SXSW Music 2005

Photo Gallery Wednesday

The weather was crazy, either it was just perfect or awful in some way (too cold, storming, hailing, windy, etc. Wednesday was a "too cold" weather day. I'm not even sure if it made it into the 50s and was overcast and windy. brrrr.

Started out at Threadgill's where they had a different performer every 20 minutes. Gurf Morlix was the highlight with a gripping version of Dylan's "With God on Our Side", with very much the same vibe as the original. Jeff Plankenhorn was great accompanying on dobro and guitar. Saw Beaver Nelson, Jean Synodinos, Jeff Plankenhorn, the Hummingbirds, Michael Weston King, Elizabeth McQueen, Michael Fracasso, Brian Keene, Mary Battiata, Dickie Lee Erwin, Crissy Flatt, and Gurf. Then we went out for pizza.

Next thing up was the Austin Music Awards. We were ticketed, so they let our line in first and we got front row seats. They always have an interesting lineup. New Austinite Pinetop Perkins played some unaccompanied keyboards, which was more of a novelty than anything. The biggest novelty act was Daniel Johnston, who I think should have been limited to one song. It was very sad and uncomfortable to watch and listen to him. His 3 songs were unmerciful. I believe knowing his history is probably a requirement, and one that we were missing. Enjoyed Alvin Crow's Hard Core Country Band, I was brought up on all those old songs by Jimmie Rodgers, Bob Wills, and George Jones. Patricia Vonne helped out on the female version of Honky Tonk Angels. Alejandro Escavedo and John Cale played well together doing some soulful and pop orchestral pieces, ending with a really nice performance of Hallelujah. I was looking forward to seeing Nanci Griffith for the first time, and she sang very well but seemed to be mad about something. Maybe it's just part of her personality, I don't know. The fun part was that she played with the Crickets — the real Buddy Holly Crickets. They were a sure thing!

I love watching the Awards because I love my local bands. Eric Johnson got Musician of the Year (as well as Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Website, Chris won for bass and Tommy for drums)! I was thrilled and stunned by the Musician of the Year award! I did not see that one coming. Best Website is a great one too, because I do Flash and graphics for it (and interview transcription), so it's a win for the team even though the Chronicle left it out of their printed and online listings!! A secret winner. The Awards always remind me that there are lots of bands I haven't seen yet.

After the Awards, I just HAD to go over to the Continental Club at midnight to see the Iguanas from New Orleans. They were very good and did not disappoint, but in retrospect I missed out on a little sleep I needed for the next morning which was starting REALLY early. We got in about 12 hours of music, followed by 2 hours of sleep.

Photo Gallery Thursday

Thursday was a beautiful weather day. Got down to the Four Seasons Hotel at 7:00am (OUCH!) for the KGSR morning show. We mainly wanted to see our friends, the awesome Greencards, and they had a lot of other good folks playing too: Jennifer Glass, Shannon McNally with Charlie Sexton, Reckless Kelly, and Robert Earl Keen. Each band played a couple of songs. It was an incredible schmoozefest, kind of a backstage/living room experience. I watched most of it beside Lyle Lovett's chair. He was in town for something film-related and is probably a morning person because he was just there to watch with the radio crew. Thanks, KGSR!

On to the Twangfest Party at Jovita's. We got there at 11:00am, an hour before the music started, which let us get the best table in the house (adjoining the stage on the far right, always an unobstructed view) and have a nice relaxing lunch. By 3:00pm people were ready to kill us for that table. The entire place was packed in like sardines. The other reason we looked like dead meat was because you couldn't get food served without owning a piece of table, and I was saving a little real estate for a friend. We survived the afternoon, nobody starved to death, and we saw some excellent bands: Steve Wynn, Caitlyn Cary & Thad Cockrell, Richmond Fontaine, Bottle Rockets, and one my favorites, Calexico. There are more band pics on my Calexico page. It was a rockin' afternoon and we called it a day after 11 hours of music.

Photo Gallery Friday

Friday had beautiful weather! We started out at Maria's Taco Xpress for the Sin City party. Really enjoyed Collin Herring from Ft. Worth and the Hacienda Brothers from Tuscon. Had some tacos and headed for South Congress. cruised Yard Dog, hate that damned tent but they had excellent free beer at what I think was the Bloodshot party. Went to Guero's and Jo's (where Gary Primich was playing) before going over to Threadgill's.

There was a great lineup there, as there was every day. First time to see Asylum Street Spankers and Todd Snider. Both were hilarious! Also loved the Greencards, South Austin Jug Band, and Slaid Cleaves with Jeff Plankenhorn.

We headed out to try and catch James McMurtry at the Texas Music Cafe, but it was jammed to the gills. We got some Amy's ice cream, and listed to the show from the top of a wall on the other side of "Hillbilly Lane" until the automatic sprinkers came on!! Oh well... it must have been time to call it a night anyway. We got about 11 hours of music in.

Photo Gallery Saturday

This was a wierd weather day. It went rapidly back and forth between chilly and hot, then ended with a drenching rainstorm. In the morning we took part in the anti-war march, which I didn't think had received enough press. We marched in a serpentine route which included 6th street, and ended up at City Hall. It being Austin, of course there was good live music from Eliza Gilkyson, Slaid Cleaves, and James McMurtry.

The next and final stop was Auditorium Shores (on Town Lake) where SXSW was having showcases. Poor Calvin Owens Blues Orchestra! Their sheet music and ultimately their show was a victim to the wind and rain as they managed to get through their first (and last song) under horrible conditions. The storm had showed up just as predicted, and we hunkered down and got soaked to the skin! Spirits were high, and most people stuck around. The T-shirt vendors made a little money from people who just needed something dry to wear.

It takes more than that to make me give up on the opportunity to see Del Castillo, and they played a fantastic show (after a short set from Alexi Murdoch) when the rain finally offered a break and a huge rainbow appeared in the sky — one with a pot of gold at each end. For more pics of this band including this show see my Del Castillo page. If there was a pot of gold there, it would be this band. We had an absolute blast. That's it for south-by 2005.