SXSW 2015- Wednesday Recap
In true SXSW fashion, Wednesday was chock full of maddening conflicts and as usual, everything magically worked out in the best way possible for a wonderful day.
Consequently, today is also Kristen’s birthday (Happy Birthday!) which is why I’m bringing this post to you. It was full of LMN favorites as well as some new discoveries. The day started at Holy Mountain with Walking on Cars and I immediately fell in love. No joke. They were my favorite band of the day and I’m really looking forward to seeing them play again.
After that lovely set, we caught a little bit of Until the Ribbon Brakes before jetting over to catch Dear Boy’s set at 96 Rainey as part of the Buzzbands Showcase. We stayed for the full Dear Boy set, which was very enjoyable. After making some new friends there, we had a lovely time catching up with Ben Grey, finding out the best place for BBQ and acquiring hugs before stopping down the road to catch some Hamish Anderson at Clive Bar. That beautiful bluesy guitar was hard to walk away from but the pull of the impending Fatherson show at Latitude 30 was just too strong to ignore. A small bonus for the day was the free food inside! Mac and cheese and salad for all! Score, right? Actually, the score was getting to see Fatherson after missing their set yesterday. They had such a strong and killer live energy which made them a really enjoyable band to watch. Also, a band with a smiley drummer. What’s not to love?
There was a strong pull to stick around for Mallory Knox, but we had a friend in line at Maggie Mae’s for Dead Sara and when word came that the line was short and moving reasonably well, we booked it over there and hopped in line. Totally worth it. It’s been awhile since I, Amanda, had seen Dead Sara and holy cow…. They’ve only gotten better. They played some new material as well as some old classics like “Lemon Scent.”
Next there was some bouncing around which included checking out The Black and The White at Buffalo Billiards, Matthew Mayfield at Chuggin Monkey, and Marlon Roudette back at Maggie Mae’s At this point in time, my feet are not at all happy with me so I made Maggie Mae’s my hangout spot for a few acts like Young Rising Sons and a song or three of Halsey.
Feet somewhat rested, I wandered over across the way to catch a few songs of The Highly Suspect before making my way up to the church in the hopes of getting into the Brandi Carlile show at the church. This is when the magic happens… Things aren’t looking good for you in terms of getting in but you decide to stick it out, just in case and just like magic, you are whisked into the venue with a few other hopefuls behind you. I only stayed for a few songs of what can only be described as a magical set but I’m so very glad I went. Everything was completely stripped down and acoustic, which combined with the acoustics of a church makes for a very memorable and moving performance. I only stayed for a few songs even though I wish I could have stayed longer because I was really looking forward to Jared & The Mill at Esther’s Follies. I’m so glad I went! The venue was great because there was tons of elevated seating all over as well as a pit area for people to dance in. Taking another load off my feet, because you need to take advantage of that opportunity when you can, I settled in for a wonderful set. Unfortunately, I had some rather chatty neighbors that joined me part way though the set and thought it was a good idea to interrupt and chat with the girl who was seriously enjoying the music. Guess that means, I’ll have to see them again for an uninterrupted set. Oh darn. Not really.
The night finished off with a double whammy in the form of Plain White T’s and Irontom at Red Eyed Fly. Plain White T’s were playing outside before the Irontom set, so I caught a few songs including some old goodies (pre- “Hey Delilah”) as well as some new tunes from an upcoming record. I bounced back inside to catch some Irontom and just because I could, went back outside to catch some more Plain White T’s because I haven’t seen them in at least 5 years. Probably way more. There was some more Irontom dancing to send me on my way. All in all, a great night and the craziness is only just beginning….
Picks for Tomorrow:
1pm- James Bay @ Spotify House
2pm- Misterwives @ Des Moins Embassy
4:20pm- Night Riots @ The Blind Pig
5:40pm- Colony House @ IFC Fairgrounds
6:55pm- Cody Simpson @ W Hotel
11:30pm- Traink Turner @ Red 7 Patio
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