Once again I have survived SXSW with minimal damage. I tried to pace myself this year. The secret to surviving a 4 day drinking binge is keeping hydrated. That shot of Jager was a bad idea but my judgement was quite blurred by that point of the night and it’s rude to turn down a drink! So after the joy of meeting Ron Sexsmith I woke up to a new day of adventures. I brought the family to the French Ligation Museum to see Sharon Van Etten

After that we headed over to the Liberty and saw Arms from Brooklyn…. BTW It seems almost EVERY band is from Brooklyn.

Right after Arms set (which was really good) None other than Sondre Lerche did a solo set. My wife and I are big fans.
After that we headed back home. Her to watch the kids and me to get ready to go out for the night shows. I headed over to Stubbs to see TV on the Radio.
The next day I hung out until the afternoon and drug the kids to see The Hickoids and Meat Puppets
While talking to a friend I got a tap on the back.” ‘ello, are you Brian?” asks a nice British fellow. “I am”, “I’m Paul Darwin of Rega UK”. This is just another magical moment at SXSW!! We slammed a couple beers and watched the Kirkwood Bros. By now my kids are MISERABLE, so we take off back home to wait for “Mothra” (mother) to get back from seeing Mike Watt. I slam some burgers on the grill and try to sober up for the Ron Sexsmith show at midnight.
and made it after a few more beers (and that damn shot).
Next day I wake up a little green but not too bad. Saturday is the BYOC fest behind the shop and always a BLAST!! My neighbors The Butler Bros. have put it on for 6 years now and it just gets better and better! I got there in time to hear Zukunasisters, a Japanese act that belts out Tom Jones type songs. I thought they were pretty good and would fit in great at any casino in Vegas.

After they left the stage the suprise of the day came on… Sway Machinery. This band is an All Star cast from all the hip bands today. Daptones, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arcade Fire. The list goes on. They were playing Afrobeat with Hebrew lyrics. IT WAS AWESOME!!! I spoke with their trumpet player after the gig. He’s doing a record with Ornette Coleman!! Serious players!

Some laptop rock band played, then Matt a six year old drummer. Pretty cute watching him set up his drums until they were “just right”. Matt is gonna be a huge rock star someday.
Last up and closing my weekend of debauchery… The Woggles! I played a opening gig with them at Emos a good 14 years ago. “The Professor” is still in form. This is him telling jokes to my pal (from Brooklyn!) Jack Sprat.

Charming a very hard audience

The drummer never missed a beat flicking me the bird. I was impressed!

After The Woggles it was time for some serious Mexican food at Chapala. I eat here on average of twice a week. I would DIE without Chapala!

That sums up my weekend of SXSW. I look forward to next year! It will be my 17th in a row!