My SXSW Experience: Day 1
March 24th, 2009 by Ivan Pena in Bombardier Manifesto, SXSWWednesday, March 18: I arrived to Austin by 9:30am, exhausted from the previous night’s St. Patty’s Day festivities. On the plane Flee and Jo Ellen (from WMNF and The Globe respectively) had the privilege to watch me zonk out with mouth agape for most of the 2 hour flight.
Excitement was high as soon as I deplaned. Dozens of people carrying guitar cases were scurrying about the terminal as if late for a very important meeting. I took a shuttle to the “Little” Ramada on the far ass north of town, where I would be staying during my visit. The driver ran me down the key places to visit in Austin (Bat Country, The Capitol), the great restaurants to visit (Guero’s) and that I shouldn’t walk the streets around my hotel alone at night. At first impression Austin seemed tired and run down, with haggard bums adorning every street corner.
Upon arriving to the hotel, I met two bands off the bat: Colombia’s Raton Perez and London’s Little Thief. I took advantage of my “journalist status” and did a quick interview with each:
Raton Perez (Screamo Heavy Metal)
Little Thief (Pop Punk ala Arctic Monkeys)
I hopped the shuttle to the Austin Convention Center and got my badge. I hooked up with Joran and T McG, who took us to the BAAMO showcase in South Austin. There we saw great sets from Have Gun, Will Travel, The Beauvilles and Mojo Gurus.
Time seems to fly without remorse as “South by”. 3pm became 8pm and I was hurrying to catch Raton Perez’s set at the Speakeasy. Unfortunately, Joran and I underestimated the distance and I missed their set. I did, however, get to hang out with Little Thief (had a few shots of Wild Turkey with Joe) for a bit before I went on my first walkabout downtown.
I ran into Rebekah Pulley, Rob Pastore and Max from Roppongi’s Ace at One 2 One. We walked around downtown together for a few minutes, eating some free Zone bars we got and commenting on how we wished our town was this hip. I spotted a hot dog cart and broke away from the team.
After a bit, I met up with Joran and we scoped out the Elephant Room, the coolest jazz club in Austin. Unfortunately, the band wasn’t cookin’, so after a brew we decided to meet up with Alejandro from CL Atlanta at the Cedar Door to catch the end of the Modern Skirts‘ set. We left and stood in line at Stubb’s to see the Decembrists, only to be turned away because Joran had a video camera. Instead, we serendipitously ended up at Emo’s where we caught 4 songs by Canada’s sludge rock princes Priestess. Hands down, the best band I saw at SXSW.
The end.
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