SXSW 2014: Soundgarden + MTVu Woodies Awards & more

So waking after a long day of driving here yesterday and the events of last night’s tragedy still ringing in my head. especially after the gruesome details started to unfold.  The mood was palpable and you could feel it on everyone’s lips all day. I buried myself in work (and play) and went on to have one of the longest/weirdest/awesome/exhausting days in (my) the history of SXSW –

Day 2 – March 13th

So as you know parking is real bitch in Austin even when its not SXSW, but during it, its nearly impossible and every year I get disgusted seeing locals charging you to park in their yards and now schools and churches getting in on the act – fucking parasites.
My goal was first to go by a few places on the East Side to get credentialed and then drop off some business materials at Stubb’s and then make the long sojourn about 11 blocks down E 12th to see King Buzzo from the Melvins do an early solo acoustic gig –

King Buzzo – Record Label Rummage Sale

A cool outdoor show put on by some locals, who could detect my exhaustion (if I looked bad to these people, I must’ve looked terrible…j.k…much to my chagrin their is photo proof later in this post) and offered me a beer as Buzz was just getting started. First person I see is Jeff P once again and we regaled the previous evening’s Pure Luck gig as well as the tragedy that followed. He has a natural gift for simplefying things and we drank in the sun and listened to Buzz.

…..and now for something completely different – I still had like 25 blocks to trek back to the mess downtown so I walked back down the east side of 6th st picking up more credentials along the way….by the time I made it to downtown I had so many colorful wristbands, I looked like Cyndi Lauper.

MTVU Woodie Awards –

Every year, MTV produces this TV special with their sister imprint MTVu – as in University – aimed at showcasing (and rewarding) new, young up & coming talent in tandem with the festival. The crowd is usually super young and super annoying and if I didn’t feel old enough I usually have never heard of any of the bands that are booked to play – I’m no longer of that demographic – I usually just use this as a pit stop because MTV has big money to give out free food/booze and all kinds of other goodies and being the bottom feeder that I am, I don’t pass up free beer and bbq and a chance to get out of the sun for a sec.
Not this year – I was moving on up in the world and this year I was an invited guest with an All Access pass so I could sit my old ass in an air-conditioned twerk-free tent and feast to my heart’s content.
…and I did get to check out some new bands (and no previously I had not heard of any of them)

Echosmith

The first band I saw was Echosmith – kind of like Haim, their a family-band from Southern California and play a pleasant, earnest kind of pop music.

Bleachers

Singer dude was dressed so ironically fashion-forward style that it had swung back around to just plain irksome looking. Kinda reminded me of Waldo from the Hot for Teacher video – but he did do a great cover of my fave Tom Petty song – Don’t Come Around Here No More –

London Grammar

I saw this super good looking girl backstage and asked someone who it was and was told she was in a band called London Grammar who were up next and that they were indeed from London and compared them to Portishead – who are like my favorite band ever, so needless to say, they had my full attention.

Wrong again asshole – as I discover  this pic on the cover of MTV.com and Zimbio – among all these pretty people with their perfect hair and cool sunglasses, who is that pasty, balding, homeless looking dude with BBQ sauce on his shirt their in the left corner? (and who let his old ass in here?) – Oh..that’s me

IFC Fairrounds
w/ Les Claypool’s Duo de Twang

I had to take a break from the cool kids so I walked outside and I swore I could hear Les Claypool’s unmistakable goofy voice in the distance – and that my friends is the very essence of this festival and what keeps me coming back – Where else could you take a hiatus from Lil Wayne’s pot smoke and find yourself at a Les Claypool gig….in some new formation you didn’t know existed?

Setlist – 

Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver (Primus)
Booneville Stomp
Amos Moses (Jerry Reed)
The Bridge Came Tumblin’ Down (Stompin’ Tom Connors)
The Battle of New Orleans (Johnny Horton)
South Park Theme
Man in the Box (Alice in Chains)
Stayin’ Alive (Bee Gees)
Jerry Was a Race Car Driver (Primus)

Thurs night of music week is always the big night – lots of competition – nowhere else in the world would some of the shows be happening all on the same night.
Thurs night at Stubb’s is always the big deal – their always an act that could play arenas/stadiums that play to 2k or so lucky fans – (one year it was Metallica) – This year it was Lady Gaga and if you haven’t already heard, I hear it was a vomiting good time.
The long shaft of Corporate Cock stretched far with this one as for the last few years one of the biggest sponsors of the festival has been Doritos – and every year they build this FOUR STORY tall monstrosity of a replica of a Doritos vending machine that bands play beneath. So anytime you are walking around downtown during the festival you can just look up and see this Doritos monolith in the sky. It’s Ian Mackaye‘s worst nightmare.
Well this year apparently Doritos is launching a line of chips they are calling BOLD – and in order to see Lady Gaga you had to actually film yourself doing a series of pre-determined “bold challenges” and submit them and then hoped to be chosen from a lottery of other “bold challengers”. How about GALL? These sound like chips that have gall.
Ok so know it was time to head West a few blocks up to the Moody Theater where they tape Austin City Limits for the Itunes Festival. I was there to meet up with some investors for my upcoming film project and Soundgarden were having a special event.

Itunes Festival – ACL Live Moody Theater
w/ Capitol Cities
Band of Skulls
Soundgarden

First of all, I’ve never been to this new theater and let me tell you something – this is the most impressive, intimate and just overall inspired concert venue I’ve ever been in. Only holds around 3k and not a bad seat in the house – every detail seems to be to advance the patrons experience – the lights, flawless sound – stage arrangement to the cleanest facilities and an efficient, capable staff – I’m happy to report that the live music capital of the world did the right thing and got themselves the best venue for it.

I was also excited for the music – Soundgarden was celebrating a birthday The occasion was the 20th anniversary of the band’s Superunknown album, and they were gonna play it in its entirety for the first time, anywhere (not even in rehearsal as singer Chris Cornell mentioned) and some of the songs like Limo Wreck had never been played live before ever.

This was also the band’s first-ever performance at SXSW – Cornell disclaimed (if not a bit nervous..which was fun and sobering to see)  He said the band hadn’t quite managed to fully rehearse playing the album’s 15 songs in order, and warned that Superunknown’s multiple tunings meant he and guitarist Kim Thayil would change instruments with every song. Apologies hardly seemed necessary.
Cornell looked much as he always has, goateed and tightly wound, often leaning back from the mic to dig deeper into a riff. To finally hear Mailman live was a huge highlight for me.
They stuck to just playing the LP and at over an hour long that was plenty.

I had to get there early to secure my place so I saw the openers too – Synth- and horn-plenty pop group Capital Cities opened the night and convinced the crowd to do the Hustle when THEY did a cover version of the Bee Gee’s Stayin’ Alive. Again where in the world would I hear in the last 90 mins Les Claypool and now this band cover that song?
contrast, the next act, alt-rock trio Band of Skulls blasted a stripped-down sound that served a perfect bridge for the headliner.

I was seated next to this really fun, affluent couple that were buying me drinks and making me laugh all night. She was totally hot and lovely and he was a big nerd like me so we all just got on like gangbusters and had a great time. I love the commaraderie of this festival and hope its one thing that it never loses.

Ok, onward! It was now after 11pm and Matt (my host) just text me and we were hoping to have a fun night of just us and see some good Hip-Hop and though I already have had an insanely long day and it was fucking freezing outside – that night was tonight -and that time was now.

Audible Treats Showcase – Half Step
w/ Black Milk
Souls of Mischief
HIeroglyphics

That area south of the Convention Center informally known as just Rainey for its street of the same name has become my new fave area the last couple of years. Its got that undiscovered, unspoiled, newness to it and though its anything but a secret, it just feels like a row of speakeasies and bootleggers or something. It feels like your getting away from the shitshow, though its within walking distance and at times a shitshow of its own. You can tell that it won’t remain this way for long.
I get over to Half Step and bouncer dude gives a tiny bit of static but was resolved quickly enough. The show was outside – I was freezing and my feet hurt but hey Black Milk was on –

Matt showed up (in a limo somehow haha) shortly after he was done and thoughtfully brought me a sweater with a hoodie (but remember I still had my prison-issue special with dried sweat to keep me warm) bought a round of drinks and we headed to the front for Souls of Mischief/Hieroglyphics –

Hieroglyphics was of course founded by Del the Funky Homosapien and the collective is currently composed of him, Casual, Pep Love, producer/manager Domino, DJ Toure, and the four individual members of the rap group
Souls of Mischief:
Phesto
A-Plus
Opio
and Tajai.
Del being the highlight but doesn’t always perform with Hiero, in fact the last few times I’ve seen them he hasn’t been there – but we knew he was in town so we were expectant, but for some reason (and none was given) he wasn’t at this show (or any other Hiero show this week). But that’s not to say that we weren’t blessed by a special guest because if you look close in the picture above, Ali Shaheed Mohammed from A Tribe Called Quest took over for Toure the last few numbers that capped off a very fun, strong showing by the group and just fueled a great night with Matt and I even further. Good times.

Ok…so it was now 2am, I couldn’t even spell exhaustion at this point, we still had 20 blocks to go to find my car, you would think we would be done.
We were not and for once it was my idea.
After getting back to my car I heard this over-hyped band with the great name Perfect Pussy was playing on the South Lamar Pedestrian Bridge at 3am.
Some band always braves the bridge and it usually gets busted in minutes and is patroned usually by those that hang at the bridge anyway, but as Hunter S. Thompson once said, once you get locked into a serious collection of anything the tendancy is “to take it as far as you can”. Off we go –

Perfect Pussy – South Lamar Bridge

A gas generator powered the short set. –  Here there was no line, bouncer or sponsors — and, thanks to a slight bend in the bridge that kept the crowd mostly out of view, no cops, either.