DAY 4 – SO NICE & SUNNY

After the first two days, I kind of thought I’d be a little relieved once Saturday came around and the fest was wrapping up. Maybe I haven’t stressed it enough – but it really is a marathon. On Friday, downtown Austin got decidedly busier too. The streets were now packed with drunks and music was constantly blaring from everywhere. To be honest, I can’t believe a civilized city would actually let its downtown core descend into such madness – but I shouldn’t complain. This festival really is like nothing else and I have been having a pretty ridiculously awesome time. And so the last day begins…

mess of people

11:00am
Got off to an early start today, met up with RJ and headed away from downtown, across the river to do a little shopping and check out this other part of town. The south Congress area as its known, is full of cool shops, restaurants and had pretty much the exact same vibe and set-up as Commercial Drive in Vancouver or Mont Royal in Montreal. I scored some wicked t-shirts made by this artist from Denton, tx at this awesome store Parts & Labour. Also had some super tasty Mexican breakfast. Hmmm, hvevos rancheros!

1:30pm
Once the afternoon sun hit, I was ready to start watching some bands again. I mentioned the other day how I’ve been really into this new wave of rock/electro bands, so was determined to catch this UK group Shit Disco. How they settled upon Shit Disco as their name, I have no idea – but they fkn shred. The synths were fat and the guitars, even fatter. These guys played fast and furiously with a totally punk-rock aesthetic. Easily one of the most impressive ‘new’ bands I saw at the festival.

Shit Disco, Beauty Bar patio

3:00pm
My hombre Frank (who you may know from such NewMusic segments as Check This: Chromewaves) was hosting a party all afternoon with bands currated by himself and some other bloggers. Asobi Seksu was the main attraction for me. I’d seen the Brooklyn based shoegazing rockers blow the sht out of the Horseshoe last year and have been keen to see them again ever since. The setting was pretty damn immaculate too. On an outdoor stage with a beautiful afternoon sun and just enough of a breeze, Asobi Sesksu tore it out. I’m gonna say, maybe, best set of the festival. Its not often you get to watch intimate shows outdoors and that’s one thing that SX really has going for it. The band didn’t miss a note either. Ridiculously enjoyable.

Asobi Seksu, Mohawk patio

Menomena followed Asobi. I had no idea they were even playing this jam, which was a wicked surprise. I’ve written before about how awesome their new record is – Friend and Foe really is genius-rock. Definitely one of the best records of the year so far. As a 3-piece, they brought the songs of the album to life with remarkable colour. I really was blown away. I can’t wait to see them play a full-length show next Friday back home.

4:30pm
I sadly left the party to rendezvous with RJ at this other party in hopes of scoring some free Asics. The thought of leaving Austin with a free pair of Asics had me pretty damn excited. If only I wore a size 14. They were pretty much cleaned out. I grabbed a free cocktail to console myself and headed off to this other party down the street…

5:00pm
Levis and Fadar magazine were hosting huge outdoor parties all week long at this place the Fort. It was pretty much just a big lot with a tent and some kind of crazy maze thing. Vancouver’s Ladyhawk hit the stage at the stroke of happy hour and totally blew me away. Amazing musical discovery. I feel like a total idiot for missing the boat on them up until now, but will definitely be making up for lost time.

Posted by Geoff M at March 18, 2007 09:12 PM

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