SXSW: And So The Madness Begins

OK day one, here we go.

Let me start with last night. I interviewed the Dutch band Awkward I on a rooftop bar downtown Austin, beers turned in margaritas and next thing you know we are in a taxi on our way, half an hour out of town, to the most red neck bar in Texas. The band decided to try their hand at open mic night to a bunch of moustache wearing, biker lads and lasses much to my great delight. We drank beers on the porch until the bar started closing, only to be told taxis don’t come this far out of town. My options were looking limited until the bar owner offered me a ride home in his pick up truck, got to love that Texan kindness.

Today we watched the masses of bands roll in. I swear to god more than one man meet his doppleganger with v-necks, tight jeans and rocker angst in abundance.  By midday I managed to get myself into the Canadian Showcase, which included a mean spread of Texas BBQ.

The night started at 8pm with the indie label Suicide Squeeze and their newest sign up Champagne Champagne. Check them out on Myspace, their singles Molly Ringwald and Cover Girls went off even to a sober white crowd pre 9pm. Next up was Larkin Grimm, the lesbian seductress who managed to intimidate every male in the audience with her shouts out to the audience, “Who here is menstruating?” and a detailed explanation of her spirit orgasm animal. She was actually pretty talented and well worth a listen to. Also on the night’s list was Velviter, Boy’s Noize and Blind Pilot but they all paled in comparison to the exceptional St Vincent. The acoustics in Central Presbytarian Church were out of this world and her set featured songs from her forthcoming album.

Finally, it was onto the after-party circuit at Pure. The headlining DJ got into a hissy fit and stormed out mid party and then tried to start a fight with the bouncer. In the meantime I managed to get myself into an argument with a Scottish promoter about the popularity of beastiality in New Zealand. Now I’m back at the Holiday Inn thinking about tomorrow which has Quincy Jones, Daniel Johnston, Devo and Cold War Kids and the uber exclusive Playboy party on the menu. Life is good. Signing out. Will be back same time tomorrow...

Andrea Price