SXSW 2008

I didn't know the full Cut Copy album leaked as yet. I checked What.cd and Stmusic.org and see they only have 4 tracks available. Which site did you get the full length album from?

Are you talking about the So Cosmic mixtape or the the actual So Cosmic album with just Cut Copy songs?

 

Last night, around 12AM I saw the lead singer of Dead Confederate just walking around by himself on 6th street. I asked him if he was part of the band, and he said yea he was and said no one really recognizes him on the street. Only sometimes back home. He was a nice guy though. His name is Hardy.

I think this band is going to break out soon, as many people said their shows were the highlight of this festival.

 

My highlight this year was seeing Mark Kozelek (Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters) at Central Presybetarian Church. Other standout acts for me included:

The Tough Alliance
Cut Copy
Bon Iver
Jens Lekman
The Whip
Atlas Sound
Pigeon Detectives
Matt and Kim
Yeasayer

My lowpoint was missing the Handsome Furs concert. I actually got inside the Bourbon Rocks venue, but didn't realize the concert was going on outside on the patio. I was inside watching another band the whole time thinking Handsome Furs were just delayed. When I realized my mistake, the show was almost over. They only played 6 songs I think, and I only caught the last 1.5 songs. Kind of ruined the whole day after that.

Tokyo Police Club were great as usual. I liked Tapes N Tapes new material as well. Matt and Kim are always a riot with some of the most intense fans.

Another band I was really impressed with was that Iranian act, Hypernova. I thought it would be a gimmick act, but it was surprisingly very good. It has a Joy Division/Strokes sound to it. Definitely worth checking out. http://www.myspace.com/hypernovamusic





I was able to see every artist even before they had the showcase during those free day shows. So even if a showcase event was packed, I usually had seen the artist the day before during a free day show.

I realized you really don't need a badge or wristband to enjoy the festival, even if you are there the full week.

The festival really dies off on Saturday. I know that alot of people show up just for the weekend, but I would strongly recommend someone who is planning on attending SXSW to take some sick days and catch Wednesday and Thursday. The whole mood is different on those days and there is alot of excitement. It just feels really deflated on Friday night/Saturday.

On the whole, I think the lineup was better last year, but I enjoyed the festival as usual. I think I saw around 40 shows over the 4 days.

Rant: I saw this fat police officer giving people tickets for jaywalking. I mean, WTF. It seemed at first like he was just picking people at random. I was actually standing at a corner near the convention center waiting for someone, and in the 15 minutes I was there he gave out 3 jaywalking citations. But curiously all three of the citations were to minority groups (an Indian guy, black guy and an Asian guy). I wanted to stick around and see if he was targeting just people of color, but I had to go. Seemed kind of odd in that there were literally a hundred different people (mostly white) who jaywalked that intersection, and he would just pick out those three.

Anyways, I love Austin. The people are so nice. So much good food, music and a very laid back atmosphere.