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.

Short New Orleans Post-Mortem

From Houston

We've been reunited with the CoolDaughters, and we're in Houston now for one day before heading home.

New Orleans won't leave my thoughts for a long time. It was the first trip for just CoolMom and me in forever. I think I got a little choked up sitting in a bar on Frenchman Street listening to a four-piece play some jazz this past Sunday. Not sure why. It was just so perfect that it got to me, I guess.

The New Orleans Ragweeds

On Sunday night, we saw California's shoegazey, "drug punk"-y Cosmonauts in a total dive of a bar with about 10 other people. That was pretty beautiful in its own way. I love seeing music in other cities.

I ate way too much. Drank too much whiskey. And just, generally, had a blast without ever even setting foot on Bourbon St. until the walk back to our place after our final dinner in town.

Sazerac is a fine rye whiskey.

If you ever have the chance, head down to New Orleans. Forget about beads and fluorescent-colored drinks. Forget the lines at Cafe Du Monde or Central Grocery. Find your own space and let the city seep into your pores and grab you. There's something primal and magical about the place. Something that will find you through all the tourist trap adult amusement park vibes if you just let it.

Back to real work and real blogging in a day or so.