**First Things First**

**-Tuesday, March 14-**

OK, so I lied. But I came by it honestly.

In last week's *Threats & Promises* I boldly said [“I'll be weighing in daily”][1] which,as you can see, became a patent untruth practically as soon as I landed in Austin. I tried, I really did. But after 3 days of fighting semi-wonky Wi-Fi, the race against time to edit hundreds of photos, and trying desperately not to miss stuff I deemed important I decided to just give it all to you at once this week. If you were sitting on your hands waiting for my reports please give my apologies to them. With that...

My only 100% solid plan for SXSW this year was to make sure I made it out to Burnet Road to hit up [Top Notch Hamburgers][2]. I've been planning this every year for three years and, dammit, this year it was gonna happen. I got to Austin about 10:30 am Tuesday, March 13, took the bus from the airport (only a buck!) to downtown, grabbed my press/photo credentials and badge from the SXSW folks at the Convention Center and headed up Red River Street. Way up, actually. Like 25 blocks. The reason for this ridiculous hike was I needed to crash with a friend that night since our hotel wouldn't be ready until Wednesday. I'd tell you who he is but I never asked him if I could use his name and I'd really like to go ahead and get this published before the sands of Texas dust over my memory.

http://flagpole.com/users/photos/2012/mar/20/561/

Let's just skip the walk talk and the handshakes and the how ya doin's. My major goal for Tuesday night was to catch as much of the [Sacred Bones][3] video/film exhibition as possible. I hung out at the British Embassy At [Latitude 30][4] until 9PM then hightailed it to [The Hideout][5]--a nifty coffee bar in front/movie-performance space in back place--and sat down to see multiple videos of Zola Jesus, Blank Dogs, Crystal Stilts, Cult of Youth, Gary War, Naked on the Vague, Pop. 1280 and more. A good 40%+ were directed by event curator [Jacqueline Castel][6]. (Officially the whole night was a release show for the DVD release of her film *Twelve Dark Noons*)

Both [Led Er Est][7] and [Psychic Ills][8] played lives sets with the former probably being more directly my thing due to its straddling both ice cold--but far from non-emotional-- synth structures and e-bowed guitar. Psychic Ills bass rhythms were the most stand out aspect, at least in this live setting, of the bands heavy psych rock. It pretty much lead and the rest followed. Basically, both bands were killer.

http://flagpole.com/users/photos/2012/mar/20/562/

http://flagpole.com/users/photos/2012/mar/20/563/

All the above constitutes a pleasant surprise for me because the real reason I was so rock-solid sure to be at this event was that at 1 am they'd be showing the previously un-screened films of [Psychic TV][9].

The night ran a little late and wrapped up around 2:15 am and the staff of The Hideout were more than a little accommodating event though it was obvious they were exhausted and the week had just begun. While I don't mean to sound like I'm all up on Sacred Bones' joint the real fact is that this was my third time to SXSW and this is the first event I've attended *all the way through* from start to finish. I just couldn't leave. Everything about it had a sense of secret access and a kind of perpetual relevance. Several times I wished I could leave and drag people back with me, luring them only with an emphatic "TRUST ME!" As it is, let this account stand as my endorsement.

I left, caught a cab with my host, and made it back up I-35 to his hotel all within an hour of it ending which is a miniscule amount of time considering getting a cab during SXSW isn't just like pulling teeth, it's like pulling someone else's teeth while they fight you.

**Feel Like Movin' On**

**-Wednesday, March 14-**

For the past two years I've attended tons of panel discussions and individual speaker presentations at SXSW's ground zero, the Austin Convention Center. Although I was fairly non-plussed with the offerings this year I decided to go ahead and try out the one on dynamic pricing. It's my own fault for not realizing it but this was run by a single guy from a ticketing company but I thought it would be a panel discussion. The way it was formatted sounded more like a sales presentation than a real discussion of the topic. I do have some vested interested in ticket pricing, filling live rooms, etc and I would have really gotten a lot out of this presentation if only I were the owner of a major sports franchise and was selling tickets for the gol darned Astrodome. Seriously, this guy (I'm gonna leave him unnamed because I totally don't feel like advertising him) had zero idea of who his audience was. For the record, it was other smaller promoters like me and people from *other ticketing agencies* presumably doing some industrial espionage. So I split.

I hopped over to [Cheer Up Charlie's][10] a few blocks and one highway underpass away to meet up with a friend and caught the last half of Seattle's [TacoCat][11] who have been to Athens before but have gotten much gruffier and less indie-pop. By the way, do you believe in fate? Well, I can't even imagine what else would be responsible for what happened next. Out of my right eye I spy this real bruiser of a drag queen, covered literally in bruises so massive I thought at first they were makeup, acting like she was in the starting blocks for something. Sure enough, this was Austin's own Christine and she was promptly carried to the stage over the shoulders of two helpful boys. Once there, she slurred out a torrent of "hey y'all's" and "hey girl's" and "This is Christine, y'all's" and launched into her act which was a mix of filthy rapping over honestly catchy dance beats and positive affirmation songs for the culturally disenfranchised. Although her two male dancers came off like campy poseurs Christine was the real deal. so real, in fact that the two photos below are literally about the only two I can post here. The rest are either wildly mis-composed or ,um, let's just say NSFW.

http://flagpole.com/users/photos/2012/mar/20/564/

http://flagpole.com/users/photos/2012/mar/20/565/

My friend met up with some other friends and were headed to dinner--which they graciously invited me to--but I needed to move on and try to catch some bands. There are so many hype men on the streets of Austin during SXSW. They'll stand outside of venues trying to shove flyers, download cards, CDs, whatever into your hands. Some will stand outside and yell things like "FREE MUSIC! NO COVER!" which I can only imagine yields very mixed results because there's free music *everywhere* during SXSW.

http://flagpole.com/users/photos/2012/mar/20/567/

So, generally speaking, this technique probably never works. Except when it does. And it certainly worked on me at least once.

I was headed west on 6th street--the main drag around which everything at SXSW either leans deliberately towards or away from--and heard an R&B horn section and some soul vocals coming from inside the Bayou Lounge. I paused for a second and within half that time a hype man from [All Together Now][12] Management had shoved a card in my hand advertising about 60 bands they were showcasing that week. I just had one question for him: "Who's that onstage right now?" He answered, "[Tara Priya][13]."

Later on after doing some research I found out that Priya has won a fair number of awards and accolades already but at that moment she was just a woman onstage with a crack band of players and a voice easily as strong as any one of the not-necessary-to-name major soul singers of the past decade. She was towards the end of her set when I came in and it was one of those rare moments of SXSW--where, remember, music is everywhere and you'll overflow as soon as possible--when I really wished I had been walking down the street earlier.

http://flagpole.com/users/photos/2012/mar/20/566/

I had plans to walk back to the hotel and grab a shower but what really happened was a grabbed coffee instead, tried really hard to get some writing done (didn't happen) and started texting friends for their plans, going over my schedule for the night, etc. On the agenda were three things for sure: [The Men][14] & [Zola Jesus][15] at [Elysium][16] and reggae master [Jimmy Cliff][17] at The Main (old Emo's). Jimmy Cliff would come first.

When I arrived the place was packed out. So much so I waited in line for, well, honestly not very long because 1) I was badged so that put me ahead of those with SXSW wristbands and those paying cash and 2) I was by myself which, in a 1-out/1-in situation, works to the advantage of those flying solo. When I entered California's now-24 year old melodic-"hardcore" band [Pennywise][18] was plowing through a tight set of "hits" for a rambunctiously enthusiastic and sweaty crowd, most of which it seemed had paid hard dollars (I think the cash price was $25 for this show) to see just them. I stayed near the back because I wasn't ready to be jostled over Pennywise and they had so many people losing their minds over them that I'd just be in the way. When they were done the floor cleared a little and I worked my way to the front.

It took almost forever for Jimmy Cliff to come onstage. The change over should have taken 15 minutes and was taking upwards of 40. He was visible, though, right offstage so it wasn't him but some sort of equipment malfunction that was never explained. When he finally came on he had a drummer, an acoustic guitarist and an acoustic guitar for himself. Sure, you're thinking, a reggae master came onstage with no bass. Well, he did and it wasn't missed. Although he only played for maybe--and this is a definite maybe--30 minutes he did mostly hits ( "I Can See Clearly Now", "Many Rivers To Cross", etc.and, of course, "The Harder They Come", which is about as hardcore a lyrics as has been written) and his voice, THAT VOICE, is still at about 95% of what it ever was. It was a chill-inducing performance. Absolutely masterful.

http://flagpole.com/users/photos/2012/mar/20/568/

http://flagpole.com/users/photos/2012/mar/20/569/

After gathering my jaw from the floor I hustled over to Elysium a couple of blocks away but because of Cliff's delay I only saw the tail end of Zola Jesus's set but she belted out her modern goth as good as I'd been expecting so I made a mental note to try to catch her again during the week (didn't happen) and walked down the street with a friend back to Latitude 30 where he was supposed to meet some people. I wound up seeing half a set from Watford, Hertfordshire UK band [Spycatcher][19] every member of which was in a fairly acclaimed bands before and to my ears sounded very much like Damian Abraham (Fucked Up) and Frankie Stubbs (Leatherface) fronting a hardcore Weezer. You know, I'm not too pleased with that description--even though it's pretty accurate by my ears--but neither am I inclined to really worry too much about Spycatcher.

http://flagpole.com/users/photos/2012/mar/20/570/

Time got away from me again and I half-ran back down to Elysium to catch The Men and they'd already gone on but I didn't miss much. I confess to being stuck on stupid for The Men's distortion, speed and just plain *rock*-isms because they manage to embrace Swervedriver, Husker Du and billions of other influences and make something similar ([some have argued successfully that it's all a little *too* similar][20]) while sounding immediate.

http://flagpole.com/users/photos/2012/mar/20/571/

http://flagpole.com/users/photos/2012/mar/20/572/

Speaking of cool, I didn't shoot this video but it's from the show I was at.

I'd heard back from a friend I'd texted earlier and met up with her at [Beauty Bar][21]--which, incidentally, just hosted it's final show this past Sunday--where whatever was happening had already happened. I tried to get into the show across the street at Empire Automobile Garage (an actual disused garage that's been converted to an adjunct performance space for [The Side Bar][22])to see [Porter Robinson][23] but I couldn't get in because it was after 2 am and the poor door guys were really just wanting people to leave. so I stood at the fence and listened for a good 15 minutes. Wanna see what I missed? Well look here:

I went with my friend back down to the Hype Machine's [Hype Hotel][24] for its after hours party even though I didn't have a pass. Long story short, I got in with minimal haggling (none on my part; my bidding was done by others), a bit of cleverness and the kindness of strangers. I asked what felt like a ton of people who the DJ was and no one could tell me.

So if you recognize this person please advise:

http://flagpole.com/users/photos/2012/mar/20/573/

Anyway, I stayed around long enough to have some decent conversation with people I didn't know, send and receive about a billion texts from to and from Athens, take some photos in a photo booth, miss out on free Doritos tacos (Taco Bell was the presenting sponsor of Hype Hotel) and be told by the bartender that the reason they didn't have any water was because they were "sponsored by Pepsi, not Aquafina." I declined to go into the fact that *Aquafina is a Pepsi product* because that would actually be kind of stupid point to make because 1) even I know how marketing is split up inside multi-brand corps and 2) only a total ass argues with a bartender at 3:30 AM about what he doesn't have when *every single drink* he IS serving is gratis. You see, I'm *for* the working man.

So much so, in fact, that I finally went back to the hotel about 4:00-ish so I could wake up four hours later and start lining up for Bruce Springsteen's keynote address which he would deliver at noon.

**Why So Early?**

**-Thursday, March 15-**

When Springsteen was announced as this year's keynote speaker months ago speculation started to build as to whether or not he'd actually play. Then, when it was announced that he *would* play everyone got all in a tizzy because badges wouldn't be enough to get a person in. There would be a drawing for tickets and you couldn't enter the drawing without a badge. A couple of Athens buddies who knew the roadie for The Boss's keyboard player (go figure) tried to get me on his guest list (didn't happen) and then I tried to get on the press list (didn't happen) and then, finally, I entered the drawing for tickets (didn't get 'em.) I received the email telling me I was selected in the drawing while I was in line for his address. Actually, everyone got them at the same time. including a woman standing in line next to me who had won a ticket and was now worried about how that was going to alter he plans for the evening. Tickets were non-transferable, though, so I couldn't even begin to persuade her to just give it to me. But, back to the line...

I thought I'd be fine lining up at 9 AM for a room that opened at 11 for a speech that began at noon. Wrong! I was about an hour late and wound up being about 300th in line. Even so I managed to get seats for myself and *Flagpole* music editor Michelle Gilzenrat in about the fifth row back on Springsteen's right. There were a few rows of seats reserved in front of us and right before Bruce spoke a lil' band of folks all piled into one and Michelle recognized them immediately as Arcade Fire and I just trusted her because I have zero idea what those people look like (she was right; it was them.)

The full hour before Bruce came on was dedicated to Woody Guthrie whose centennial birthday will come around this July. Columbia's superstar [Juanes][25] played a couple of tunes, then was joined by Austin's [Jimmy LaFave][26] and [Eliza Gilkyson][27] who played a selection of Guthrie songs--after being introduced by Guthrie's daughter, [Nora][28]--for a rendition of "This Land Is Your Land."

Finally, Springsteen is introduced and begins his hour-long address. And it's great. Although he spoke extensively about his own history and growing up he wove a masterful storyline through that traveled from 1957 through the present day, spoke of how musicians are all great and they all suck, and provided many more insights into this thing we call Rock-n-Roll. It's difficult for me to distill into a simple description. I mean, hell, why not [watch it for yourself right here][29]? Oh, yeah, the reason there's no photos is because no one other than official SXSW photographers were supposed to be taking photos or video. Even those with press access, which I had, were shut out. Sure, some folks sneaked photos on their phones and such but I wasn't about to risk getting thrown out for something so stupid. There were supposed to be official press photos from SXSW for this but I can't find them. You probably know what he looks like, right?

On this high note I again went back to the hotel to get some writing done (didn't happen) and then made my way back under I-35 to the [Fader Fort presented by Converse][30]. First let me tell you that the fort is consistently one of the best run, most well put together series of shows at SXSW. Run by the folks behind [The Fader][31] magazine the lineups are generally well-split between hip-hop/ dance acts and indie acts. And since specific Fort wristbands are required even if you've got a full on SXSW badge it also makes it one of the most difficult to get into as RSVPs are shut down after a few thousand.

(As an aside, it's been my experience that the best run and most creative showcases are generally those put together by publications. Whether this is because artists want entree, are showing gratitude for coverage...whatever the case may be, I don't know. But even so, lots of great lineups happen all over SXSW and some showcases are just shambles no matter the talent. But the ones put together by publications--both web and print--have always been my favorite. I'll be the first to admit, though, that I'm partial to publications so, you know, grain of salt and all that.)

I dropped by and caught [Big K.R.I.T.][32] who did a solid set and ended with "The Vent". Check it out:

Some people have criticized the audience for being "lame" or "lazy" or whatever and I guess it does kind of look that way in the video but I was there and they sure seemed pumped from where I was. But if anyone though they were lame during K.R.I.T.'s set shoulda see them during [Alice Smith][33]'s set immediately afterward. Smith's been laying semi-low for about six years and this rare performance was a treat for fans of her hearty soul. In the video below you'll definitely hear people cheering but it really seemed like the crowd kinda thinned once she hit the stage.

By now you're wondering, "Didn't Gordon take any photos of these two?" Sure did, boss. Here's a couple.

http://flagpole.com/users/photos/2012/mar/20/574/

http://flagpole.com/users/photos/2012/mar/20/575/

I stuck around long enough to see the end of Smith's set then went right across the street to the [Mess With Texas][34] party--a three-day-day long throwdown of all sorts--to catch Cults. Previously, MWTX had been held totally outside but this time there was an outside stage and an inside stage. The "inside" was a huge industrial-type building that looked like an old airplane hanger and probably felt like one, too. It was about 5:00 PM and the metal roof had been baking in the sun all day so that, combined with the sweat and body heat of several hundred party goers had turned the inside of the building into an oven. I could only stand about two songs of [Cults][35] because the atmosphere was amping up their semi-oppressiveness while adding a heavy dose of claustrophobia. I had to split.

So I did and went back over to Cheer Up Charlie's where I thought a friend of mine was hosting a showcase. It wound up that she was hosting a showcase but it wasn't there. I'm kind of glad I didn't figure all that out until later because I would have missed [Young Prisms][36]. Playing on an outside stage in the breeze with the sun getting ready to descend really was the perfect setting for them. Also, hearing their necessarily derivative (how many directions can it really go, ya know?), but clearly inspired, shoegaze in such a non-shoegaze-y context rendered it fresh and exciting. Basically, I liked them tons. I wish I had seen them again as they played multiple times during SXSW week. My camera batteries had died by this point so I didn't get any photos of Cults or Young Prisms and I actually got a little sad at the idea of not being able to shoot the latter. They looked great, played great, the air was clear and it was a total photo moment. Oh well.

(Read part 2 [here)][37]

(Read part 3 [here][38])

[1]: http://flagpole.com/news/2012/mar/14/threats-promises/

[2]: http://www.topnotchaustin.com/

[3]: http://www.sacredbonesrecords.com/

[4]: http://www.latitudethirty.com/home.html

[5]: http://www.hideouttheatre.com/the-coffeeshop

[6]: http://www.aprimitivefuture.com/

[7]: http://lederest.com/

[8]: http://psychicills.com/main.html

[9]: http://www.genesisbreyerporridge.com/

[10]: http://www.facebook.com/cheerupcharliesaustin

[11]: http://www.facebook.com/tacocatband

[12]: http://www.atnshowcase.com/

[13]: http://www.tarapriya.com/

[14]: http://wearethemen.blogspot.com/

[15]: http://zolajesus.com/

[16]: http://www.elysiumonline.net/

[17]: http://www.jimmycliff.com/

[18]: http://pennywisdom.com/

[19]: http://www.facebook.com/spycatchermusic

[20]: http://soundcloud.com/themenz/suspect-love

[21]: http://thebeautybar.com/austin/

[22]: http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-side-bar-austin

[23]: http://porterrobinsonofficial.com/

[24]: http://hypem.com/hotel/

[25]: http://www.juanes.net/

[26]: http://jimmylafave.com/

[27]: http://www.elizagilkyson.com/

[28]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nora_Guthrie

[29]: http://www.npr.org/2012/03/16/148778665/bruce-springsteens-sxsw-2012-keynote-speech

[30]: http://www.thefader.com/2012/03/09/the-fader-fort-presented-by-converse-lineup/

[31]: http://www.thefader.com

[32]: http://bigkrit.com/

[33]: http://www.alicesmith.com/

[34]: http://mwtxparty.com/

[35]: http://cults.bandcamp.com/

[36]: http://www.facebook.com/Youngprisms

[37]: http://flagpole.com/weblogs/homedrone/2012/mar/23/sxsw-2012-lets-get-massive-part-2/

[38]: http://flagpole.com/weblogs/homedrone/2012/apr/01/sxsw-2012-lets-get-massive-part-3/