SXSW Spring Break Pictures

1. Bombay Bicycle Club at Red House Pizzeria

2. SUV Parked in front of an Austin Bank of America

3. Kevin and Beth at South by Wisconsin Unofficial Showcase

4. Waterloo Records Store on 6th Street

My SXSW Spring Break

Three days of my spring break were dedicated to wandering around Austin during SXSW. I had never done SXSW before, and my knowledge of Austin could only be described of as woefully inept. Sure I attended 3 days of ACL during October, but I spent most of the weekend within the confines of a bursting at the seams Zilker Park.  

I never actually hoofed around Austin’s hipster laden streets with indiscriminate purpose before,but that’s basically how the three days I spent at SXSW played out. My feet may have been sore as hell at the end of it, but I got a much more intimate look at downtown Austin and overall gained a better feel and newfound appreciation for the city.

 I shared the SXSW experience with my sister and our Bob Dylan lookalike cousin, who came all the way down from Wisconsin for SXSW. All three of us were under 21 and unfortunately lots of Austin venues are twenty one and up, which partially constrained our show selection but we still managed to see some great live music in several different venues.

In between listening to awesome music, I had some epic laughs discussing the ethos of hipsters and their love of asymmetrical haircuts (a particular pet peeve of my cousin’s). I mean how could we not discuss  hipsters, Austin was teeming with even more of them than usual. Hipsters from around the country flock to SXSW because during that week there are more indie bands per square foot in Austin than anywhere else on the planet, and by extension some world class people watching. 

FAVORITE SHOWS

Fitz and the Tantrums at Waterloo Records Showcase

We saw Fitz and the Tantrums at the Waterloo Records parking lot showcase on Tuesday. They impressed me with their stage presence and smooth Motown-esque soul sound. I would definitely see this band again if they were playing somewhere within two hours or so, because they put on an energetic live show. Here's the music video for their song "Money Grabber".



Twin Shadow at Auditorium Shores Stage

Twin shadow opened up right before the Strokes on Thursday and they put on a fantastic set. I had never seen them before and instantly became a fan of their 80s inspired danceable grooves. The show would have been incredible if it weren’t for the too cool for school hipsters standing around like immovable statues. Here’s the music video for their song “Castles in the Snow”.

Bombay Bicycle Club at Red House Pizzeria

This was by far my favorite show, because I was already a big fan of BBC. They’re pretty big across the pond in Britain and rightfully so. They have put out two great albums, one of which is all acoustic. They played an awesome mix of their electric and acoustic material in an intimate venue akin to a backyard. I could barely believe how well their sound came through live and it was obvious that they had been playing together for years. BBC played their last few songs during a beautiful Austin sunset, and it put the cherry on top of my SXSW. Here’s the video for their song “Evening/Morning”.