_Heeb_ SXSW Recap

For those of you who didn’t make it down to hipster spring break at SXSW and didn’t get to sample the Austin Tex-Mex, 80 degree weather, and of course, the 1,000 bands that took over the city for five days, then allow me to share some of my highlights with you.

I got into town at 11p.m. on Wednesday night–a day before our joint showcase with Other Music–and the festivities were already in full swing. There wasn’t an inch of sidewalk that hadn’t been touched by a discarded PBR beer can, and had I not just stepped off a plane, I would have sworn I just took too much acid and was still in Williamsburg. After getting a taste of what the next couple of days were going to look like, I retired to where I would be laying my head while in town, the floor of our downtown motel room.

Breakfast the next morning started off with an appetizer of free beer, and an entree of a loud, bad version of a Dave Matthews band. After a few more questionable performances, the onset of a sunburn (bring it sun, it’s snowing in NY), I caught Wild Light at the Filter party, who introduced me to the wonders of New Hampshire rock and Janelle Monae’s otherworldly act at the Fader party, where in between watching her David Bowie/James Brown hybrid of a production, I spent rubbing the back of the guy next to me who had just had his eye poked out by a flying drumstick. Then it was onto the main event. Our showcase at Red 7 got off to a late start, but the crowd, which included Solange Knowles, quickly filled up the patio.

Suckers (above) kicked off the night, setting the tone for a series of energetic performances. Having just got off stage, literally dropped off at the venue minutes before their slot, from an earlier showcase, the band showed no signs of weariness. They even volunteered to play an impromptu mini-set with visiting family members pulled from the audience, while Crystal Stilts (below), who had a minor scheduling snafu, set up for their short, but worth-the-wait performance. SXSW runs a pretty tight ship, and with 30 minutes allotted for each band, there’s not much room for delay, so we had to make promises to get them off stage almost as soon as they went on.

L.A.’s Nite Jewel (below) provided a mellow change-of-pace with lo-fi, ethereal electro-pop, playing all my favorites including "What Did He Say", which has been on constant repeat at the office. Chairlift (below) has been getting buzzed about a lot recently, and their set with alluring melodies and flirtatious wardrobe (guitarist Aaron Pfenning played with his shirt off) earned them their first positive Pitchfork review. Critics also praised the band for not performing the obligatory "Bruises", the hit that most have heard of on that iPod commercial.

Next up was by Telepathe, who was scheduled to play no less than six shows in three days. Busy Gangnes and Melissa Livaudais who make up the group invited their posse of dancers (also below) onto the stage halfway through their set. I have a soft spot for synchronized dancing, so I was sold. Harlem Shakes, (also below) whose albumTechnicolor Health was just released, still managed to keep the energy going at 1 am. With five guys, all doing their own thing and thoroughly enjoying themselves, it was hard not to dance along.

As the show wrapped up, the bounty of cheap drinks that I had taken advantage of all evening started to whisper sweet nothings in my ear, like "you are getting sleepy, very, very sleepy", and it was clear that I was too incapacitated to make it to the late night Playboy party where Jane’s Addiction was performing. Having seen some of the best sets that I have in a while, I felt okay snuggling up to the motel floor and calling it a night.

The remaining two days in Austin were spent playing "count the moustache," going on my first-ever motorcycle ride, embracing all of free product that flowed from the venues, having a self-proclaimed Nazi homeless man ask four Jews for change (long story) and seeing how many shows I could possibly pack in. It’s good to be back in New York, but I’m already looking forward to next year.

What do you think?