SXSW Day Three: Stacy on 3/16/07

By: Stacy Schwartz

Liitle Man - Photo by Stacy Sandstrom

Today is my day of woe. There was much missed opportunity served up with a side dish of crankiness. You’ll see...

12:30pm: Wake up. Yes, just waking up. It’s so nice to not have to work or go to classes. If I had to I’d be in such trouble. Instead I hit live music all day/night and sleep all morning. Such is the life I desire. But it is only to be for two more days. Sigh.

2:15pm: Our cabbie is running late. As stated earlier his name is Rain and he’s Apache. He’s interesting…. That’s really the only word I can use to describe him. …and he likes me… a lot. Yikes. Lucky me I have Neil and Jim with me. So my first moment of woe arrives with Rain’s being late. Sparrow House is playing at a small coffee house right off 6^th Street at 2:30. Sparrow House is the side project of the keyboardist from Voxtrot and one of the bands I’m obsessed with at the moment. I missed their set completely and they are not playing again at SXSW. Wahhhhh!!

2:45pm: Neil, Jim & I arrive at the convention center and hit the Flamingo Cantina to see Oxford Collapse. A pleasant surprise awaits us, as there is free BBQ (!) to eat. Yeah! The Flamingo Cantina is a weird closed, yet open-air bar. About 90 percent of the bar is what looks like a giant elevator shaft. It has built-in stadium seats and the stage is multi-leveled. It’s actually pretty nice. There is no back wall of the club. Instead there’s a staircase that goes up to a porch outside. Pretty much everyone at the club is outside when we arrive. Oxford Collapse takes the stage using all borrowed equipment. The bassist is really tired and after three high-speed songs he asks the drummer to slow it down so he can breathe. No wonder—their songs were all pure energy and they showed it physically as they played. I had a great time and was also thrilled about the semi-outdoor venue. Outside light means way better photos.

3:40pm: I see Bob Mould wandering aimlessly outside the Hilton Hotel. I don’t want to totally freak him out so I just nonchalantly pass him while squealing on the inside.

3:47pm: At the convention center this week are a bunch of legal CLEs for entertainment attorneys. Since that is my aspiration of the moment I really should be taking advantage of these opportunities. However, there is a speech being given by Iggy Pop and I do not want to miss it. On the way to the ballroom where Pop is supposed to be I hear a melodious sound and decide to stop in, even though Pop’s speech began 20 minutes ago. Turns out there’s a small café for registrants, and a good size stage was erected. On that stage are The Watson Twins. I watch for two songs—very nice—and head off in search of Mr. Pop. My second woe of the day is here. I am turned down for entrance because I have a camera without a press pass. If you’re lucky enough to get a press pass, the people at SXSW give you an irritating (or at least I believe it would be irritating) laminated 2”x2” square card that has to be attached to your camera at all times. I have no such card and thus cannot get in to see Pop. Grrrr…

As a good law student with nothing else to do (I mean…) I hit up the Legal CLE being moderated by Ken Abdo of Lommen Abdo Law Firm in Minneapolis. It was actually really interesting. The panel consisted of Ken Abdo, Joel Katz (his clients include(d) James Brown and Willie Nelson) and John Frankenheimer (clients include Little Feat, Chicago and the Beach Boys). They are here to discuss the music law practice in the past, present and future. I also see Dan Satorius from Lommen Abdo. He tells me that they have a film presenting at SXSW on Saturday I should go see. It’s called Dirty Country and is about obscenity. I just may have to go check that out. One of the questions I found interesting was, “Is the music business circling the drain?” Frankenheimer answered this question by stating that as a whole, the music business is in relatively good shape. It’s in the midst of a painful transition period right now, and recorded music is in danger of becoming even more fragmented. However, the business itself continues to grow at an amazing pace. Frankenheimer believes that at this point the industry is really coming full circle, moving backwards to the past when more record companies existed and were able to judge and help create talent. The last 20-25 years have consisted of large monopolies consolidating—which is now a very inefficient model. At this point we are going to see smaller indie labels becoming successful. I hope that’s true. Only time will tell.

4:45pm: I am headed to Flatstock again to pick up the posters I bought yesterday and send them out in the mail. Unfortunately, I am too late for USPS and the two guys from Kentucky I bought the poster from are nice enough to agree to hold onto the tube o’ poster again until tomorrow. Thank goodness.

Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos - Photo by Stacy Sandstrom

5:10pm: I hit up 401 Guadalupe to check out the Jane Magazine day party and see Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos. I am happy to see that there is free alcohol because my feet are beginning to feel this week and I need a drink. Margo is a large band. They have a violinist, two drummers, a keyboardist, a bass player, a guy who plays trumpet amongst other instruments and two guitarists. Neil has more insight on this show in his daily journal, so check that out. I’m being lazy. I did, however, get great photos. 

6:20pm: Time for dinner. Neil, Jim and I hit up the local iHop. Neil is very excited. 

7:35pm:   It was so nice to sit and eat and relax. My feet are happier. I convince Jim to join me in seeing the Twin Cities local boys Little Man. Little Man was playing at a smaller club not too far from the main strip of SXSW venues. It was an Eclectone Records showcase featuring Little Man, Martin Devaney with Joanna James, The Melismatics, and later on in the night, The Honeydogs. I decide that since I can see most of these groups at home, I’ll catch up with the locals, check out Little Man’s set (and part of Devaney’s) and move on. It’s nice to feel at home in a strange city. I get to see the members of Little Man—Ben Foote, Ryan Otte, and Chris Perricelli—who I adore, and I also run into Twin Citians like Craig Grossman of The Beatifics and Green Room, John Storjevich and Kellie Nitz from Mighty Fairly, Jonathan Earl of the Jonathan Earl Band and Ryan Pfeiffer from Captain Yonder. It’s a fun start to my night. I take photos and nerd out, basking in hometown friendliness.

9:20pm: I leave the club and my Minnesotans and haul ass to Stubb's, where Andrew Bird is playing. Woe of the day #3. I get my camera confiscated due to lack of press credentials at the door. At least they are kind enough to hold onto it for me and I can still see the show. Also lucky is that Neil has his point-and-shoot so we should get some photos. I am also peeved as there are at least 100 other unaccredited cameras going off, but they’re all pocket-sized. Grrrr…. As I enter the venue I get no more than 10 feet when some random guy tries to give me a sip of his beer. Uhhh, no thanks. Friday night is turning out to be a little crazy.

If you’ve never seen Andrew Bird, you’d better mark your calendars for Friday, May 11, as Mr. Bird plays our very own First Avenue on that date. The way the man whistles is enough to pay the price of admission. It’s the clearest, most controlled thing I’ve ever heard live and it’s insanity. I’d either fade in and out or just start laughing at the ridiculousness of me whistling in front of a crowd. Bird does neither and I am floored. Bird has a flair for the violin as well, often slinging his guitar over his shoulder to get the violin parts down as fast as possible. I am admittedly a sucker for any band with a good violin player, and Bird is no exception. He is a great musician. Once I’m back in Minneapolis I’m going to grab my Andrew Bird tickets for his show at First Ave. You should do the same—oh, and pick up his new CD. It comes out on Tuesday. Accompanying Bird was the Cities’ Dosh on drums and electronics, and it was nice to see a hometown guy on stage again tonight. As a venue, Stubbs is by far the nicest here in Austin. It’s open air and has a large movie screen canopy stretched over the stage. They also have a great light set and know how to run a concert here. I was pleased. 

10:35pm:  Having retrieved my camera from the clutches of Stubb's, Neil and I wander down 6^th Street. I have no real plans at this point. I was going to stay at Stubb's for upcoming acts Badly Drawn Boy and The Good, The Bad, and The Queen, but my lack of camera had me miffed and sad and so I moved on. After all, there is plenty to see here in Austin. Neil has a gig to go to so he ditches me (sniffle) and I keep heading down the street. Tonight is the busiest night so far of SXSW and it’s packed. There are tons of college students out and plenty of people without badges aimlessly milling about. I see a few different impromptu parades (one is all kimonos and seemingly traditional Japanese instruments, the other is a random assortment of brass instruments and drums), a punk band from Wyoming who is attempting to sell CDs by promising to make the lead singer put his shirt back on if they sell “only four more!” and a man dressed as Superman. This wouldn’t be all that strange here, but he is holding a smaller Superman action figure and “flying” him around with his hand. Oookay…. There’s also a guy on roller skates wearing a strange yellow and tie-dyed outfit, a giant pickle mascot and I run into our cab driver, Rain. He’s with his two daughters and I am introduced as the “hot mama” who rides in with “those boys” every day. Oy.

10:50pm:  Another woe. I am again denied entrance to a venue due to my camera sans press pass—grrrr!!! This time it’s at Maggie May’s to see Page, France. Luckily, Page, France is playing a day party tomorrow, so hopefully I can see them at that time. It’s starting to get chilly outside so I decide I have to get myself inside a venue I’ve been in before. I decide to go to The Dirty Dog, where Apples In Stereo are playing at 1a.m.

Sloan - Photo by Stacy Sandstrom

11:10pm:  Success! I am granted access to The Dirty Dog with camera. Onstage is You Am I, a punk rock band from Australia. They are actually really good and I’m impressed. I am, however, stuck in the back with some drunk students and that makes me cranky. Oh – but I did see Peter Hughes from The Mountain Goats trying to get into this venue! That was kind of cool. It’s funny where you see members of bands you admire and follow randomly doing normal, everyday things. It’s comforting in a way. 

11:55pm:  Next up is Sloan and they are taking forever to get set up… of course this is before The Apples in Stereo have their time to set up, which takes over 35 minutes and my sanity. My lower back hurts, my feet are killing me, there are a lot of drunk people pushing into my space and I have the sleepy head bobs again. Dammit.

12:07am: The crowd starts chanting. “Slllooooaaannnn! Slllooooaaannn!” It doesn’t work, as the band isn’t done setting up yet. About 10 minutes later Sloan take the stage. They remind me of a Spinal Tap-ish group and I’m really not into it. I’m the odd one out, however, as all the people around me are singing along. 

1:10am:  The Apples in Stereo are running 10 minutes behind at this point, and Sloan finished about 30 minutes ago. There’s a guy chain smoking next to me and that’s pissing me off. The Apples have a ridiculous time with getting their sound check right as the venue didn’t realize how many plugs and such the band needed. It’s a mess.   This does not get better by the way. 

1:20am:  Finally!! The Apples take the stage, but I can’t hear the vocals well, if at all. The only part of the performance I can hear is when the guitars all stop. Lead singer Robert Schneider tells a pirate joke! Pat O’Brien, this one’s for you….

“So a pirate walks into a bar and there’s a steering wheel in his pants. This wheel is around his… stuff (I’m cleaning it up for the kiddies).   The bartender says, ‘That looks painful!’ and the pirate replies, ‘Arrrr…. It’s drivin’ me nuts!’”  

Oh boy. Schneider says that if anyone in the crowd has any good pirate jokes for him they should meet him at the bar after their set. Hee hee…

2am:  I hit the wall. The sound is awful and I am not enjoying the set. Time to meet Neil and head back to the hotel anyway. I leave during the Apples set and I am happy to be heading home. When I arrive at the Hilton about 10 minutes later Neil has arranged our transport and we are “home” about 45 minutes earlier than usual. Whoo hooo! 

Artist Info: Andrew Bird, Apples in Stereo, Little Man, Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos, Oxford Collapse, Sloan

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