SXSWON

This South by Southwest fest has been one of the better in my last five years of attending. Granted that I live here in Austin, I am subjected to great live music every day for the entirety of  year, yet in this one week of fury I manage to fully surround myself with great new and unseen acts.  I had a completely metal Southby, and am so exhausted and drained after numerous shows and parties. Venues spring up in parking lots, tattoo parlours, and bars that are otherwise forgotten about any other week. I had friends come in from LA, Colorado, and Chicago for the madness.

I have been listening to The Faceless nonstop after the Sumerian Records showcase on Wednesday. While they had graced my ipod for over a year with high praise, it was after seeing them live that I truly understood the magnitude of talent that these gentlemen have. Unbelievable, so much so that I saw them the following day at a WSOU radio showcase with a free open bar! Needless to say, after a few drinks and meeting the mysterious faceless men, my SXSW was already going to be incredibly hard to top.

I spent the rest of Thursday wandering the trashed 6th street of my hometown, with one of the best ladies around. We managed to sneak into a showcase just east of the interstate, and were again surrounded by music. Gogi and I crashed a rad show on East 7th and ended our day with more friends and loud bass. Friday was spent working for Laced With Romance! I was a liason around town for the day party the store was throwing. I put up posters, passed out flyers, and was given free fried chicken with macaroni and sweet tea! Not a bad deal, work isn't always hard. I met up with my best friend Sarah at Trip Crown Tattoo Parlor for a local showcase. Our friends Pack of Wolves played an amazing show and we were pleased with again, more free beer.

A few runs to Spiderhouse for drink tickets, day shows at the store, short naps, and more Pack of Wolves later, I am done with my week of music and not at all ready to go back to school. I have to work in half an hour, and I haven't even gotten out of bed for the day. Blame it all on Faceless interviews and no motivation!