Hey everyone--
Well, I hate weaseldom as much as the next person (nearly had to kill some
businessy-looking chick who elbowed her way in front of me at a show and, by
way of explanation or excuse, flashed a goddamn BADGE at me). But oh my god,
what a great time. Dan Bentele said it best--if you show up at stuff early,
you'll have little or no trouble getting in to see what you want, and you'll
have a blast. It is WORTH IT, ten times over.
Let me see if I can remember what I did. Difficult, since I left my Master
Schedule in Kari's car...
Wednesday:
1. Jim Roll, backed by the Silos. Freaking incredible, great songs.
2. Brief and kinda boring time standing around in the Austin Music hall--saw
a few songs by David Garza (very Lenny Kravitz, imo), Kelly Willis, Bruce
Robison, Monte Warden.
3. Ted Roddy. Wow, extremely cool. And the Broken Spoke is definitely the
scene of scenes. Bill S. wanted to stay for Cornell Hurd, but others in the
party (including myself) were nearly unconscious from tiredness, and we went
back to the Austin Motel for some Z's.
Thursday:
1. Cherilyn's BBQ. Whole lot of fun. Saw a bunch of great bands, including
the Meat Purveyors, the Ex-Husbands, Langford with Kelly Hogan, the
Fencecutters, Jim Roll, the list goes on. Lots of dogs in attendance.
Kickass blackberry cobbler made by Jo Walston.
2. Robbie Fulks at Cheapo Records. What an outstanding performance, and
Robbie played all my requests! Every time I see him, I think he's outdone
himself, but it gets better and better.
3. Kim Richey. As usual, I hate the instrumentation on her songs (get that
damn synthesizer outta here!), but I really think she's a songwriting
genius. And her voice is soooo good live.
4. Abortive attempt to get in to see Wanda Jackson. Yeah right, "badges
only" by that late in the evening. This turned out to be serendipity,
because instead we saw...
5. The Tigerlilies. Everything Purcell has said is true. They're excellent,
a truly stunning guitar-pop band. They're also some of the nicest guys I've
had the privilege of meeting. I really wish more people had been there to
witness their set.
Friday:
1. Bloodshot BBQ. Saw Devil In A Woodpile, The Blacks (wow, love 'em!!!),
and my goddess Neko Case.
2. Left BBQ temporarily to see Hillbilly Idol at Cheapo. Definitely the
right decision. I love these guys, and the vibe was terrific.
3. Returned to Bloodshot BBQ just as the Meat Purveyors were striking their
first note. Whew, made it! They ruled. Also pogoed a little to the Waco
Brothers--sheer chaos in the tent.
4. Heard a little of Dale Watson as I shopped in Under the Sun. Bought a
waycool new-old-stock cowboy hat which allowed folks to spot me from afar
for the remainder of SxSW.
5. Hung out at Maggie Mae's the rest of the night and caught Split Lip
Rayfield (who seemed startled, yet really jazzed, to be playing to a
completely PACKED house), the Hicks (UGH! horrible!), Slobberbone (you know
how I adore them) and Pumpskully (<insert little heavy metal "horns" here>).
6. Had a bigass party outside our motel room, featuring a really fun
late-night bluegrass jam by members of Split Lip Rayfield, Slobberbone and
Hillbilly Idol. Remarkably, nobody in the motel complained. Lots of reckless
behavior, hope the photos come out well. Got to bed at 6 am. Ouch.
Saturday:
1. Wandered in and out of the Checkered Past BBQ most of the day. Sunshine,
ahhh! Caught *great* sets by Lonesome Bob, the Old Joe Clarks, Hadacol, my
hero Paul Burch, Dave Schramm + friends (damn, what a guitarist he is...a
new fave of mine), and the Silos. Also saw Souled American and the Flatirons
but was not really that impressed with either.
2. Caught a couple of songs by Wayne Hancock before heading to...
3. The Bloodshot showcase! More great music from the Meat Purveyors, the
Blacks, Neko Case, and the Waco Bros. Didn't think much of Trailer Bride
(hmmm, seems like that woman was picking up a new instrument for each tune,
and upon closer examination, they were all tuned open to different keys so
she could just lay bars on them and "music" would play). Missed the Grievous
Angels because a bunch of us went across the street to see the Sadies. I
like both, so it was six of one, half dozen of the other.
4. Fell into coma.
To all of you who I saw there, it was GREAT to hang out with you. A special
hello to Dan Bentele, whom I'd been wanting to meet for some time; to Cherry
Lou and the Meat Pervs for the excellent party; to Smilin' Jim, our
wristband enabler (I owe you a batch of cookies or something, my friend); to
the Hockeysticks, whom I miss terribly since they moved away; and to my
awesome roommates (did everyone see Marie's Most Excellent Cowboy Shirt?).
Love you all, must wrap this up now.
xx
Jamie S.
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.wavetech.net/~swedberg
http://www.usinternet.com/users/ndteegarden/bheaters
