Where do I start? How do I start? Slowly and at home, I suppose. Wednesday, I almost fell into an old pattern. Didn't go out, 'cos I was too tired from work. Also, the glands under my chin had started to swell up like peach pits and I knew illness was just around the corner. Staying home wasn't gonna be an option the rest of the week, so I just saved my energy.
Then came Thursday. I'll save you the minutiae, and just say that Bishop Allen fucking rules. They were the only band that I was even remotely interested in seeing all weekend long. I caught them at Birds Barbershop during the afternoon and wouldn't you know, it was the only time all weekend that I had my good camera with me.
Christian Rudder
Justin Rice
The only damn video I managed to shoot all weekend. The kids play the song that hooked me in the first place, "Corazon". Right after this, my good camera ran out of batteries, and I simply forgot to reload. I was left to the mercy of my camera phone for the rest of the weekend.
That night, after a slightly late start, Mandy and I went out and officially kicked the fest off with Micah P. Hinson at Lambert's, the historical building next to the eyesore that stands over the grave of Liberty Lunch. I'll never understand why people go to a show by quiet whispery singers and then spend the whole show talking to the person next to them. After that, it was Ghostland Observatory at La Zona Rosa. Suitably sleazy, but I was slightly disappointed that Ghostface didn't show up to duet on the mash-up "Ghostface Observatory". What Made Milwaukee Famous was next, but we only managed to stay for about half the set, before I was overwhelmed by the fact that I had been up since 6 and drunk off my ass to boot. Thank god we took a cab there and back.
Friday would be Stoogetastic, but I had to wade through a whole sea of horseshit to get there. And a good deal of it was because of this guy on the right...
who i will lovingly refer to as Assback.See, the Stooges would be playing on the tiny stage at the store, and because of fire codes and such, the capacity of the store would be carefully monitored. To that end, a separate line was formed outside the store specifically for the Stooges show at about 4:30. At 5 til 6, the store would be emptied out and everyone in line outside would be let in. Or at least the first 300 or so. In other words, if you wanted to see the Stooges, you couldn't stay to see everyone else. That is, everyone but Assback. See, Assback had crutches, which he somehow interpreted to mean that he was eligible for special needs treatment. Dude, I've had major surgery on a femur and been ordered to keep all weight off of it. That didn't stop me from standing on the periphery of a moshpit at a Pearl Jam outdoor show with 5000 other people or fighting my way through the 2nd row of a Page/Plant show at the Erwin Center. Assback had a broken foot at worst and was looking for a loophole in procedure to go along with the chorus of tiny violins that were playin gin his head. In spite of the fact that he was told in no uncertain terms what the routine was gonna be, he still whined until SOMEONE caved and let him avoid standing in line outside. Not only did he have his cake and eat it, he had a slice of cake that should have gone to someone else. Even his girlfriend looked ashamed of him. What a sad little prick of a man. I hope his foot turns gangrenous and falls off.
As for the Stooges, see for yourself...
The best part is at the 2 minute mark when Madeline walks in through the exit and freaks the Holy Fuck Out at the fact that she just ran smack dab into Iggy Pop. I'm standing behind the counter when he walks back there, I swear. You just can't see me behind everyone. As an aside, my senior prom date made it in (Hey, Claudia). Small World. The stress of the whole day was perfectly expressed by Danny, who was running the keg...
BTW, the weirdest thing also happened earlier that afternoon. The Ice House, next door was having bands play all day, but for the most part, they were of the type that you would most likely see at a local Earth Day show or Farmer's Market. But right in the middle of it all, was none other that Charles Wright. Charles who? Charles F'n Wright, the leader of the mighty mighty 103rd Street Rhythm Band. Best known for the Soul Anthem "Express Yourself", later made famous as a sample by NWA on the song of the same name. It was kinda sad seeing him about 30 years past his height, singing to a restaurant full of people who had no fucking idea who he was, with no back up band, just an instrumental track. That didn't really matter to me, 'cos I got to see him from right up front. And can you believe it, he closed with "Express Yourself". Go figure. Because I didn't replace the juice on the camera, this was the best I could do with my camera phone...
I say, that's the bet I could do, because just after I took that shot, my phone ran out of juice too. I'd forgotten to recharge it the night before, so I couldn't get a picture with him, or of Iggy Pop standing behind my counter at work for that matter.
I did sneak this shot of Nicky Katt checking his messages, though...
After all that, I still had to work 'til close, so that was the end of SXSW fun for the day.
Saturday started with a movie. And not just any movie. Only, my most anticipated movie of 2007. "Trailer Park Boys: The Big Dirty". On the downside, since it was the only screening that I could make it too all week, Ricky Julian and Bubbles weren't there like they were at the other two screenings. On the plus side, I got to see the friggin' Trailer Park Boys movie. Trailer Park what? This is the second funniest show on TV (after The Office) but it's Canadian, so we only get it here on DVD. And the movie was every bit as funny as the show (plus it had titties. always a plus) Here's the trailer...
Afternoon music included Small Stars at Jo's Coffee and Brothers And Sisters at the same place two hours later. I had pictures, but they didn't turn out too well, so I'll spare you. Then it was home for a rest, and off again at 8 for round two.
Most of the night was spent at Eternal. Mandy wanted to see Brett Dennon, and I wanted too see Money Mark and Alexi Murdoch. Even though we had elbowed our way up front, as I had my freshly recharged camera phone, the pics weren't all that great. But that has given my license for some photoshopping. (BTW, do you still call it photoshopping if you use Corel?)
"Money Mark" Nishita. The 4th Beastie Boy.
Brett Dennon. This kid REALLY digs Paul Simon's Graceland.
Alexi Murdoch brings the Whiteface and Tangles Up In Blue. (P.S. Jen, if you're reading this, Gianna was standing back in the shadow behind the stage)
One Last Thing
Sunday was for resting. And then it was back out for one last show. Mandy's latest boycrush Paolo Nutini was taping the kickoff episode for the new season of ACL. They're shooting in HDTV and 5.1 surround now. Not that it looked any different sitting in the front row of the audience...
Cameras aren't allowed in, so I have a whole mess of stealth shots taken from under my arm.
Unfortunately, this is the only one that doesn't include Mandy's foot.
The rest all look like this...
And that was it. Half way through Saturday night, I could feel the scratch start at the back of my throat. The stage smoke at the ACL taping made it worse. This morning, the horse had parked it's cart in the back and I think it's here to stay for a while. Miles Davis, here I come.
I'll leave you with this picture of Mandy taken at the end of the whole damn thing
Cheers!
