SXSW 2005, It's A Wrap

March 21, 2005 | 7 Comments

As I write this I’m on a plane heading home to Seattle. I’m dead tired, sore, uncomfortable and a bit sad—but content and happy as well. This year’s trip to Austin was a great one and I’m already looking towards next year.

It was a great time seeing all my old friends and making new ones. I wish I had more time to spend with just about everyone I crossed paths with and I wish, on that level, that I had another week or too.

But I’m also glad to be heading home and having things return to normality. Instead of the usual name dropping (it was the usual suspects) let me leave you with a link to my photos and a list of some of the great (and a few noteworthy so-so) bands I saw.

An incomplete list of bands I saw

Smoosh: They were great. They seemed a bit nervous, but did really well and the crowd was into it.
Sleater-Kinney: They rocked. They played almost all new songs, which was cool, and I liked what I heard, can’t wait for the new album.
Electric Eel Shock: This Japanese trio was awesome. They’re kind of punk/metal/crazy, like say, Sum 41, but harder. And crazier. We saw them at about the afternoon. Here is a great photo of the bassist.
The Bloc Party: We actually saw them twice, once as “special guests” at a Blender event and the next day during the Spin party. Very cool live.
Panthers: I’d never heard of these guys, but they were really good. They reminded me a bit of The Divorce. Heavy, energetic, spaz-rock.
Death From Above 1979: They were way harder in real life. They were good, but you can’t hear all sorts of the nuances you get on the disc.
The Hold Steady: They were great, as expected. I’m guessing it’s big things for these guys this year.
The Futureheads: Fidget rock at it’s finest. A total blast. My favorite band right now.
Louis XIV: More proof that, as my brother likes to say, “a bad haircut doesn’t make you cool.” They were average at best
New York Dolls: Old School, but still rocking pretty tough.
Kasabian: Sounded really good, but we were a bit far from the stage.
The Brazilian Girls: Not Brazilian, not all girls, but hot, hot, hot. Great act and the best use of an Ikea lampshade ever.

Of course there were more, but these are the stand-outs. As with the interactive part, it was more about connecting with people and good conversation.

I’ve got more to talk about, and some good posts brewing, so stay tuned.

Filed under: Life and Such

Comments

1. Andrew said:

Do most people get both a conference pass and a music pass? I need to know for my next year budgeting purpose. SxSW 2006 is my year to shine … kind of.

Posted on March 21, 2005 06:15 PM | #

2. Taylor said:

All the smart people got both Andrew. Which meant like DK and 3 other people. The rest of us cried on the plane ride home because we missed so many good shows.

So yes, you should budget for both, if you like live music :)

Posted on March 21, 2005 06:37 PM | #

3. gb said:

Electric Eel Shock are one of the most entertaining bands I’ve ever seen. They played here at a tiny venue probably a year or two ago, and tore the place down.

And the drummer… well, he was only wearing a sock. Really friendly guys though. I wear my EES shirt with pride…

I’m so there next year (and for the whole thing… the music is a must)

Posted on March 21, 2005 10:11 PM | #

4. Dan said:

Glad to hear you caught some great stuff. I don’t think i saw any of the shows you did but still saw some awesome bands. I couldn’t imagine going to SXSW for interactive and not sticking round for music. But then, i did come all the way from Australia.

Posted on March 22, 2005 01:39 AM | #

5. Les said:

That sounds like some kind of sweet line up right there.

I’m sooooo going to SXSW2006…

I saw Bloc Party and The Futureheads supporting The Killers at a gig here in London a month or so ago, and I agree they are both pretty cool bands.

Another band on the ticket that night were The Kaiser Chiefs - they seemed better than Bloc Party that night, and are starting to become fairly popular over here (I think their album is doing well in the charts) - well worth checking out.

Posted on March 22, 2005 02:01 AM | #

6. Hans said:

I was just wondering if there were any of the people on my RSS-feed that stayed for the music as well. Now I know.

I saw EES here in Sweden last february, and it was perhaps the best live show I have been to, ever. Sounds alot like the gig gb went to, as the drummer was butt naked with a sock covering the essentials.

I hope that I can be apart of this great-sounding party next year…

Posted on March 22, 2005 06:20 AM | #