Day 1 (Wednesday) - We arrived in Texas at the condo we had rented for the week. We decided to have some friends over to kick off SXSW right...
Jason chatting with our buddy Dave from Sony,
Classified, J-Bru and D.O. catching up.
DJ IV is stoked to be in Texas.
Matt from Living With Lions and Chad Hatcher get acquainted over a cigarette outside.
Shayne from Living With Lions and the brave girl who put the band up while they were in Austin.
Chase from LWL and I. So happy to see those guys. Unfortunately their set at SXSW got cancelled but they came to hang out anyway. I'm glad they did!
I don't know who Mic Boyd was talking to, but I made sure to interrupt.
Classified hates flying so much that he rented a car in Houston and drove to Austin, rather than taking his connecting flight.
J-Bru and D.O. lovin' their cheap US beer.
Stevie G and Landon from Living With Lions were having an in-depth conversation...
So were Jason and Tyler from Adeline. Mmmm Busch.
Nice to have the crew together for our first night at SXSW.
For some reason, when our punk bands hang out, Jason turns into an 18 year old. Steve, Loren (LWL) and Jay shotgunning beer. Scour the internet for photos of Jason doing keg stands with Summer Hero, they do exist.
Woops, Landon was there too!
How refreshing...
Then the party migrated outside. Our neighbours loved it I'm sure. Why the f&#k is Mic Boyd wearing a parka in Texas?
I eventually got woken up at 7am by the complex custodian, to clean up all the beer cans and cigarette butts from out front. Thanks everyone.
Then Wyatt and Simon from The Wooden Sky came to hang out!
Just some bros', talking about chicks and tunes.
Day 2 (Thursday) - Spent the day rolling around 6th, getting ready to head to The Wooden Sky show on North Loop in the evening...
Chase slept on our couch...for 3 days.
The aftermath...
Doesn't look as bad as it was...
I'm glad the condo survived.
Out on the down, a look up...
and a look down 6th street before it gets crazy.
weareblackbox!
We hung out at the Indie Village for an hour a day, meeting people checking out the trade show and passing out some Black Box stuff.
Pretty cool concept, wish more people had come by to take advantage.
The Austin Convention Centre, which I believe was constructed almost solely to house the SXSW Conference and Festival each year.
Balck Box and Half Life crew, wandering around Austin.
Jason and myself, our 4th SXSW!
As the day progressed, the core got busier. Lots of day-time shows and parties to attend. 6th
Street and many of the cross streets were completely shut down for pedestrian traffic.
6th Street & Red River, pretty much the epicentre of the SXSW experience.
Stopped by the Canada House, at El Sol Y La Luna to see some friends!
Mother Mother from Vancouver BC.
Mother Mother!
Mother Mother!
Just outside the venue, we found this guy freestyling to a beat/808 that his friend was operating (sitting on the ledge). Good thing D.O. didn't see, he'd be up for the challenge...
Oh wait, there he is.
The crowd built steadily, but we had to scoot! I'm not sure if D.O. survived the battle...
We found The Wooden Sky hanging at the MuseBox day party. Kip and Simon.
Gavin makes a grand entrance, holding a Heiny. Or two.
Simon looked confused that I kept pointing a camera at him.
Gavin and Wyatt, deep in conversation. They were serving hot dogs, but ran out of buns.
Ian and Stevie G!
For dinner, we walked down to the Ironworks, which is basically the craziest BBQ joint in the city. Want to see what the food looks like? Stay tuned, I went again the next day and took photos...
At night, The Wooden Sky played an off-site showcase for MeowPoww.
All 7 people in attendance loved it.
Following the set, we tried to venture back to the strip to catch Meat Puppets...but that didnt happen. Here's the journey.
Back to the hotel where we waited for the SXSW shuttle...
...and waited...
...and waited. And missed Meat Puppets. Oh, here comes the shuttle now!!
We had the whole shuttle to ourselves.
Wyatt and Kip held hands...
Gavin held on for dear life.
So we missed Meat Puppets, but Steve and I DID make it in time to see Margaret Chow unexpectedly open for As Tall As Lions. Her song was about penises. The whole thing. All 5 minutes of it.
As Tall As Lions made me very happy.
If you haven't already, go pick up their self-titled CD. The addition of a trumpet player and keys has really taken the live show to a new level. So good!!
After ATAL, we went over to the Rhymesayers showcase to try and find Shad. What we found first was P.O.S., who had the crowd hype as hell.
He's the only other rapper on this year's Warped Tour. Check him out. He has Jason Shevchuck from Kid Dynamite on his record...for real!
Then we found Shad!!
We wandered back to the Canadian House at El Sol Y La Luna.
Saw some big band that was tight, but not really my thing. Lets go outside and see whats up!
OH! It's DJ T-Lo and David from Hey Ocean!
And Adam and G!
Rolling with the Shad and Hey Ocean! crews down 6th Street. Where'd Shad go?
Oh, there he is. That's some real authentic Texas eats right there.
Oh, I found Stevie G hanging out with Boggs. He appears markedly more intoxicated since I last saw him...
I've done everyone the courtesy of leaving out photos from the after hours bar we went to, where Steve attempted to make nice with a 40 year old cougar...
Boggs and Steve discussing the evening's events.
A shot of the most majestic building in downtown Austin.
Day 3 (Friday) - Busy Day, Classified, Shad & The Wooden Sky all had their showcases. We pick it up around 6pm - we just layed around in the condo most of the day, did another quick stop at The Indie Village, and rested up for a crazy night.
The Wooden Sky loading in at their venue, Volume.
The Painted Birds were soundchecking as we loaded in.
Out back of Volume with Guillaume, trying to decide where to go for dinner.
Ooh ooh! I know! Let's go BACK to the Ironworks!
Simon wasn't sold on the idea.
But I was. Round two baby!
Family dinner with The Wooden Sky!
Following dinner, I hustled over to Wave to catch Shad's first set of the night.
Hey Ocean and DJ T-Lo backed him, the room was packed by about mid-way through his set.
Great industry turn out. Very happy. Expect "The Old Prince" released in the US in time for Warped Tour this summer!
Friday Night - a look up...
...and a look back down 6th Street. It's like Mardi-Gras!
Back to Volume to hang out before The Wooden Sky's set!
Dan Mangan & friends, singing "Robots" - really fun. myspace.com/danmangan
Steve, Kip and Margie hanging out on the patio before the set.
Wyatt and Simon getting psyched up!
Beast performed right before The Wooden Sky. Really good!
They were nominated for at least one Juno, so go check them out if you haven't already.
The family, including Chase from Living With Lions.
Setting up. Is there such thing as TOO MANY instruments?
Anissa from Ohbijou played cello as well!
Playing songs from their new record, should be out this summer.
People seemed to be very impressed.
Great energy, the sound was awesome. Overall, a successful set.
Hey Ocean! played after The Wooden Sky, and Shad showed up to guest on their track "Vagabond". You can hear it at myspace.com/heyocean.
Shad spittin' it, Ashleigh flutin' it.
More spittin' and flutin'.
After Hey Ocean and The Wooden Sky, we ran over to Music Gym Patio for the hip hop showcase, which featured Shad and Classified. J-Bru gives us his bedroom eyes.
Thats more like it. Shave that goatee, though.
Big-I (their nickname for me, not my own!), J-Bru and Chad Hatcher.
While I was hanging with the dudes, Jason was trying to figure out how the show got to be over an hour and a half behind schedule. This is how stoked he was.
Josh Martinez went on with Skratch Bastid right before Shad. They played a shorter set to try and speed things up. Thanks guys!
Next, Shad went on for his 2nd set of the night, once again with DJ T-Lo and Hey Ocean! backing him up.
Shad rocked a hot set. Again, lots of people out to see him.
Shad, rhyming with his guitar.
Oh look, Living With Lions came to hang out!
Classified finally go on, about 40 minutes late after Josh Martinez and Shad graciously cut their sets a little shot to help us out.
Mic Boyd and J-Bru hyping. The crowd was small, but enthusiastic.
Girls just love to dance to hip hop.
Post-show, back at the condo. Half Life crew had to catch a plane to Boston at 5am, so they stayed up all night.
Wendy's, some more authentically Texan cuisine.
Hey IV, what do you have in your hands there...?
Everyone's tired face.
Day 4 (Saturday) - Significant sleep-in occured Saturday morning. Classified and crew made it out to their flight. We tried to hook up with The Wooden Sky but they had gone swimming in some pond outside of Austin, so we found our own swimming hole.
Our buddy Joe and Steve hangin' by the pool, which was a tropical 60 degrees F.
Chatting by the pool.
A better look at the condo complex we were in.
Jason, mid-story.
Saturday night brought some stressful business, but after we sorted that out, it was time to head out on the town to blow off some steam.
Holy shit, is that the guy from The Darkness?
It totally is the guy from The Darkness! I can't wait to hear "Get Your Hands Off Of My Woman" and "Thing Called Love"!
What? They don't play The Darkness songs? F&$k this.
We slipped back across the street to the Canadian House, where we found Arkells!
I hadn't seen them in a while, great set. I also ran into Narduwar, and my buddy Jake from California. 5 stars!
Jason and G hangin' outside having a smoke. Another libation, Jay?
Caught the Bedouin set - first time I've seen them since SCENE Festival '07.
Amazing set!
The horns made all the difference for me. I really came away with a better appreciation for BSC.
Me, T-Lo and Shad, hangin' outside El Sol.
After Bedouin, I went to find the elusive Wooden Sky dudes, who I found hanging in the artist lounge tent, where they serve free alcohol all day and night (maximum 2 at a time).
As you can see, The Wooden Sky took full advantage.
Gavin decided to pee on the fence at the artist tent, which a bunch of rickshaw drivers took serious offence to. Don't worry Gav, those Texans just gotta loosen up.
Back at the condo, Steve (though not drunk) fell asleep while texting...
Fast asleep. Well he's boring. I went outside and left Steve alone with Darrin Pfieffer. What could go wrong?
Jason appears to have de-stressed a bit.
Joe and Nathan stopped by for some pops!
Joel seems in good spirits. Let's go back inside to check on sleepy-Steve.
Uh oh...
Should I put down the camera and help Steve?
Nah. He's the one that passed out in the presence of Darrin Pfieffer.
Good night Steve.
Day 5 (Sunday) - Sundays at SXSW are really quiet. All the streets are re-opened, all the crowds have disappeared. After a whirlwind couple of days, we decided to take it easy.
A look up 6th Street on Sunday.
We found some friends hanging by the pool at their hotel!
Jeff and Jason put some Bud on ice for the afternoon.
Joel, you can't tan with a t-shirt on.
Jay wandering over after determining that the pool is too cold to swim in.
But it didn't stop Jeff!
Loungin'. I think Steve shaves his chest.
Yeah, he definitely shaves his chest.
Shad and his crew stopped by to hang for a bit, before heading to Houston to catch their flights home.
G and Steve.
T-Lo and Jason.
Shad sure is over-dressed for pool-side loungin'.
G and Steve, discussing the fact that Steve shaves his chest.
Ian needs to shave his FACE.
Jay just about sums it up for all of us in this one photo. Lets head back to our hotel!
STEVE, WE GET IT. PUT YOUR SHIRT BACK ON.
SXSW tradition - go to Buffalo Billiards for some hang-outs and bar games. Nathan, bring the beat back!
Oh good, Steve put his shirt back on.
Jay and Steve went big-game hunting. Take that PETA.
Jay looks a little TOO into big game hunting.
Then we ordered some terrible, terrible food.
Pfieffer and Joel approve though.
Darts anyone?
Is anyone even good at this game?
Aim for the board, not for Steve's hairless chest.
6th Street on Sunday night.
Always my SXSW highlight - SHUFFLEBOARD! I can't wait until I'm 80 and that's ALL I do.
Thats about it. Monday we flew home, and Tuesday we were back to the grind. Thanks for checking out our weekend. I'm going to try to do this for any trips we go on. Visit weareblackbox.com for all the latest!
Ian.
