too much Tecate and not enough sleep are most likely to blame. I’ll try to recount the event through the fog of it all. The second half of my trip was even more spontaneous than the first. A few more friends joined our expanding South-by crew, which made crashing at the penthouse even more ridiculously fun, I discovered a new favorite band, saw them twice, and closed out the weekend by sweet talking may way around the longest line yet, into a coveted showcase on Saturday to see some killer shows.
Friday was all about Spin Magazine’s VIP party. How I wrangled three “All Access” passes to the hottest day party at South-by isn’t important. Just know that my nickname over the weekend became, to those around me, “The Godfather.” No kidding. Big head nod to you know who. At the Spin bash we saw a second set by the fab Miike Snow, (my lust for all things Miike is well documented in the first installment of my SXSW trilogy) a DJ set by Das Racist, an electric performance by Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, and of course, the festival headliner: the return of Hole. Love opened her set with a cover of “Sympathy for the Devil,” which seemed fitting for her big comeback. All eyes were on her to act psycho and make a mess, but I’m sorry to report that just the opposite occurred. Backed by a fully loaded, shiny new band, I think Love surprised everyone there by pulling off a respectably rockin’ set. Despite a little mention of flapping genitals and having been inspired by Perez Hilton, Love had a tight grip on the music. The scratchiness of her weathered voice enhanced the music’s rage rather than show the sign of time. She did a few classics such as crowd favorite, “Miss World” and “Violet,” which was maybe my first real “time machine” music moment. I imagine it was similar to what it must have been like for my mom to see CSN a few years back. Déjà vu? Some of the new material that Love debuted was hard to get into and I honestly would have preferred a greatest hits performance, but I’m not complaining. I was happy to be there even if I had to climb up the Stubb’s BBQ sign pole to catch a glimpse of Love.
After a short respite, I hit the Wave Rooftop for a set by Papier Tigre, a raucous post-hardcore punk trio from Nantes, France. While it wasn’t quite my style and perhaps the music needs a bit more time to mature, I have to give the boys props for producing such an intense and driving sound minus a bass. Their energy and enthusiasm more than filled in the gap.
Later that night, I hit The Galaxy Room Back Yard for Local Natives and An Horse. Local Natives absolutely blew me away. I realize that I’m probably late to the game here but I didn’t know anything about this Silverlake-based, mustachioed quintet when I showed up to the tent at the suggestion of a good friend and now they’ve changed the game as far as I’m concerned. They played a total of nine shows at SXSW and I saw two of them. Couldn’t help myself, they’re just that good. You could throw them in the same class as Fleet Foxes and Vampire Weekend if you needed a comparison, but really let the music speak for itself. It’s a unique sound, all it’s own, that grabs you from the first listen. It will be hard to resist the hooky, tender harmonies, nostalgic musings, and afro-pop beats coming from these So Cal sweethearts.
An Horse always turn out a solid rock show with plenty of grit and heavy guitar riffs. This time I even noticed some classic metal guitar moves from front woman Kate Cooper. Yes I said it, metal. This oft-described “indie-pop” outfit from Brisbane is actually a lot heavier than people give them credit for. I had the chance to catch up with the band the next day where we discussed this discrepancy over lattes at The Four Seasons. Ballin’. Stay tuned for their thoughts on new music, what it’s like to tour for eighteen months straight, their love of Fugazi, and how things have changed for them since we first met last year at SXSW.
On Saturday, I had to use my womanly charm to slither into the packed Brooklyn Vegan Party where Andrew W. K., Plants and Animals and Local natives were playing (again). While I was expecting W. K. to blow the top off the backyard tent, his stripped down classic keyboard crazed-concerto was actually kind of amazing. Truth is, W.K. has skills that rock beyond the party. Later that night I stopped by the Cedar Street Courtyard for a chilly outdoor set by recent favorite, Memory Tapes. I had been kind of keeping Dayve Hawk’s dreamy synth-pop all to myself for months and I was excited to see it come to life. Unfortunately, things got a little lost in translation. The beats were spot on but his voice didn’t hold up in the flesh. I figure I’ll just stick with the digital version. It’s my favorite album to daydream to and I’m not willing to give that up. I could tell you that the night ended there, but that would be a lie. Rumor had it that Tigercity was playing a late night set at Habana Calle 6 and well, we just couldn’t resist putting Southby to rest without a last ditch booty-bumpin dance party. Yes Gillim, WE ARE SENSATION.
This year’s SXSW far exceeded my expectations. Like I had hoped, it was all the magic of last year with a much better view. I discovered more than a few new favorites, revisited some standbys and happily added some new members to my festival family. While most like to think that SXSW is just about discovering the next best thing, that’s really only part of the story. The true beauty of Southby is the memories that you make and the traditions that are born out of the music.
