Monday, March 21, 2011

The Capital City of Live Music

Hello Friends,

Austin Texas really is the home to Live Music. The hype and excitement exceeded all my expectations over the past 5 days at the South By South West Music Festival & Conference.

This was my first trip to the festival and I couldn't be happier that I went - and highly recommend it to anyone who likes live music. This festival is World class and it's because all the craziest musicians and music nuts come and live together for 5 days. They eat, sleep, party and celebrate together as one.

The venues are the coolest thing about shows in Austin. From outdoor courtyards, back gardens, packed open air clubs to parks and of course Stubbs BBQ. There's nothing more satisfying than seeing the 'Super Moon' whilst listening to Scala & Kolacny Choir covering Radiohead's 'Cree with a Texas Tea and brisket in hand. Screw GLEE.

My SXSW started with a trip to the MTVU Woodie Awards on Wednesday night. It was a fun experience and the entertainment was amazing.

Here's who played this year's Woodies...

Wednesday
  • Foo Fighters *Legends
  • Wiz Khalifa
  • Two Door Cinema Club *so happy that MTV US are all over these guys
  • Sleigh Bells
  • Odd Future
Here's a snapshot of the rest of my days - and the bands that stood out to me.

Thursday
  • The Violins
  • Great Lake Swimmers
  • Theopolus London
  • Foster the People *legit
  • Tinie Tempah *proper performer
  • Friendly Fires
  • City and Colour
  • The Sheepdogs *Canada should stand and be proud of these boys. It made me smile when an artist at the poster conference recommended I give them a try:)
  • The Strokes
Friday
  • G Love *it's amazing how much a setting can heighten the songs. Austin is where you should see this man.
  • Click Clak Boom
  • Shad
  • The Sheepdogs *if you didn't click earlier then do it now!
  • Emmylou Harris *Legend
  • The Vaccines
  • City and Colour
  • Airbourne Toxic Event
Saturday
  • Scars on 45 *beautiful tunes
  • Data Rock *I don't think that there's a more entertaining act out there today. Photo above.
  • The Naked and Famous
  • Nicole Atkins
  • Eliza Doolittle *fantastic
  • The Boxer Rebellion *this band was my favourite of all. I just bought their 3 albums.
  • The Funeral Party
In my pre-SXSW post I was contacted by an Austin local. Here's an insider's perspective on SXSW and the characters that visit Austin during the festival. Thanks Hunter:) These ring very true - but I will not reveal to which I most resemble.

Some other highlights for me were meeting Nic Harcourt from KCRW. He's someone I've been listening to for years and he can boast some of the best interviews in the radio World.

I never had the pleasure to see or run into Huw Stephens from BBC Radio 1 - but look forward to hearing his post reviews and recommendations.

Bands I missed - but there's always next time...
Austin is more than music - it's a beautifully clean city and it's slogan 'Keep Austin Weird' really makes sense once you see it in person. Thank you for a great week in music @sxsw

Thanks for reading/listening.

Gregg
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