6 posts tagged “sxsw”

Made it back from San Antonio later than planned (that story will have to wait for another time...too much reality for a Sunday), so I missed most of the day parties and even some of the evening concerts. A co-worker friend and I met up at Auditorium Shores to see Ice Cube, then left early to catch Paul's last set at the Irie Bean. [Cube was good, but the sound setup was of lesser quality than I've experienced at the Shores before.]

Unfortunately, Paul's lead guitarist was MIA and the set was, well, the last set of many over the last several days...he's the first to admit it didn't go very well, BUT Mister Paul has a great voice with lots of range over different genres and I can definitely see him standing up well to some more back-end orchestration. I think keyboards and a horn might be in order...

Anyhow, we got there just after 9, thinking we were late, but the brother didn't go on for another hour and a half during which time the temperature dropped considerably and my friend and I were left to curse our couture. Lucky for us, I remembered I had some jackets and a fleece blanket in my car...so we ruined our look by bundling up, draping the blanket over our laps, and staying through all but Paul's last song when the wind got the better of us.

There were still a couple of shows we could have hit up, but we opted for food, conversation and relative warmth instead, ending the night at Magnolia on Congress.

I'm going to do absolutely nothing today except yoga and laundry, and food and water. I only had a glass of wine and a latte last night, but I think I'm still recovering from Friday...I feel kind of grungy and cotton-mouthed. Ick.

 

So my RSVPs to free shows paid off. Every venue we tried to get in yesterday let us in with no problems, and we saw a handful of bands, had enough free drinks to make me dehydrated this morning, and purchased 2 of the greatest meals ever, at the beginning and end of the night.

We started at Casino El Camino on 6th at about 4:30 where we ordered drinks and had fabulous burgers and chili cheese fries outside on the patio. Obviously, my nutritional rules went on hiatus yesterday. I mean, come on, free drinks and not just the cheap stuff...screw it, might as well go all the way. It was a beautiful summer day yesterday too, over 90 degrees with a breeze here and there...I was tooling around in shorts, a polo, and my sneaks and feeling mighty fine.

Then we went over the Fader Fort stage, grabbed our wristbands, and settled ourselves with drinks in time to catch The Stills, who were quite good and were great fun to watch--their faces twisting with musical angst, rocker hair tossed from side to side. I love getting to watch bands in these smaller settings where you can be right up near the stage without being jostled by bodies. Folks were just standing around these tall tables or gathered in groups, but it wasn't even crowded enough that you had to touch.

After that we walked back under I-35 to the eastside of town to relax a bit and for me to change clothes. (A decision that included a pair of heels that I later ditched for a pair of too-big chanclas, hence, the blister on my right foot this morning.) We walked back toward Town Lake/Lady Bird Lake, grabbed some more freebies and watched Amigos Invicibles give a long, non-stop show, one song leading into the other as the mark of musicians who've been doing this for quite a while and have their shite down.

Ditching the heels for the chanclas, we walked first to the Pure Volume Ranch at Fuego bar, a name too ridiculous not to mention. While the drinks were strong, the music wasn't quite my style, plus...there was another girl wearing my same dress and we kept finding ourselves standing near eachother. It just looked silly.

So off we went again, this time cutting through the mania of 6th street over to 7th and Trinity to Orchid, home of L.A.'s Viper Room Austin event. After a bit of a wait and an appropriate amount of 'tude from the door man, he found my name and graciously handed us a VIP badge that we could use again later. The band we caught there was Helmet. Yes, as in 40-plus-year-old rockers Helmet. The crowd was full of real fans, and though I'm not exactly a metal enthusiast, I grew up in El Paso, so I can appreciate the experience of a mostly well-behaved but super jazzed older metal crowd. The energy in the room was really high and infectious, but a couple of songs almost tipped the man-boys in the audience into a mosh-pit like frenzy, so we decided to call it a night after a few songs and save ourselves the bruising.

The return walk down 6th took as right past The Best Wurst, a 6th street staple I've never actually tried. Another line, short this time, $8 and two tasty bratwursts with all the fixings later, we made it back to the eastside. Tummy full and hurrying to stave off sleep, I gratefully changed back into sneaks and made the drive home.

I got to bed around 3 and was up again at 9, handling animals, etc. and planning my day which includes a drive to San Antonio to spend a few hours with my grandmother. (More on that later.) I want to back in time to beat the crowds again and stake out the right spots downtown. I have wristbands and passes to use again tonight, but the choices really are about doubled today with big name acts like 2 Live Crew (not sure if I'm interested beyond their historical significance--plus, I've already seen them), Talib Kwali, Ice Cube, and of course my co-worker's band, Paul Banks and the Carousels, who I did not get to see yesterday after all because I couldn't leave work early enough.

What to do, what to do...first things first, hydrate!

A day of working from home is almost over. I quieted my hunger (a little) with a yummy bowl of oatmeal. The weather is springy today and should be summery tomorrow--breezy, warm, and perfect for going out on the town. I should be very cheery, but I'm feeling a bit blue...or maybe just tired...but the feeling drove me to sit down and scribble a bit of a journal out and so here I am.

I had planned to try to finish this other project for my consulting gig in the next few hours so I could try to get into Austin by about 9, but right now I'd rather put my pjs on and just relax for a bit before starting to work again, only that will put me behind on finishing the project. What to do, what to do...

PJs are totally winning out. I'd have to be home early anyway. Plus, I did want to try running again tonight, but...ugh, I'm so tired. Of course, tomorrow I'm taking a half day from work to watch a co-worker's band and then intend to stay downtown anyway, and there's no way in hell I'm going to work a run in then, so I suppose it all works out. PJs now, work, run tonight, sleep.

I would also like to get a pizza from Papa Murphy's and eat the entire thing tonight, but I think that is a bad idea from a nutritional perspective. In this lead up to the Cap 10k, and other events I still haven't decided on, I'm trying especially hard to eat really well. I wouldn't call it a diet, but I am definitely wearing a nutritionist hat lately and eyeing everything through a pie chart of fats, carbs, and proteins. The other issue is that I am trying to stay hydrated, so I'm drinking water like it's my job and hitting the ladies room with corresponding frequency.

My apologies for the inane details. I actually do have topics of substance to write about, but I'm just not up to the task right now. Maybe I'll tackle those things on Monday in a sort of weekend-in-review post. 

One new development I'm not too tired to mention...I have started doing yoga in the morning first thing when I wake up. It may sound a little strange, but I like to do it in my master bathroom (which I keep very clean and is of a decent size) where the window faces east and the light increases with the sunrise. I don't put my contacts in or wear my glasses, but instead just run through my routine in semi-blindess. This sensory deprivation seems to make it easier for me to focus and to relax at the same time. It's very curious, but it works wonders for me. So far this week, the thought that I can do some yoga if I can get up in time is what has actually moved me out of my bed on time. Yes, I'm actually getting comfortable with yoga and not feeling like I want to cry when I do it. Of course, my morning routine is very simple and the poses are very modified, but I am looking forward to learning more as soon as I can. Thank you again to electric firefly and shush now for their encouragement a while back.

Ok, well that's all for now. SXSW will have to wait for tomorrow. And since I don't want to cook, I think Papa Murphy's is going to get some of my money in just a little while. I'm not actually going to eat the whole thing tonight though--if I did, I'd miss out on my other favorite way to start the day...cold pizza right out of the 'fridge!

First, I pilfered this from dreamsrundeep over at livejournal: vote yes for trees--quick before it's too late!

Grrrr...I've been too swamped with work from my second job (the consulting gig) to get to even a single SXSW event (the free ones). Still, with all the hullabaloo about the Mark Zuckerberg interview being covered via the net, I don't feel like I'm missing much yet. [For the record, I feel sorta bad for the Lacy, but I'm also pretty damn embarrassed. Yes, the audience sounds like they turned mob-jackass-mentality on her, but...I couldn't get through watching the YouTube video--I was cringing from the get-go listening to her banter. (I hate that kind of small-talk in real life anyway.) Ultimately, she did what many have done before her--she lost control of the audience. Any politician, comedian, high-school teacher, etc. knows that you can't just ignore a heckler.]

Back to the grindstone now--working on budgets for a grant proposal and still trying to get some miles in on the treadmill before bed. My mom says I'm burning the candle at both ends. I say, pardon my French...fuck the candle. I'm aiming for a bonfire. April 7 looms large mere weeks away...and still a part of me comes home hoping to see a truck in the driveway. Either I'm insane or I really loved/love that man. Sheesh.

It's SXSW time again. I was out of town last year, but I'm all primed and ready to make up for lost time. And no, I don't do the badge thing--puh-lease, those things are expensive with a capital FU.

Luckily, a friend of mine introduced me to all the side shows a couple of years ago, and that's how I'm hoping to get into the action again this year. Plus, one of my co-workers' has a band that's playing some shows too. So hopefully this coming week will have lots of music and the occassional free drink thrown in for good measure.

l culled my list of possible events from the larger list at austin360.com (this link is now fixed). Pay attention to the venues that say "Free, Open to the Public, Free Drinks."

And if you're in town for this or any other event I HIGHLY recommend a trip to Homeslice Pizza on South Congress. I was there again tonight, and it is just tasty goodness that should not be missed. They have a walk-up by-the-slice window open till 3 am on weekends--a much welcome alternative to the traditional pizza dives on 6th street and in the warehouse district.