On my final day, I had very few plans to see specific bands. Sometimes that’s a beautiful thing because you can float around and respond to text messages that say “I’m watching a great band right now!”
Which is exactly how I found Little Comets, an excellent UK pop band. I literally ran a few blocks to catch the end of their set and it was exhilarating pop that had the whole crowd up and going – a monumental task considering that everyone has been up late for about a week with little sleep at this point. (They even mentioned how nice the folks are in Austin, comparing them to their “known for being nice” hometown of Newcastle).
After a failed mission to see another band recommended by a friend, I settled on getting some shaved ice before I noticed the venue across the street had two stages. I popped inside and ended up seeing one of my favorite bands of the trip, Wolf Gang. The singer grabbed me instantly — he had great charisma and a killer voice. And I was whistling their single when I woke up the next morning – as big a compliment as I can give a band.
Their album doesn’t come out until June but I’m really looking forward to it.
Outside we caught a bit of the Boy & Bear’s lovely harmonizing before heading back to Filter Magazine’s Cedar Street showcase for the final band of the festival Little Dragon. They never cease to amaze me. That’s all I can say.
Last but not least, I was determined to check out the newest venue in town – ACL Live’s Moody Theater, which opened just a month ago and is where they tape the live performance show Austin City Limits. I got a tour of the venue which ended with me watching Liz Phair from sidestage. She was one of my early rock ‘n’ roll heroes as a teenager, and when she kicked off her set with my favorite “Supernova”, I knew that I had seen my final show at SXSW. Aside from dancing in the street with hundreds (maybe thousands?) of other people to DJ Jazzy Jeff on my way home, that was another SXSW come and gone.
Wrap ups from the whole KCRW team coming soon.
RR
