| Wednesday, March 16, 2011 | |
| 1:00 PM | Shilpa Ray & her Happy Hookers | Dot Com Day Stage Austin Convention Center |
| 2:15 PM | Darwin Deez | Emo's Main Room |
| 2:35 PM | Smoosh | Red Eyed Fly |
| 4:30 PM | Didgeri-doods? | 6th Street |
| | Freshly badged, we headed out to 6th street. I think we were going to see if we could get into Emo's to see Surfer Blood, but since that was a free show and the line looked ridiculous, we instead decided to head back toward the Ginger Man for our customary first beers and strategy-plotting session. On the street was this duo that was a lot like the Black Keys, except that instead of a blues guitarist there was a guy spitting into a long stick. The drummer was very good, but I honestly don't know how to judge didgeridoo virtuosity. He maintained a constant buzz, I guess. Probably. |
| 5:15 PM | Surfer Blood | Emo's Main Room |
| 5:15 PM | American Music Club | Red Eyed Fly |
| 5:15 PM | Buck 65 with Jenn Grant | Canadian Blast BBQ |
| | A rapper and a singer. Kinda reminded me of Eminem and Dido, only less disturbing. |
| 6:00 PM | King Richard | Hilton Lobby |
| | Interesting modernized cover of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" with violin and banjo. Because, you know, somebody had to do it. |
| 9:00 PM | Colourmusic | Friends |
| 9:00 PM | Porcelain Raft | Club de Ville |
| | I don't really remember anything about this. We're at this venue early because Jay has The Vaccines on his list. I've got nothing bad to say about Porcelain Raft. It was one guy and a guitar and some electronic gadgetry. |
| 9:00 PM | J. Mascis | La Zona Rosa |
| 9:15 PM | James Blake | Stubbs |
| 10:00 PM | Mini Mansions | La Zona Rosa |
| 10:00 PM | The Vaccines | Club de Ville |
| | They didn't really leave an impression on me, but Jay liked 'em okay, and they played the songs he was hoping they would play early in their set, which allowed us to leave early to get to the next gig we both really wanted to see: Darwin Deez @ Latitude 30. |
| 10:00 PM | Wolf Gang | Latitude 30 |
| | I snapped a photo, but I don't remember anything about them. They were finishing up as we arrived for Darwin Deez. |
| 10:15 PM | Smith Westerns | Stubbs |
| 10:30 PM | Hot Panda | Black & Tan |
| 11:00 PM | Darwin Deez | Latitude 30 |
| | Darwin Deez! This was the early frontrunner for the coveted "Best of the Fest" award, influenced only partially by their entrance to the stage accompanied by the David Lee Roth isolated vocal track from "Runnin With the Devil," followed by some parodied boy-band dance choreography. But the band was tight, energetic, and charismatic throughout the set. Two thumbs up, would definitely recommend to a friend. Here, go watch this official video. |
| 11:00 PM | Liam Finn | Red Eyed Fly |
| | D'oh! Missed Liam Finn! He was one of my must-sees. I've seen him before, in fact, he was my Best of the Fest recipient of 2008. But fortunately this year's schedule is LOADED with multiple chances to see all the bands I want to see, so no big whoop. |
| 11:00 PM | Telegraph Canyon | Esther's Follies |
| 11:35 PM | The Cave Singers | Red 7 Patio |
| | I saw them last year, and they were a contender for the 2010 Best of the Fest award. They've got a new album out which I like, but they are kinda shaping up to be a one-shtick pony. Think non-Irish-Waterboys cross-bred with Appalachian snake-handlers. Video. |
| 12:00 AM | A Place to Bury Strangers | Prague |
| 12:00 AM | Pulled Apart by Horses | Red Eyed Fly |
| 12:00 AM | The Baseball Project | Nuvola |
| 12:00 AM | The Antlers | The Parish |
| 12:00 AM | Young the Giant | Billboard Bungalow @ Buffalo Billiards |
| 12:15 AM | Queens of the Stone Age | La Zona Rosa |
| 12:30 AM | Duran Duran | Stubbs |
| 12:45 AM | Wild Flag | The Parish |
| 12:50 AM | Okkervil River | Red 7 Patio |
| 1:00 AM | Ebony Bones | Malverde |
| 1:00 AM | Indian Jewelry | Soho Lounge |
| 1:00 AM | Mexican Institute of Sound | Elysium |
| | Kind of a Mexican hip-hop, DJ thing. They were a'ight. Here's a video. |
| 1:00 AM | Talib Kweli | Emo's Main Room |
| 1:00 AM | Surfer Blood | Beauty Bar / Palm Door |
| | | |
| Thursday, March 17, 2011 | |
| 11:00 AM | Bob Geldof keynote | Convention Center |
| | Bob Geldof wants America to shake itself out of its malaise. America gave the world rock and roll, and 50 years later, it's getting kinda lame. Sombody needs to get angry. |
| 11:30 AM | The Latebirds | Cedar St. Courtyard |
| 12:00 PM | Capsula | Sounds from Spain tent |
| | After the keynote we head out to the first day party in Brush Square park, which is Sounds from Spain. Free sangria and paella! And, whoa, this band is pretty damn good. According to the posted schedule, it was a band called "Polock," so we spent most of the fest laboring under the misconception that this was who we saw. It was not until I got home and downloaded Polock's album from Amazon that I realized the error. And while Polock has a perfectly decent album of their own, they are no Capsula. Capsula struck me as kind of like the Stooges in a more psychedelic vein. Here's a video with not-safe-for-work boobies. |
| 2:00 PM | Lost Brothers | Fleadh Austin party |
| | Irish Simon & Garfunkel. |
| 2:25 PM | Anna Calvi | Flamingo Cantina |
| 3:00 PM | The Vaccines | Cedar St. Courtyard |
| 3:00 PM | Rolling Stone party | La Zona Rosa |
| | They had bands playing, but there was nobody there we really wanted to see. But we were passing by La Zona Rosa, and it was a party, so we went up to the doorman and flashed our badges. He asked if we had wristbands. "No, we have badges," we said, flashing our badges again. "No, you need Rolling Stone wristbands." We looked at our wrists, and looked back at the doorman, crestfallen. "Aw, you know what? You guys go on in, have a good time." Best. Doorman. Ever.
There wasn't anybody playing that we cared about, but we did enjoy some free beer, and had a nice promo photo taken. |
| 6:00 PM | Dum Dum Girls | East Side Drive In |
| 7:00 PM | Bob Geldof | ACL Live at Moody Theater |
| 7:21 PM | Dance fight | 6th Street |
| | In the void between the day parties and the start of the evening showcases, we are back at the hotel, napping, lounging, eating Executive cookies and whatnot. The hotel room overlooks 6th street, and from the window we witness a bona fide dance-off. |
| 8:00 PM | The Latebirds | Continental Club |
| 8:00 PM | Eclectic Mthod | Austin Music Hall |
| 8:00 PM | The Strokes | Auditorium Shores |
| 8:20 PM | Surf City | Red 7 Patio |
| 9:00 PM | Ham Sandwich | Friends |
| | We never got to see this band, but Jay had them on his list, mostly because he was hoping to get a teeshirt that said "Ham Sandwich." |
| 9:00 PM | Rocky Business | Austin Music Hall |
| 9:30 PM | Noah and the Whale | Stubbs |
| | We go to Stubb's early, because I want to see TV on the Radio later in the showcase, and Jay knows a song or two from Noah and the Whale. Well, Noah and the Whale was okay I guess, but for me it wasn't particularly memorable. There's nobody else at Stubb's either one of us want to see until 12:30 am, so we leave to wander the neighborhood. |
| 9:50 PM | Schmillion | Cedar St. Courtyard |
| 10:00 PM | Doldrums | Habana Bar |
| 10:00 PM | I Was Totally Destroying It | Easy Tiger Patio |
| | Great name. I snapped a pic. Jay opts to punk out for the evening, and I head back to Stubb's. |
| 10:00 PM | Dave Alvin | Dirty Dog Bar |
| 10:00 PM | Anna Calvi | Emo's Main Room |
| 10:00 PM | Glasser | Central Presbyterian Church |
| 10:45 PM | Smoosh | Cedar St. Courtyard |
| 10:50 PM | Fishbone | Austin Music Hall |
| 11:00 PM | The Kills | Emo's Main Room |
| 11:30 PM | Charles Bradley | Stubbs |
| | All I know about Charles Bradley is that this is going to be a traditional Soul set. I just want him to hurry up and be done so I can see TV on the Radio, as my 45-year-old legs are really hurting. His backing band comes out and plays an instrumental, generic Philly soul song. Great, I'm thinkin', another throwback artist. Then Charles comes out to much fanfare and theatrical bowing and shouting "I love you" and all, and kicks into a passable James Brown slash Wilson Picket type of showcase. Lot's of "YOW" screams and "I love yous" throughout. Again, a nice tribute-style showcase. And then he surprises me with an inspired horn-infused cover of Neil Young's "Heart of Gold." That earns him the semi-coveted Best Cover Song of the Fest award. Shaky video. |
| 11:30 PM | The Novocaines | Black & Tan |
| 11:45 PM | The Bangles | Cedar St. Courtyard |
| 11:45 PM | Wu Tang Clan | Austin Music Hall |
| 12:00 AM | Janelle Monáe | La Zona Rosa |
| 12:00 AM | Cold War Kids | Lustre Pearl |
| 12:00 AM | Liam Finn | Maggie Mae's |
| 12:30 AM | TV on the Radio | Stubbs |
| | I've seen 'em twice before and been blown away both times. This is a band I would travel great distances and endure many painful joint pains to see. They have a new album coming out within a few weeks, and I am really psyched to see this show. But while this was a good performance, I'd have to rank it about third or fourth best of all their shows I have seen. They were still good! Don't get me wrong. And the new material they played sounds excellent. But I may have been too far back in the venue to really get into the Sphere of Influence. Here's a video. |
| 1:00 AM | Bombay Bicycle Club | Klub Krucial |
| 1:00 AM | DJ Cam | Karma Lounge |
| 1:00 AM | Trail of Dead | Beauty Bar/Palm Door |
| 1:00 AM | James Blake | Central Presbyterian Church |
| 1:00 AM | Menomena | Red Eyed Fly |
| 1:00 AM | East Bay Ray & the Killer Smiles | Skinny's Ballroom |
| 1:00 AM | Surfer Blood | Habana Bar Backyard |
| 1:00 AM | Peter Murphy | The Ale House |
| 1:30 AM | Talib Kweli | Scoot Inn |
| 1:30 AM | Dead Elmo | Emo's Annex |
| | That's not the actual band name. I don't know who this band was. The flyer said Asking Alexandria, but when I Googled them, it's not them. This was a hardcore rap thing, with a guy in a red suit with x's for eyes dancing around. I was just passing by the venue on my way back to the hotel after TV on the Radio and heard the energy from the venue and had to check it out. If you like hardcore rap and furries, definitely check out this band. Whoever they are. |
| | | |
| Friday, March 18, 2011 | |
| 12PM to 8 PM | Glitter Taco Smoosh Party | Peckerheads |
| 10:30 AM | Ozomatli | Convention Center |
| | Didn't see enough to really get a feel for them. I've heard great things about them though. They're renowned for violating city ordinances by leading their crowds out into the streets in a conga line. |
| 12:00 PM | Moondoggies | Waterloo Records |
| | We've arrived at Waterloo Records because I have the Dum Dum Girls on my list of bands I wanna see and Jay has The Joy Formidable on his, and we can cross them off at a day show and free up some evening showcase slots. Moondoggies is on when we arrive. Sorry to say I wasn't really paying attention to them. I did snap a photo and capture their souls, though. |
| 12:50 PM | My name is John Michael | Antones |
| 1:00 PM | Dum Dum Girls | Waterloo Records |
| | Do you believe in love at first sight? Before they even played a note I turned to Jay and said, "Best of the Fest." Well I was wrong on that, but they were still damn good. Kind of a sixties girl-group sound filtered through a lot of reverb and distortion. Here's a video. |
| 2:00 PM | The Joy Formidable | Waterloo Records |
| | There's some serious sun beating down on us now in the parking lot of Waterloo Records. Dum Dum Girls was damn damn good and I bought their EP and even went through the sun-baked line to get it autographed. Then, something magical happened. The Joy Formidable happened. The trio took the stage and dominated it. The dichotomy of the cute blonde pixie and the ferocious guitar sound she was generating was jarring at first, but once my world view adjusted, I was just totally enchanted. And lest you think I'm just pervy-smitten, NO, I say, the entire band is just as tight and ferocious. They were instantly catapulted to frontrunner status for the coveted 2011 Best of the Fest award. Here's a link to a video of their NPR showcase the day before, go see for yourself. |
| 2:00 PM | Mexican Institute of Sound | Dot Com Day Stage Austin Convention Center |
| 2:00 PM | Fitz and the Tantrums | Radio Day Stage Austin Convention Center |
| 2:25 PM | Surfer Blood | Flamingo Cantina |
| 2:55 PM | Sugar & Gold | The Ghost Room |
| | Still stunned and sunstroked from the Joy Formidable at the Waterloo parking lot, we stop into the Ghost Room for recovery. Jay watched a little bit of Sugar & Gold and liked them. I was mostly sitting in the back, patting pint glass sweat onto my forehead and swatting away apparitions. |
| 3:00 PM | PS I Love You | Dot Com Day Stage Austin Convention Center |
| 3:30 PM | Typhoon | The Ghost Room |
| | I saw a little bit of them and liked what I saw. But honestly, I was still loopy from heatstroke. |
| 4:05 PM | Menomena | Flamingo Cantina |
| | D'oh! Missed Menomena. I'm a big fan of this band, but they just lost a key member of their trio in January. I was kinda hoping to see how they'd fare in a post-Brent world, but that will have to wait I guess. |
| 5:00 PM | Surfer Blood | Cedar St. Courtyard |
| 5:00 PM | Trail of Dead | Waterloo Records |
| 5:00 PM | Okkervil River | Flamingo Cantina |
| 5ish? | TV on the Radio | Stubbs |
| 5:00 PM | Liam Finn | Lustre Pearl |
| 5:15 PM | Tapes N Tapes | Skinny's Ballroom |
| 5:20 PM | Anna Calvi | Radio Day Stage Austin Convention Center |
| 6:00 PM | Dum Dum Girls | Lustre Pearl |
| 7:00 PM | World Party | Auditorium Shores |
| 8:15 PM | Apex Manor | The Parish |
| | We're at this venue early because Jay wants to see Telekinesis, but I actually liked Apex Manor more. They were kind of uptempo Wilco-ish. They did a pretty good cover of Harry Nilsson's "Jump Into the Fire" which was a contender for my coveted Best Cover Song of the Fest award. Here's a video. |
| 8:30 PM | The Vaccines | Stubbs |
| 9:00 PM | Telekinesis | The Parish |
| | They were all right. Nice and poppy. Here's a video. |
| 9:00 PM | G Love | The Ale House |
| 9:30 PM | Malford Milligan | Saxon Pub |
| 9:45 PM | American Music Club | The parish |
| 9:45 PM | SBTRKT | Mohawk |
| 10:00 PM | King Tuff | Rusty Spurs |
| | I couldn't really take them seriously because the bass guitarist looked too much like Nigel Tuffnel. But they were okay. |
| 10:00 PM | Dreaming in Stereo | Creekside at Hilton Garden Inn |
| | I heard this band on the official SXSW streaming radio station and was impressed enough to actually buy their album via Amazon in advance of seeing them. But, alas, I've got Tapes N Tapes as a must-see tonight, and sometimes in life and in SXSW you have to make difficult choices. Anyway, there's no way this could possibly come back to haunt me. |
| 10:15 PM | Torpedo Boyz | Barbarella Patio |
| 11:00 PM | Tapes N Tapes | Rusty Spurs |
| | Tapes N tapes was one of my must-sees (otherwise we would be seeing another Joy Formidable show right about now). I was happy with the performance, although the sound wasn't great. Here's a video. |
| 11:10 PM | The Joy Formidable | Billboard Bungalow @ Buffalo Billiards |
| 11:20 PM | Dum Dum Girls | Red 7 Patio |
| 11:45 PM | Scala & Kolacny Brothers | Stubbs |
| 12:00 AM | Esben and the Witch | Latitude 30 |
| | Wow. Kinda creepy and trance-inducing. I think that girl might be a witch. Disturbing video. |
| 12:00 AM | The Submarines | Antone's |
| 12:00 AM | Hilary York | The Tap Room at Six |
| 12:50 AM | The Raveonettes | Rusty Spurs |
| 1:00 AM | Bombay Bicycle Club | Latitude 30 |
| 1:00 AM | Okkervil River | Antone's |
| 1:00 AM | Beats Antique | Beauty Bar backyard |
| 1:00 AM | Menomena | Central Presbyterian Church |
| 1:00 AM | Men Without Hats | Club de Ville |
| 1:00 AM | Steve Wynn / Baseball Project | Momo's |
| 1:00 AM | OMD | Stubbs |
| 1:00 AM | DJ Yoda | Malaia Upstairs |
| 1:15 AM | Jon Fratelli | Stephen F's Bar |
| | | |
| Saturday, March 19, 2011 | |
| | Wanda Jackson | Stubbs |
| 12:45 to 6:55 PM | Steve Wynn's Yard Dog party | Yard Dog |
| 11:30 AM | Tapes N Tapes | Stubbs |
| | Hey, whaddaya know, there's not a line to get into the Rachael Ray day party this year. We get to see a bonus performance of Tapes N Tapes with better sound! |
| 12:30 PM | DJ Yoda | Dot Com Day Stage |
| 2:00 PM | Tapes N Tapes | Radio Day Stage Austin Convention Center |
| 2:00 PM | Meat Puppets | Waterloo Records |
| 2:00 PM | Surfer Blood | Rolling Stone @ La Zona Rosa |
| | Surfer Blood AND The Joy Formidable are playing at the Rolling Stone party today! Since we had such good luck getting in the last time, we figure we will give it a try again today. And, lo! Success! Surfer Blood was one of my must-sees, and while they were pretty good, I think they're better on record. Video. |
| 3:00 PM | The Joy Formidable | Rolling Stone @ La Zona Rosa |
| | Dammit, I love this band and I don't care who know it. This is, without a doubt, the winner of the coveted 2011 Best of the Fest award. |
| 4:00 PM | Tapes N Tapes | Lustre Pearl |
| 5:00 PM | Dreaming in Stereo | Lipton Tent @ Brush Square Park |
| | Heading back to the hotel for a bit of rest before the evening showcases, we hit the park tents for our daily free booze. As we are drinking our free weird Lipton tea cocktails, a girl is behind me, reading the bands printed on the back of my SXSW teeshirt. She introduces herself and asks if my shirt is the 2011 SXSW shirt. "No," I say, "this one is from 2002." I'm prepared to dazzle her with tales from my rich and storied SXSW history, when she says, "Oh, well nevermind then, I was looking for my friend's band," she gestures to her friend next to her, "but if that's not 2011 then nevermind." "Oh," I say to the friend, "What's your band?" "Dreaming in Stereo," she says. "OH!" I say excitedly, "I didn't actually see you, but I had you on my list of options!"
Note to self: "I didn't actually see you but I had you on my list of options" is not as great a compliment as one might think. |
| 5:00 PM | Okkervil River | Lustre Pearl |
| 5:00 PM | Trail of Dead | The Blind Pig |
| 6:05 PM | The Joy Formidable | Chop Shop Party @ Brush Square Park |
| | Dammit, the guards kept me out of this one. But I will wait for you here, Joy Formidable! I'll be right here, 50 feet away from the perimeter as ordered! |
| 7:30 PM | Bright Eyes | Auditorium Shores Stage |
| 7:30 PM | Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger | Elysium |
| | Elysium has a sort of Lennon Family Hoedown going on all evening. It starts with Sean Lennon and his smokin' hot model girlfriend, Charlotte Kemp Muhl, in Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, who do quiet, nuanced acoustic songs with beautiful harmonies, easily trampled over by load-talking douchebags in the back of the venue. Video. |
| 7:30 PM | Haley Bonar | Central Presbyterian Church |
| 8:00 PM | Something Fierce | Easy Tiger |
| 8:25 PM | Malford Milligan | Continental Club |
| 8:30 PM | Kemp and Eden | Elysium |
| | …and this was Charlotte Kemp and her childhood friend Eden, accompanied by Sean Lennon. Still very quiet, acoustic and lovely. |
| 9:00 PM | If By Yes | Elysium |
| | …and this was Sean's former Cibo Matto bandmate (and former girlfriend? I don't know fersure) Yuka Honda, and Petra Haden (formerly of That Dog, and herself). A bit louder now. Full band. Peppy! This is a good thing. Album comes out tomorrow, and I will buy it. Video. |
| 9:10 PM | The Bubble Puppy | Austin Music Hall |
| 9:30 PM | Tres Mountains | Stubbs |
| 9:50 PM | Meat Puppets with Roky Erickson | Austin Music Hall |
| 10:00 PM | Consortium Musicum | Elysium |
| 11:00 PM | Braids | Club de Ville |
| | I snapped a photo, but my brain has already checked out. I am done with SXSW 2011. |
| 11:00 PM | The Limousines | Emo's Main Room |
| 11:15 PM | Le Butcherettes | Emo's Annex |
| 12:00 AM | The Raveonettes | Cedar Street Courtyard |
| 12:00 AM | Rainbow Arabia | Malverde |
| 12:50 AM | Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group | Emo's Annex |
| 1:00 AM | Yoko Ono | Elysium |
| 1:00 AM | Deer Tick | Lustre Pearl |
| 1:00 AM | Jamie xx | Barcelona |
| 1:00 AM | Funeral Party | Cedar Street Courtyard |
