Music

SXSW Diary: Don't Turn My Camera On

by Colin Medley

Day 2 of SXSW started on a boat. My crew (Kat, Kyle, Christian and Mika of Forest City Lovers) invited me to a “pleasure cruise” that was being put on by SOCAN. It was a really nice way to start the day, with really tasty sandwiches and a nice selection of beer, it allowed me to see Austin in a new way (from the water).

Next up I decided to check out the Texas State Capitol, because no trip to Austin would be complete without at least one touristy activity. I didn’t stay there for long, but I did get my picture taken with the portrait of George W. Bush (my 2nd favourite Texas Governor) and stood in the middle of the dome and yelled to hear my voice echo. Neat stuff!

The first show I went to was the Eastbound and Found showcase, where I saw Warpaint (babes), Morning Benders (babes), Danielson (nice costumes, not babes), and Here We Go Magic (I was hanging out under a tree, didn’t get to see if they were babes or not). I spent the next 2 hours wandering around aimlessly looking for my friends, but I wasn’t finding them, so I bought a hat to cheer myself up.

Finally I ran into someone I know (aka. John, otherwise known as Diamond Rings). He was at some bar watching No Age, so I stuck around. They were just as loud as I remember them being. After that we walked around for a bit, probably got some street meat, I really don’t remember. Eventually we stopped by the Arts & Crafts showcase. I saw a bit of Dan Mangan’s set, he was fine. Sally Seltmann was on after him, and she actually won me over, which as you might have noticed, is kind of hard to do. There was something very sincere about her, and by her last song I was actually really listening. I’m curious to hear her new album…

Timber Timbre played next and blew my mind, again. It seems like just yesterday I was watching him play the crummy little bars to the most unattentive crowds, so it’s really nice to have an entire church silent for his set. Kudos to his ace band too. If you ever have the chance, go see Timber Timbre.

I looked at my schedule and decided to try see the big Spoon show that was happening at Stubb’s. Last year when I was here, I avoided a lot of the bigger shows because I hate long lines, but I bit the bullet because I loves me some Spoon. After waiting in line for a good hour or so, once I got to the front I was informed that I can’t bring my camera in since I don’t have a media pass. I wasn’t planning on filming anything at the show since there would be no point, but there’s no leveling with these knucklehead security guards, they’re just following orders. So I made the snap decision to grab a cab back to where I’m staying to drop off my camera. Within 20 minutes I was back in line and this time, thankfully, I got in no problem!

The first band up at Stubb’s was The Walkmen, who I haven’t really paid attention to since 2004’s Bows and Arrows. Needless to say, I didn’t really know any of the songs they were playing, but I thought they had pretty good energy and of course, the place freaked out when they played “The Rat,” which seems to be their best song still.

Next up was Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, who’s main shtick is to pretend like it’s the 1960’s and they’re on Motown. A pretty genuine soul act, Sharon Jones was highly entertaining to watch and got the whole crowd moving. Sort of a weird act for the bill, but it worked okay.

Broken Bells played next, and I really don’t have much to say about them. Dude should have just played “New Slang” and been done with it. The light show was more memorable than the songs. I spent most of their set hiding behind a bush eating my glorified sloppy joe and Fritos.

I’d been told from multiple people that Spoon aren’t good live. I’m not sure if everyone just heard the same rumor, but enough people were saying it that I got a bit worried. However, within the first few bars of the first song, my fears were put to rest. They were great, and so was the set list; they played all the hits: Written in Reverse, The Underdog, I Turn My Camera On, and my personal highlight, The Ghost of You Lingers. The actually joked on stage that they’d been in San Antonio all week practicing, so maybe the rumors were true???

That was pretty much the end of my night. I saw the last few songs from Diamond Rings, who had a good thing going at the Beauty Bar. Nice to see people diggin’ your friends.