We know, you’re sick of it. The constant emails, announcements and showcase lineups that made you vacillate constantly between drooling jealousy and bewildered confusion as to how it could all be happening in the same place. But it was all true, and now SXSW is gone for another year. Luckily, The MUSE was there to help you recap some of the best no-wristband, no-badge moments of the weeklong throwdown in the heartland.
Eagle Eye Williamson
You love the Black Keys and the White Stripes, don’t you? You love crunchy, bluesy guitars and simple yet effective drums. You love them for their I-don’t-need-no-third-person attitudes and ability to still make music that feels larger than the Green Monster and kicks harder than a pissed off rodeo bull (Yes, the Austin Rodeo was in town, too). Imagine all that power, with one less person. Eagle Eye Williamson’s ambidextrous ability to hammer on his grizzled guitar and power through nuanced drum beats, all while singing his ass off, left us impressed, to say the least.
Hunch Automatic DJ
In addition to the more widely-publicized music and film festivals was SXSWinteractive, the conference that presided over the launch of Twitter just five years ago. And early in the week, it was just as common to come across a young techie giving a PowerPoint presentation as it was to find a thirty-something vomiting in the street from too many free Imperials (did we mention the beer was free?). Hunch’s Automatic DJ takes a picture of your face, compares it to your Facebook profile picture, and uses data from all of your Internet presences to create a danceable playlist for your next party. With further development, that picture could be used to coordinate lighting, picture frames, music and ambience whenever you walk into a new room. Completely awesome face recognition software, or the creepiest impersonal computer program yet?
Darwin Deez
The New York City loopy indie-poppers, led by bizarrely-coiffed frontman Darwin, got off to an uncomfortable start. Coming out to a choreographed dance sequence set to Van Halen’s “Running With The Devil,” their first song was spoiled by a broken string that led to a long, unnecessary monologue about how hip it is to play shows in Tuscon, something that left the crowd bored and scrambling for their phones to tweet about it. But as the show went on the band got much stronger behind singles “Radar Detector” and “Constellations,” even if they did persist with the choreographed dancing that left us wondering just how much time they spent on it (An interview after the show revealed that Darwin had been tap dancing since age 5). Set closer “Bad Day” was a fitting end to a head-shaking but nonetheless really enjoyable hour-long show. Need a second opinion? Ask Michael Cera, who was wandering through the crowd during the band’s performance.
The Growlers
The most fascinating part about a festival of this magnitude is that it’s mostly impossible to see every band you want, and you inevitably end up at a random bar watching a random band with random people. The Growlers were the shining example of why this isn’t always such a bad thing. Playing the rooftop of Cheers Shot Bar in front of the skyline of sunny Austin, they brought their brand of hard-traveling, hard-drinking and hard-partying folk-rock to an appreciative crowd that was soaking in the late afternoon weather and carefree tunes. Have we said yet how everything was free at the festival? This California band was so good that we bought their album after the show with no hesitation. Check them out.
Best Best Best Friends
As Will says below, some of the best
atmospheres in the city could be found on and around Sixth Street, blocked off to traffic all week. Not only did it make for hundreds of thousands of people all milling about the streets with little to no repercussions, but it also gave rise to street parties like the one orchestrated by Best Best Best Friends, an Austin-based, New Orleans-influenced second line band that took over Sixth Street Wednesday night. The seven-piece marched through the city with an ever-growing band of followers dancing all around them, gaining steam with every step. Any time you can march through downtown with a group of horns blasting “I Feel Like Funkin’ It Up” by Rebirth Brass Band, it counts as a win.
Honorable Mentions
The City of Austin – 75-degree weather, a thriving downtown and cops that were more willing to help us hail a cab than haul us away to the clink counts as a ringing endorsement for any city.
The Strokes – The band’s free show in a public park by the Colorado River was the hottest thing in town on Thursday night, and there was really no better way to transition from day parties to night parties than swinging down to catch Julian Casablancas’ outfit. Despite the overwhelming crush of people that made moving around uncomfortable and seeing the stage nearly impossible, their show was a river-full of fun and was capped off by a stunning and unexpected fireworks show over downtown. Happy St. Paddy’s Day to you too, Austin.
- Dan Rys
A.M. Only
It was Friday night, my last night at SXSW, and my two friends and I were extremely tired from the last two days of partying. I didn’t think I was going to make it until we got in the back entrance of AM Only’s official party at the Mohawk. The party featured Skrillex, MSTRKRFT, 12th Planet, Sub Focus and Porter Robinson. It was a crazy outdoor dub-fest that had the ground shaking. Skrillex’s stage dive at the end of his set was a great way for me to end the weekend.
Lucky Date
Wednesday night, the first night I was in Austin, my friend Jordan, a.k.a. Lucky Date, opened for DJ Chuckie at an unofficial SXSW party. It was still early in the week, but by looking at the crowd, you wouldn’t have been able to tell. Both Lucky Date and DJ Chuckie threw down sets that had the crowd getting down like there was no tomorrow. After walking a mile and a half to the after party, Lucky Date and I hung out with Chuckie into the early hours of the next day. Eating a free breakfast at the hotel at 6 a.m. before going to sleep really confuses the body. Such is SXSW.
Street Atmosphere
There are not only crazy parties in the bars, there is also a crazy party in street. Austin, home to the University of Texas, is also home to Sixth Street. Sixth Street is about four blocks filled with nothing but bars, and when I say nothing but bars, I really mean it. During SXSW those blocks are closed off to cars and an intense street party ensues. Thousands of drunk people wander, crossing paths with marching bands, hippy drum circles and a whole lot of hipsters. There’s really nothing quite like it.
- Will Kruse
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