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| Young Man at The Parish |
My day one kind of started off slowly because I neglected to pick up my Fader Fort wristband on Tuesday and spent the better part of the day standing in line for the damn thing. We did get to hear some of Toro y Moi and Jonquil while standing in the ridiculously long line. (Note to Fader Fort: Get a better system next year. 5 people doing RSVP's for thousands of people = 2 hour wait time). As my friend Brandi said: "After that 2 hour wait, Jesus had better be the surprise guest."
After procuring our wristbands, I really needed a beer. We headed over to the Flavorpill/Musebox party over at Lipstick 24. There we saw electronic outfit Oh Land and Pitchfork darlings Nite Jewel. We headed next door to Eventbrite's Empire Garage party where we should have been the whole time. We caught the tail end of Braids' set. It sounded wonderful. Next up was Jukebox the Ghost, who also sounded great. There we basked in the sunshine and sipped our free Dos Equis.
We headed over to the Paste party to see Sondre Lerche but were discouraged by the long line. After the Fort, I decided that I wouldn't wait in any more long lines that day. Luckily, there will be other opportunities to check out Sondre. We got to the New Zealand party and barely missed Liam Finn. Boo. But we did get to see The Naked and the Famous. Their infectious rhythms were just what was needed to kick into night mode.
After a much needed food break at the Whip In, we headed back downtown again. Our first stop was the Parish, where we were treated to a set by Young Man, a group of strapping young lads. To me, they sounded like a cross between Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah and Starsailor. The stifling heat in the Parish (and the need to smoke a cigarette) brought us out into the street. We decided to skip the Antlers (I plan on seeing them today at the NPR showcase) and head over to the Spill to catch some of the Dears. Wow. I have been a fan of the Dears for awhile, but wasn't crazy about their last album. The material off of this album sounded great. Singer Murray Lightburn and company exuded a frenetic energy that permeated the club with a frenzied, ecstatic vibe. I will definitely be catching another show of the band before South by ends.
We hightailed it down to Red River to catch Tennis and Yuck at Club Deville. Unfortunately, we got there too late to see Tennis, another band that I intend to catch this week. Yuck were amazing. It was a nineties rock revival complete with soaring, fuzzed-out guitars and catchy pop drenched melodies. On our way back to the car, we heard Duran Duran belting out "Girls on Film" from Stubbs. It would have been a great show to see, but I didn't want to spend the entire night at Stubb's (although the lineup was great). As I have said before, I love the nomadic experience of SXSW.
My feet already hurt. On today's agenda?
Wye Oak at the IFC House, The Antlers at the NPR Day show, City and Colour, Atlas Sound at Flamingo, Smith Westerns at East Side Drive-In, and The Strokes! I'm sure things will get changed around a bit, but I fully intend on seeing the Strokes at Auditorium Shores.
