About Last Night – Tuesday, March 14th @ SXSW

I find it strange that there’s so much complaining in the “industry” about SXSW. Sure, the payment issue is a real thing, and I stand with the artists on that issue, but that LARGE fact aside, it’s a pretty unique experience. Almost every performance feels more intimate than your average festival, and you get a chance to run into friends from all over the world who you might never otherwise see. Oh, and you never know when you’ll stumble into your new favorite band, so I call that a win! Anyways…here’s some photos and stuff after the jump!

Nathan’s Top Bands

RVG – I was thinking as I watched them last night that there aren’t too many bands making timeless pop music that I think will stand up years down the road. A lot of stuff I love is brilliant, but gets exhausting three years on. RVG is not that group. They’re powerful, and I can picture one of my demon spawn picking up their records 20 years down the line and falling in love with the sound.

Snooper – While RayRay thought the band leaned a bit too much towards the gimmicky side of things, I thought their performance did exactly what you’re supposed to do at SXSW. They were energetic and entertaining, leading me to check out their releases once I got home.

Bubbling Under: Youth Sector, Dippers

Nathan’s Random Thoughts

One. Fuck the light guy at Cedar Street Courtyard. Your light work should shine on the band, or at least the stage, not in my freaking eyes for two straight songs. That guy is fired. Two. Buy merch. Shirts, tapes, records, etc. As mentioned above, there’s not always tons of money in SXSW for bands, so be sure that you grab as much stuff from the band as you can. Three. Fuck the light guy at Cedar Street Courtyard; it needed to be reiterated.

RayRay’s Top Bands

Avalanche Party – Things had been fairly mellow after a nice sit down HH with friends and some somewhat chill tunes after, but these UK lads absolutely tore the house down at Seven Grand. It was so crazy loud, full of energy, and an energizing set reminding us all why we get out and see these bands. For all the bands we saw yesterday, this might be the one I plan to seek out again throughout the week.

Youth Sector – Always nice to see a band who have clearly prepped for their festivalappearances with fancy matching outfits and a super tight live set. Amidst some more guitar driven sounds at Side Bar, Brighton’s finest got the crowd in a more dance mood with their Talking Heads meets Franz Ferdinand style tunes. Lots of great energy here and good vibes emanating from the crowd.

Bubbling Under: Far Caspian, Golden Dregs, Sea Lemon

RayRay’s Random Thoughts

Obviously Nathan and I spent most of the day together and I would agree with the migraine inducing light show at Cedar Street Courtyard. We all had sunglasses on and hat brims turned low above our eyes to try and survive this nightmare. Seriously dude, calm down with the lights. Other than that, I definitely consider myself fortunate and lucky to have seen some amazing bands yesterday, in my own hometown, who span 3 different continents. It truly is a week of reunions, good times, and some great music. And yeah buy band merch to help offset this crazy cost of touring. PLUS, tip your bartenders Aholes.