We all have our bad days, and yesterday at SXSW was certainly one of mine.
It all started out epic enough. The Pop Montreal supplied not only nachos and beer but armloads of SWAG I’m sure I’ll find no use for. From there I skipped over to the PASTE where even more free suds and complimentary Qdoba was turning my hangover into a memory. We snagged our credentials for the Purevolume house where even more drinks were enjoyed, and caught Natural Child at the Jackalope where — you guessed it — even more free beer.
Natty Child’s poppy stoner punk sounded just as infectious as ever, and while they weren’t received quite as ecstatically as at your average Infinity Cat-sanctioned Nashville show, they were more than well received.
It was around this time where maybe all those free drinks were showing their ugly side. For example, I couldn’t find the key to my bike, which remains chained outside the Jackalope as we speak.
Some blurry events occurred before I found myself shoulder-to-shoulder in a massive throng eagerly awaiting The Strokes. Between flask swigs, strange cigarettes being passed before my face and the like, I can’t say I remember a whole lot about the show. I recall hearing a great deal of cuts from Is This It? and Room on Fire, reminding me that hey, The Strokes are a pretty badass band.
Tragedy struck on my way out, as my trusty iPhone 4 slipped from my hand and mangled its face on the concrete below. After that I caught Those Darlins at Swan Dive. They’ve come a hell of a long way since their tap-dancing coffee-shop gigs. With vivacity to burn, The Darlins have mostly abandoned their Carter Fam homages in favor of punky psychedelic barn burners, and this Austin crowd couldn’t have been more impressed.
From there I stopped in at the Purevolume house again to refuel, only this time some asshole stole my phone. So my blog posts from here on out will be lacking the visual aids you guys so love and adore. Sorry about that!
