Central Village

South by SouthBEST 2007

5 Days of real time coverage at the links below. Now with pictures and somewhat proper punctuation!

Day 0 (Tuesday)
Day 1 (Wednesday)
Day 2 (Thursday)
Day 3 (Friday)
Day 4 (Saturday)

Back to New York tomorrow. (pic via joey's flickr)

The CV SXSW liveblog: Day 4

12:09 - Phew, last day. Free food!

1:53 - at ny2lon. Just got some eggs at the musebox thing across the street.  Datarock is so much better today than yesterday. Trying to squeeze in a lot between 3 and 6. Fratelis, polyphonic spree, hot club de paris, straylight run. Here's hoping everything is still running on time.

5:31 - internet on the sidekick has been spotty all day., but to recap: fretelis were acoustic and pretty good. I'm curious what brit rock sounded like before the libertines tho. Oasis? Er..the beatles? From there I got to catch Joey pick of the week hot club DE Paris (pictured above), who I dug a lot. Future heads meets minus the bear? The stuff on my space does not do them justice. Now I'm at hot freaks! Waiting for the polyphonic spree to go on. Before getting snick in by Dodge, got dragged into being interviewed for NY noise by westvirginianvegan.aim pages.com. Well see how that turns out. OK, P. Spree coming on in their black parade outfits. G.

8:28 - big bowls of cheese at Gueros.

9:04 - in a taxi, coming from Gueros, with interior blue neon lighting, a superstoned driver (we're her first fare!) and cabana music. You think cabs like this only exist in pornos and video games, but no...

10:41 - After accidentally consuming them together, Crunk definitely tastes exactly like sour worms. I have a case of Crunk in my hotel room from the BV party on Thursday.

12:06 - Vice party at the elk lodge on the outskirts of town. There's wood paneling everywhere and Darin and Joey are playing shuffleboard with Les Savy Fav. Whatever. Nice patio with a view of the city.

2:21 - LSF performing @ the elk lounge! This is a fun rumor come true. Say what you will about vice, but they manage to make a sexy and brightly lit elk lounge into a pretty rad and oddly appropriate spot. Harrington just said a wall collapsed or something and the cops are coming so they wanna get start playing soon.

2:34 - after half a song, the cops show and the music cuts. An entire actual wall collapsed on the side of the lodge. Off that nice patio. Nobody was hurt, but everyone had to leave. Obviously. Walking back to the hotel now.

by the way, I head-butted Darin by mistake for saying live blog out loud at a party. He wanted me to admit that on here, so...there you go.

3:40 - Long walk back to the hotel. I smell like a fireplace (there was one burning at the lodge). Tomorrow I'll go back and add links and picks to all this. Bed now.

The CV SXSW liveblog: Day 3

12:59 - Shit Shit Shit...running late. Thunderbirds are Now! @ 1. GG.

2:26 - TaN! Are great. Even a sleepy, early set from them is better than 98% of what you'll see here this week. Ran over the cloud cult at fader now (which, I forgot to mention earlier, has the look feel and smell of a semilegit brothel a few miles out of Reno. Or something along those lines. Well played, Fader.) No idea where to go from here. Maybe back to Hot Freaks for De Novo Dahl, maybe stay here for Jamie t? I've been temporally separated from my schedule and I don't know what's happening where. Pitchfork is jammed, forgot to get a Spin pass. Staying @ Fader seems like a good bet for now. Maybe ill buy a new pair of jeans.

3:10 - Jamie T isn't Streetsish rap at all! Really fun post Libertines brit rock. I like. Pipette watch: they're here. Still never seen the brunette smile. She's my favorite, nonetheless.

3:19 - Shit, she's here with a dude. Looks like a Fraterelli.

4:36 - Went over to check out the Filter spot quick (they have a killer lineup tomorrow) then meant to go see Shout Out Out Out Out, but collapsed from hunger in front of a Jimmy Johns and crawled inside to get a quick bite. Back at Fader now for the suddenly hairy and catchy youth group. I've always been bored by them, but they added a little spring to their sound since that first album. Not bad.

5:40 - Bought a pair of chords! Winehouse next.

5:58 - Wow, she's tiny.

6:22 - Winehouse rules. Really great, tho too short performance. She's quite adorable. Frightening, but adorable. Don't really know her whole backstory, but the cuts up and down her arm were pretty scary. After hearing about the cancellations, it was nice to see her sing.

Datarock is next, then a little dinner/downtime. Excited for both.

11:33 - well, that iheartcomix party was amazing until it got shut down by the fuzz. Wooboy. They had these monster energy cocktails, and the crowd around the bar was so huge we had to get 2 giant paper cups each to avoid having to go back. But the party got shut by the fire dept. For whatever reason, and now we're hightailing it to diesel to try and salvage some bit of the night before the rest of the crowd catches up. Photo Atlas at 2am at purevolume too, but that's a ways away.

12:16 - Some dickhead at the diesel party is wearing a pinjata on his head and violently flailing his arms, punching girls and stuff. Girltalk's about to go on, tho now I hear the iheart party is back up and running now. Dunno? Figuring out the deets now.

12:48 - Something's off with this girltalk set. Can't put my finger on it, but the whole thing just feels a bit forced. Like the people losing their shit onstage are there because they feel its the right thing to do, not because they are actually losing their shit. Can't ask for more out of a party tho. Great lineup, free booze, lots of friends here. Ill blame this lackluster set more on my sudden lack of energy rather than some outside force. His mixes do seem fun.

Someone just said there is a bowling ally in the back of the bar somewhere.

1:03 - There really is a bowling alley here, which suddenly makes this the second most random/awesome party of the week. Here's hoping my wii skillz translate to real life. Of course, Matt and Kim are here, just chilling.

3:04 - It's extremely humbling to discover that despite having a high score of 236 in Wii Sports bowling and the coveted "pro" status, I couldn't knock down a fucking pin on my first 5 throws. Nobody was keeping score, of anything, but I was still bummed I didn't instantly become a semidscent roller.

Anyway, that party turned out to be awesome and completely unexpected. Was all ready to head home and call it a night well done, but we got a tip that there was a latenight MSTRCRFT set at a club sort of near the hotel. Nothing I thought could I be in the mood for less, but whatdya know, it was really sweet. We were there for just the right amount of time. Any longer and I would have started to get sick of it, but when that kind of stuff is done right, I can really get into it.

Okay, bedtime.

The CV SXSW liveblog: Day 2

3/15, 9:30 - Never made it to iheartcomix last night. Got word that the line was redonc and it would be a huge hassle to get in, so we blew it off and just came back to the hotel to pretty much pass out. Wasn't planning on staying out late anyway.

Tried to upload a rad video of Matt and Kim I took at the party last night onto youtube but my computer is having issues so that's not happening yet. Soon tho. Now I gotta get my shit together an move into (final stop till Sunday night!) hotel #3. Toodles.

12:15 - Well, the free shoe party is way out of the way and the Fader space is nice, so gonna have to pass on that. They've got free migas and soco shots here, and that's really hard to leave. Pipettes are playing soon. Just saw them grubbing out at the breakfast buffet.

1:03 - Odd sequence of events where I got a brand new Zune (who were hosting the brunch) and a lil tutorial on how to receive a unreleased QotSA song (new album listening party...its good!), followed by finally meeting Maura from Idolator, who very politely didn't give me shit about being on the Zune take. Anyway...pipettes on soon.

2:44 - New hotel rules. So glad to be settled in finally. Best promotional tool I've seen so far (aside from my free mfing zune! Mom, Dad, your ipod troubles are gone!)  Is the Bright Eyes/Cassanga "do not disturb" doorknob hanger in the room. Smart, fellas...

3:09 - At BV. Twilight Sad is inside...loud, dark and dull. Matt & Kim again outside. Really sweet venue, even if its a bit out of the way. Probs just chillin here thru Hella, Cloud Cult and Mew. (Mew!)

think I might trade my Zune for a sweet pair of kicks on ebay . Still bumming that I couldn't make it for the shoe party.

Also...Crunk tastes the most like jolly ranchers out of all the energy drinks.

5:18 - mew vs cloud cult at bv. 2 of my top 3 favorite albums of the last 2 years. Not fair. Picked mew, cause it'll be easier to see cc later. There are some under 21's behind a fence outside the space watching the set and holding up fan signs! Best so far: "Mew is Amewsing!" This is why I'm all for all ages shows. Kids just care more.

2:11 - Sorry for the delay. After a nice dinner, some nap, a pedicab ride scarier than the Cyclone and a bust Factory People party, we made our way to purevolume for some free energy booze. Then to the todd p afterhours party, which is just a big free outdoors jam behind the Amtrak station. Pretty rad. Cases of natty stacked up against the wall and for the taking. Reminds me of some huge highschool party. Or something depicted in an otherwise lame 90s movie about gen x youth. Some sweet djs and rap acts coming soon, but for now we're suffering through big A little a, who are just about the worst ever. Brooklyn tribal noize that sounds like the soundtrack to some sicko cult initiation process. Oh my god its the worst ever. I do not get it.

3:40 - Fun times, but it was cold and the whole Hipster-Thug scene creeps me out a bit. Started reminding me a bit too much of those big out of control high school parties. Once people started throwing beer around and wrestling with each other, decided to call it a night. (pics via Joey's flickr)

The CV SXSW liveblog: Day 1

3/14. 9:20 - Good Morning! Up waaay too early. I don't think the PV redubll has completely left my system yet. Gonna head over to The Gothamist/Austinist thang early with Jen before going back to check in to Hotel #2. I gotta get some sort of map and schedule together. Today should be pretty simple, but I need to make sure The Salt Lick BBQ/Dirty on Purpose-Menomena party is somewhat near the Gothamist spot. Stuff like that.

12:03 - went over to the Gothamist/Austinist place for a bit to watch people set up. Oddly, they're doing BBQ first, then breakfast burritos after 2. Ran into Chris and Garrison briefly before heading to hotel #2. Comfort suites. Total worst! Trip adviser reviews called for this place to be condemned. Seriously. Haven't been inside yet, but they won't lock up our bags before the 3pm checkin. So were stuck carrying around our shit all day. Heading back to austinist now.

1:15 - At the convention center...Beirut spotted! Breaking! He looks alive and well and not exhausted at all.

2:25 - watched a but of a very nice set by Teitur. Kind of had a nice Jeff Buckley thing going on the last song I saw. I liked him. Headlights is on now. Sound pretty average.

4:53 - Menomena amazingly kick off with the 3 songs I love right off the bat and they sound great. I love 3 piece bands, drummers who sit off to the side and mutinstrumentalists. These guys are killing it. Even for a song I don't love on the record. The salt lick isn't free, but they're handing out gift bags with Biore face scrub. Which is perfect because I left mine at home.

7:27 - Comfort Suites might be way out of the way and have a flock of giant zombie highway birds perched outside our window, but the room is nice. there's a couch and a kitchenette microwave and everything. It's tough to get to tho. The cab situation this year seems a lot worse than before. 45 minute wait minimum to get a car and the traffic is redic. Tomorrow this will be moot because we're moving to a more centrally located hotel, but getting back to this place has been rough.

Anyway, Dinner with the Band launch party is next with Matt and Kim. If we can get there in time.

9:45 - Ok, Reverb Records has been spamming the shit out of mine and a handful of non-bcc'd bloggers emails this evening. 88 emails, sending the same mp3 or something. Gjeezus. Anyway. Matt and kim at dinner with the band was great. The hors dourves sam made up were amazing...raw tuna something and this peanut/satay pulled pork dish. Both on crackers. Loved it but needed something more substantial, so went to a brasserie across the street for a steak frites. Yum. Some time to kill, then iheartcomix kickoff party.

The CV SXSW liveblog: Day 0

3/13, 10:30am - Test test. Lets see how this works from the sidekick. Okay perfect. I tell myself I'll do something like this whenever I travel to something or somewhere interesting, but never really get it off the ground. My new motivation is that there is no way I'll ever find the time to recap this week when I get back, so maybe I'll have better luck just doing it as I go. The spelling will be bad and I'll often be typing under the influence of free booze and brisket from my sidekick, but nonetheless lets give it a shot. I'll try to edit, add pictures, etc the morning after, but no promises.

Ok. Leaving for the airport in an hour.

12:38 - Can't stress enough how easy the airtrain is. Even to Newark (tho they could use a few signs pointing you in the right direction at Newark-Penn). I really hope people use it and it wasn't a colossal waste of money.

So I wanted to make a list...a checklist of sorts, on what I'm hoping to accomplish this week in Austin. It started as a list of 7, but I'm gonna go till I run out of ideas.

1. See Kings of Leon: I go through phases with these guys when I get a sudden urge to see them play. Loving the new album a whole lot and feeling it again. Seeing that they're playing roseland on this next tour means I wanna see them somewhere rad like stubbs even more now.

2. Get new sneakers: My current kicks are kind of getting a bit grimey. I've got my eye on getting to the Saucony party ealry on Thursday to snag what'll likely be one of the few pairs of 13s. And to catch the rad post rock/metal group Russian Circles, who go on first.

3. See the Faint: Its been a while, never seen them headline a show. If they're not playing some latenight dance party, I'll be pretty disappointed (I think I've got this figured out tho...)

4. See Menomena: The first three songs on the last album are three of my favorite of the year, but the rest of the album drags miserably. I'm hoping a short, sxsw set will include at least 2 of those songs, and I won't have to sit through too much of the rest.

5. Migas: The legend of migas greatly outweighs the actual experience, but a trip to polvos is an absolute must.

Ill finish this when I get to the terminal...

1:50 - Wow...lots of band-looking people in the waiting area. Go figure. 6 rough-yet-pretty looking swedes to my left. One has a "fragile" sticker on his jeans jacket. Cute. Anyway. I was thinking, those 5 things above are really all I've got right now. Without looking over schedules or anything, my priorities are pretty set. I say this every time, I know, but I'm gonna try and take it easy for the most part. Spend as little as possible, stick to the parties that aren't too much trouble. Enjoy myself without stressing out or getting annoyed.

Okay, I've boarded. This plane is half people in bands and half frightened elderly folk. I'm sitting next to a really nice kid from Norway in an unsigned band called Davy Jones Locker (or something? couldn't quite understand what he said). They're playing a BBQ on Saturday near the convention center and described his music as sounding "Foo Fighters-ish." Love it. I'm marking down seeing these guys play as #6.

Hey look, its Blonde Redhead trying to squeeze an overstuffed piece of luggage into the overhead bin! Sxsw is awesome.

5:50 - Waiting for the supershuttle to take me to hotel #1. Jen is letting me crash there tonight. It is POURING here. Like just coming down in sheets. At least its not cold tho. I can handle a warm rain.

Made plans to hit up a highly recommended Mexican spot with Darin and others. El Chile? Getting pretty hungry.

6:05 - The supershuttle guy says the rain will clear up by tomorrow noon. That's good.

10:50 - El Chile was el fantistico. I've been sort of anti-mole since a leftover thanksgiving turkey dish my uncle whipped up several years back that I didn't really like, but I got these roasted pork enchiladas covered in red mole sauce which was absolutely perfect. They've also got this salsa in Austin I cannot for the life of me find in NYC. It's some sort of burnt jalapeño/chipotle thing. Killer. They have the same thing at Baja Fresh out West, but seriously nothing like it in New York anywhere. Anywhere. I've looked everywhere.

Anyway, that's all I've gotten around to so far. I think we're heading out to the Beauty Bar here for some party, but I'm just going with the crowd tonight. I don't know what to do on a normal night around here.

11:30 - Beauty bar is odd. Every other city it's a SPOT. Always something big going on. But in New York its a total dive. Like a hipsterfied Kingshead tavern. Actually, Kingshead probably has more cred. I saw Albert Hammond Jr. there once. How does this franchise thrive everywhere except the one place it actually belongs? I don't get it.

Just saw a band called Zygos or something that was described to me as a "mid 90s indie band that came up around here the same time as Spoon, but never took off." There were only 2 members on stage, and the bass player came in for something like half a song before walking back off. They sounded exactly as you'd expect. Not much left there, it seems.

1:25 - Swang by the Purevolune space...free redbull vodkas, frozen drinks, and mediocre emo till 4am every night. And they have a wii. This might be the official fallback spot for the week. It'll be right by my hotel this weekend too.

1:40 - ALSO...major makeout session on the outdoor couches at pv. Like...seriously hardcore. 3 chicks, one big hairy guy in a cowboy hat. I feel like I'm watching a deleted scene from Varsity Blues

1:50 - oops! They're totally doin it they're totally doin it they're totally doin it! Just like, right there. On the couch. Whaaat the fuk. Everyone at the party suddenly feels superuncomfortable.

2:45 - The bands suck here tonight and it has officially gotten late. Back at the hotel, big day tomorrow. This all hasn't even gotten started yet...

You'll have to forgive me...

If I don't update for a week here or there. I just run out of time to write or things to say and things get knocked off track. Last week just felt really off. All the days had this Tuesday-Wednesday hybrid feel to it. There was no beginning or end. Just a lot of mishmashed days. Mix that sensation with the feeling that SXSW was NEVER gonna come for the longest time, quickly followed by it being in our laps all of a sudden. It's been a weird February. It's such a short month, you know...

Still can't stop listening to this Nakatomi Plaza CD. The second half has grown on me bigtime, which is always a good sign for an album as it passes my 20 minute commute test. That song Undefined is a real killer. Sounds a bit like Pinback in parts and has this great Babyshambles' 'Fuck Forever'-esque guitar part that kinda tears. I love it and I'd totally love post the song, but I've already done more than enough. Man this album is really good tho.

Aside from that, I've been rocking the new Modest Mouse a bunch lately too. I like it a lot, which seems to put me in the minority, but no matter. Listening to it out of the context of all the previous albums is completely necessary. It's a very enjoyable and listenable album, even if it's no longer groundbreaking. I don't have an MP3 handy, but I'm sure you can find whatever you're looking for here.