SXSW Recap

From my good friend and fellow FNL super fan, BC, the man who introduced me to The National and Cloud Cult many years ago:

It exceeded even my lofty expectations. 3 days straight of non-stop music. I'm talking 12pm to 2am every day, with a short power nap in the early evening to re-charge for the evening. An incredible party scene, and literally music coming at you from all sides of the street. Here is a quick run-down of the week....

Wed. Night - land at 10pm, in time to catch School of Seven Bells at midnight (they kinda sucked)

Thursday:
12noon-5pm: Wavves, Lucero (I like these guys a lot), The Hard Lessons (very cool husband/wife duo from Detroit - they fuckin' rocked) and a sick show from The Hold Steady.

Wavves

7pm-2am: More bands than I can't remember, but highlights were The Thermals and 1 am set from The Wrens. Those guys are still great.

The Thermals

Friday:
12 noon-6pm: A weird Swedish music showcase that was surprisingly good, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (these guys are good, but like 18 years old), The Thermals (again) and The Hold Steady (again). Can't get enough of them.

The Hold Steady

Friday night: Silversun Pickups followed by a "surprise show" by Metallica at Stubb's, a 2,000 person venue. Wow. They thrashed. Hard to follow that up, but we tried with a midnight set from Grizzly Bear followed by a 1am set from Dinosaur Jr.

Unknown

Saturday:
2pm-6pm - Viva Voce, Peelander-Z (possibly the most fun show of the weekend - crazy Japanese band), Camera Obscura, Chairlift.

Peelander-Z

9pm-2am: The Duke Spirit and closed things out with an absolute rockin' show from Silversun. Their new stuff is GOOD.

Silversun Pickups

Also forgot that we caught Dirty Projectors as well right after Metallica - they are weird, but interesting. Also saw this New Zealand band called Cut Off Your Hands - not that cool.

The badge is M O N E Y. We had to wait at the most, about 5 minutes, but we never got shut out of a show, including Metallica. If you don't buy the badge however (and it ain't cheap), then its much harder to see stuff. Start planning on next year - we've already booked a hotel room.

JK: I really need to stop making excuses and go next year.
NF: Roger, that.

Recapping the Past Seven Days

I've fallen behind on some posts so here it goes:

* I caught some Spring Training action down in Tampa last weekend. Saw Philly and Cleveland on Friday including a home run from Ryan Howard that seemed to travel 500 feet. The Phillies have a great new stadium in Clearwater. Caught the Yankees and Pirates on Saturday at Legends Field which was pretty uneventful outside of a very awkward moment when Arod tried to startle/scare/tackle Derek Jeter in front of the fans during warmups. It looked so phony. Man, I hate him.

* I went to see the Thermals and the Big Sleep on Sunday night at Bowery Ballroom. What a great fucking show. I can't remember the last time I saw such an energetic crowd at a show. On a Sunday night, no less! Hutch Harris has this dorky machismo that's just as much humorous as it is great rock n roll. I ordered Fuckin A the next day. As for The Big Sleep, they put on a good show but I still think they need to incorporate more vocals.

* I watched the Dixie Chicks documentary, Shut Up and Sing. It doesn't really matter how you feel about the Dixie Chicks music (I don't know any of it), the film's importance is on the value of free speech. I think the impact of the film would have been slightly greater had it been completed after the Grammy's (they swept Best Album, Record, and Song) but then again this isn't really about how the Dixie Chicks got the last laugh. If only it were that simple. The issue is far more serious and it's one that I do have strong opinions on. I strongly recommend it. And yes, RHCP fans, Chad Smith does appear in the film.

* Funny line from a recent Bob Lefsetz blog post on The Arcade Fire:

I mean who cares if the band is on an indie label if the act is sold JUST LIKE it's on a major label.

Why the fuck does the Arcade Fire need a gargantuan story in the "New York Times Magazine"? Is this really gonna reach the target audience? Or SNL... Is that really the cutting edge anymore? Shit, everywhere I turn there's a story on Arcade Fire, the hype is deafening, and in many instances, the band is complicit, can't they say NO?

This after the band made a concerted effort NOT to have their song played on The Black Donnelly's. I guess they can say "NO." You're off on this one, Bob.

The Thermals, The Big Sleep & Statehood @ Black Cat Tonight

FRI MAR 2
BLACK CAT
1811 14th Street, N.W.
Doors Open @ 9PM
THE THERMALS
THE BIG SLEEP, STATEHOOD
$12 mainstage 9:00
Tickets

The Thermals - "Returning to the Fold"

The Thermals - "Pillar of Salt"

The Big Sleep - "Murder"

Statehood - "Hidden Views"

The Thermals @ Black Cat

You're goddamn right I did.