And above, that's Aaron Hartley, Caitlin Rose and Jordan Lehning at the Austinist party at Mohawk. Yup, this was after several hours of free booze.
Here We Go Magic at the Austinist Party at the Mohawk. They were pretty fantastic and an excellent way to kick off the day - in fact, I really wouldn't mind seeing them again sometime this week (I have a feeling I'm going to be saying that about most people I go see, and I doubt I'll get the chance to see many of them twice). They played a pretty short set and since most of their songs are pretty long, I think it only ended up being four or five songs. I never really loved "Fangala" that much before I heard it live, but I found myself walking around yesterday singing it at odd times. Definitely recommended if you're thinking of checking them out sometime soon.
Caitlin Rose at the Austinist Party at the Mohawk. It seemed like the only people in the room were Nashville folks when she started, but by the time the band outside finished and she was nearing the end of her set, the room was pretty full. And she slayed - I know I see her all the time in Nashville, but every time I catch a performance I'm reminded how completely charming and funny and talented as hell the girl is. She actually got a room full of people to sing along to "Answer in One of These Bottles," and then did a song acapella with just her tambourine. I could see people around me holding their breath.
J. Tillman at the Austist Party at the Mohawk. J. Tillman was the first of my top four that I got a chance to see, and I have to say I was a little nervous that I would be disappointed because I was SO looking forward to seeing him play. But there was absolutely no reason to be concerned - even before he began to play, the moment he opened his mouth and began to talk, my sister and I looked at each other and said - "I love him already." I keep saying that he deserves Ray Lamontagne's fame because he's basically everything you wish Ray Lamontagne was - he has an absolutely stunning voice, he's charming and funny and seems just the teensiest bit uncomfortable on stage, and he completely captivated a room jam-packed with people. And he played in his socks, which will always manage to win me over. I know already that him playing "Vessels" will be one of the absolute highlights of the festival for me.
Found the Ice Cream Man!
One of the Horse Feathers with his banjo. After J. Tillman, I popped over to Club Deville to check out a little bit of Horse Feathers' set, and kind of wish I had been there to see the whole thing. They sounded phenomenal, but after being hypnotized by J. Tillman for 45 minutes or so, they didn't really reel me in as much as I hoped they would. Part of it was probably context too, a lot of the really low key musicians have to contend with chatty crowds and sunshine-y midafternoon stages, and I would really like to see Horse Feathers in a dark, quiet setting. I'm hoping to get a second chance to see them this week too (see, I told you I'd say this again and again).
Vetiver on the other side of the bar. I ran back to the Mohawk after Horse Feathers, and found that Vetiver had started a little bit early even - and the tiny indoor room was so packed I couldn't get anywhere near the front of the stage. I opted to watch from the side instead, from the other side of the bar, and though I couldn't hear as well as I would have liked, I pretty much fell in love with them even at a right angle to the stage. I've been playing the crap out of Tight Knit lately, but I didn't really expect them to rock out as much as they did; they sounded great and definitely had people dancing a bit.
I caught Elvis Perkins in Dearland afterward too, but didn't get a chance to take any pictures - we were in the midst of a drunken Nashville reunion and to be honest I half-listened. The new tunes sounded great though - "Doomsday" is a fantastic song to hear live.
Protoman & Wife - Tracy Moore and Lance McDonald en route to Meatfest 2009.
Meatfest 2009 at Ironworks.
Two Howlies and friend at Central Presbyterian Church for M. Ward and Department of Eagles.
Department of Eagles in the dark. After dinner, I hustled over to the Central Presbyterian Church to catch a show that featured two more of my top four bands - M. Ward and Department of Eagles. First up was Anni Rossi, who pretty much shredded on her violin and used the awesome acoustics to showcase a set of pipes that would rival any church organ. I'm definitely starting to fall a little bit more for girls who can really, really sing.
M. Ward though - that just about did it for me. I tumbled from the show immediately after he played, and I guess it's kosher to quote myself, right?
M. Ward = the greatest thing I've seen in ages
Him, with just a guitar - and then just a piano - in a darkened church with the most perfect acoustics… I almost forgot what a show like this feels like. It probably feels like what other people feel in church on a non-sxsw day, ironically enough. Department of Eagles is next. And you can bet i’ll be here to see Grizzly Bear in this venue tomorrow night.
I'm not kidding - the M. Ward show is a show I'm going to remember for the rest of my life. The combination of the music and that setting and my relatively recent crazy love for him just came together in the most perfect, perfect way possible for my first M. Ward show. I don't think anything could possibly, possibly top that this week, although I've seen some amazing music.
Department of Eagles were ALMOST as amazing, definitely way, way more intense whereas M. Ward was kind of quietly powerful in the dark, if that makes sense. My only complaint is that they played a jazzed-up version of "No One Does It Like You," which I have obsessed over so, so much that I really wanted to hear it the way it was recorded. But it's okay, because seeing them live made me fall in love with other songs on the album that I hadn't appreciated as much - particularly "In Ear Park." And I had no idea that Dept. of Eagles did all kinds of crazy recording/looping vocal stuff live, which was amazing, and sounded ethereal in the church. Seriously can't wait for Grizzly Bear there tonight.
Phosphorescent at Club Deville, running through almost the entirety of To Willie. After Dept. of Eagles, the Howlies boys and I hustled over to Club Deville for the Brooklynvegan showcase. We got there just in time for Those Darlins and another Nashville reunion, and the three girls (and Linwood) absolutely tore shit up. Austin is certainly their kinda town, and I really will not be surprised if they head back to Nashville with a fleet of brand new fans.
At that point, it was just about midnight and I knew I needed to get a good night's sleep before the panel this morning (which went beautifully, by the way - I'm finally finishing up this post around 2 p.m.), but I couldn't bail knowing that Phosphorescent was set to go on. The band attempted to run through the entirety of the new album To Willie, but they got cut off before they could finish, so they played all but two songs. Phosphorescent is one of my favorites and they were a highlight of last year's festival, and last night was no exception. I need to petition to get them to come back to Nashville.
Okay, my battery's puttering out and I'm hanging out at Flatstock with Andy from Boss Construction - I'll be back to tumblring from here on out for the rest of the day. Not sure what's on the agenda other than Girls, The Rural Alberta Advantage and Grizzly Bear at Central Presbyterian tonight.
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