Sunday - And Then It Was Over

So, after a week in Austin, and 4 straight days of music there was only one way to end the week. First up was the Gospel Brunch at Stubb's. If you go to Austin and you're there on Sunday, make reservations for this, you won't be disappointed.

We were lucky to see the Bells of Joy. Great show, it's hard to explain on a blog, but it really is a great experience.


after Stubb's we headed up to South Congress to chill, watch some basketball, and do a little shopping as we waited for the great unofficial end to SXSW. At the legendary Continental Club every year Alejandro Escovedo brings the house down with an amazing show. Nothing will top the Alejandro show I saw at the Mucky Duck in Houston about 7 years ago, but these SXSW shows come close.




And with that SXSW is over until next March! See you there!

Saturday - It's St. Patty's Day

Okay, I like St. Pat's day and all, but don't expect to see any green beer here. It's been a long week, and Saturday will be a short day. But that doesn't mean it's not still tons of fun.

We started the day off at Daddy's Wings on 6th to watch XU 'almost' beat OSU. But alas, they choked and missed a free throw before collapsing in OT.

After that we headed out to some day shows. We went down to Club DeVille on Red River for a great set of bands put on by a collection of blogs.

First up was the Young Knives who put on a great set. They were followed up by the Rosebuds who we saw earlier, but they put on a better show outdoors.


Next up was the show I was really looking forward to. Margot and the Nuclear So and So's out of Indy (boy I wish they'd sign on to MPMF, and maybe the Washington Park Music Festival day show that I'm putting on). What a great set!



We then headed back for a couple beers and some more NCAAs. We thought about going to some shows that night, but instead decided to lay low and just go grab some dinner and hit up waterloo records. Made for a nice relaxing evening.

Friday - The Infamous Bloodshot Day SHow

Friday is always one of my favorite days at SXSW, and it's all because of the day show at Yard Dog for Bloodshot records. They had 9 bands playing in 5 hours, and the final set of the day is always the Waco Brothers and it's rip-roaring as always. The band has a bass, 3 guitars AND a steel guitar. You better like guitar or you're going to be in hell.

Before Yard Dog, we went over to Pok-e-Joe's on 5th (sad side note, they have lost there lease and this fantastic spot for music, along with the great food is soon to meet with the wrecking ball). The Merge Records day show was there and we saw a great set by the Broken West.



Then we headed off to Yard Dog. We saw the end of Danbert Nobacon, and then sets by Deadstring Brothers, Mark Pickerel, Graham Parker, The Silos, Gore Gore Girls, and the Waco Brothers. THe highights were definitely the Gore Gore Girls and The Wacos. The Gore Gore Girls have kind of a kitchy 'outfit' type thing going on, but there music is great. Here's some pictures from the day:


And the Wacos



We then went to grab some dinner at Doc's and tried to watch a little basketball, we head to Beerland at night and caught a few bands, with the highlight being Cincinnati's own Buffalo Killers.



One day left, and then on Sunday it's the Alejandro Escovedo show that is the official unoffical end to SXSW. Can't wait

Thursday - Free Mohawks

Thursday started off at a nice little Austin treasure- Birds Barbershop. There motto is something like Walk In and Rock Out. They specialize in 'rock' haircuts, and for their day show were providing free music, free beer, and free mohawks. And there were plenty of takers at the event.



We saw quite possibly the best 'find' of the week thanks to a recommendation by my buddy Royce. Bishop Allen was fantastic, and hopefully we'll see them again in the near future at Southgate House.


We also caught Mando Diao at Antone's, and the Annuals, before heading out for the evening showcases.

After dinner, we headed to the Lava Lounge Patio to see Austin Blues local Black Joe Lewis, who rocked out, and then caught some of the Sundresses, who had a great set. Also ran into Kari Wethington from CinWeekly at the show. She has a great review of the show, and some video footage on her blog.

We called it an early night after that and got ready for Friday and the always awesome Bloodshot Day Show at Yard Dog

Wed Kick-off at Yard Dog

It all started at my favorite SXSW day show venue - Yard Dog art gallery on South Congress. The opening day show featured a bunch of bands from the 'Bay Area'. Where do you think of when you hear 'Bay Area'? Well in this case you'd be wrong, as Bay Area referred to Tampa Bay.

Whatever, the bands were good, and we saw the Beauvilles and they rocked it out.


After that we headed to Emo's Annex to see Apostle of Hustle and the Black Angels. I have a love/hate relationship with the Black Angels. I enjoy them and their heavy sound, but they are just so damn loud!

Wednesday night we headed out to Antone's (the famous blues club in Austin), and saw some of the Merge Records showcase. Oakley Hall and The Rosebuds were not as good as expected, but the Broken West were awesome...they are one of my new favorite bands... like an old school Wilco. (I'll provide pictures of Broken West from their Day Show)

Friday Plan/Schedule

Bloodshot Records party

• Waco Brothers, Clem Snide, Gore Gore Girls, The Silos, Graham Parker, Jon Rauhouse, Mark Pickerel, Deadstring Bros., Danbert Nobacon at Yard Dog Gallery (1510 S. Congress Ave., noon-6pm)
  Apollo Sunshine - MySpace - The Big One Day Show - Freddie's Place (1703 S. 1st St., free with registration and rsvp here)

WOXY.COM/lala/Noise Pop day party

• Bob Mould, The Little Ones, The Broken West, Alexi Murdoch, Aqueduct, and Snowden, with host Zack Galifinakis. (streamed live from 1-7pm EST) Emo's Annex

KEXP Live on-air performances

• Beirut (7pm), Under Byen (5pm), Okkervil River (3pm), TBA (1pm) at the Austin City Limits Studio (UT campus, near the corner of Guadalupe and Dean Keeton, open to the public)

Hot Freaks Day Show

• Insound presents Pelican (4:30pm), Shout Out Out Out Out (3:30pm), Walter Meego (2:30pm), The Black Lips (1:30pm), Apes & Androids (12:30pm) at Club Deville
  Shearwater (5pm), Annuals (4pm), Imperial Teen (3pm), Apostle of Hustle (2pm), Thunderbirds are Now! (1pm), Catfish Haven (noon) at the Mohawk (outside stage)
  TCM Underground presents Bishop Allen (4:30pm), Midnight Movies (3:30pm), St. Vincent (2:30pm), Sea Wolf (1:30pm), Briertone (12:30pm), DJs $elect and Sober at the Mohawk (inside stage)

Merge Records and Absolutely Kosher Records Party

• Frog Eyes (5:30pm), The Rosebuds (4:30pm), +/- (3:30pm), Oakley Hall (2:30pm), Chris Garneau (1:30pm), The Broken West (12:30pm) at Pok-e-jo's (1603 West 5th St.)

The Black Angels - Mess with Texas - Red 7
Margo & the Nuclear So and So's - MySpace - Showcase - 9 PM - Antone's
Dirty On Purpose - MySpace - Showcase - 9 PM Maggie Mae's
Clem Snide - MySpace - Showcase - 9 PM - Buffalo Billiards
Andrew Bird - MySpace - Showcase - 9:30 PM - Stubb's
Buffalo Killers - MySpace - Showcase - 10:30 PM - Beerland
The Black Angels - MySpace - Showcase - 11 PM - Antone's
You Am I - MySpace - Showcase - 11 PM Dirty Dog Bar - Thanks to Dave Purcell
Apostle of Hustle - MySpace - Showcase - Midnight - Habana Calle 6 Annex
Apples in Stereo - MySpace - Showcase - 1 AM - Dirty Dog Bar
Jon Langford - Showcase - 1 AM - Molotov Lounge
Peter Adams and the Nocturnal Collective - 1 AM - BD Riley's

Thursday Schedule/Plan

Birds Barbershop SXSLamar Blowout

• The Rosebuds (6:45pm), Friends of Dean Martinez (6pm), Georgie James (Q and Not U side project, 5:15pm), Hopewell (4:30pm), The High Strung (3:45pm), The Comas (2:30pm), 1986 (1:45pm), Bishop Allen (1pm) (outside stage, free show, free beer, free mohawks during the show!)
  Turner Cody (4:15pm), Dawn Landes (3:30pm), Secretary Bird (1:30pm) (inside stage)

The Black - MySpace - Rio Rita Lounge (1308 E 6th St., starts at 1pm, free)

Waterloo Records (free instore) - Albert Hammond Jr. (6pm), Busdriver (5pm), Ponys (4pm), Lily Allen (3pm), Sparklehorse (2pm)

Rhapsody Rocks Austin

• Peter Bjorn and John (5pm), Robin Hitchcock and Peter Buck (4pm), Oakley Hall (3pm), Oxford Collapse (2:10pm), Loney Dear (1:20pm), The Broken West (12:30pm) at the Mohawk

The 2007 Spaceland and LiveDaily SXSW day showcase in assocation with Aquarium Drunkard, Chromewaves and My Old Kentucky Blog present

• Blonde Redhead (4:15pm), Annuals (3:30pm), Mando Diao (2:45pm), Datarock (2pm), Dirty On Purpose (1:20pm), Tally Hall (12:40pm), Monsters Are Waiting (noon) at Antones (free)

KEXP Live on-air performances

• Apples in Stereo (7pm), Fujiya & Miyagi (5pm), TBA (3pm), Peter Bjorn and John (1:45pm), The Ponys (1pm) at the Austin City Limits Studio (UT campus, near the corner of Guadalupe and Dean Keeton, open to the public)

Shearwater - MySpace - Showcase - 7:30 PM Central Presbyterian Church
The Cassettes - MySpace - Showcase - 8 PM - Blender Balcony at the Ritz
Apollo Sunshine - MySpace - Showcase - 9 PM - Dirty Dog Bar
Black Joe Lewis - MySpace - Showcase - 9 PM - Lava Lounge Patio
The Sundresses - Showcase - 10 PM - Lava Lounge Patio
The Young Knives - MySpace - Showcase - 1 AM Friends

Tomorrow It Begins - Wednesday Schedule

Here's what is on the docket. I hope to make it to at least some of this!!!

Third Annual IODA opening day bash

• The Black Angels (5:15pm), Apostle of Hustle (4:20pm), Honeycut (3:40pm), Uncut (3pm), The Twilight Sad (2:30pm), The Affair (2pm), Canada (1:30pm), The Foundry Field Recordings (1pm) at Emo's Annex (starts at noon, free)

KEXP Live on-air performances

• Mew (7pm), Earl Greyhound (5pm), Ghostland Observatory (3pm), The Early Years (1pm) at the Austin City Limits Studio (UT campus, near the corner of Guadalupe and Dean Keeton, open to the public)

Little Radio presents

• Peter Bjorn and John (5pm), The Octopus Project (4pm), Pela (3pm), Brothers and Sisters (2pm), Bloodcat Love (1pm) at the Red Eyed Fly (free beer and bloody marys, rsvp info on the website)

The Bay Area Arts and Music Organization presents the 5th Annual Bandango

• Jon Langford, Mojo Gurus, Geri X, The Beauvilles, Nessie, Hangtown, The Human Condition, The Postmarks at Yard Dog Gallery (1510 S. Congress Ave., 12:30pm-6:30pm)

Shapes Have Fangs - MySpace - Showcase - 8 PM - Lava Lounge Patio
Krista LL Muir - MySpace - Showcase - 9 PM - The Ale House
A Band of Bees - MySpace - Showcase - 10 PM - Blender Bar at the Ritz

Beirut - MySpace - Showcase - 10 PM - Emo's Main Room

Shane Bartell - MySpace - Showcase - 10 PM - Latitude 30

Twilight Sad - MySpace - Showcase - 10 PM Mohawk Patio

The Early Years - MySpace - Showcase - 10:15 PM - Emo's Jr

Oakley Hall - MySpace - Showcase - 10 PM - Antone's

John Schooley and His One Man Band - Showcase - 11 PM - Lava Lounge Patio

The Rosebuds - MySpace - Showcase - 11 PM Antone's

The Black - Showcase - 12 AM - BD Riley's

The Broken West - MySpace -Showcase - 10 PM - Antone's

Annuals - MySpace - Showcase - 12:45 AM Beauty Bar Patio

White Ghost Shivers - MySpace - Showcase - 12:45 - Molotov Lounge

Scott H Biram - MySpace - Showcase - 1 AM - Continental Club

Onion Creek Crawdaddies - MySpace -Showcase - 1 AM - Jovita's

Hayseed Dixie - MySpace - Showcase - 1 AM - Momo's

Tuesday - The Day Before the Storm

Well, actually I guess today was kind of the day of the storm. It started raining about 11 AM, and rained ALL day... but it was all good, as all we had planned today was a trip down to the Shiner Brewery in Shiner, TX.

Who knew the little brewery in Shiner produces the 4th most popular craft brew in the US (behind Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada and Sam Adams Light). The bewery employs only 54 people.

Definitely worth the 90 minute drive from Austin if you are ever here:

Monday in Austin

Forecast said 80% chance of thunderstorms, but undaunted we headed to Town Lake and Zilker park in search of some Kayaks. We willed those storms away, and ended up with blue skies and 70 degrees, and a little sun burn.

Here's the view of Downtown with just one of the few cranes in Austin's urban area in view.


After the Kayak we had grabbed some lunch in Town Lake park and then went over to the new '2nd Street District'. All I can say about that area is disappointing. I mean, don't get me wrong the hundreds of new condos and new offices are great for the area. However, the restaurant/retail they put in is too high end, too 'fru-fu' for Austin. I will be interested to see what that area looks like in a couple years, I am guessing many of the retail spaces will be empty or re-tenanted.

So we headed out for South Congress... the 'real' Austin, with great affordable food, and tons of eclectic shops. It's the 'wierd' in Keep Austin Wierd mantra.

Only two more days until the madness begins... tomorrow will likely be a trip down to Shiner (population 2,000+) home of Shiner Bock Beer for a brewery tour.

Sunday in Austin

Wonderful day for hiking... threat of rain never happened (at least not while we were in the area), and it made for a great overcast day to hike the Enchanted Rock. It's a great site out in the Austin Hill Country near Fredericksburg.



ON the way back we stopped off for some of Austin's Best BBQ - Salt Lick BBQ - it's 25 miles from Austin, but worth the drive. It's more of an BBQ experience than simply a meal.

We capped off the night with some Amy's Ice Cream. Think Marble Slab or Cold Stone, but with more energy, and more fun because it's local.

Looking forward to Wednesday when the music starts.

KEXP at Austin City Limits

KEXP of Seattle is having day shows at the legendary ACL studios in Austin. Getting into the ACL studios is usually a very hard 'lottery' style ticket, but these sets will be open to the public. Might have to check it out.

http://www.kexp.org/events/sxsw.asp

Wednesday 3/14/2007 1:00PM The Early Years 2:00PM Lily Allen Interview 3:00PM Ghostland Observatory 5:00PM Earl Greyhound 7:00PM Mew

Thursday 3/15/2007 1:00PM The Ponys 1:45PM Peter Bjorn And John 3:00PM The Holloways 5:00PM Fujiya & Miyagi 7:00PM The Apples In Stereo

Friday 3/16/2007 1:00PM The Stooges 3:00PM Okkervil River 5:00PM Under Byen 7:00PM Beirut

Good Bye - Winter Weather

Oh it's a beautiful thing:

Time to Head to SXSW

So the music doesn't start until Wednesday, but we're heading down a little early this year. Get some 'relax' time in Austin. Do a little sight seeing, hiking, kayaking, etc.

But the real question is what will I see first? There's a real good chance that I'll be here to see some quality Florida Bands... http://www.baamo.org/

It's at Yard Dog, which is one of my favorite South Congress spots.

If not there, maybe Little Radio show at Red-Eyed Fly, or the IODA show at Emo's Lounge, but that one looks tough to get into.