SXSW- Wednesday March 15, 2006

I'm going to try to post a day to day account of my SXSW experience. I'll start by saying the camera was brand new, and I wasn't expecting to take so many band photos as I'd been under the impression that cameras weren't allowed without a special press tag, but I guess they don't really care about little point and shoots. If there isn't a photo posted, they sucked. Band or photo?? You can use your imagination.

It all started today. We kicked off by going to the Canadian Consulate party where we received red tags that said "I talked to a Canadian". I don't know what that was all about. Anyway, we followed that up by going to the Canada Blast party for BBQ and tunes.
The Trews


The High Dials


Magneta Lane


The Beastie Boys aren't my favourite band in the world, but I think their videos are amazing, and I was intrigued to see them, so went to their Q&A panel.

Genuine sample question....
"Do you guys smoke pot, and if so, can we hang out later?"
The Beastie Boys

Despite questions like these, they were really humourous, and light hearted, and I was glad I made the effort to see them.

First show of the evening I went to was Mary Lou Lord at the Soho Lounge. She followed this up by often busking on 6th St which was pretty cool.
Mary Lou Lord

Modena Vox

Although most shows were SXSW, I also saw a couple of non SXSW showcases including a set by Modena Vox.

First surprize of the night was a band from Darlington UK called We Start Fires. They were really loud, but pretty good. The BBC was filming a documentary about them, and I was asked to give an interview, which I quickly declined.
We Start Fires


My favourite show of the night though was a band called The Chalets from Ireland. They were kind of a combination of the B52's and Abba. Now this description has thus far not convinced anyone that they could have been any good, but they were so joyful, and the songs were so full of power pop goodness that I encourage anyone to seek them out at the link below.
The Chalets


Here's where I learned valuable lesson number one. The bands you aren't expecting turn out to be fabulous....

and the bands you are looking forward to will often let you down. Case in point, the Young Knives from Oxford UK. I had d/l'd one song from the SXSW site, and really liked it, but I learned you can't really judge from one song.
The Young Knives


From there we went and saw Belle and Sebastian at Stubbs, The Pink Spiders at the Blender Bar and we tried to go see the Secret Machines at La Zona Rosa, but the "band" on before them was still playing (he was a house DJ) and it was looking like another hour til the Machines, so we called it a night.
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The TrewsThe High DialsMagneta LaneThe Beastie BoysMary Lou LordModena VoxWe Start FiresThe Chalets

SXSW2006