music

why i love sxspants: reasons 6 – 10

so, not to be rude to the first half of sxsw or anything but um, the second half was WAY BETTER. like, pants melting, face rocking, mind blowingly better.

consequently, i hope you’re prepared for the awesomeness of these next two entries.

FRIDAY (cont)

i left the show at club deville and walked over to parkside to meet erin (with a little “e”) and leah for some martinis and, of course, mac ‘n’ cheese.

it was really lovely to see these ladies and hear about their various adventures while munching on culinary delights.

reason #6 why i love sxspants: it gives me an excuse to go to parkside every single day!!

of course, we HAD to get dessert, so i feasted upon this slice of peanut butter chocolate mousse heaven (with banana ice cream!).

even though sxsw is over now, it’s reassuring to know that parkside remains, steadily serving tasty business on sixth street. I NOM YOU PARKSIDE!

outside of the restaurant, i saw the Best Metal Hair Of All Time:

never fear, you shall see this rocking gentlemen again…

in addition to mousse and mac ‘n’ cheese, my tummy was buzzing with excitement cos OMG HENRI AND I WERE GOING TO SEE THIRD EYE BLIND!

now, you may think i’m trying to be ironic here, but you guys… i’m not that cool. i *really was* excited! i mean, yes, i realize third eye blind is totally passé and super 90s, and i was not expecting to hear any earthshattering new material BUT hello “jumper” is one of the best songs (from the 90s) EVER!!!!! and i was going to finally hear it live, performed by the actual band instead of me singing it at karaoke!

i think what may shock you the most is not the fact that *i* wanted to see third eye blind– it’s that OTHER PEOPLE wanted to see third eye blind. a LOT of other people.

yes, there was a line. in fact, there were TWO lines cos people had ACTUALLY BOUGHT TICKETS TO THIS SHOW I AM NOT LYING.

they finally opened the doors and we rushed inside to what is probably the most oxymoronic show i’ve ever experienced at sxsw: it was so INCREDIBLY LAME and yet… SO AWESOME!!

the lead singer of TEB unfortunately never lost his whole 90s alterna shtick, which means that nowadays he writes songs that literally have the words “showerhead massager” in them. henri took one look and said, “you realize this guy is basically rufus from ‘gossip girl,’ right?!!”

but who cares cos THEY PLAYED JUMPER AND WE TOTALLY ROCKED OUT!!!!!!!

in fact, the following video is probably my most favorite video from all of sxspants 2009. please enjoy our outrageous dorkdom.

reason #7 why i love sxspants: i totally get to cheese out with bands from my past… and then leave after i hear my favorite song.

after the show, henri and i grabbed a quick dinner and then walked over to red river to find micael (henri’s brother). while scanning the crowd, we encountered the most amazing street performance EVER, courtsey of quaff, a japanese rock band:

reason #8 why i love sxspants: stuff like that happens. a lot.

i seriously had “shake yr booty!” in my head for hours after watching the performance. according to the flier i got, quaff “brings elements of traditional japanese music and culture into their hard hitting music and live shows. based around the japanese concept of ‘uta’ (melody) and ‘tsuzuri’ (rap), quaff rocks out with two vocalists emphasizing their japanese roots. quaff have come back to america to play their ’samaurai rock’ with their unsheathed katanas in hand!”

AWESOME.

here’s me with my favorite member of this hard hitting band!

WE ARE SO METAL!

that picture is totally getting me in to the official slash fan club, btw. like, who can rock harder than us? NO ONE! katanas unsheathed!!!!

the rest of the night paled in comparison to quaff. we checked out some comedy at the velvetta room, but it was pretty terrible (as expected) except for this dude, brendan walsh.

after enduring a particularly horrible act from this guy impersonating lou ferrigno, we decided to check out japan nite at elysium. it was fun, but the bands were certainly no quaff, so we left after one act and then i went to bed!!! which was a v. smart decision, cos i needed lots of energy to prepare for what was to come…

SATURDAY

last year, my favorite day party happened at the mohawk, and i was happy to repeat the experience in 2009. originally, henri, micael, erica and i were gonna hang out at the rolling stone party (to see janelle monae again), but when we got there, the bands sucked and lone stars cost $5. WHAAAAAAT. janelle, i love you, but i could not possibly endure two hours of that suck to see you again.

instead, we walked over to the mohawk and discovered a fantastic line-up of bands and $1 PBR! hello, rest of my day!

reason #9 why i love sxspants: dollar beers on the mohawk patio. amen.

the first act was a band i’ve been really wanting to check out– the vivian girls. they started playing and I STARTED CRUSHING!!!!!!

this band is soooo my ktru ideal. like, circa 2000-2002, i totally wanted to be a cool indie rocker chick and look just like the lead singer (she has a hamburget tattoo on her arm!! what what!!). heck, forget seven years ago, i want to be her NOW!

in spite of some instrument mishaps, the vivian girls were utterly, utterly charming, and i would totes see them again.

during our blissful time at the mohawk, we were joined by selina, who boosted our Purple Power Factor to three!!!

next up was one of my favorite bands to see at sxsw: peelander z!!!!!!!

i discovered peelander z a few years ago, thanks to my rock star pal erik, who toured with them. they are everything you want in a japanese band: ridiculous, engrishy and totally totally crazytown.

they’re also really friendly!!

did i mention the giant alien squid guitar?!

or the fact that they engage in dazzling feats of acrobatics?

HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY NEED MORE REASONS TO SEE THEM? ok FINE. here.

NOW are you convinced?!!

well, as should be OBVIOUS by now, we had a total blast watching these guys go absolutely bananas on stage. seriously, i hope they come back next year and do a battle of the bands with quaff. although i’m pretty sure i know who would dominate…

reason #10 why i love sxspants: PEELANDER Z!!!!!!

camera obscura was up next, and even though they are so v. v. delightful, it was hard to focus. i mean, where was the giant squid? the human bowling? (did i forget to mention that?)

we decided to finally leave the blissful scene at mohawk to prepare for our evening adventures… which proved to be EXTRAORDINARY!!

and you will hear about them… tomorrow!

seriously, though. stay tuned. it ended with a bang. a totally pantstastic, superstar bang.

© 2009 Poshdeluxe.