SXSW, Day 2: Australia, Fruit & Flowers, Spider House, Roky Erickson

Roky Erickson

This Was a Long One

The Dickmans asked if I'd like to join them for blunch at Kerbey Lane on Tuesday morning, and I immediately accepted. They've been gracious enough to let me freeload on their rental car the last couple of days, and my feet and I are very thankful.

After some brisket hash, we headed over to B.D. Riley's to catch Go Fever at the Sounds Australia Showcase. The Austin-based band, fronted by Australian expat Acey Monaro, struggled through a few technical difficulties but ended up putting in a solid set of selections from their self-titled debut. They were followed by Sydney's Food Court. That band's loud garage rock did a pretty good job of rattling the Irish Pub.

Go Fever

Food Court

From there, we headed over to Kick Butt coffee where we arrived just in time for our very good friends Fruit & Flowers. They looked a little dazed following a travel day that involved canceled flights, re-routed flights, and busses; but, once they started playing, they were as mind-blowing as ever and just solidified their position as one of my favorite bands going right now.

Fruit & Flowers

Then it was off to Spider House where we caught Scottish post-punks WOMPS -- who play Little Dickman's first showcase today -- and Alabama instrumental post-rock band In Snow.

WOMPS

In Snow

Dinner break.

Finally, we headed over to Scoot Inn for another set from Brazil's dreamy, ambient, and extremely busy at SXSW psych rockers Boogarins. There was something even better about them in the evening, under the psychedelic lights.

Boogarins

The main event of the evening at Scoot Inn, though, was a set by psych rock pioneer Roky Erickson. I noticed a pit in front of the stage before Boogarins' set and asked if I could shoot from there. After showing my SXSW camera tag to security, they let me in; and I managed to shoot both sets from the pit.

Roky Erickson

Erickson's performance has been a highlight of South By Southwest for me so far. His band appeared to have some psychic connection to him, and the whole experience was an emotional one. Having such a close, unobstructed view of how the band played off of Erickson made it that much better.

We packed it in for the night after Scoot Inn. The Dickmans and I had been running around for over 12 hours; and, just speaking for myself, there was no way I could do anymore.

It was back after it on Wednesday, and I'll be back with my 1-day look into the past probably sometime tomorrow.

SXSW, Day 1: Travel Day & Hotel Vegas

Low Cut Connie

Heaven or Hotel Vegas (Legend has it that Amy Dickman coined this phrase which now appears on Hotel Vegas T-Shirts.)

This is a day later than I wanted it to be, but yesterday (Day 2) ended up being a long day.

Anyway, did you know that you can schedule rides from Lyft in advance? I found this out recently and thought -- since I used Lyft regularly and reliably at last year's SXSW and often use them to get home from Asbury Park in the wee hours -- it would be a great way to get to the airport. On Sunday night, I followed all of the steps in the app and set myself up with a 5:30am ride to Newark airport.

Whenever I have to travel the next day, I don't sleep particularly well. After tossing and turning all night, I received a text from Lyft at 4:23 that said:

"Reminder: Lyft pickup scheduled for 5:30AM-5:40AM at [CDMHQ]"

Shower. Final bit of packing. Wait.

5:25am:

"Your Lyft ride has been canceled as no drivers are available. This happens in rare cases, and we sincerely apologize for letting you down."

LOL WUT? Five minutes' notice??

I could handle this. I decided to take CoolMom's car to the airport and leave her the CoolVan for the week. Flat tire.

CoolMom drove me over to my parents' house and I borrowed one of their cars for the week. I ended up making my flight in plenty of time, but it was way too much hassle for 5:30 in the morning. I won't be using Lyft again for anything and neither should you.

OK. Negative Yelp review over.

I got to Austin at around 3pm local time; and, after settling into the hotel, went and picked up my credentials at the Convention Center. I availed myself of the daily free cocktail that comes with a badge and then decided to hoof it over to Hotel Vegas which looked like the most promising option for the day.

Recent Wonder Bar headliners, Leopold and His Fiction, were onstage when I arrived. The band are pretty straightforward garage rock combining rootsy blues with some of the proto-punk style that originated in Leopold's hometown of Detroit. I took a few shots in the bright daylight and was, once again, amazed at how well my little mirrorless cameras perform when fed plenty of sunshine.

Leopold and His Fiction

Next up were Brazil's Boogarins, a band I'd seen at The Saint a few months ago. They play swirling, psychedelic, almost ambient rock. After their set, I decided that Southwest Airlines peanuts and Ritz crackers had left me a little peckish; and I left to grab a burger and relax at the hotel for a while.

Boogarins

It was back to Hotel Vegas with Chris and Amy Dickman for the evening. We caught a few minutes of the wild and weird Golden Dawn Arkestra before heading inside for the set from Atlanta post-punks OMNI. They turned in a super-tight set, and I would definitely not mind checking them out again this week.

Philly / Jersey band Low Cut Connie had the main stage outside. Pianist / frontman Adam Weiner channels Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard during the band's wild sets, standing up on the piano and moving through the crowd. In between every song, Weiner shouted his love for Austin and the audience.

Low Cut Connie

Finally, LA shoegaze band, Cosmonauts, took over inside. If Low Cut Connie's was my favorite performance of the day, then Cosmonauts had my favorite sounds of the day. I last saw Cosmonauts in New Orleans in a very dark, very weird bar. I immediately lost myself in their sound, and they provided a great capper to my first day in Austin.

Cosmonauts

I went back to the hotel and slept like I hadn't in a long time. Even missed La Quinta's included breakfast and my chance to work the waffle iron.

I'll be back later -- or maybe tomorrow -- to tell you about Day 2. Meanwhile, I have some pictures to edit.