I've been a little off the radar with music this year. Spending the year at Stanford, I haven't had the chance to get to any shows in the Bay Area. Yes, I know. Lame. I hope, hope, hope to remedy that soon, at least trying to get to one or two shows in San Francisco before I leave the area for good in June.
But I did get back to Austin for SXSW last week, which means I had a bit of a chance to make up for lost time. My main objective was focused on Interactive and what my students were doing at sxtxstate.com. When that was over, it was time for fun and music. And I did see some great shows.
During Interactive, I was happy to catch Band of Heathens at the Spredfast party at Speakeasy.
Rhett Miller was in town, so of course I saw many of his gigs. He played six in two days, also appeared on a panel. Rhett was promoting the new Old 97's album coming out in a few weeks called Most Messed Up. He sounded great, and the new tunes are rockin'.
A real highlight was getting to see Side Effect, a band from Myanmar, first from this country ever at SXSW. The boys in this band had to overcome great hardship in getting to SXSW, but it was worth it. They rocked BD Riley's and then had a great week playing around Texas. So happy to have been at this show!
Universal Music Group had some great day parties at Palm Door on 6th. I got to see some acts I hadn't seen before, including The Colourist, American Authors, The Kooks and Parade of Lights.
Made it to the showcase with Phantogram and Snoop. It was on a parking garage roof.
And I had to show up for my friends in Quiet Company - saw them a couple of times, closed out the festival with them on Saturday night, which is becoming a tradition. They have some new tunes and are working on a new record that I can't wait to hear.
We were all saddened by the terrible crash that occurred on Red River on Wednesday night, someone evading arrest drove through the barriers, taking the lives of three and injuring many others. This senseless act shouldn't happen at an event that has always represented fun and community. We are all still shaken, and my heart goes out to those affected by this tragedy.
