Spoonfed's intrepid Music Editor Dom Haley boozed and cruised his way around Austin, Texas to find the hottest new acts at SXSW Festival. It's a tough old job...
Saturday 20 March: Austin, Texas
After four nights of constant booze, Saturday brings with it an almighty thunderstorm and, thanks to the mixture of coffee and rum I was necking the night before, one of the weirdest hangovers I’ve ever had. It feels like a caffeine crash and a rotten drink-inflicted headache all at the same time.
To add insult to injury, the weather has changed from the blazing sunshine of the past week to a freezing, almost UK-like grey day that I was totally not expecting. Having not packed a winter coat and finding that all of the jackets in the local thrift stores have skyrocketed in price since yesterday, I put on what feels like all of my clothes to brave the elements.
What I need is more coffee. So heading out to the Spiderhouse yet again, it’s not long before I’m sat outside drinking a cup of sweet black goop and trying to put my head back together in the freezing Texan wind. Luckily, Sacred Bones Records are also at the venue presenting New York Night Train's 5th Annual Unofficial Hoodang. I spend the next few hours drinking black coffee, eating $1 tacos and watching weird, DIY psych bands like Eternal Tapestry, Street Cars and Golden Triangle. After watching an impressive set from LA-based shitgazers Dum Dum Girls, I decide that I’ve recovered enough for a trip down town.
Now, this being the last day of SXSW, and the only day of the festival that occurs on a weekend, central Austin is rammed to the extent that the whole of 6th Street feels like a cross between the Camden Crawl and a busy day at Grand Central Station. Walking around the streets with the aim of soaking in as much as I can, I manage to laugh my way through a set from ancient pop punks Sum 41 at a Vans showcase on Red River and see a bizarre performance from a blindfolded rapper who incorporates objects handed to him from members of the crowd into his rhymes. Finding myself in need of a beer, I stopped into Beerland and managed to catch a set from Ty Segall, who have to be one of the stand-out bands at this year’s festival.
I find myself with a few hours to spend before any of the official showcases start, so head down to the Conference Centre and find it to be the exact opposite of 6th Street: there's hardly anyone around. Finding myself at a loose end, I walk back to Brush Park where the Canadian Blast showcase has been all week, and find it replaced with a well polished Chop Shop/Atlantic Records party. Here, I manage to catch sets from highly tipped theatrical popsters Marina and The Diamonds, friendly if slightly throw away folk singer-songwriter Robert Francis, and the swirling, sea-shanty-esque folk of Fanfarlo, who were particularly impressive.
With 8 o’clock approaching, I walk over to where Panache Booking is ending 2010’s festival in style with a massive showcase that seems to have good bands coming out of every available orifice. Starting off with a spot of dreamy indie pop from The Sandwitches, who are surely contenders in this year's 'Cutest Band in San Francisco' competition, I’m then treated to an amazing show from Memphis surf-rockers Turbo Fruits who end their set with former Be Your Own Pet guitarist Jonas Style hanging from the rafters, shredding a cover of Link Ray’s ‘Rumble’. It just gets better from there really, with John Dwyer project Thee Oh Sees clocking in a brilliant set, Surfer Blood sounding more muscular than usual, and post-Blood Brothers art-punk project Past Lives playing a strange, but interesting set.
All good things come to an end, right, and after wandering around half of downtown Austin looking for a rumoured Snoop Dogg performance, I decide that with a ludicrously early flight in the morning, going back to the ranch for a half-decent night's sleep will be my first sensible act in four days.
As SXSW experiences go, this one has probably ticked all the boxes – four days of excellent music, bar tabs filled with Lone Star, numerous margaritas and Patron, bizarre conversations with many Americans and a few lost Londoners and a feeling that I’m not exactly real any more.
All that’s left to do is to thank Mallory for the sofa bed, Lovvers and various other people for the rides and Austin for just being awesome – thanks guys, can’t wait ‘til next year!
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