CoolDad Does Austin: SXSW Day 3

James of Beach Slang tries his beer trick as Matt Pinfield looks on.

Hinds, Beach Slang, Don Giovanni Records

A slight drizzle on Thursday morning cooled things off a bit, but not much. I got up. Did my show listings and daily recap, then headed downtown.

I'd been shut out of the Hinds show on Tuesday night; so I decided to try and catch them at Frank, a small bar west of the downtown craziness, for their first of five shows of the day. The band's album Leave Me Alone is one I've been listening to quite a bit since it came out.

Getting in this time was no problem, and Hinds were great. They admitted that they'd just woken up; but for a band with 17 shows on the schedule for the week, they brought some really good, positive energy. Never stopped smiling.

Hinds from Madrid.

After their set, I walked over to Waterloo Records to catch Louisville's White Reaper. Once I arrived, I realized that the setup was kind of like the Stone Pony Summer stage -- a stage at one end of a giant parking lot. It was packed; and, while I think White Reaper are great, I was kind of surprised. Turns out that Joe Jonas and DNCE were next on the schedule, and their fans were already staking out real estate. White Reaper got to play to a large crowd holding up DNCE posters. I headed over to the flagship Whole Foods for a sandwich.

Then it was back to Frank for Philly's Creepoid, local kids Residual Kid (who were hosting the Frank party), Yuck, and Beach Slang. Oh. I didn't mention that Matt Pinfield was emceeing the Frank party! Anyway, Creepoid were fantastic. Don't miss them when they play Brighton Bar next week with The Dirty Nil and Restorations. Residual Kid surprised me. They were probably 17 years old, very good, and have obviously spent a lot of time with Nirvana and Pixies. Yuck were pretty laid back as they delivered songs from their latest album and mixed in a few that I remember from their marvelous debut.

Beach Slang were Beach Slang. Blood, guts, sweat, and drama all over a tiny stage late on a Thursday afternoon. I realized during their set that, as much as I enjoy discovering new stuff, I still just love what I love. Love them.

I headed back into the craziness of downtown for some beers with Dentist and to hit the Don Giovanni Records showcase at The Velveeta Room. I arrived as Mal Blum was setting up. Blum and the band turned in a pretty rocking set of Blum's soul-baring soungs. Following that, it was Philly's Pinkwash.

Sound guy: "That guitar's pretty loud. Can you turn it down?"

Guitarist Joey Doubek: "Um... No. I really can't."

Then he and drummer Ashley Arnwine absolutely pummeled the whole room.

Following Pinkwash, it was time for Vacation. They had about 1000 times the energy I did at that point and gave us a great set. When they were done, so was I. I could barely stand after going straight for about 13 hours. I headed back to the hotel, finally ate dinner (at the Waffle House next door), and crashed hard. It's back at it today when I'll try to catch some of the bands I missed yesterday.

Vacation

Stay tuned.