My Morning Headache

It must be stopped.

2008-04-02T22:50:00.002-05:00

I noticed a new trend at SXSW, and I recently noticed that this trend is spreading elsewhere. While this hat is annoying...

...I'm not talking about the hat. (He actually left it on while exchanging guitars which seemed like an amazing physical feat in my tired and drunken state.) I'm talking about this.

The picture above is the lead singer of Cloud Cult. They were one of my favorite acts at SXSW this year and I would pay money to see them again, even if they all wore those masks. That's right, that's a masquerade mask on his forehead. I hope he was using it to hold back his hair. He could have gone all Royal Tanenbaums and used a sweat band. (Holy fuck, put a a high life in Richie Tanenbaum's hand there, total hipster caricature of what pisses me off.) But I think the pompous, style lacking fools who do this think it looks "artsy" and "smart". That's right, that was plural, "fools". Not only did I see this elsewhere at SXSW (I unfortunately can't remember where) but I also noticed this style in the pictures here. That guy with the mask on his forehead is from Knyfe Hyts. That band just lost some points for trying WAY too hard, especially since the mask isn't even holding back his hair! So, this is style without any utility... except to prove that the only way people could possibly like you is if you did something you hope is "cool" and "different".

sxsw2008: over the top

2008-03-30T21:43:00.001-05:00

sxsw2008: over the top
Originally uploaded by jacklevy

In case you didn't see this on Gus's blog, here it is. Thanks Jack!

The Final Shows

2008-03-23T17:03:00.002-05:00

It turns out that Saturday night didn't have too many shows I really wanted to see. I went to The Dirty Dog a little early to make sure I could get in to see Georgie James. They weren't bad. However, they haven't improved much since I first saw them a few years ago. They're both incredibly gifted musicians and song writers, but their sound hasn't evolved much at all. Oh well.

One more thing about Georgie James. They sound better with a drummer. I know paying a drummer to play with you cuts into the bottom line, but percussion is important! The best acts I saw this year used a lot of percussion, such as WHY? and Holy Fuck. I don't know why so many talented and experienced musicians think they can get away with playing SXSW without a drummer.

I got in line to see The Donnas. The line was much longer than I expected. Since I didn't have anyone else to see, I thought I would just have fun proving to myself how cool my badge is and get into a show with a crazy line. That's when I got a text from Gus saying that he was about to get into the Parish so I thought I would just join him.

I think the show we saw was Jason Collett. I obviously don't remember much about it (it was over a week ago and they weren't very impressive). I did get a picture though.

After that, Jack sent a text to say that there was no way he was getting into The Dirty Dog, where we were all planning to meet up to see Tokyo Police Club at 1am. That's when I decided to leave, just in case the badge line was long. There was a crowd of people out front, but I quickly found the badge line and only had to stand there for about 10 minutes before getting in.

As I was waiting for Tokyo Police Club (they weren't going to be on for another 45 minutes or so) I realized that there was no longer a line outside and everyone was getting in without a problem. I immediately texted Gus to get there ASAP. Even though they had a sign that said "Badges Only", Gus and Jack got in.

Gus and I found that one of the tables people were leaning against was actually an arm wrestling table. We started walking up to the table and everyone immediately knew what was going to happen. It was on! Without us even having to ask, everyone cleared their drinks and a woman even help our clenched fists and told us when to go. I found everyone's compliance with this aggressive, drunken act of retarded manhood quite hilarious. I won't gloat and tell you who won or how weak Gus looked. I'm far too modest for that. (And some people think I'm an asshole, I don't get it.)

We eventually saw Tokyo Police Club. Well, 75% of them. Their guitar tech (who looks awfully like Ron Jeremy) had to play instead of their normal guitarist. They never explained why, but they had to cancel a few shows after SXSW due to a death in someone's family. That's probably why. They were still awesome and you could barely tell that there was a different guitarist who was obviously turned way down.

Technical difficulties?

2008-03-23T12:14:00.001-05:00

For some reason, I lost all my posts. Let's see if publishing a new post fixes it...

Not the best band, but certainly the best show

2008-03-19T23:51:00.002-05:00

MONOTONIX!

The show started behind Bourbon Rocks, in a gravel lot with about 50 people. Three men were on stage, a singer, a guitarist, and a drummer. They all looked greasy and slightly Arabic, but it was the drummer that most resembled Borat. I was seeing the Israeli band Monotonix. I will never forget what I saw at this show.

In the middle of the first song, the guitarist and singer were already off the stage in the middle of the crowd. I watched a member of the audience take his full beer and nonchalantly pour the entire thing on the singer. The audience member then sat there expecting something to happen, for the singer to react in some way. But the singer just turned around, grabbed someone else's drink, and threw it all over himself. This was all happening without the singer pausing for a second. That is when 90% of the audience took their cameras out and never stopped taking pictures until the show was over.

Through the mass of cameras, the singer grabbed the kick drum and placed it in the exact middle of the gravel lot the guitarist then walked up to it and played it for the entire next song while the drummer attempted to play with one less drum. More beer pouring and picture taking took place, and it was all awesome.

Finally the drummer made it out with his entire kit and the set continued, but now all the artists were in the middle of the crowd. By now, a lot of beer was on the drums and cymbals which added to the crazy ambiance as small droplets of beer rained across the crowd with every smash of percussion. You should have been there. I will never miss a monotonix showcase at SXSW again. I hope they keep coming back.

ME TV is really stretching

2008-03-18T22:47:00.002-05:00

Alright, so here's the story, of a man named Ruhmann, and how he got so really really drunk... between the day shows and the evening showcases. After the comedy we tried sticking around to see some of the music acts at Mess With Texas. Instead, I got bored and spent time encouraging everyone to go to Mugshots and drink. Mid-encouragement, we suddenly realized the band on stage had their sound cut out on them mid-song. However, this was no power outage. It seemed to be on purpose. Then Gus realized in was a band he saw earlier. Outside the park. Playing out of a bus. Our guess is that they made some deal with the band that played before them to steal the stage for a few songs. Once the organizers figured out what was going on, they cut the sound and kicked them off. The band didn't seemed pissed at all. I think they were just happy that they got a couple songs in and didn't get the shit kicked out of them. Oh, and they looked REALLY high.

I finally won and we went to go pick up delicious, road side tacos before gettin' ye ole drink on. Gus and I had an awesome, possibly gay (not sure) moment in the bathroom. They really need a divider in that bathroom. Anyay, we got drunk and saw ME TV tape this.

Now, ME stands for Music Entertainment. It is my understanding that the only thing these women have to do with music is a desire to have public sex with Matthew McConaughey... who lives in Austin... which claims to be the live music capitol of the world. It is also my understanding that I only took that picture to make fun of them, and not because I was intrigued by their hotitude.

Soon after this drinking, I was at a show and Twiterred, "I am about an hour away from being as sober as I want to be". I remembered how drunk I was. I can't believe I was actually able to type that into my phone. Of course, maybe it wasn't the Mugshots that put me over the edge. Maybe it was the Monotonix show. You guys will not believe the shit that went down there...

Comedy is not always funny

2008-03-18T02:05:00.003-05:00

After the Mohawk, I headed to Mess With Texas 2 to see their comedy acts. This is when I go off on a tangent to talk about how much I like the fact that SXSW Music is expanding to showcasing more Comedy and DJ acts between music acts. OK, not much of a tangent. I'm done now. Mess With Texas actually dedicated a whole stage to comedy acts for most of the afternoon. It was awesome. Oh wait... except for the really terrible acts. And by terrible, I'm specifically talking about Paul F. Tompkins. Fuck that guy. How does he get paid to be funny when all he does is piss me off whenever he opens his mouth?!? In fact, I don't think opening his mouth is actually required to piss me off.

Hard and Phirm did their thing.

Brian Posehn was the real star of the afternoon. He lost his voice earlier in the weekend but still tried to do his act. He gave up after a few jokes, even though he totally didn't need to. Luckily, his jokes took on a new kind of "fucking hilarious" when he decided to have Eugene Mirman interpret his jokes.

Human Giant was the tasty whipped topping to my steaming pile of continuous laughter (except when Paul F. Tompkins showed his unfunny fucking face).

Ess ay tee you are, dee ay why... DAY!

2008-03-18T01:24:00.003-05:00

I just assumed that Mess With Texas 2 would annoy the living shit out of me, so I went to Mohawk first. I was happy to see that Gus was right, Mess With Texas 2 really pulled the normal INSANE Saturday crowd all to one location. Unfortunately, it also pulled all the good acts into one location. The party at Mohawk had enough good acts to keep my attention for a few hours. I was able to see Film School, A Place to Bury Strangers, and David Bazan (before I make fun of them, I actually really enjoyed 2 out of 3 of these bands... hint: bookends). I tried to watch Film School from the roof, but the Hot Freaks shit-heads made that area VIP only. (Oh, yeah, I know. If I were a VIP, Hot Freaks would not be shit-heads. Instead, they would be totally fucking tits.) Luckily, the sun was in full cancer causing force and there was no shade on the roof. So, fuck them, I'm standing in the shade with the not-at-all important people. What follows is photos that are A.) proof that the lead singer of Film School likes to buy sunglasses when completely wasted (bad idea dude) B.) people at SXSW drank beer other than PBR, Lone Star, or High Life... and they obviously can't read (assholes) C.) proof that the singer of A Place To Bury Strangers still let's his mom cut his hair (it's the guy on your right) and D.) proof that David Bazan still doesn't realize that he needs a backing band to be truly entertaining.

Nada Surf gives a great happy ending

2008-03-16T23:48:00.002-05:00

I got to the Cedar Door around 11:40 to catch Tapes 'n Tapes open for Nada Surf, at least that's how it felt in my mind. The line was pretty crazy and I was glad I had a badge. While I think everyone thought it was pretty much badges only (hell, they probably had a sign up that said so) I think all the wristbands that wanted in eventually got there. I ran into a few situations like this during SXSW this year, the door guys are just too slow. I think that's also why I saw way more line jumping this year.

Once I got in I witnessed one of the biggest atrocities at SXSW '08. Five dollar High Life. What the Holy Fuck is up with that? There's a reason that High Life is popular amongst the hip(ster) music crowd. You see, most people that hang out at indie music shows are either poor, or really like being drunk (most likely both). If you're drinking 8+ beers a night and don't have a job, you don't care what it tastes like, but you certainly care how much skinnier it makes your wallet. Luckily, Miller Lite was the same price, so I chose to drink a beer that didn't make me gag. If anyone seriously chose a High Life over a Miller Lite, they are a bitch to the hipster/music community and deserve to fucking die in a terribly, over-sized sunglasses accident.

So, anyway. I was fucking beat. I sat down on a curb through the whole Tapes 'n Tapes set. Both because I was tired and they were not interesting. When I finally got up, I realized I wasn't the only one tired and bored. Proof.

At least I picked a curb. These people just sat down on the same concrete that the hipster want to be shitheads were throwing their empty high lifes on. It's not that these people are idiots, it's that they are really tired. They know how disgusting that concrete is, there just aren't any other seats.

I felt energized after my sit. Good thing because Nada Surf was about to unload a big steamy pile of awesome on me. I still hate their bassist, by the way. The guy things he's a hot piece of shit, but in reality, he just looks like one. I can put up with it though because the other two guys are frickin' sweet. I saw them a while back and Emo's and it was awesome, except they chose to play "Popular" instead of "Blizzard of '77". Assholes. They made up for that immediately at this show.

The whole show felt like fan service. Thank God I'm a fan. Totally made my night. Thanks Nada Surf (fire your bassist, he's a douche and doesn't appear to add anything to the band, he was fucking smoking the whole time, even when "singing", shit, I hate him, but I should stop saying things like that since he could kick my ass, but only because I would be so scared of his disgusting dreadlocks, they look like they're full of disease and barf). Umm, so here's a picture.

Land of Talking Awesome!

2008-03-16T22:46:00.002-05:00

Not much to say about this show, really. I caught Land of Talk at Red Eyed Fly for their showcase. They have a new drummer and new equipment (I think their old equipment, including that awesome bass kept together by duct tape, was stolen recently). They played a lot of new songs and they were all great. However, this is still their best tune.

Apparently, generators need fuel to work properly

2008-03-16T14:42:00.002-05:00

I decided to check out Be Your Own Pet at the Mohawk. About two songs in, the sound died. I wasn't sure what happened at first, but then I noticed that the sound boards were completely dead. I found out later that while the lights were all on house power, they were using a generator (you may have noticed it on Red River right outside the venue) for the extra power needed for the PA. The generator ran out of diesel. Seriously, they didn't have any extra fuel on hand. So, until someone could go get some more fuel, there would be no music. I think the crew finally figured out how to reroute the house power to the sound equipment. While I'm sure that was more power than the circuit could technically handle, it was worth the risk. The rest of the show went on and the band didn't seem to upset. Here are some pictures and a video of "The Kelly Affair".

It's pronounced Leeka Lee

2008-03-16T14:29:00.002-05:00

I showed up early for the Lykke Li showcase at Ninety Proof. Only a few people were there, which shocked me. This was a tiny venue that can hold maybe 100 people, but only about 40 people can can really see the stage. As the band was setting up, I stood near the stage to make sure I had a good view. All of a sudden the crowd poured in and I was in the front of a capacity crowd. This is why SXSW is so awesome. Lykke Li has a gorgeous voice, knows how to entertain, and already has two incredible songs in her repertoire. I posted a video of one of those two songs previously. Here's the other one.

The shoes she was wearing looked incredibly uncomfortable.

Wing, the ultimate music mutilator!

2008-03-16T14:22:00.003-05:00

Wing exists. I thought she was just a character from South Park, but was horrendously surprised to see she's an actual artist. Actually, use of the word "artist" here is a tremendous stretch. Gus and I wanted to watch about 10 minutes of this train wreck and found a way to drag Jack there. I don't think anyone was at the show because they actually liked her voice or performance. Let's face it, it's like watching karaoke, but so much worse.

The Breeders KEXP Broadcast

2008-03-16T13:59:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite performances from SXSW this year was The Breeders playing at the KLRU studio for KEXP. The studio was the most full I've ever seen it during SXSW, and this was Thursday at 1:30pm. Don't these people have jobs? The Breeders played four songs. Three of the songs were from their upcoming album. I was pleasantly surprised to hear the one older song they played. I was also a little shocked at how positive the crowd reacted to it. I guess I wasn't the only person there that thinks Cannonball is one of the greatest songs ever recorded. Here's some video of the action.

Here's a video of the interview.

Free Parking, but in the better-than-Monopoly way

2008-03-15T03:48:00.002-05:00

I don't know exactly how it happened (that's not true), but I didn't pay for parking. Nothing. Nada. $0. Zero quid. Lucky. Me. Sweet. I parked in a garage, no one was at the entrance, I grabbed a ticket, I expected to pay on the way out, there was no one at the exit at 2:30am, awesome.

Learn me the way, master

2008-03-15T03:28:00.002-05:00

This guy is trying WAY TOO HARD to be a hipster... seriously. Do I need to explain? I'm sure you're a nice guy, but COME ON! You purposely bought clothes that fit, but look like they don't fit! (I'm talking about the pants, people.) And the aeronautical glasses are so 2 years ago.

Friday was AWESOME!

2008-03-15T02:43:00.003-05:00

I'm currently unloading my camera, then I have to upload videos to youtube, resize photos, etc. Just in case I become too tired to go into detail about the various AWESOME shows I saw tonight, I thought I would enter a quick summary.

I started with seeing The Breeders at the KLRU ACL studio. I don't regret that for a minute. I then met with Gus and saw some day shows followed by some Mugshots. I then convinced everyone to go see Wing. Hilarious. I then saw Lykke Li in a tiny, intimate club before meeting up with Gus again at Land of Talk (who have a new drummer). Somehow, The Mohawk lost power during the Be Your Own Pet show. While all that tired me out, Nada Surf woke me back up for the most enjoyable show I've seen at SXSW this year.

Details to follow, especially concerning The Breeders and Nada Surf. Oh... and Wing.

OK, the Brooklyn Vegan party rocked

2008-03-14T02:45:00.002-05:00

I actually went there just to see Lykke Li. The crowds were so bad that I stayed there to see Holy Fuck. I don't regret any of it. Well, I regret not getting ther for WHY?, but I needed my beauty sleep. There were some weird shiny guys there. Creepy. Seriously. VIDEO!!!

I saw nothing good tonight

2008-03-14T02:26:00.002-05:00

Well, there was Devotchka. Quiet, but good.

I also saw The Wester Civilization, The Voom Blooms, Wussy, Reykjavik!, YACHT, and Mark Mallman tonight. But Devotchka's the only one worth mentioning... PICTURES!

These are from Reykjavik!

I loved Devotchka, but they were way too quiet.

I think SXSW is about to mess with Mess With Texas

2008-03-13T14:47:00.002-05:00

I have been reading the fascinating "History of SXSW" entries on the Austin Music Source blog. I've come to the conclusion that the now annual "Mess With Texas" party is the sort of thing that SXSW organizers attack with full force. Louis Black has said many times that SXSW places so many restrictions on their artists and attendees in order to make sure that no other music event use what SXSW has built and create a larger, more relevant festival. That's why the artists sign a contract that says they won't play any other shows in Austin during SXSW. I don't think this has ever been enforced, but it's in the contract. Also, SXSW organizers have revoked badges from organizers of parties in the past if those parties include bands that aren't a part of SXSW.

Mess With Texas is huge this year. Sure, it's still free and it doesn't compete directly with SXSW showcases. However, it's main act is "The Breeders" who aren't an official showcasing band. Mess With Texas only exists because most of the bands are already in Austin for SXSW. So, this party is "stealing" The Breeders from SXSW and profiting from the fact that SXSW drew so many popular bands to one place.

My guess is that the SXSW organizers will somehow find a way to make sure the organizers of Mess With Texas will never again have bands that aren't official SXSW showcasing bands and that the party will remain free and not directly compete with SXSW showcases.

Alright, this is boring, I'm going downtown.

Why Car Stereo is losing the (Wars)

2008-03-13T03:40:00.004-05:00

I really like Car Stereo (Wars). No lie. He's local, talented, and just plain awesome with the laptop. However, his friends are tools. Not all of them, mind you. But it just takes a few to ruin the whole thing. You see, he keeps inviting all of his friends on stage at the beginning of his performances. Man, you have to stop doing this. The drunk guy that handed a $10 bill to someone in the audience, asking for another beer, totally took something away from your performance. (The hot red head girl, was freakin' awesome though.) The Asian guy that kept grinding on every decent looking girl on the stage, I would have paid $20 to be able to punch him without any legal ramifications. Do you see what I'm getting at? Stop showing off your friends at your shows. Put yourself front and center. Let your friends come up, FROM THE AUDIENCE, and dance behind you. Stop making them an integral part of your show. However, having Astronautalis free style in your set was a great idea.

A note for Peter Moren

2008-03-13T03:34:00.003-05:00

A string arrangement helps you should beautiful. A keyboardist fills in the blanks. But without any percussion, you can never sound "good". (I put the quotes there to point out that I didn't think his set was as entertaining as it could have been. Get it?) Wait, why didn't he whistle?!?

WARNING! Nerds at SXSW

2008-03-13T03:15:00.003-05:00

I caught the stars of Guitar Hero and Rock Bank, Freezepop, at their SXSW debut today. It was strange as I looked around the half full bar. No hipsters in site. That is until I wrote that down in my notebook and then immediately noticed two guys wearing t-shirts made for middle school girls and "ironic" hats. I had to put that in quotes since I expect the irony now, making it annoyingly un-ironic.

Hoek's lives. I have proof.

2008-03-13T03:09:00.002-05:00

Best news in SXSW '08 history! Nothing will beat this! Gus pointed out to me that Hoek's Pizza has moved to Red 7. I thought they were gone for good. Here's the fore mentioned proof.

Shout Out Out Out Out...BARF

2008-03-13T03:03:00.003-05:00

The Bassist for Shout Out Out Out Out wins the award for Best T-Shirt I Saw On Wednesday. It was even more awesome when he flicked everyone off. It was not awesome when the "singers" in his band refused to sing without a vocoder. Too much of an annoying thing. Barf.