So SXSW was fun, but majorly exhausting. I definitely did not bring the appropriate shoes. The $10 vinyl kicks I usually wear are great for dancing, but are the male equivalent of ballet flats, and have all the support of a piece of tissue paper. By the end of the trip, I could not even stand or walk on them. I hobbled through the airport wincing in pain with each step.

The most memorable band I saw was “Beach Fossils.” The singer broke a string and all the sudden got on the mic and started ranting and raving.. “Fuck this venue. This place fucking sucks!” It was kind of out of nowhere. It got really awkward for a few minutes. They were really good though, so nobody really booed and after playing minus a string for a bit the singer asked if we wanted them to keep playing. Almost everyone said yeah…so he changed the string on his guitar and finished the show.

Most of the time I hung out with Wes, Ashleigh and Darci, but the last day I was totally on my own and strictly handling business. Wes was there with his band “Gospel Claws” who were playing a couple of showcases, and Ashleigh and Darci were just there for adventure.

Anyway, the entire trip this year was like an alternate universe in which people who were essentially strangers in one city were suddenly good friends in another…like an episode of Sliders or something(a show I never much cared for.) It was only vaguely reminiscent of the film “Blame it on Rio”(starring Michael Caine and directed by my all time favorite director, Stanley Donen) which I watched on HBO as a kid, but was too young to have any clue what it was actually about.

---

Filed under: Uncategorized - @ April 7, 2011 6:29 am

Tags: beach fossils, blame it on rio, sxsw 2011