i swear, sxsw just gets better every freaking year. writing this post (and it’s a monolith, y’all) and remembering sxsw made me feel kinda like the goonies, when they make the decision to stay on the hunt for one eyed willie and they’re all plucky and adventurous and suddenly sliding down SWEET MUDSLIDES into a glorious blue lagoon full of frickin’ rubies and it’s OUR TIME DOWN HERE. OUR TIME.
anyway
FRIDAY
you can probably tell that sxsw requires a lot of energy. where, you might ask, does this energy come from? well, first, a passion for music. obvs. second, alcoholic beverages (a universal truth). third, friendship. ha ha ok not really. that’s just me being cheesy. the third ingredient is street food!!!
ah the power of pizza on the curb!
we started off our second full day back at emo’s for a KILLER line-up. first, the pipettes, who are super super cute, british AND have matching outfits!
the pipettes: your kisses are wasted on me
they actually looked waaaay more precious at the show, cos they had pink polka dot dresses. and synchronized choreography. however, there was a pole in front of me that was not so precious, so yeah.
the ponys: double vision
after the pipettes, the ponys came on, and they were fantastic. henri thought that the lead singer seemed like a jerkface, but i thought he was cool. he smoked. and everyone knows smoking, while rocking out, is just so RAW.
however, i won’t post a picture of them here from the internet, cos they’re not v. pretty.
menomena: wet and rusting
we snuck even closer to the stage for menomena, who were just as fun and quirky and creative as i had hoped. i mean, look! they have a powder blue xylophone!!! and they play it!
i can’t believe i didn’t get one of those for my birthday.
peter bjorn and john: young folks
after a sitting break during girl talk (i know, i know, he’s awesome. but it was getting all hot and sweaty at emo’s, which basically means G to the ROSS), we made our way to the front for peter bjorn and john!
(did you just start whistling? i did. well, in my head. i can’t whistle out loud. or snap. and YES i have tried. geez).
here’s peter. or bjorn. or john. i’m not really sure.
guess what song he’s performing here:
let’s see… whistling… a shaker… WHAT SONG COULD IT BE?
seriously, this day show at emo’s was The Jam.
after it ended around 6, we walked down to manuel’s. and saw a cactus.
but it’s ok if you thought it was a pickle. common mistake.
amber’s childhood friend is a bartender at manuel’s, so FREE MARGARITAS! YES!
WRONG.
childhood friends apparently don’t know the whole “friends of friends drink for free” thing. but that’s ok. we still had margaritas (i.e. priorities).
we also ordered manuel’s super duper thick cheesy queso. it is TASTY BUSINESS.
amber defined it as Her New Favorite Food of All Time. but, if you want the truth (and you obviously do, because you’re reading my blog, and i never exaggerate), amber at first REFUSED the queso. here’s how the conversation went:
sarah: ooooh oh oh OH we HAVE to get the queso here!! IT IS INCREDIBLE! oooohh!!!
amber: i think i’m just having the guacamole. i’m not a huge queso fan.
sarah: but this queso isn’t, like, velveeta crap in a crockpot. it is THICK AND CHEESY AND AMAZING.
amber: i really don’t like queso.
sarah: ok, fine.
[queso arrives]
[amber spies queso across the table]
amber: OhMyGod WHAT is THAT?
sarah: my queso.
amber [leaning across the entire stretch of the table]: um. wow… can i…
sarah: try some? i thought you didn’t LIKE queso.
amber: i know… but that looks…
sarah: different? like i said earlier?
amber: yes.
sarah: ok, you can try some. but ADMIT I WAS RIGHT!
amber [savoring the cheese party happening in her mouth]: mmmmm you were SO right.
sarah: thank you.
so that was the “behind the music” scoop on what REALLY happened. enthralling, i know.
also, when tim drinks margaritas, he gets HYPER!
after dinner, we parted ways cos we had Conflicting Musical Agendas. henri, amy and i went to antone’s to see one of my favorite new bands, margot & the nuclear so and so’s.
margot & the nuclear so and so’s: skeleton key
they were AWESOME! the band is broken-social-scene-huge, featuring like a billion guitars, drums, a keyboard, a trumpet, a violin and a guy who just beats on a huge drum in the back and makes obnoxious comments (you can see him in the photo above, on the right). plus i totally developed a huge girl crush on the keyboardist:
isn’t she beeeeautiful? she makes me want to get my eyebrows waxed. which is weird.
when the show ended, henri and i left downtown and drove over to the blue genie warehouse for the i heart comix party. both of us were INCREDIBLY excited about this party, which featured two stages (hip hop and DJ sets), appearances by chromeo and diplo, free alcohol and tons of beautiful people. we got there around 11:00 (early) and only had to wait about ten minutes before we were IN LIKE FLYNN. then we waited about a bajillion minutes in the packed line for the bar. when i say line, i mean a huge crowd of people pressing forward as if their ALL TIME FAVORITE BAND was performing on top of the bar and THIS WAS THEIR FINAL PERFORMANCE! it was ridiculous, but when you can walk away with four free drinks in hand, you really can’t complain.
except i WILL complain. WTF, you couldn’t get a mixed drink without monster energy drink somehow being involved. gross. couldn’t they get, say, bulleit bourbon as a sponsor? please?
at this point you’ll notice the startling lack of pictures. that’s cos we decided to rely on henri’s camera for the rest of the night. which means i have to rely on henri posting said pictures on his flickr. which is foolish. but i can also steal pictures from random strangers (woo-hoo internet anarchy), so here’s the entrance to the party:
i don’t know who’s hair that is, and it kind of grosses me out.
we found j., who was hopped up on monster energy drinks (with a sparks thrown in for good measure) and ready to dance til the sun came up. unfortunately, the lights came up WAY before the sun. like, they came up at midnight. everyone paused, looked around and collectively groaned, “does this mean the police are here?”
yeppity do!
so the cops shut down the party LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME. apparently the party organizers were missing a permit, which actually happened to a few other parties during sxsw (it’s since become a Rather Big Deal). so the security guys started scooching us out, while rumors spread like wildfire about how many people were in the building and the size of the crowd outside (substantial). but we didn’t leave for another 20 minutes, cos corralling hipsters with unfinished beer is seriously harder than herding cats.
in the parking lot, everyone asked the same thing, “who knows where we can find another party?” i felt like i was stuck in one of these teen party movies that i watched as a kid, minus the broken vases and football players. FINALLY! i was at a party that got SHUT DOWN BY THE LAW! i’ve been waiting YEARS for this moment of insta-cool! YES!
anyway, we decided to try out the nylon party happening at the super alright space, which wasn’t too far away. apparently, everyone else had the same idea, so when we arrived outside of the white tent, we encountered extremely apprehensive security. the line wasn’t long, but they were NOT letting people in. hmph.
henri decided to scope the back for a secret entrance while he used the port-a-potty (EWW), and j., josh d. and i just waited. suddenly, we noticed that the people behind us had disappeared around the side of the tent. emboldened by my newly achieved Teen SuperCool, i raced past the corner with josh and j., and we SNUCK INTO THE PARTY!
I SNUCK INTO THE PARTY! I AM TOTALLY BADASS LIKE JUDD NELSON IN THE BREAKFAST CLUB!
right after i ran under the flap, i pulled out my cell phone and pretended to be bored while texting so i could blend in. another guy started to come through, and then i saw a huge burly arm grab his shoulder and yank him out. BUSTED!!! GAH the sense of danger was EXHILARATING!
j., josh d. and i huddled together:
sarah: dude! we totally got in!
josh: i know! i can’t believe that worked!
j.: awesome!
sarah: yeah! um.
josh: huh.
j.: this party seems kinda lame.
josh: totally.
sarah: wait! henri’s still outside!!!!
with a renewed sense of purpose, i texted henri and told him the situation. the security was guarding our “secret flap,” so henri would have to find a new way in. j. and i scoped out a section of the tent with no security inside, and then i had a brilliant idea. i texted “LOOK FOR MY SHOE!” then stuck my foot under the flap and shook it around.
suck on THAT, james bond.
outside, a random dude saw my orange shoe and asked, “what is that?” henri said, “MY SIGNAL!” and crawled under. on the other side, i kept watch while j. stood there and tried to look fat so that no one would see henri emerging from the floor.
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: CH-CH-CH-CHECK PLEASE!
here’s someone’s photo of the tent flap where this intense game of strategy and cunning went down:
i don’t know who this guy is (and i’m kinda glad, to be honest), but you can see that the person in the background did NOT have the advantage of my orange shoe. sorry pants!
once inside, henri and i got in the beer line but found out that we couldn’t get drinks without a stamp on our hands (from the guy at the “real” entrance). oops. but the bartender gave us two drinks anyway.
datarock: fa fa fa
the party turned out to be SO AWESOME. first, datarock came on stage (in hot red jumpsuits) and proceeded to ROCK MY FACE OFF. and, as i suspected, cobrasnake was there! he seems like a tool (surprise), but he still takes superfun pictures, and now i can use them on my blog! cha-ching!
here’s datarock:
can you find henri in this picture? hint: he has a brown hat (and you can see the top of my tan hat, too!).
ooh this is a fun game. find j.!
a few guys in the crowd got mad cray and started sort of moshing/chicken fighting/thrashing.
i’m sorry, but even the prom scene in “she’s all that” can’t hold a CANDLE to this dance party.
[also, you can see henri's arm with a camera. hee]
peter bjorn and john turned up to do a dj set, and i ran into peter/bjorn/john on the dance floor (the same guy i took pictures of). i said, “dude! you guys were great today!” and patted him on the tummy for some reason.
while enjoying the festivities, i spotted a lot of the 2007 sxsw Fashion Trends.
first, the Hoodie With An Extremely Loud Print, fabulously exhibited by the trio of DJs:
second, all of you will be RELIEVED to know that bandanas are STILL IN! as are cheap plastic sunglasses. as are… big fur hats? what? are you serious?
i actually talked to this guy when i was waiting in line for the port-a-potty– please hold… while i stuff this memory back into the abyss to NEVER THINK UPON IT AGAIN GROSS– and i had a really hard time not asking him where his pack of huskies was parked. anyway, he definitely had his fashion bases COVERED. the only thing missing is a fannypack because YES KIDS, FANNYPACKS ARE BACK. holy crap, the moment we’ve all been WAITING FOR. now my hands can be free to hold beverages while my booty is protected from moshers and unwanted advances by a soft cushion of my personal items!!!!!
anyway
the other reason the party ruled is because i ran into a girl i used to babysit!!!!! ruth and her two siblings lived next door when i was in junior high/high school, and i used to watch them all of the time. so, there i am, at the party, talking to henri, when a beautiful petite girl taps me on the shoulder and says, “sarah?” OMG IT’S LITTLE RUTH!!!! and she’s drinking a beer!!!! WHAAAA!!! i asked henri to take our picture, and then i said, “ok but put down yr beer, cos i don’t want my mom to see this.” she responded, “but i’m 21!” double WHAAAAA?!!!!
my little ruth is 21! and on cobrasnake! drinking a beer!
sweet fancy moses, i’m old. anyway, we reminisced about our times together making crafts and watching disney movies. her parents were super strict, so they didn’t even have regular tv channels. ruth told henri that i covered her eyes during “big” when elizabeth perkins takes off her top.
i totally could’ve been in the BSC, for reals.
then henri and i asked her to get us another round of beer, cos she had the stamp on her hand.
hmm. i think the BSC would’ve kicked me out for that.
all in all, it turned out to be a fantastic night: a party got shut down, a party got crashed and a girl i used to babysit got me a beer.
dang it, sxsw. you are totally my favorite.
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