SXSW Day 4

Due to the fact that Stacy and I stay up until 5 am blogging, we haven’t been waking up until around 1pm out here. It isn’t THAT terrible of a time to wake up, but with parties kicking off at noon, a small portion of my schedule has already been over by the time we get into town. SXSW requires a sharp ability to adapt. Sometimes you don’t get into town until 3pm, sometimes there is a monstrous line outside Buffalo Billiards and sometimes you run into a good friend you haven’t seen since last year and you end up talking for an hour. The point is, being at SXSW requires patience and backup plans, because you never know what is going to happen.

After getting downtown the first party we hit up was the Hot Freaks party, which was put on by a handful of the most popular music blogs on the internet. The party spanned three stages at two venues that are next door to each other. I was glad to finally get to check out North Carolina’s The Rosebuds who put on a fun set filled with airy synths to accompany their smooth dance grooving songs. The Rosebuds make sure their choruses are gigantic and full of group vocals. The band was appreciative to play and the crowd was ready to dance even though it was halfway through the afternoon.

After checking out the last few songs of Menomena’s set next door at the Mohawk Club, I walked back to Club DeVille to see “Special Guests from Dallas, TX”, who everybody in the room knew (thanks to Pitchfork) was The Polyphonic Spree. Watching the Polyphonic Spree’s tech team set up was like watching the gear gods vomiting all over the stage. The band did not spare any instrument or member, despite the stage being about the size of the stage at the Triple Rock. After ages of setup time, the band marched out wearing matching black military style outfits. Their majestic songs of hope filled the tented patio venue as 250 people filled the room to capacity. Front man Tim DeLaughter is as flamboyant and dramatic as they come, thrusting his arms up into the sky as he sings. The 18 piece band are forever in motion, are amazingly theatrical. This cult of happiness really did their job, closing out the party and sending everybody out the door satisfied and inspired.

This fall as I was studying abroad in London I interned at a venue called “the Luminaire.” It was an amazing experience and the man who runs the place, Andy, did a great job of teaching me the inner workings of a venue. Andy of course is in Austin for SXSW and I met him for dinner. It was great to see him again and we had a chance to catch up.

After devouring a delicious slice of pizza, I decided to take a break from music and check out a showcase featuring my favorite comedian, Aziz Ansanari. Most people know Aziz from his short YouTube comedy videos “Clell Tickle” (feat tapes n tapes) and “Other Music”, but thanks to the popularity of those comedy bits and more, MTV has given Aziz, Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer their own sketch comedy show “Human Giant” which premiers April 5^th. The three comedians took over “Friends” tonight to premier clips from their new show and do some standup. It was nice to detour from loud music and get to be on the receiving end of some fantastic comedians.

The pizza was not enough for my hungry belly however, because as soon as I got out of Friends, I needed more. So I stopped by an incredible Bratwurst stand cleverly entitled “The Best Wurst.” This brat lived up to its hype and currently stands atop the “Best Brats Neil Olstad has ever ingested” list. As I munched I walked down 6^th street toward the Beauty Bar to check out the Pipettes, only to find an extremely long line. It would take a great act to make waiting alone in line next to a dumpster for an hour worth it, and the Pipettes ended up being that act. The Pipettes are a trio of sassy, charming young British ladies with a 4 piece backing band. Their sound is straight out of the jukebox in Al’s dinner from Happy Days. Their classic doo-wop sound complete with up stroking clean guitar is simply delightful, and the girls’ choreography that is added to each song is icing on the cake. After a few songs you immediately choose your favorite Pipette. Mine is “Rosay Pipette”, the adorable ray of light who has to continuously flip her brown hair out of her eyes. The pipettes are all around fun, they aren’t out to try something new, the formula is simple and classic, and the most of the lyrics are corny and laughable. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I closed out the weekend by walking down to the Hanbana Calle, the Austin venue that wins the award for “Venue that looks the most like the Playboy Grotto”, to see +/-. The band plays free flowing, atmospheric indie-rock. I first saw +/- four years ago open for Death Cab For Cutie in the Main room and have really grown into their skin, they are now a confident, amazingly talented band with a catalogue of amazingly interesting songs. Their tightly knit set was dominated by songs off their latest record “Lets Build a Fire.” The band is anchored by drummer Chris Deaner’s amazing, innovative playing, and accentuated by the plethora of varied guitar effects and sounds that the rest of the band creates. The weather was beautiful, the crowd was excited, and I was standing in front of one of my favorite bands performing today, I can’t think of a better way to end my experience at this years SXSW conference.

This week has exceeded my expectations. I am thankful to be able to be here in Austin for the second year in a row taking part in SXSW. It is truly a unique experience and is something that is difficult to put into words. I hope through Stacy and my words and pictures you were able to somehow connect with what happened this week in Austin and felt that have a better idea of what the SXSW really is.