My first stop was the Austinist & Gothamist day party at Mohawk. The first band was the Boston/Dublin quartet, The Bleedin Bleedins at 12:30pm. They didn't do much for me really with two decent songs in the set. Next was the reason I was at this day party, the Brooklyn trio A Place to Bury Strangers. These guys were loud and great with a JAMC/Joy Division sound cranked up to 10.
Next it was off to Emo's Main for the 2:55pm show of The Raveonettes. First however I caught some of These New Puritans, but quickly made my way over to Emo's Jr. to see if there was something better. I managed to catch 2 songs from Headlights and was nicely surprised. I was glad to come across this band and will try to catch a whole set this week if possible. Prior to The Raveonettes was YACHT a band with Jona Bechtolt who was previously in The Blow. YACHT is really just a guy singing over laptop music which is similar to The Blow except without the entertainment value of Khaela Maricich. The real highlight at Emo's was The Raveonettes. The Denmark duo played several tracks from their new CD, Lust Lust Lust. I've been giving this CD a good amount of play time lately and really enjoyed hearing the songs live, esp. You Want the Candy and Aly, Walk with Me.
During the Emo's shows I was joined by friends Jim and J. We next headed across the street to Emo's Annex for free Lone Star and to see the Arts & Crafts artist Jason Collett at 3:50pm. It was a nice leisurely set with tracks from his latest CD, Here's to Being Here plus a few off his last release, Idols of Exile. Next was a folky, Americana set from Sean Hayes at 4:30pm.
Next was the SESAC showcase at the convention center. I unfortunately caught one song from Akron/Family. I had only heard one of their songs previously called Phenomena which I liked. The song I caught here I found annoying to say the least. I'll be avoiding these guys the rest of the week. Based on a recommendation from Jim, we stayed for the next band Ra Ra Riot. I wasn't crazy about the lead singer, but the band had a good and fun sound plus it was different from anything else I'd heard during the day. The SESAC showcase ended with Saul Williams who blends poetry and hip-hop, but here he focused on an acoustic set. That was the conclusion of the day shows.
The night shows started at 8pm and J and G joined me at Spiro's to see a Cincinnati band called The Chocolate Horse. They had a loungy sound that included a stand-up bass and flute. After a few songs we moved over to Maggie Mae's Rooftop to see a few songs from NY band Day for Night. I'm a sucker for bands named after movies so I had an interest in seeing this band. I did enjoy the 3 or 4 songs I caught. After Maggie Mae's it was a short walk down to the Soho Lounge to see The Cotton Jones Basket Ride. This band features several members from the Maryland group Page France. Although the bands have a common singer, the sound is quite different. I'm definitely interested in hearing more from this new band.
The plan was to next see the London band Kitty Daisy & Lewis at Latitude 30. First we sat through a partial set from the Nashville band, The Young Republic. They were a large band that didn't even fit on the stage. After waiting for 30 minutes for Kitty Daisy & Lewis to setup, we finally gave up and moved on to get ready for some shows at Antone's.
The next two shows at Antone's were the gigs I was most looking forward to for the day. Unfortunately things started off badly with a long wait in line at the door. It makes me question getting a badge to SXSW when this kind of thing happens. It's only happened to me really at Antone's and the surprise Flaming Lips and Beastie Boys shows 2 years ago. Those surprise shows made sense, but Antone's seems to have a problem with getting people into their establishment. However after getting inside things improved greatly when the Glasgow band Sons & Daughters hit the stage. They were energetic as they played through several songs of their new CD, This Gift. After their set, G headed to Emo's to check out the line for the 1am Black Keys show. I stayed at Antone's and found a nice spot mid-stage to catch the London duo, The Kills. I've been into the band for a few years now and this was my first chance to get to see them. It was a great show. They had lots of energy and guitarist/singer VV (Alison Mosshart) ruled the stage. Their new songs were great, and I can't wait to get the new CD when it is released. I was also very happy to hear the title track from their last CD, No Wow.
After The Kills I started to head to Emo's but quickly found getting into Emo's for The Black Keys would be futile as they were at capacity. So I met G and J at Maggie Mae's Rooftop to finish the night with Bon Iver. It had been a long day and although I did like what I was hearing, we decided to call it a night about half way through the set. So at 1:30am after getting to the convention center at 11am to start the day, it was time to head for the land of sleep and rest up for Day 2.
Favorite of the Day: The Kills
Favorite New Find: The Cotton Jones Basket Ride
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