So, perhaps it's fitting that my little black book is filled with names of bands and set times rather than the numbers of one-time lovers?  These bands, after all, are a much more reliable and sustainable source for instantaneous fulfillment - at least for me - whether that be through dancing my ass off at shows, blasting tunes on my iPod, watching live videos, looking at photos or just plain nostalgia.  And though it really is coincidental that my mini-notebook is black, it's possible that my subconscious had something to do with the color choice.  Nonetheless, here's my digitized black book's rundown of SXSW '10 Day 3.

First up was Roxwel's day party at the Dog & Duck Pub featuring Ideal Soul Mart, Jenny Owen Youngs, Crash Kings (solo performance by Tony Beliveau), Miniature Tigers and New Politics.  Austin's Ideal Soul Mart never fails to impress me with the multi-instrumental talent of the duo, comprised of Clay Fain and Adam Luikart, as well as their rhythmic and melodic tunes.  Songstress Jenny Owen Youngs, hailing from Brooklyn, has a beautiful voice and a knack for originality in her writing.  And, though Tony Beliveau was the only Crash King to perform (his brother and the band's bassist, Mike, came down with a nasty case of food poisoning the night before), he definitely had the skills to exclusively command the audience's attention with his piano-playing and singing ability.  All in all, these three sets were a great way to ease into the day after no less than six nights out in the last eight days.  Also, Roxwel will be posting full sets and interviews from each of the performers in the coming weeks, so stay tuned! 

By the time I made my way downtown after some office time, there was a lull in my schedule since the day parties were winding down and the official nighttime showcases hadn't begun.  So we made our way to the Fader Fort for some free brews and caught Los Angeles' Fool's Gold, an African-pop band that incorporates Hebrew/English lyrics into their upbeat, sunny songs.  They were definitely a fun band to stumble upon, as was the SoundLab (powered by Korg) at the Fort!  Not being musically inclined - as in the actual act of playing/making music - I've never messed around with synthesizers, vocoders and the like - but the SoundLab definitely spawned my interest.  Who knows, DJ FerrFerr may be coming to a venue near you sometime soon (ha)!  Also, I've got to give Korg heady branding props on that booth - great idea!

Anyhoo, I was hoping to catch The Black Angels next at the Mess With Texas event, but, unfortunately, either I had their set time written down wrong in my little black book or they were running way late.  So, instead of sticking around for the end of YACHT's set and waiting on the Angels, I headed to Stubb's to get in line for Metric and Muse, both of whom I had never seen before.  In fact, Toronto indie rockers Metric only caught my attention late last year.  I loved how Emily Haines (vocals, guitar, synthesizer) introduced "Gimme Sympathy" with a personal note.  She sang a little of "Rock and Roll Will Never Die," a phrase she repeats to herself every morning when she wakes up. 

For those that had seen Muse previously, I bet it was quite a different (and more intimate) experience watching them perform at Stubb's, Austin's amphitheatre located in the heart of downtown that only holds a few thousand, since they typically perform in large coliseums and arenas (Madison Square Garden recently).  I really enjoyed the variety of musical elements they draw upon for their energetic live performance, which definitely had the crowd - and me (when I wasn't trying to keep my camera steady) - bouncing around.  And that's my only gripe about taking photos and videos at shows (which I love to do), but I don't get to dance ALL THE TIME! 

After scarfing down a delicious sandwich from the Austin Daily Press trailer, conveniently located in the Stubb's/Club de Ville/Mohawk vicinity, we tried to get inside of Club de Ville for Neon Indian, but that didn't happen due to the massive amount of people waiting in line for the same.  And here is where the night starts to get a bit blurry - not due to alcohol (seriously!) but tiredness/sickness (it was bound to happen, but boo to my sore throat!).  Let's see, we checked out Flosstradamus, a duo of DJs from Chicago, which I felt very "meh" about.  Maybe it was my sick-i-ness?  I don't know.  But I had heard good things about them from a variety of sources, and I love dance-y beats but just wasn't feeling them at the time.  The much-hyped Bear in Heaven was our next stop at Emo's Annex, and they weren't doing it for me either.  Another surprise considering they've got an electronic, psychedelic rock vibe to them, and I'm definitely a fan of all that.  Again, maybe it was my sick-i-ness?  Or perhaps their moustaches - one really in particular - that screamed pedophile?

Ok, upwards and onwards to Shout out out out out I went.  I actually saw these guys last year at their SXSW showcase with The Egg (wish they had come back too!) and was into their fast-paced "livetronica" dance tunes.  I lovelovelove their drummer.  As if playing drums didn't require enough energy, this guy goes above and beyond.  Seriously.  Check him (and them) out out out out!

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Another SXSW in the bag! It’s crazy how much more mainstream SXSW gets every year. I mean I ran into Kanye West at the Red Bull party Saturday night. If that isn’t random I don’t know what it!

Stone Temple Pilots performed Thursday night at the Austin City Music Hall. Scott Weiland opened on a shaky note, but pulled it together while belting music off new album. No worries though Scott didn’t forget the STP classics. I almost forgot how many hits they had! However, if you were looking for crazy bouncing around Scott, like last time I saw him perform in Velvet Revolver, this was not the night. A very mellow Scott performed, I guess that is what happens when you kick the heroin.

I don’t think I heard from one person who caught a Crash Kings performance over the 4 days who didn’t think they were absolutely AMAZING! Roxwel was lucky enough to have them at our Roxwel Day Party on Friday! Unfortunately, the drummer came down with food poisoning and spent his afternoon puking! Yikes! However, Tony performed a solo that was STILL fabulous. 

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When 2,000 bands invade your city - and you're already a music fanatic - it's like christmas.  But way better.  Every venue in downtown Austin, at every hour, offers a little something for everyone, no matter your musical tastes.  And that's not even the half of it.  If you just take a moment to look around while you're hopping from place to place (which can be hard at times when you're always on the go trying to catch the next show), you'll see some crazy ass people all around you.  This is THE people-watching fest.  Hula-hooping guitarists, Japanese-I-don't-know-what-the-eff-they're-doing dancers in the street, New Orleans-style street musicians and everything in between. 

My first showcase on Thursday was at Latitude, featuring UK artists.  Bubbz was a fun way to kick off the night and get the energy flowing in my beyond exhausted body.  His commanding stage presence was complimented by his obviously well rehearsed set and polished appearance.  And though the place wasn't packed, people continued to trickle in throughout the set, and Bubbz was very tactful in bringing people to the front of the venue, easily enhancing the vibe.  Good tip for artists: don't be shy about asking the audience to move in a little closer.  It makes your showcase that much more enticing for the people milling about on the street figuring out their next move. 

Up next was The Whigs - or so we thought.  Beauty Bar annex is apparently not even on the same block as the Beauty Bar, so we ended up seeing Los Angeles' Moonrats.  And, ironically enough, the bassist in the band is Jenny Lee Lindberg (her fourth set of the day) from Warpaint, so that was a nice surprise since I'm really loving Warpaint's psychedelic-infused sounds.  At first, I wasn't really feeling Moonrats, but after a couple songs, they definitely started drawing me in.  SXSW tip: don't make a judgment call on a showcasing band till they have at least ten minutes to warm-up on stage and get all the kinks worked out sound-wise.  Le Loup at Galaxy Room was our next stop and also another prime example of wait-for-it-wait-for-it goodness.  Drawing comparisons to Yeasayer and Animal Collective, Le Loup is a band I'd be into checking out again if they made it back around to Austin. 

Holy F*ck - a phrase used in many different circumstances, including "Holy f*ck, I still can't believe how much good music I'm seeing this week - and always - in Austin," and it's also the name of an experimental electronica band from Toronto.  I actually saw these guys open for The Disco Biscuits in Chicago for Halloween last year, so I was looking forward to their SXSW set.  Unfortunately, so were a lot of other people, so I waited-and-waited in line and finally made it inside to catch a few songs, which I totally enjoyed - though I could've used some more. 

Ahhh, and the infamous GZA, who had canceled his appearance at a day party on Wednesday and was very late (not sure if he ever showed because I left) to the Eastbound & Down party earlier Thursday evening, was to take the stage next.  Would he show?  Well, he did - eventually.  I'm not sure who it was from his posse that entertained the crowd for the next half hour or so until he did make an appearance, but GZA definitely owes this guy, which he should remember when he wakes up from whatever drug-induced coma he's in.  That's right - apparently he had to be CARRIED into The Mohawk for this showcase (we found this out from a little bird after his brief set).  And that wasn't the only strange GZA-related happening.  He was also entranced with someone in the front of the audience and constantly fixated on her ("her" is an assumption but probably the correct one) - with his bodyguard about a foot away from him ready to pounce at any minute - throughout the showcase.  Strangeness.  Also, the bass got so loud that we decided to jet, but right as we were about to exit GZA got ahold of us (not literally :-), so we stuck around till the end. 

By this time, it's about 1am, and we mosey into Club de Ville to check out I-don't-know-who, and then decide to end the night with London/Paris' Dan Black at Dirty Dog.  Great decision!  At first glance, you think "Zoolander" because of his face paint and over-exaggerated dance moves (that were awesome, by the way), and then you mix that up with his pop-y tunes and cheesy choruses (almost Just Jack-ish), and you get yourself a dance par-tay!  I loved seeing this guy and will definitely be up-ing his album to my party mix.  He was highly entertaining on stage, and I'm a sucker for those British accents. 

Cheers!  It was another fab day...on to the next one!

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First off, I just want to say that I effing love this town and this festival.  I'm a recent SXSW convert after having the most fantastic time last year, which was my second time to attend the fest.  So I kicked off my third year by sitting in on a couple panels at the convention center on Wednesday.  The first was "The Convergence of Music on TV and Online," which seemed to the labels' attempt at convincing artists that they're still a necessary part of the equation for success  However, this message was at odds - at least to me - with the whole emphasis of the panel as there are so many free platforms for artists to promote themselves and build a fanbase.  All in all, I didn't gain much from this one.  It really seemed to me that the labels were on the defensive here. 

My second and last panel of the day was "Working The Press: Intellectual Intercourse and Interviews" with Ali MacLean, an award-winning writer and host of "Ali On The Air."  I found myself laughing out loud several times during this discussion, mostly due to some hilariously awful artist interviews (namely Johnny Rotten and Box Masters, aka Billy Bob Thronton) that Ali streamed during the panel.  If you have any interest in musician interview etiquette, definitely watch these to learn what NOT to do - and get an idea of how to handle these situations as a journalist if they do happen.  Having done several interviews with bands myself, I found this panel to be highly relevant and entertaining.  Also, a word of advice to musicians (and I have run across this recently): answer the questions!  The media is here to tell your story, and you're not "sticking it to the man" by being difficult in an interview - you're only hurting yourself.  Coincedentally (or, perhaps, not), Box Masters' tour was canceled after this interview surfaced.  Just keep that in mind - even if you hate the whole media circus. 

Ok, now on to the music!  My first stop, after picking up my Pure Volume badge, was Los Angeles' El Ten Eleven at Lustre Pearl.  Though musically their sound is much different from that of Benevento/Russo Duo, these two guys, playing their hearts out on guitar and drums, really reminded me of the Duo for this reason: I am astonished that just two people can make that sort of noise.  And I don't mean noise in a bad way!  Check out a couple clips to see what I do mean.

While we were at Lustre Pearl, a rumor surfaced that MGMT was the 7:30pm "special guest" at Levi's Fader Fort, so we trucked over there to get a good spot.  By the time we got there, several other rumors were floating around as to who might be playing.  I think the second one was Snoop Dogg, but I had heard that he's playing Perez Hilton's party (and possibly the Fort) on Saturday.  So I ix-neyed that as a possibility and really did think MGMT was still in the running because their scavenger hunt was held in Austin the day prior.  However, after other chatter of M.I.A. (how awesome would that be!) and Black-Eyed Peas making an appearance, the most viable option seemed to be Nas & Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley as they were performing at Emo's together later on that night.  And so it was, and it was definitely my highlight of the night. 

After my third iPhone plug-in (Apple: please release a phone with a replacable battery!), I headed to Club de Ville and briefly checked out Here We Go Magic, but since I wasn't really feeling them, I made my way into line at Stubb's for Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings, who was followed by the hyped Broken Bells, which consists of artist-producer Danger Mouse and The Shins' guitarist, James Mercer.  Sharon Jones definitely had the place grooving with her soulful tunes, and I did enjoy Broken Bells - though not to the extent of their buzz.  They just didn't have the energy I was hoping for, but I guess Nas & Damian Marley set that bar pretty high.  I did run into Ali MacLean, the panel speaker I enjoyed earlier in the day, and chatted with her ever-so briefly, which was cool.

Now where to?  Well, I did attempt to see Nas & Damian Marley once more at Emo's (and Warpaint, who I saw recently and really dug, was playing the indoor show), but the line was horrendous.  No thank you.  So I actually made my way to Red 7 to see Roxwel's showcase with Relapse Records, featuring Voivod, and as my coworker said when I arrived - "What are you doing here?" - I began to wonder the same thing.  Trying to familiarize myself with metal?  Nope, not my thing.  So I hopped over to Rusty Spurs to catch Japan's Acid Mothers Temple with my ears already ringing.  The aurora of these dudes is just amazing, and I found myself snapping away with my camera.  But after several songs in, right up front by the speakers, I - or I should say my ears - just couldn't do it.  I have not converted to using earplugs yet, but I do have a pair in my bag now after experiencing some serious ringing when I got back to my quiet apartment.  I did really enjoy Acid Mothers Temple and will probably check them out again while they're here.  Luckily, I have it on my schedule that they're performing in a parking lot today, so that should make their amped-out sounds - and the constant "turn it up" hand gestures - more tolerable. 

Well, it's time to hit the streets again!  More to come tomorrow, but, in the meantime, you can follow me for SXSW updates via Twitter (@crunchyMunckin)!

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Perez Hilton, music enthusiast and media queen, is making his return to Texas at this year’s SXSW Festival. Presented by SWAGG, Perez’s wildly successful  “One Night In…” series will take place in Austin on Saturday, March 20, 2010 at The Whitley, beginning at 7pm. It has been the place to be for the last 2 years, and this year will be no exception

Taking the stage at our annual event will be Marina & The Diamonds, one of the hottest acts in the UK, in one of her first-ever performances in America.

 Marina & The Diamonds will be joining previously announced act Alphabeat and many more amazing musicians we'll be announcing over the coming days.

RSVP HERE

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South by Southwest Music officially begins today, but that doesn't mean there was a shortage of shows in the days prior to the festival.  In fact, there was an abundance of parties in Austin over the weekend, celebrating the film and interactive portions of SXSW.  Check out these local Austin bands - Trey Brown, Focus Group (w/ the horns section from Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears) and The White White Lights - who performed at the ATX Emerege party at The Mohawk on Monday 3/15, and also catch them during the fest.  Remember, there are loads of talented musicians - official SXSW showcasing bands and otherwise - playing tons of free parties in our fair city this week, so be sure to take advantage!

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Brothers Past (Tom Hamilton, Rick Lowenberg, Tom McKee & Clay Parnell) put on a great show last night at The Parish in Austin for their one-off Texas tour date - check out some pictures and a couple clips of their performance.  Also, Roxwel got the chance to interview the full band before they took the stage, as well as shoot the first set, so check back soon for that content!

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"Should Be Loved" - The New Video From Blue October!

See Blue October Live On The Pick Up The Phone Tour 2010, which runs from April 3rd to May 15th!

Tickets and Info at: www.blueoctober.com

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