SXSW- Day 4 & 5: Austin Adventures

Posted on 11:30 PM

ZOMG! We have been so busy preparing our broadcast for you, that we neglected to let you know about our activities out and about. Don’t worry though - we’ll get you up to speed. Thursday: Amy, Jon, Alex, Genevieve, and Ellie were at the studio allllll day. Sam and Anna went out and collected some more great interviews (and had a little fun as well). Sam kicked the day off with Joan of Arc at their hotel (he thinks he might have woken them up). Then it was on to Spider House Café where he got to see Thee Oh Sees and A Sunny Day in Glasgow before he sat down to interview UUVVWWZ. Sam and the members of UUVVWWZ are both from Lincoln, NE, thus bonding occurred. Later on, he met up with Jeremy Messersmith at the Minnesota Music party which featured 8 local bands. Heading back to the hotel, he heard Phantogram, only to find that they were playing a show to less than 50 people there. CRAZY! Meanwhile, Anna found Free Energy at the convention center downtown. She then hopped in a van with The Blind Shake for a quick update on their experiences as SXSW first-timers. Later, she headed to Emo’s Annex for an interview with Olga from the Besnard Lakes. Then it was off to the French Legation Museum for Other Music’s showcase - audience members enjoyed popsicles and lemonade while laying in the sunny grass. The crowd was thinner for Austin group Yellow Fever, but it continued to build as Dum Dum Girls went on. The headliners, British 3-piece The xx took the stage late, but no one seemed to mind. After the craziness of the day, we all met at the Whole Foods in downtown Austin, if you’ve never been there, it is absolutely massive. We decompressed for a while before we made our way to the night’s showcases. Anna, Ellie, Sam, and Girl Germs host Dana all went to the Sub Pop/Hardly Art showcase, while Genevieve and Jon went to the Paw Tracks showcase. At the Sub Pop/Hardly Art show, we saw Le Loup, Dutchess & the Duke, Dum Dum Girls, and The Ruby Suns. All were totally great and we were really glad that Dum Dum Girls seem to be living up to all the hype that has been built around them. Meanwhile, at the Paw Tracks showcase at The Wave, Avey Tare of Animal Collective was doing a fantastic vinyl DJ set, and his wife, Kria Brekkan, formerly of Icelandic band Mum, also performed a very experimental set. She used acoustic guitar, pedals, and a computer, but her voice was really the driving force of the performance. And what is an experimental set of music without the body language to compliment it? There was much crouching, bobbing, pointing, and wide eyes. Several other Paw Tracks and Carpark Records artists played as well, including Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez, Adventure, Ear Pwr, and Toro Y Moi.



Kria Brekkan & Avey Tare



Adventure
And if you thought we were done, you’re wrong. Told you we were busy! After everyone got back from the showcases we had to stay up all night putting together the next day’s broadcast. Yay for never sleeping! Friday: Friday kept us unbelievably busy (all 24 hours of Friday- we got a cumulative 12 hours of sleep between the 7 of us). Amy, Genevieve, Ellie, Jon and Alex were holed up in the studio preparing for Friday’s broadcast. Meanwhile, Anna took off to find Tyler from San Fransisco group Tempo No Tempo while Sam talked to the Lookbook. He then went to chat with The Ruby Suns and ate some delicious cart food, and talked with Baltimore duo Wye Oak. We all convened after Friday’s 11-3 broadcast, too excited to think about how exhausted we were (plus, with some excellent showcases on Friday night, we couldn’t afford to be sleepy). Jon, Alex, Anna and Sam chose a showcase at Emo’s – although we thought we were getting Cymbals Eat Guitars and Crystal Antlers we were in fact mistaken (such is life at SXSW). We didn’t mind too much, since we caught Bachelorette, Delorean, and a Danish duo called WhoMadeWho.


Genevieve and Ellie went to the Anticon showcase, where local Minnesotans Martin Dosh and Mike Lewis were playing. Dosh performed some mesmerizing songs off of their forthcoming album, Tommy. (FYI: Radio K is sponsoring Dosh's CD release show for Tommy on April 9th at the 7th St. Entry! Dosh will also be stopping by Radio K on that day to kick off our Spring Fund Drive. Stay tuned for more details!) Other Anticon performers included Son Lux, Tobacco, and Themselves. Tobacco was a little out of control. He touted a mask, which was not so surprising, but he also didn't really play any instruments. Instead, two others played instruments while he switched between crowd surfing (again and again and again) and pumping his fist in the air. "Let's party! Let's just have fun!" he shouted. Themsleves didn't come on until way late and only had 20 minutes, but they definitely made it worth it. The duo of Dose One and Jel showed incredible dexterity, using only their hands and electronics to make some of the best beats you'll ever hear. They played Radio K favorite "Roman Is As Roman Does" and Genevieve got a special surprise when Dose got up in her face, spitting rhymes and poking her accusingly. (Ellie was jealous) Needless to say, it was fantastic.

We wandered back to our hotel around 1 am, happy to be enjoying the finer aspects of SXSW. We hope to make the most of our last day by cramming in as many shows as possible and soaking up the Austin vibe a while longer. Be sure to check back for our final accounts of our SXSW extravaganza!
-The SXSW K Crew

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