SXSW 2010 Day One Twitter Marathon: 27 Reports, From Andrew WK to Paul Wall
Day one of SXSW 2010 didn’t have a big show for everyone to whisper about and try to sneak into — although Lemmy’s name was bandied around quite a bit. Instead, fans of niche genres celebrated their own victories big and small. Andrew WK returned with his new band after a long hiatus, rappers Paul Wall and Chamillionaire patched things up on stage, electronic wonder Flying Lotus kicked off what is probably going to be a year of amazing hype, and indie rock buzz bands (Real Estate, Surfer Blood, Neon Indian, etc.) did their victory laps. Whatever scene you repped, there was something special to get excited about.
Chris Weingarten of @1000TimesYes began his Twitter odyssey yesterday, tweeting about 27 bands in 14 hours for @RollingStone. Get a look at the mayhem for yourself in our TwitterCam (clips range from the psych scuzz of Tobacco to the stoner metal of Priestess) and catch up on his 140-character reports here:
1) KILL THE CLIENT: Only @ sxsw can you see a grindcore band at noon on a Wednesday. Dude is currently stalking/scaring the early birds
2) YELLOW FEVER: Charming and adorable indie-poppers with hard-working drummer rocking Mario Clouds-looking sweater in 64 degree heat
3) LISSIE Country-folk outsider finds extra 10 minutes in her set; does tender, howling version of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters”
4) TV GHOST: Trashgoth frontspazz Tim Gick lurching & freaking all over the icky floor of the appropriately batcave-like Beer Garden.
5) TOBACCO: Black Moth dude bringing the scuzziest, wooziest, weirdest, noisiest dance party to a tent. Lots of bearded head nodding!
6) PRIESTESS: Punishingly loud instore at @waterloorecords w/ foggy stoner riffs, snarky fan jokes & a tutorial on changing a string
7) MATÍAS AGUAYO: Minimal techno producer plays multitasking rock star with maracas and funky slidewhistle.
8 ) THOSE DARLINS: Riotous, giddy cowpunk about DUIs and crank calls completely packs the Red 7 porch.
9) TORO Y MOI: Rising chillwaver taken aback by “the biggest crowd I ever played.” Hard to see, but making some inhuman smear.
10) REAL ESTATE: NJ’s pastoral punks look a little bored, sound a little mushy… But that might be on purpose.
11) FUCKED UP: Frontman Pink Eye says Emo’s was first place he ever went shirtless. “Fat guys everywhere felt a little bit skinnier.”
12) TORCHE: Emo’s Jr. is way too tiny to handle their enormous sludge, enormous hooks, enormous energy, enormous crowd.
13) SHOUT OUT OUT OUT OUT: Six-man discopunk crew and a mountain of gear make a patio vibrate, then make it bounce. Brbrbrbrbrbrb.
14) BALMORHEA: Austin chamber-gloomsters cast a skeletal shadow over the reverent, still audience at the Presbyterian Church.
15) HESTA PRYNN: Former Northern State MC growing into a sultry, new wavey, electro, rapcentric art-diva persona, with mixed results.
16) THE YELLOW DOGS: Iranian post-punkers ride spidery bass lines, galloping hi-hats & garage-fucked guitar. Small crowd, great sound.
17) SOKO: Parisian quirkball is equal parts Kronos Quartet, Bjork & Slits. Everyone claps along to “People are mean, people are bad.” Brilliantly nuts; ranting about Austin’s creepy love of taxidermy; singing about fellatio; “I’m French so pardon my French”
18) NAAM: Virtuosic bass crunge, ripped jeans, long hair, extended krautrock blissouts as shaggy stoner metal spectacle. Yes!
19) HERE WE GO MAGIC: Lush, complex, moody indie rockers gently woo a crowd that’s lively, chatty and reeking of weed.
20) J-ROCC: Stones Throw turntable savant spins all 45s. Packed but still room for breakdancing. Kids go bonkers for William Bell.
21) JAHDAN BLAKKAMOORE: The evocative toaster/MC/vocalist and beat polygot Shadatek are transfixing as ever, but could use a louder PA
22) HAUSCHKA: Satie feather-drops, gorgeous string plucks, transfixing rattles. Stillness is the move.
23) BRIAN POSEHN: “I’ve been to this festival a bunch of times and I can tell if your band sucks from 50 feet away.”
24) ANDREW WK: There’s pushing & shoving in parts of this club that logically shouldn’t have pushing & shoving. Andrew interviews and hugs an enthusiastic fan on stage. Thanks for coming, Chris!
25) SPOON: No shrugs or indie-cool, Britt Daniel is leather-clad, guitar-stabbing rocker in his own backyard.
26) ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE: Cosmic comedown, endless solos, “whataburger” as stage banter, actual tarot card readings by the merch booth.
27) PAUL WALL AND CHAMILLIONAIRE: One of the hotter, more electric shows of the day. And they even publicly apologized for beefing!