March 22, 2007
Overheard at SXSW: What We Saw, What We Loved, And WTF?
Let's be honest: everyone loves SXSW week, but when it ends, you are secretly very ready to move on. Before we do, let's take a look at some of the isolated, crazy, and wonderful moments that make SXSW such an over-the-top sensory experience.
– The dude at Girl Talk dancing with a broken pinata on his head. Then passing said pinata to someone else to dance with.
– Isaac Hayes talking in his famous voice on his cell next to us @ the Convention Center Saturday afternoon.
– The hipster douchebag quotient at the Fader Fort and the Nylon/Diesel parties – off the charts!
– The parking garages (cough, AMLI) that charged $5 on Wednesday but got greedy and were at $10-12 by Saturday.
– The actor kiddos from Friday Night Lights wandering around the day parties.
– Rick Rubin (or his twin) backstage at Menomena @ Mohawk.
- Hanson showing up at the Nylon / Diesel party @ Super Alright on Friday night. The video will be up on YouTube soon. And yes, they covered “Crazy”.
- Also at Nylon/Diesel, James Iha, making SX even more like a night on the Lower East Side than it already was. And Danny Masterson of That 70’s Show DJ’ed, playing “Dick in a Box” among other gems.
- Henry Rollins wandering down Red River by himself on Saturday afternoon.
- What’s with the tight jeans/LA Gear boat sneaker fashion craze? Stop it.
- Why can't someone besides Pabst or Lone Star be the beer sponsor at these parties? Guinness, please help next year. We're begging you.
- Pete Wylie hanging at the Liverpool SoundCity Showcase.
- Discussing the Cricket World Cup with numerous “foreigners” including the Architecture In Helsinki drummer. Yeah, that India cricket jersey works like a charm for conversation starters.
- Slash, Perry Farrell and Tom Morello hard rocking out at the Parish.
- Rod Stewart t-shirts everywhere. We think they're ironic, but we're not sure.
- Locals taking full advantage of Congress Avenue happy hour dinner deals. That $6 burger at Roaring Fork soaks up lots of booze.
- The free SoCo lime and juice drink at Fader Fort replacing the free Philips Union Whiskey Sour as this year's alcoholic downfall for everyone.
What did you see at SX that was, well, out of the ordinary? Let us know in the comments.
Girl Talk photo from the Diesel-U-Music event via thejoeyway on Flickr. Item contributions for this piece are from Paige Maguire, Adi Anand, and Tom Thornton.
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Hey, I was at that show...and on that stage! That show was the perfect cap to the festival.
* Redman doing a backflip off the balconey in Cedar Street (see photo here),
* Oxbow resting his mike in his bikini briefs (see this photo).
Stella -yum, yum!- was flowing at the Urb Puma day party with Riverboat Gamblers and Sondre Lerche (which was a very strange mix of acts BTW).
Watching folks get into the spirit and take advantage of the free mohawks that Birds Barbershop offered at their party. Including my friend's boyfriend, who wasn't even drunk enough to have a good excuse.
At the Vice Afterparty Saturday night, the balcony of the Elk's Lodge partly collapsed, leaving hundreds maimed and over 15 killed.
Just kidding, no one was hurt. That party really sucked though.
Anyone know the name of the band with the drunkard racist old guy who was stumbling around before Against Me! at the last Vice day show? He made some colorful racial remarks at the East Austin venue which roused up a good amount of beer and fist throwing from some of the crowd.
sooooooooooooooo many "vintage" little miss sunshine t-shirts. i saw a couple of the mr. tees too.
I didn't see it but heard that Kirsten Dunst got moshed at the Stooges show at Stubbs.
don't forget nasty Dewars everywhere you went.
don't forget nasty Dewars everywhere you went.
The Rick Rubin doppelganger at the Mohawk shows was the dude running the soundboard for the club outdoors. Saw him the first time and did a double take myself, but it all made sense eventually.
What do you mean by "hipster douchebag quotient?" I don't know exactly, but it's offensive and reveals a lack of sophistication by the author. Get out of the gutter Austinist.
the raciist old drunkard was david yow of qui (jesus lizard/scratch acid fame) who announced at the longbranch annex (eastside, y'all!) "i'm glad there are no n***ers in the crowd. i guess i can fucking play." a black girl in the front of the crowd beat the shit out of him and as he's bleeding profusely from the head, the vice people kicked him off stage.
the raciist old drunkard was david yow of qui (jesus lizard/scratch acid fame) who announced at the longbranch annex (eastside, y'all!) "i'm glad there are no n***ers in the crowd. i guess i can fucking play." a black girl in the front of the crowd beat the shit out of him and as he's bleeding profusely from the head, the vice people kicked him off stage.
Are you a hipster douchebag, michael? If so, I'm glad you're offended. Get outta the SoCo gutter, michael.
The Golem show was pretty cool. They had the entire audience line dancing at the end of the show. And pretty much all the hipsters were saying things like, "I'm line dancing. In Texas. I don't line dance. What's going on?" It was brilliant.
Also watching people try to direct their friends to the Brute Force and Daughter of Force show via cellphone was brilliant. That definitely was the worst venue of the event. "We'll put a venue in the Hilton. Behind a door that says, 'Such and such office complex', and we'll have no signage indicating it's a venue!"
Duff, the "Ace of Cakes", (Food Network) wandering around 6th. His band was in town to play. He was the most cordial TV personality I've ever met.
The guerilla Amtrack Party behind the station at 12 at night, Thursday. Complete with Spankrock and a bunch of hipsters coming out of the forest with bikes.
Actually, I was the one who punched David Yow in the face, and i'm only black at heart-- I'm the whitest thing that was at sx. Anyway, he DID make those racist comments, but I punched him for this reason... and this IS the real story-- hope i got room:
A chic YOUNGER and SMALLER (i'm 5'4" and 24) than me had "Gimme a Beer" written on her palm. She kept showing David Yow (who i had no fucking clue who they were, but boy did their band "qui" suck!) her palm... he was slamming budweisers on stage. He alleged "that fucking cunt flipped me off"... at that point (she hadn't) I threw my Miller High Life on stage at him... then he JUMPED off stage, and tried to jump over the wonky crowd control metal fence thingy... THAT'S when I punched him in the face... a few times. He WAS bleeding on his left temple... The bouncers DID throw him, but BACK on stage... away from us.. Did i mention it was me and 2 other small girls he was trying to attack, or jump on or whatever. some dude from spin interviewed me after that, but I haven't seen anything yet...
Fuck that jesus lizard, old as fuck, iggy pop wanna be assfuck. next time he calls a girl a cunt and tries to jump in the crowd, i hope there's another Bitch there to kick his ass again!
other than that, sx was fun. melvins ruled.
Dennis Miller and his son were in town all weekend checking out bands. Hanging at the 4 Seasons...
oh ya... and a few of these huge dudes were actually mad at me. I guess they really like racist old men or something... and one of them kept grabbing me as if he were a bouncer, but he wasn't, and the other one told me "Way to be a frat boy."
HA! I laughed pretty hard at that.
Wow, um, WOW! That's pretty great.
jessica, i think you're my hero.
Working the Elysium that night of Girl Talk, I'd believe the pinata story. Although I hear there was a pinata full of flour thrown on stage at the exodus on Thursday or Friday.
To #12, I seriously hope they continue on with the tight jean fad so they can become sterile and be unable to reproduce and create more hipsters. XD
Bully to #15 and #20.
I still think watching Kid Beyond get freakin' applause at his SOUND CHECK was amazing, but then again all you have to do is watch a video of him go and you'll see why I had to DOUBLE EXPLODE when Thomas Dolby went on after him.
Um...overhearing MC Chris talking to a bartender at Emo's....he actually talks in that really freaky high pitched voice...freaked me out man.
Hearing MC Chris to tell girls to stop flashing him because "when nerds see titties they have to blog about them but that he didn't have time for blogging right now." And yes, that's pretty much his voice.
*At the Diesel party: PUKERS. Barfers left and right - on the walls if they happened to be standing next to one. Funny, but gross...but funny.
*In the Diesel party bathroom: Girl complaining she was too drunk to hover over the toilet seat so she "actually had to sit on it" and now she wanted to find the girl who used the toilet before her b/c "that bitch" peed on the seat and she wanted to "kick her ass" - which was probably dry b/c she obviously did hover.
At the NASA party, the DJ played PB&J and the crowd went crazy. Then he yelled "fucking hipsters!"
Also, Britt Daniel was hanging around. I saw him on Red River.
*Copying shit for my boss.
*Picking up his laundry.
*Not being able to find a table anywhere for lunch.
Thumbs up for what again?
Oh yeah. People walking around with their jeans tucked into their cowboy boots like they're 4 years old. That shit looks dumb for me. If you're a native Texan and you tuck your jeans into your boots, you should have to shovel shit at the King Ranch for a year.
50-year-old big guy, grinning like a fox, pushing through the crowds at Ego's during the Austin Tribute Band Marathon (during the song "Stone Free" performed by the band Stone Free, to be exact), giving out hugs while wearing a thong and shoes. Held high over his head in his hand were his clothes. He was happy to be alive.
1. at mohawk, lead guitar for thee emergency (seattle) played last 2 songs completely naked while screaming 'what do i have to do, you austin mutherfuckers?'
2. wave of self awareness that pasty white beer gut van living dorito eating afro up top afro down low body is no longer sexy to modern day ladies
3. kurt loder, thurston moore, and mike watt debating global warming at the mohawk
I def saw people dancing with the pinata head at Exodus while watching Todosantos. I think the Pinata Head left shortly after Lesbians on Ecstacy went on stage.
One of my favorite moments was when my buddy Josh puked front and center of the stage during Pela on Friday night. They stopped the show and kept asking for someone to help the GIRL that was puking on herself. He does look kind of girly though...we call him Joshathy for this reason. After about 20 minutes of fresh air he snuck back in to watch The Faint!
That bums me out to read about the David Yow stuff..big TJL fan.
I've got to NOT agree with your Guiness idea. I can drink about 2 or 3 of those. I can drink a trashcan of Lone Star.
Major weirdness was seeing N'Sync's Chris Kirpatrick in a hideous bedazzled sweatshirt watching the Buzzcocks show at Stubb's. Also, hearing a band at Emo's singing "God Hates Fags" was pretty weird. Still not sure if it was meant to be a joke...
Oh, and Jamie Kennedy tried to hit on my sister, but that's more gross than weird.
Whatever, you know she totally dug me. Don't be jealous. She was hot too. I hope she made it home the next morning!
I saw a guy who looked just like Kid Rock being interviewed by someone on 6th on Saturday. I didn't think to take a picture. I loved him in Joe Dirt.
Apes and Androids @ Mohawk: Glam guys belting out four part harmonies over sick dancy funk rock. Amazing.
Black Lips @ Fader Fort: After starting the second song, Cole spit in the air, caught his spit and made out with Ian. Insanity.
Deerhunter @ Ms. Bea's: First of all, Bradford was wearing a sundress and a trucker hat. I took a drink of beer and turned to see a gap in the crowd, I look down and he's laid out on the ground - not moving. Some dude and I picked him up and threw him back on the stage (he weighs like 70 lbs).
Also, I swallowed a bottlecap at the Super Alright! I heart comix party - no joke dude.
Yes, thank you! The tight jeans/80s hi-top combo is the worst. Hint: many of the culprits can be found at El Chilito on weekend mornings.
If you can wear tight jeans and they look good why not wear them, I don't neccessarily dig the 80's Fat Boys Adidas but don't hate the skinnies. If you have a large ass, thunder thighs, and or gut then it may not be the look for you. Hint: You'll see my skinny culprit ass wearing tight jeans at El Chilito during weekend mornings.
thank you, bjorn. i'll be there with you.
Here's a link to the footage from Perry Farrell, Slash, and Tom Morello performing two Jane's Addiction songs.
musicplustv.com/sxsw
HA! thanks for clarifying the story, jessica! i was standing really far back in the audience and could not figure out what the hell was going on. i should also mention i was totally shitfaced at this point also.
BEST fashion observation for all of SX: What’s with the tight jeans/LA Gear boat sneaker fashion craze? Stop it.
As should all the other retro-80s crap that all the "kids" are wearing as if it didnt look shitty enough the first time. You found it at a garage sale for a reason. And no, you can't call it "vintage" and think you actually look good.
Oh yeah, Naked Cowboy. Why the eff was this guy in Austin? I saw him about a dozen times, each time with a different "video blogger" interviewing him. That's going to be quality content:
VB: You're the naked cowboy?
NC: I'm the nekkid cowboy!
Aww, give the hipsters a break! At least they don't wear Teva's or those black platform foam sole thong sandals. Plus they teach the rest of us to have good posture by walking around hunched over like Mr. Burns...and that's the girls I'm talking about.
I'd rather the whole world walk around in Depends diapers than have to see another hipster for the rest of my life.
Really, it's not me looking at the hipsters that bothers me. It's them looking at me that makes me want to annihilate them.
finding out that the film part of SXSW is way better that the music. And seeing david wain.
My boyfriend and I were getting a late night snack at the always delicious Koriente. I think it was Friday, after Thurston Moore, SHOTM, and company. As we were leaving we passed a band loading their gear into a van. We heard commotion up the street, and then shouts of Watch Out!! A mini van pulling a trailor plowed straight into the band's van. It crushed of one their drums, and pinned one of the band members in a tiny, one foot deep crevice left inside the van with the gear. If they'd loaded one more piece of equipment he would have been killed! Aparently, the run away driver hit a pedestrian just at the top of the block at Red River, too. The dude was totally passed out, and woke up a few minutes after slamming into the tour van. I don't know if the cops ever came or what happened. I don't know who the band was or what happened with them. Poor guys.
Doing shots with Blaine Cartwright of Nine Pound Hammer/Nashville Pussy. Very fun guy to drink under the table.
Hey Bjorn - My thunder thighs can kick your sorry heroin skank ass probably 40, maybe 50 yards. I'll come by El Chilito and look for you.