Day 1 at SXSW with Huw Stephens
First day of music. It's hot and I gave Dave Gedge from the Wedding Present some of my suncream. If I ever form a band, that's going to be the first albums title.
Strolling along Sixth Street and getting re-aquainted for the week of gigs ahead.
At Emo's, one of the best and biggest of the 68 venues hosting gigs (that includes hotel lobbies, steak houses and pool halls), Yacht are playing. A boy and a girl who have a backing track on their laptop, they set the presidence for a day of odd sounds.
Glasgow's Frightened Rabbit sound LOUD, and brilliant. I travel to Texas and see a band from Glasgow; it doesn't matter because for every band you know there'll be 3 or 4 you don't. Even though i played their demo 3 years ago, this is the first time I see them play, and it's great.
The Mae Shi come onstage singing accapella before exploding into pounding electronic tunes. They bring a great big white sheet out on top of the crowd and sing in their makeshift tent inside the venue. They are being caressed and cared for by Moshi Moshi records at the moment, gawd bless 'em.
Baltimore's the Death Set are amazing to watch. Punk and hip hop have almost always been friends, but this is old-skool punk sing-a-longs meeting balti-bass. It's pretty hilarious, with Dizzee Rascal's OI! interjected inbetween every song, they're part hardcore, part hipster grooves. I should hate this; I can't help but love it.
Wandering the Austin streets; J Mascis talking on a pink phone, Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong waiting for a cab, James Yuill emerging from a Mexican cafe looking happy, Saul Williams checking out Akron/Family.
