Thursday, March 17, 2011

LOL/OMG/SXSW Day #2: Gayngs, Solid Gold, Rafael Saadiq

Our girl-on-the-scene Robyn Lewis checks back in from Austin, TX! Follow her antics live a @LOLOMGSXSW.

SXSW Day 2: 4am / March 17th

It's 4am and I'm still buzzing from today's festivities. Okay, fine, maybe that's not really why I have a buzz. But still. Today was epic, and I have the 20 wristbands to prove it.

The morning (ahem, afternoon) started out peacefully, with a delish Mexican brunch with friend/SXSW hotel mate Ben Clark and Gayngs dudes Justin Vernon and Ivan Howard. After filling up on tex-mex and margaritas, another day of mayhem awaited.


With the record number of Twin Cities bands, artists, media, friends, and music nerds in Austin this year, its impossible to throw a rock without hitting someone you know. Its a good thing i didn't try it out, because upon leaving the restaurant we ran right into...Ryan Olson and Mike Mictlan.


Ben and I decided to dip into the Paste party where Trampled by Turtles were finishing up and Jeremy Messersmith was about to take stage. After a short but sweet set by Jeremy, with his string section performing from the audience, it was off to mini-Williamsburg Fader Fort to check out Friendly Fires (meh), the Joy Formidable (dece) and Twin Shadow (awesome). We ran into a severely sunburned Sims; and Ryan Olson gave some autographs.



Dusk came and it was time to drop by the official Doomtree showcase at Flamingo Cantina, a charmingly non-ironic Floridian-themed bar on 6th, in time to see the first ever performance of Four Fists, a new collab featuring P.O.S. and Astronautalis. The place packed in fast as the two mixed brand new material with spitfire freestyling. I was definitely among the impressed. Look for a release sometime this year.



It was time for dinner, so I grabbed a wiener at a Best Wurst food truck and dipped into Red 7 for a secret Gayngs set at the Jagjaguar label showcase, and then ran down the block to Stubb's for even more sex music from old school R&B/Soul/Funk powerhouse Rafael Saadiq. You may remember him from such bands as The Ummah and, um, Tony! Toni! Toné! Pretty sure all 2000 people watching his show had their damn minds blown by Saadiq - I know I did.



Despite my unfuckwithable spot at Stubb's, I decided to head back to Red 7 to meet up with Sonia Grover to take in one of our mutual favorite bands, Okkervil River. (Sorry, Duran Duran) as well as Small Black, one of my fave bands from Brooklyn.


...Then raced back to Flamingo to catch a bit more Doomtree, and THEN caught a rickshaw over to Karma, Austin's Premier Upscale Lounge, for last call and Solid Gold.


After the last show of the night, our now enormous crew spilled outside and hung out like a bunch of drunk hobos on the street corner, laughing, wrestling, and causing a general ruckus. We got our SXSW Class of 2011 photo taken by MPLS.TV, and Ciaran Daly tackled a shirtless Har Mar Superstar to the ground and almost got bitch slapped by Spyder. Yeah, that happened. Hugs were exchanged and everyone finally went off into the night.





On our walk (stumble) back to the hotel, we followed our noses to a literal Food Truck City, shilling everything from waffles to tacos to gourmet sliders. It sure was a sight for drunk eyes.


And that about sums up day 2 at the shitshow rodeo. If i wasn't blogging this right now (like every other nerd at the festival), I'd have jumped the fence at the afterparty to avoid paying the cover and be drinking vodka 4-loko cocktails and be making out with some cowboy who proclaims that everything is bigger in Texas.



Follow Robyn's antics live at @
LOLOMGSXSW

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