SXSW: march 19, friday daytime

the killers @ the spin party, stubbs outside stage
i had the best time dancing with ultragrrrl to my favorite killers song, "mr brightside." that song gives me such a high with its dancey beats and its lovely melodies by a mr. brandon flowers. the guy was wearing a full-on suit in sweaty, sun-searing weather. you gotta give a guy props for that alone to suffer for the sake of fashion, but the bigger props come from producing such danceable, poppy tracks that make a silly girl like me dance like a dork in front of hundreds of non-dancing hipsters, probably staring at me and thinking, "what the hell is wrong with that girl?" whatever, i still love that song. it makes me happy-go-lucky.


the constantines @ insound party, club deville
while you walk into club deville, the beer is just sitting in bunches at the bar for you to grab on your way to the backyard area, where the stage is set up for you. the insound.com party is awesome in that way. ok, i didn't know much about the constantines before seeing them at sxsw at the insound party. and that's what this whole experience is about, right? discovering new music? that's why i tried not to see too many of the bands i frequent in new york. i was in austin, with a no-holds-barred amount of new rock around me. and i was hungry to see something novel and new and stunning. vocally, the constantine's music hark back to the days of old school singers like dylan and neil young. the singer's voice is classic, but the music is forward rhythmically forward-thinking. let's just say there were a lot of bobbing trucker caps and rocking knees in the crowd. including mine, of course.

electrelane @ insound party, club deville
[electrelane write up coming soon]


panthers @ insound party, club deville
[panthers write up coming soon]

SXSW: march 19, friday night

the detachment kit
[the detachment kit write up coming soon]


all night radio @ blender bar
i saw all night radio for the second time. the first time i saw them was at the ascap cmj cocktail party at lit. they were just a two-piece, fairly new to the subpop scene, and i totally dug what i heard then. they are members from beachwood sparks, and their sound is pretty out of this world, including lots of points of recorded announcements: "all night radio" -- and in response, i kept saying, "in case you didn't know, we're called...." --- "all night radio". jimmy's drumming style is so loose, yet so solid, and his hair is well... like cousin it. long and flowing and rockin'. farmer dave's voice is just wondrous, drawing you into the psychedelic haze.... their music is better than drugs and alcohol. it's the shiznit. if you don't own their album, buy it now!!!!!


robin phillips prays for the baptist generals


guy from the lilys dancing to all night radio!
when i saw them play the subpop showcase at sxsw, i was all goofified (meaning, all goofy and shit) and apparently so was the singer of the lilys who was dancing all dodgy (and drizzunk?) in front of the stage. they added a third member on bass guitar, this awesome asian dude with the world's biggest funkified sunglasses. it made me instantly adore him. can't wait to see them at the mercury lounge! come to the show and see the wonder for yourself.


swearing at motorists @ buffalo billiards
[swearing at motorists write up coming soon]

broken social scene @ stubbs
[broken social scene write up coming soon]

kinski @ blender bar
[write up coming soon]


the east-west coast rivalry between daniel and steve heats up with a rumble at foosball at the blender bar... it's a tie.
so the story goes, steve and daniel are the same people, except they dwell on different coasts. the rivalry was built by mutual friends who couldn't decide who was hotter. daniel or steve? what do you think? foosball says it's a tie.


a couple in the rain... fighting or making out?
right before i went to see the walkmen at the love collection party, it started to rain lightly. it had been doing this on and off the entire week because the air was so thick and humid. i couldn't believe the saturation of heat that was engulfing me, making my skin perspire and sweat. i couldn't believe it had been snowing in new york the day i left for the festival. and now i was encapsulated in hotness. as we were walking along this fairly empty street, i saw a couple standing in the rain at the end of the street. with the way the light was striking their silhouettes, i was instantly drawn to wonder if they were fighting or just being romantic and lovey dovey. i hoped it was the latter, and decided i wanted to capture the moment. snap snap. and here it is above. doesn't it just make you wanna sigh really big?


me in the rain...
me? i was enjoying the rain too. i took steve's awesome white sunglasses and took a photo of damp self. at this point though i was getting tired and impatient to hop into a cab and head over to the love collection party. the two girls we were hanging with ran off somewhere to do coke or something and we couldn't find them. finally we decided to just head to the party ourselves. it was a drive to somewhere in the dark boonies of austin, where even the cab driver was like, "are you sure you are going to this address?"


the mean reds @ the love collection party


penis prop guy @ the love collection party
finally, we arrive at the love collection party! there are a lot of people already there. the mean reds are on stage in short 70s style running shorts and no shirt on. they are skinny young'uns with a huge penis prop being thrown around stage. i headed for the free beer in the back, hoping their set would be over soon. i was looking forward to seeing har mar superstar... yet scared at the same time. he has a bad reputation of getting huffy on stage...


har mar superstar @ the love collection party
[har mar superstar write up coming soon]


new kid and steve


la steve and moi


the walkmen @ the love collection party
and finally the walkies! i was pretty slick and didn't tell peter or any of the other walkmen that i was coming to sxsw. so imagine the look of pleasant surprise on peter's face when i was there, front and center, as they walked on stage at the love collection party? steve, who used to write for filter, daniel and i hopped in a cab and made the long, scary trek over to where this party was -- basically an empty warehouse about 5 minutes from the main drag of sxsw. even new yorkers couldn't walk that far. the look of surprise on peter's face was priceless. it said, "what the fuck are you doing down here? that's awesome!" and my look was like, "no you're fucking awesome!" oh how i love the walkies.


the wildest walkmen fans ever... yes, wilder than me.
i got a bunch of people around me to dance like crazy throughout their whole set, and i think that amped up their performance. my photos basically suck ass because the light was beaming straight at the audience and would drown out the walkmen. so this is the best i have for ya's. i think every time paul saw a bunch of us dancing, he couldn't help but flash that adorable smile of his. their performance was electrified, and i was singing along to every friggin' song. those guys are the soundtrack to my life, no doubt! "what in it for me?" "the rat" "old man" "thinking of a dream i had" "bows and arrows" ALL FUCKING AMAZING SONGS. if you do not own their albums, what are you doing? you're a slacka, babe. i bet if you ask me and i have some extra cash, i'll buy it for you. no worries.

some random guy took my camera from me and took a photo of me and daniel. then he wanted to take a photo of me and myself. it was like the most bizarro thing to do, but i was so high on music that i was all giggly and into it. saw dawn barger at the show. i say it every time and i'll say it again, she's one of like three women in new york that i admire more than anyone. if i ever needed a woman to look up to, she's it! she manages three amazing bands (the walkmen, the national and the decemberists), and she's fucking awesome at it. a strong role model indeed! she says she's in talks in adding one more band to her management roster, but wouldn't tell me who... hmmmmmmm....


me and peter from the walkmen
the lovely peter came up to me after the show and thanked me for coming. uh, thank the walkies for playing such a wonderful show! they have grown so immensely and intensely over the last two years, that i felt like i was seeing brothers grow up and find their place in life... and in this case, find their place on stage. hamilton is one of the most intense lead singers around. he really gives his all to the performance... his veins pop, his voice get hoarse with emotion, and his face perspires in red huff. paul starts roaming the stage and smiling at the audience. walt was as still and calm and collected as ever. matt was bumping up and down in his throne and slamming those sticks on those drums. and peter was convulsing and sweating in his very distinctive bass waver. together they just work. the equation is a full-on bullseye! and you know what? i can't wait to see them again at irving plaza.