My SXSW in a nutshell
It's been over for a while now, and I was too drunk and tired to write about it when it was still timely. So just a quick capsule, and we'll be back to archaeology again tomorrow.
My highlights were:
- Seeing Rakim rock the mic. The only way it would have been better is if it had been over the Eric B. beats instead of a live band.
- Getting to see The Buzzcocks at Emos for free as a last minute hook-up. They were fucking loud and just great. I think I was grinning the whole time. Thanks Choo, Stacey and Kenneth.
- Bob Mould at the Emos Annex. Him and an acoustic, doing amazing versions of Sugar, Husker Du and solo stuff. I was in heaven. I kept telling St. Murse which songs I wanted to hear next, and every time it was the next song, or something close (like "Makes No Sense at All" instead of "Hate Paper Doll").
- Seeing a band I had never heard of before, Shout Out Out Out Out, totally tear it up. It was crazy electronic dance stuff, with 2 drummers, 2 bassists, and 2 keyboard guys (one of whom became a 3rd bassist for a song). The singer used something that gave him a robot voice, which just added to the funtime mayhem. I will totally see them if they come back to Austin.
- Getting drunk in the daytime and falling asleep by ten every night.
The lowlights:
- Seeing the new worst "artist" ever. For years, I would have told you that the worst band I had ever seen live was Heavy Vegetable at SXSW back in '95. In my review, I believe I called them "a big, rotten suckini". But they have been supplanted, by someone who I will not name because I don't want to increase their Google ranking or hits by even one. He was the opener for Ghostface and Rakim at the Scion party on Saturday, so look it up if you really care. He was just truly truly awful. I personally felt like it was a slap in the face to Rakim (the dopest MC ever) and Ghost (one of the best these days) to put them on the same bill with some scagged-out glam loser stealing Too Short's rhymes. A bunch of sorority girls and electrotards in sweatbands and tiny shorts were into him. I wanted to bum rush the stage and cut out his tongue.
- I didn't get nearly as much free beer as I had hoped.
All in all, I had fun and enjoyed hanging with friends, but the festival itself has gotten really big and there were crowds and lines everywhere. As long as old bands I want to see are in town and playing day shows, I'm sure I'll go again. But I certainly wouldn't take off of work and put up with all the shit anymore just to see what's out there.
My highlights were:
- Seeing Rakim rock the mic. The only way it would have been better is if it had been over the Eric B. beats instead of a live band.
- Getting to see The Buzzcocks at Emos for free as a last minute hook-up. They were fucking loud and just great. I think I was grinning the whole time. Thanks Choo, Stacey and Kenneth.
- Bob Mould at the Emos Annex. Him and an acoustic, doing amazing versions of Sugar, Husker Du and solo stuff. I was in heaven. I kept telling St. Murse which songs I wanted to hear next, and every time it was the next song, or something close (like "Makes No Sense at All" instead of "Hate Paper Doll").
- Seeing a band I had never heard of before, Shout Out Out Out Out, totally tear it up. It was crazy electronic dance stuff, with 2 drummers, 2 bassists, and 2 keyboard guys (one of whom became a 3rd bassist for a song). The singer used something that gave him a robot voice, which just added to the funtime mayhem. I will totally see them if they come back to Austin.
- Getting drunk in the daytime and falling asleep by ten every night.
The lowlights:
- Seeing the new worst "artist" ever. For years, I would have told you that the worst band I had ever seen live was Heavy Vegetable at SXSW back in '95. In my review, I believe I called them "a big, rotten suckini". But they have been supplanted, by someone who I will not name because I don't want to increase their Google ranking or hits by even one. He was the opener for Ghostface and Rakim at the Scion party on Saturday, so look it up if you really care. He was just truly truly awful. I personally felt like it was a slap in the face to Rakim (the dopest MC ever) and Ghost (one of the best these days) to put them on the same bill with some scagged-out glam loser stealing Too Short's rhymes. A bunch of sorority girls and electrotards in sweatbands and tiny shorts were into him. I wanted to bum rush the stage and cut out his tongue.
- I didn't get nearly as much free beer as I had hoped.
All in all, I had fun and enjoyed hanging with friends, but the festival itself has gotten really big and there were crowds and lines everywhere. As long as old bands I want to see are in town and playing day shows, I'm sure I'll go again. But I certainly wouldn't take off of work and put up with all the shit anymore just to see what's out there.
posted by jlowe | 2:36 PM
2 Comments:
i love when you're angry. whee!
I really wish I'd seen Bob Mould. The only time I saw him play he was just starting to experiment with his stupid drum machine. It kept messing up and he got frustrated, which made the set really stunted and awkward.
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