SXSW on the Cheap: Days Two and Three

As I pedaled down Red River, dodging taxis and falling debris (narrowly avoided a 4″ washer) from the Hilton Hotel construction site, I watched the SXSW faithful marching toward the Convention Center from every direction. Armed with mobile phones, canvas bags of industry schwag, and coveted badges dangling around their necks, these early-risers were starting their Friday morning with a glimpse of their favorite poster art at Flatstock. The free event featured art from various designers and gig art collectives. It was interesting to see how the artists interpreted the same bands. For example, a Minneapolis-based designer would create a poster for a band like The Mooney Suzuki, The Polyphonic Spree, Clinic, or The Shins that would advertise the gig at a local club. Another artist would create a poster for the same band’s tour at a venue in say Chapel Hill. The theme and approach would widely vary. Although there was a ton of the dice n’ devil, cartoony art that I detest, many artists had a refreshingly unique style. For example, a super friendly Memphis-based artist really stood out from the others. All of his work appeared to begin with recycled card stock and when you viewed his posters side-by-side as a whole, there was a cohesive unity even though each poster was unique. In contrast, I introduced myself to a cocky artist from Louisville whose work was an uninspired combination of Frank Kozik and Robert Williams.

After Flatstock I worked my way down to Emo’s where I would meet Sarah and some friends for an afternoon of music sponsored by Barsuk and Touch and Go Records. We relaxed in Emo’s “courtyard” area during sets that we weren’t that interested in and then moved into the main stage area for bands we wanted to see. I’m not a big Quasi fan, but enjoyed a few of their songs. Quasi’s drummer, Janet Weiss, who also drums for Sleater-Kinney was awesome though. The two bands I was most interested in seeing were Pinback and Death Cab for Cutie. I saw Pinback a few years ago on Emo’s small stage and they played several of my favorite songs to a crowd of maybe 100. This time around they faced a massive audience, full of A&R types, music biz journalists and photographers, and fans with high expectations. Their nervousness was pretty evident but they were clearly having fun and I thought they had a decent set. Sarah noted that the lead singer sounded like Roger Rabbit, however. Seattle’s Death Cab For Cutie closed out the afternoon with a blazing set of irony-free pop songs. The sheer intensity of their performance was a surprise– their recorded music is much more subdued and can at times have a generic earnestness to it. After witnessing their Friday show at Emo’s, I am definitely a converted Death Cab fan.

Sarah and I would conclude day two of the SXSW music festival at South By San Jose’s DJ Krush event. It was held in Hotel San Jose/Jo’s Coffee parking lot. I knew the $5 show would be packed but damn… the turnout was HUGE. The entire parking lot was full. Even though watching a DJ, even of the turntabalist variety, isn’t that exciting, this was a memorable SXSW event. Hungry and tired, I bought a hot dog and beer and sat on the hotel’s side wall. It was fun to people-watch. A crew of Japanese hip hop heads must be accompanying Krush and they could been seen flexin’ and freestyling on the side of the stage. There were dudes with cowboy hats, kids in strollers, and SXSW attendees from all over the country. With the sun fading, the atmosphere was that of a backyard BBQ, only with beats. With his relaxed style, you couldn’t detect Krush’s foreboding regarding his tour. On his site, he writes, “I have this feeling that something terrible might happen during this US tour… When the Oklahoma bombing by terrorists took place back the mid-90s, I was in NY recording my album… My last album “ZEN,” it’s US street date was September 11…”

Saturday I hooked up with an old buddy from Lexington and went to Chicago’s Hideout and Metro SXSW party at Pok E Jo’s on West Fifth Street. It was great to catch up with Matt and I feel certain that he is the only vegetarian, indie-rock fan on the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government police force. As a member of the Homicide unit in the Investigations Bureau he shared some incredible stories about what human beings are capable of doing to each other. The party’s lineup included Chris Mills, Fruit Bats, Neko Case, Calexico, Boas, The Frames, and some others. This was another outdoors, festival-style event that had the official Austin stamp of being a laid-back, kid-friendly party. As Tacoma’s red-haired chanteuse took the stage, we were able to escape the sun under a metal shed next to the stage. Matt and I met a British musician who now lives in the Canary Islands. This was actually her first time visiting the United States and it was fun to learn about her first impressions as well as discuss U.S./Europe relations, etc. As we chatted, I got a bit star-struck as Neko was a few feet from us and then Carson Daly casually walked by and disappeared into the crowd. A few moments later Calexico would carry the crowd off to the outskirts of Tucson with its brand of mariachi-flavored jazz. As much as I would have enjoyed sticking around for The Frames, the unexpected gem of last year’s festival, it was time to call it an afternoon. Matt, Sarah, and I hit South Austin’s finest Mexican restaurant, Curra’s, and were soon ready to begin the evening. We had met some cool British industry dudes at the restaurant and after giving them a lift to Stubb’s, we had a quick drink at the always groovy Red Fez. Just before 10:00 we parted ways and Sarah and I walked down to MoMo’s for the NXNE Canadian showcase. I really didn’t care about any of the bands except Broken Social Scene. I admit, I knew almost nothing about this band and was basing my one full-price show on a single glowing Pitchfork review. The lead singer, who looked all of twenty years old was sporting Adidas shelltoes, super baggy cargos, and a John Deere hat. Hmm. The weekend was full of anti-war sentiment. 7,000 people took to the streets yesterday afternoon and many bands made references to how “f*$#@d up things are in the world.” But I was a bit rattled by the first thing BSS’s singer said to the crowd: “Your president is a piece of shit.” A few people cheered, but I think most people were like, “Whoa.” Nevertheless, when they began playing the remark was forgotten. Broken Social Scene’s music is hard to describe. A few songs remind me a bit of The Delgados and Tortoise. Others are more like Dinasaur Jr. Tommy described one song as reminiscent of The Replacements. The star of the show was the female vocalist who joined the band a few songs into their set. She was quite short and was wearing an all-white outfit–almost like a jumpsuit. Eccentric like Kate Bush, and rocking a bad-ass style a la Chrissie Hynde, she was a ball of fire on the stage. When she wasn’t singing her part, she was windmilling her arms, punching the air, and just generally going nuts. When her part came up, she thrust to the front of the stage, leaned toward the crowd, tilted her head back, and just let it rip. I haven’t seen a female musician (or male for that matter) captivate a crowd like this in a while. Every once in a while I would look behind me and everyone in the club was fixated on her. It was a tough decision between Apples in Stereo and Camper Van Beethoven and BSS, but I’m really glad we got to see this truly unusual band in action.

March 16th, 2003