David's SXSW Journal, Part 4
DAY FOUR
The first (and only) day of the festival where none of us have any obligations, we all go our separate ways to catch whatever shows we can. Collins and I end up at a J. Roddy show that, in the spirit of the festival, is at 2 PM and boasts an audience comprised almost entirely of people walking down the street who are drawn in by the superior quality of the music. The crowd loves these guys, and by the time they’re done, an electric, joyous feeling surges through every person in the room. Maybe the club spiked their beer with ecstasy, too.
Up next is Grand Archives and Sea Wolf at the Filter Magazine party. More than anything, I’m there to meet my friend Dominique, whom I’ve heretofore only met via e-mails through our mutual friend Hrishikesh Hirway, a.k.a. The One AM Radio. Dominique ends up being totally great and also leaves me feeling completely jealous that she’s seen The Constantines not once but twice during the week, whereas as I have seen them zero times. Clearly, I messed up and she did not.
I did not see these guys at SXSW
Grand Archives are great and have obviously played a show that Ray Ban sponsored, as they’re decked out in shiny new Wayfarers. The harmonies are really lush and beautiful, but I’m faced with a certain amount of cognitive dissonance, as the music is this glistening 70s pop played by a bunch of dudes who look like they just got done fighting Patrick Swayze in Road House. Rock n’ roll is a medium of dichotomies, though, so whatever.
Patrick Swayze is bound by bouncer law...
...to fight dudes who look like this
Sea Wolf are also really enjoyable, but it’s hard for me to give the music my full attention, as the lead singer looks exactly like Gary Sinise. This isn’t one of those resemblances that we all have where there’s this friend who, if you squint your eyes and imagine slightly longer hair and a different nose, faintly looks like Jimmy Smits or whomever. This guy absolutely is Gary Sinise. I’m not really sure what to do with this, of course, as I have few opinions one way or the other about the actor, but still, I’m kind of dumbfounded. I wonder if this guy feels like it’s a cross to bear? Are there ever any perks? I think the band is from LA…does it help him get tables in restaurants, or prompt service in bars? What would it be like if you were the spitting image of the guy from Apollo 13?
Alex Brown Church of Sea Wolf...now, if only Universe, you've done it again!!!!!!
had a picture of Gary Sinise in a similar pose
In the evening, we venture across the UT campus to see Danny Malone play again. Matt joins him onstage for a second time. As expected, the show is awesome. Danny’s family is there and, while I’ve been conditioned by my own family to hate that sort of thing, Danny’s crew is really very sweet. It’s hard to adequately put into words, but the whole performance is suffused with an air of tenderness that I don’t really see at shows, ever. The only photos I get are of an addled biker dancing with Danny’s sisters.
Curiously, this is a photo of Danny Malone's
show and not a still from "Road House"
It is at this point that I realize I’ve missed the High Times Day Party. I’m especially upset about this as one of our friends was going to be honored for growing “The Fourth Dankest Strain in Austin.” Rod points out that anyone using the word “dank” in a sentence, even if only to describe a basement or moldy carpet, is demonstrating probable cause for search and seizure. You can’t use that word and, at the same time, maintain that you have never been a pothead. I get depressed that I missed the event, but then hit upon the pun “There Will Be Bud,” and try to wedge it into every conversation I have for the next several (read: 24) hours. Will, later in the evening, takes me aside and gently tells me that some frat guys thought of that months ago and have already put something up on YouTube. I am now crushed.
Previous segments of the SXSW Journal: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Shows
Summer Shows TBA
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