SXSW DAY TWO: YOUR NAME HERE
There’s really nothing better than spending all day and night listening to and talking about music, especially if other people are buying your drinks.
Here are the highlights, lowlights, name-dropping and attempts at witticism from day two, with a bonus leftover tidbit from day one:
• The MOBfest party where the loud, agit-punk of Paris, TX made standing outside close to port-a-potty water bearable.
• HITS’ own Rodel Delfin leading an A&R panel that told the crowd if they want to get signed all they have to do is have great songs. Almost every panel that has A&R guys ends with people standing up and asking to sign them during the Q&A. This one stayed on topic, surprising considering the moderator, and I say kudos to Bill Armstrong, Louie Bandak, Pete Giberga, Berko, Andy Karp and William Langolf for being honest, direct and funny.
• The Broken Social Scene’s genre-melding indie rock melting the minds of a too-packed-to-actually-see-the-band crowd at Emo’s.
• The cabdriver who told me that he can count his friends on one hand.
• The Killers canceling. Don’t they know I walked five or six blocks to see them?
• PR whiz Josh Mills talking about the fire that hit his office. He was in good spirits about it, actually.
• Leaving the stuffed, sweaty room where the Sleepy Jackson was playing—and they blew the fuses for a minute—to find a club where the band was so bad they cleared the room, meaning the temperature was pleasant and there was no line for beer.
• Going to see who the “special guest” at the Ryko showcase was and being pleasantly rewarded with off-kilter trio Midnight Movies. Still, Fire Theft would have been better.
• The new-wavish punk of Lola Ray, the first band signed to Good Charlotte’s label. Go in thinking you’re doing a favor, in this case the lovely and charming Heidi from Girlie Action, come out with a new favorite rock band. Okay, not quite favorite, but they’re really good.
• Not waiting in line for an hour to see new Epic signing Franz Ferdinand and still not getting in.
• Fawning again and again over The Cooper Temple Clause to their publicist, booking agent and anyone within earshot. They were even better Thursday night in front of a bigger crowd than on the first night. If anybody blows them away the rest of the week, I’ll cry with joy the way I did when I got my iPod. CTC is that good. I promise.
• Forgot to mention that I won $10 from Johnny Knoxville on Wednesday night. We wagered on his friend’s ability to jump over a street barricade. Nobody was filming it, and he paid up. That’s the kind of thing that happens down here.
