Let's Get This Party Started Right

SXSW Report Day One -
Wednesday


Awake and head to Peacock for the giant Gorilla vs. Bear showcase. Line is a mile long. Andrew and I wait it out just long enough to get our heads in the door for White Williams's first song, and then we decide to bounce to Backspin.

The showcase at the Peacock represents SXSW pretty well. Blog-curated event with a list of bands stretching across a few genres (White Williams, Ghosthustler, Holy Fuck!, Cool Kids), bands with a shit ton of hype and only a handful of actual releases. Although Peacock is one of my favorite places, the people who planned this event either:

1) Had no idea how big of a draw it would be.
2) Wanted to create a sense of exclusivity by using such a small venue.
3) Didn't really check out the venue before booking it.

This caused a mile about 100 meters long.

So after falling for this blog-trap of a day show, Andrew and I decided we'd fare better at Backspin Records. Hip-hop legend Percee P was supposed to perform followed by local DJ Bird Peterson and D.C. club producer Tittsworth. Browse browse browse, wait for Percee P to arive a half hour late...

Percee P arrived and stood at the front of Backspin Records addressing the crowd of about 12 people. He started to rattle off a list of emcees that he has worked with throughout the years. People he helped get started in the game, people who guided him, etc. He lists about half of hip-hop while simultaneously plugging his new record, produced by Madlib, a fact which he notes every two minutes for the duration of the hour or so he stands behind a pair of turntables.

Unfortunately, all he did was stand behind those turntables and trigger tracks on a portable CD player. They were the tracks from his latest album which he was trying to sell. He did not rap, but rather opted to nod his head to the album versions of his songs. It was pretty disappointing and I think everyone in the store was awkwardly surprised by this rapper's decision not to rap at all.

Tittsworth was scheduled to play next, but Bird Peterson did instead. He currently lives in Austin and his remixes have become pretty popular, selling well on Turntable Lab and generating a bunch of blog-jizz. I think they're pretty shitty. Not very creative, fun, or dance-floor motivating. So I didn't really stick around for his set.

Next I made my way to the KVRX show at Clementine. Rainbow Arabia I believe they were called, sounded great.

Then it was time to rest my foot. I got in the middle of a nasty little dispute between two cock-fighting trainers a few days earlier in Monterrey. The foot caused me to have to take a period of rest mid to late day every day of SXSW. Which probably saved me from sickness/exhaustion.

After the rest, I headed to the Presbyterian Church downtown to see Peter and the Wolf. This was one of the highlights of my week. The acoustics were revelatory and Red was joined by some special guests who happen to write for this here blog. It was a great show, the additional band members helped with song choral and auxillary percussion to give things a real Paul Simon-y vibe at points.

After this show I ate a vegetarian hot dog. Then I rode my bike to campus. Mid-way between downtown and campus I stopped at a gas station and drank a red Gatorade. It was delicious and drinking it while riding made me feel very powerful.

Once arriving at UT, I parked my bike and readied myself for an all-acoustic jamboree of sorts, organized by Todd P a dude from Brooklyn who apparently you should know about. Ethan helped him get a permit for the show so now he thinks he's a hot-shit promoter. It's cool, he probably won't read this far into the blog entry.

Harharhar okay, so the idea for this event was each band/musician plays two songs and then a new band/musician plays. No setting up time, just quick set after quick set. Things started out great, with a small band of 50 or 60 people seated and the musicians projecting their voices loudly.

Hot-shit promoter played two songs, one including a nice reference to an evening of partying a few weeks ago where I discovered a pair of scene kids fucking in the bushes behind the house. HSP also notes a subsequent trip to Whataburger in his song. The crowd eats it up.

As more people arrive, the crowd noise grows louded and in some backwards-ass response, the musicians stop projecting their voices well. The longer I was there the less I enjoyed the music and left around 2:30 or 3:00.

The midnight jamboree on campus represents a lot of what I love about SXSW. An independent promoter using his musician connections to set up an incredibly intimate show in a bizarre location. There was no corporate sponsorship, which meant no free booze/food/promo items. However, it also meant no lines, waiting, or crowd that was only viewing the event as a free chance to get fucked up. People came to the event because they wanted to hear music, plain and simple.

So that's Wednesday.