Got it done and did it right

While it's still kind of relevant - here are some pics and a run down of how the amazingly wonderful SXSW played out for me this year. Allow me to apologize in advance for my mediocre at best photography skills. Anyway, this was my fourth consecutive and fifth overall time to attend, and each time had held its own special charm. So off we go!

Thursday, March 18th:

Started the day off at The France Rocks Austin Day Party, where they had a line-up of the most promising acts brewing around in the French music scene at the moment. The main draw for me was seeing folk duo Cocoon live; their sweet and melodic performance was an excellent way to kick off the fest.

Also, one of my favorite parts, aside from the great music, was all the free noms. All sorts of drinks, vegan chocolates, beef/chicken tacos, and - this was my favorite - a cheese and crackers table! With goat cheese, brie, Laughing Cow and all sorts of other delights! Yum :)

//cheese and crackers table at France Rocks Austin Party//

 

And here is a cute promo pic of Cocoon, because I really couldn't get a good shot of them and because their band photos are ridiculously adorable anyway.

//via lastfm//

Next, we headed over to the Paste Magazine Day Party to have even more free drinks and watch a pristine performance by London's most amazing alt/folk band, Fanfarlo.

//Fanfarlo//

We had a little time to spare before The Middle East played, so we walked over to the line for Levi's Fader Fort. After a looooong wait, we secured our wrist bands and split up to see to catch the respective bands each of us wanted to see. I came back to the Paste Party and was able to catch the brief yet wonderful set by the Middle East. I think they are my favorite Aussie band at the moment.  

Next step was heading over to the French Ligation an in effort to see the xx. We were able to see a set by the ever-lovely Holly Miranda, but then had to depart right as the xx were setting up shop. This was because my bff's BF, who works at The Paramount (aka and old swanky Austin theatre) had put us on the guest list for The Runaways premiere, which was a part of the SXSW Movie Festival festivities.

Some of the cast of the film was in attendance in the audience. I tried hard to bolster my awe/incredulousness at seeing these gals in the flesh, but celebrity sighting at SXSW is as typical as me stuffing my face with chocolate before bed every night. Very routine.

//L-R: Director Floria Sigismondi, Cheri Curie, Dakota Fanning, Kristin Stewart//

By the end of this night, I was overcome with exhaustion from the days events/the long journey back from NYC the day before, so I called it a night around 11 pm. Plus, there was so much to do the next day! Speaking of which...

Friday, March 19th:

This was my most musically-productive day. I started bright and early with a rousing performance by We Were Promised Jetpacks.

My friend who I attended the show with left soon after the performance was over, and I found myself hanging solo. Somehow this gave me the courage to go up to the boys and talk to them. Very nice fellas, who were highly amused by the word "ya'all."

Next, I ventured over to the Danish Day Party to see Efterklag. Theirs was a show I was probably the most eager to see, and although it was a short set, the performance was incredible.

Yet again, I somehow found the courage to chat a bit with lead vocalist Casper Clausen after the show finished. Clausen was incredibly gracious and joyful; even throughout the performance, a grin rarely left his face.

Also, I just want to throw this out there - its always great to roll with your peeps when attending shows, but give flying solo a whirl sometime. It's actually quite gratifying to be able to chat with randoms around you, move around the crowd without loosing people, and not worry about talking/being spoken to during a show. I wouldn't say it's an evergreen thing, but it has some charm on occasion.

My next musical conquest was the Norwegian electro-pop band  Casiokids at the Vice 'Loose Control Party.' Having already seen them live earlier that week at the Littlefield in Brooklyn, I knew theirs was a live show that would be amazingly good. Upon arriving at the venue, I found out, much to my pleasant surprise, that Uffie was right ahead of them in the line-up.

Two birds, one stone, SAY WHUT, WHUT!

//Uffie//

//Casiokids//

The next two acts I saw were Philly-based Man Man and Yorkshire-based One Night Only. Good shows, but they paled in comparison to what I had seen earlier in the day, especially WWPJ and Casiokids.

Saturday, March 20th:

I took it a little easy Saturday morning. I made a good cup of coffee, answered emails and had a hearty breakfast, all while waiting for my other BFF to drive into town from Houston. Once she arrived, we Headed to the Brooklyn Vegan 'M for Montreal' day party where we munched on free vegan eats and popsicles, and waited around to catch a performance by Montreal outfit Duchess Says.

So, we were curious about this band because well, they supported the Yeah Yeah Yeah's on their tour recently, and one would think Karen O and gang would use the utmost discretion when picking their supporting act, right? Apparently not really. The lead singer of Duchess Says writhes around on the floor and makes grunting/sex(?) noises while performing and drags audience members down with her, leaving awkward pools of beer and sweat in her wake. The most humorous thing about this was that she does all this while wearing colorful attire that must have been put together by an Anthropologie associate, no kidding.

And while my photog skills failed me yet again, I was still able to find a photo of Duchess Says' ridiculousness via the wonderous web :

 //via nailer//

Anyway, our next stop was seeing Boxer Rebellion, followed by the awwww-mazing Frightened Rabbit at the Filter Magazine Day Party. Between those guys and WWPJ, Scotland is really really doing it right this year, isn't it? I'm just really impressed.

//Fightened Rabbit//

So, here's where the painful bit starts: By the time the Frightened Rabbit show ended, it was getting close to the time I was meeting friends in line for the Perez Hilton Party. With its free entrance, swagg, drinks, food and ridiculous line-up including Snoop Dogg, Hole, Macy Gray and (eek!) Alphabeat, it was apparently THE party to get into. This became apparent when we arrived at the venue 2 hours ahead of time and the line had stretched around the building and over two blocks. After a long, ridiculous wait in line, a friend of mine ran to the front to scope out the situation, and promptly text me after to come join. I'll just say that friend pulled some super-slick moves, and within minutes, we had infiltrated the impenetrable Perez fortress. Victory!

Anyway, pics from Alphabeat's cute set:

//Alpabeat//

So, my closing thoughts: 

Even if you live in a different city/state/country/continent, I STRONGLY recommend coming around for this festival one year; there are enough amazing free events that showcase bands (including headliners) that even those who spent their last dime on the flight over can have a wonderful time. Just allocate anywhere between a few days to ohhhh, a few weeks to let your body recover from the madness.

Trust me, between all the free crazy caloric consumption, live music, love, and excitement, you'll really need it :)