SxSW 2008 - Day 2
Day 2 of SxSW 08 turned out to be the first test of stamina for me and the other boys. After hitting up a Crawdad boil, we shambled in a half-comatose state down to the Be Your Own Pet day show at the Cedar St. Courtyard. Always a high energy performance from those guys, and always worth seeing. We also had the chance to catch a few songs from The Duke Spirit. Unforntunately, outdoor venues just don’t fit their music style.
Next, we moved on to several day parties held by national record consortiums. First up was the Japanese party which goddamned packed. The line for free sushi and booze wrapped around the whole interior of the grounds, all though the afternoon. The first band, Ketchup Mania, took the stage and literally bored me to tears. Well, that and the lack of free sushi. Not bad musically, but Ketchup’s direction was all other the place. Just no soul or originality.
We moved on to the New Zealand party across the way with and old college buddy, Monkeyboy (great to see him, btw). The booze, BBQ, and grounds were a lot more accessible, so we stayed around long enough to the the awesome band Die! Die! Die! Fucking brilliant those guys are, and they put on one hell of a show...even if it was for onlhy 3 songs. Go figure. We also had the chance
With the drunkenness setting with the free booze from the Kiwi’s, the next stop was Emo’s for a few bands. We started with Portugal the Man, a pretty decent 70’s sludge rock band reminiscent of Sabbath, Fu Manchu, etc. Next up, The Boss Martians from Seattle. Everyone I know have been raving about these guys, so it was my duty to catch em perform. I wasn’t disappointed. Great energy and slamming garage rock grooves proved to be a winning combination. Much music was bought after that gig.
While waiting for the next acts to hit the stage (the Swami Records Showcase) Victor ’Sleazy’ Martinez got himself the digits of a very pregnant woman and her husband. Nothing like a little swinger action to make your SxSW time that much more memorable. As Victor made google eyes at the preggers, onstage came CPC Gangbangs out of Canada. A throwback to 1980s American Hardcore, these guys just fucking jammed out like you wouldn’t believe. I’ll have to dig into them more and find out what they’re about.
An oddly placed phone call from Rusty forced us to move from the Swami Showcase back over to the main stage at Emo’s. There, we found our little buddy grooving to the sounds of Gil Mantera’s Party Dream. Picture two guys in spandex dancing, sythesizers blazing, and general 1982 craziness. Fucking brilliant yet scary at the same time.
We tried to find Teenage BottleRocket (a Delbert Favorite) at the Red 7 for an 11pm gig. Unfotunately, they moved the whole damn bar! An extreme pisser, no doubt. So, we moved on to the Raveonettes show at the Vice club. Great club, but shitty location for a band like the Rav. Then again, it was packed to the gils with people (stubbs would have been a better venue). The band was great, as usual, and the new music was surprisingly good.
Beyond eating a shitload of oysters after the gig, that’s about it for Day 2. The only real misstep beyond the Red 7 incident was forgetting about the Motorhead show at Stubbs. Can’t win them all, I guess. See you tomorrow.
-grim
Day 2 - Complete Show List
The Duke Spirit
Be Your Own Pet
Ketchup Mania
Die! Die! Die!
Portugal the Man
Boss Martians
CPC Gangbangs
Gil Mantera’s Party Dream
The Raveonettes
Next, we moved on to several day parties held by national record consortiums. First up was the Japanese party which goddamned packed. The line for free sushi and booze wrapped around the whole interior of the grounds, all though the afternoon. The first band, Ketchup Mania, took the stage and literally bored me to tears. Well, that and the lack of free sushi. Not bad musically, but Ketchup’s direction was all other the place. Just no soul or originality.
We moved on to the New Zealand party across the way with and old college buddy, Monkeyboy (great to see him, btw). The booze, BBQ, and grounds were a lot more accessible, so we stayed around long enough to the the awesome band Die! Die! Die! Fucking brilliant those guys are, and they put on one hell of a show...even if it was for onlhy 3 songs. Go figure. We also had the chance
With the drunkenness setting with the free booze from the Kiwi’s, the next stop was Emo’s for a few bands. We started with Portugal the Man, a pretty decent 70’s sludge rock band reminiscent of Sabbath, Fu Manchu, etc. Next up, The Boss Martians from Seattle. Everyone I know have been raving about these guys, so it was my duty to catch em perform. I wasn’t disappointed. Great energy and slamming garage rock grooves proved to be a winning combination. Much music was bought after that gig.
While waiting for the next acts to hit the stage (the Swami Records Showcase) Victor ’Sleazy’ Martinez got himself the digits of a very pregnant woman and her husband. Nothing like a little swinger action to make your SxSW time that much more memorable. As Victor made google eyes at the preggers, onstage came CPC Gangbangs out of Canada. A throwback to 1980s American Hardcore, these guys just fucking jammed out like you wouldn’t believe. I’ll have to dig into them more and find out what they’re about.
An oddly placed phone call from Rusty forced us to move from the Swami Showcase back over to the main stage at Emo’s. There, we found our little buddy grooving to the sounds of Gil Mantera’s Party Dream. Picture two guys in spandex dancing, sythesizers blazing, and general 1982 craziness. Fucking brilliant yet scary at the same time.
We tried to find Teenage BottleRocket (a Delbert Favorite) at the Red 7 for an 11pm gig. Unfotunately, they moved the whole damn bar! An extreme pisser, no doubt. So, we moved on to the Raveonettes show at the Vice club. Great club, but shitty location for a band like the Rav. Then again, it was packed to the gils with people (stubbs would have been a better venue). The band was great, as usual, and the new music was surprisingly good.
Beyond eating a shitload of oysters after the gig, that’s about it for Day 2. The only real misstep beyond the Red 7 incident was forgetting about the Motorhead show at Stubbs. Can’t win them all, I guess. See you tomorrow.
-grim
Day 2 - Complete Show List
The Duke Spirit
Be Your Own Pet
Ketchup Mania
Die! Die! Die!
Portugal the Man
Boss Martians
CPC Gangbangs
Gil Mantera’s Party Dream
The Raveonettes
Thursday, March 13, 2008
