ATL correspondent Carrie Davenport has another update for us from SXSW 2013 having made it to day 4 if the hectic Austin festival.
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Day four at SXSW and it has been a scorcher. So far I'd successfully avoided sunburn but alas there are a few little red stripes on my shoulders which mean the firey ball has beaten me!
Black Violin performing live at SXSW 2013
Today was off to a great start with the Dave Grohl keynote speech in the convention centre in the morning. Trekked down there nice and early to get a good spot to pap the nicest man in rock, then realised I'd left my pass at home and had to go the whole way back then borrow a bike to hit the road again. Despite this I still made it nice and early and was surprised to see
Black Violin onstage as I arrived. These guys are absolutely fantastic - a real musical fusion of rap and classical, not something you see everyday. They have the entire room on their feet waving their hands in the air and clapping, an impressive feat at 10am when nobody has slept in days!
Dave comes to the stage rocking that famous smile we all know and love and starts off by checking he still looks rock n roll if he puts on his glasses. He's here to talk about the Sound City Documentary, his film making debut, and the gig in association with it tonight. He tells us about how he was born to appluase as the first baby delivered to a group of new doctors who clapped when he appeared, and it seems he still can't get enough of that! Talking briefly about Nirvana he said "It was honest, it was pure. It was real" but then lets the side down a bag full by saying Gangnam style is one of his favourite songs of the last decade!
The Sound City gig tonight will be a musical feast - Grohl, Hawkins, Homme, Stevie Nicks it's just a lineup made of dreams. Unfortunately you could only get in if you either won a ticket (I didn't) or had the time to queue for four hours in the vain hope there was space (again not gonna happen) so it was off to find other ways to amuse myself.
I haven't had a chance to do too many daytime parties so I decided today was the time to start. I opted for Red Bull Records party this afternoon and was greeted on the door with a wristband for free food, drink and ice cream sandwiches. Now I know I should talk about the music but these ice cream sandwiches - just wow! If you ever get the chance to have two freshly baked red velvet cookies gripping vanilla bean ice cream grab it with both hands and eat it whole! Too good!
Today was the hottest day by far, apparently still cool for Texas but as a prime example of an Irish complexion I am resigned to the shade for the most part. The red bull party is in Empire Automotives, a former garage turned gig venue. A lot of the spaces in Austin are really quirky and it's great to see gigs in coffee shops, garages, abandoned houses, theres even a boat somewhere.
New Beats Fund bounce onto the stage for the first set, rocking ridiculous glasses and though the tunes are pretty good it's just not my cup of tea. They're followed by an insanely loud hiphop DJ Set which wakes everyone up a bit! DJ's Kennedy Jones and Ookay yell at the crowd so much it's hard to tell if they're dancing because they want too or because they're scared not to!
Blitz Kids are up next for some screamy angst with just the right amount of melody. They are filled with energy onstage and it's hard not to be impressed. but then the DJs are back so I go eat more ice cream sandwiches!
Heaven's Basement are the real reason I am here and when they come on stage they address the crowd like they're playing Wembley Arena rather than a former garage in Austin! They have charisma in abundance as they swagger about the stage and remind me of the likes of
Airbourne - if you like hair metal you'll love them basically! And I love hair metal (i know I know I should never admit that in public!)
There's so much on here to be honest planning a schedule is pointless, you end up missing so much you want to see. It's better to just go with the flow and see what you discover. Street performances on every corner, the atmosphere is incredible everyone who can't get into the venues just watches and listens from the street and not a grumble to be heard about it!
I'm a big rocker at heart so I think it's high time I found some metal here in Texas. The hickory street cafe looks and sounds like it wouldn't make a great rock venue but I am proved wrong.
Pusherman are a brutal attack on the senses screaming in our faces about Vortex Philosophy Blues and various other tracks we don't understand the words to but love the sheer energy of. They're followed by
Lost Alone, a UK act from Derby who bring us some lovely dirty riffs and sweeping vocals, thrashing about on sage like men possessed. Now that's what I like to see!
One thing I've noticed in Austin is the really random audiences. At a normal gig you know what to expect as it will be fans of the band but here it's a real mix guys in suits who have clearly just left the office rock out with people in leather jackets and metal tshirts and throw in a few folk who wouldn't look out of place at a frat party and you have an austin crowd. It’s a really really great thing that people will go to gigs just to hear something new.
A perfect example of this is the
Set It Off gig in the Six Lounge, Without a doubt the most amazing gig spot so far - it's a rooftop set up with the Austin skyline as a backdrop and tv screens broadcasting the gig from the opposite side of the street in between sets. Set It Off are a treat for fans of the likes of My Chemical Romance. They don't actually look old enough to be let into a bar in the states but frontman Cody talks to the crowd like they're all his best friends and has everyone jumping up and down within a couple of songs. Even the frat boys and office workers get into it!
After that I decide to end the night on a high. It's near 1am and that's an early night here in Texas. I actually get a cab tonight - first time yet! I instantly regret it as the driver shouts at me for not knowing how to get to my house (the only reason I got the cab was because I didnt know how to get to it from the venue I was in - surely taxi drivers are supposed to know their way!) then complains the whole way home about the festival closing roads, charges me extra then wont give me my change! Tomorrow night I'm back to walking - you meet way more interesting folk that way anyway!!
Carrie
