If the zoom on my camera was better, this photo of Kanye would be so much cooler:
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
The last day of SXSW always is a bit of haze. It’s hard to consider watching bands all day and eating free food as “work”, but man, tell that to my feet. Dang. I started the day off at the Rachael Ray party, an event that had one of the longest lines I’d seen all week. I was able to bypass it and get in early (dont hate), and went on to drink way too many Rachael Ray mojitos. Ate her food, too. This beer and beef burger with chedder bacon biscuit ruled my life. I would seriously cut someone in the neck for another one. (I saw Rachael briefly, but she was crowded. I wanted a photo of her for my sister, but it didn’t work out)
It was then off to The Hot Freaks party again, this time catching Vivian Girls, Mason Proper, and Viva Voce. This is how it went down: Vivian Girls‘ instruments broke down after a few songs. The pains of doing too many shows, I think. Their hearts weren’t totally into the set, but I enjoyed what they played. If it was any other band I might not give them the leeway, though.
Mason Proper sounded AMAZING live. Seriously, they recreate the sounds of their album almost too perfectly live. Lead singer has a lot more energy onstage than I saw most bands all week, so that was a refreshing change. As for Viva Voce, well, I dunno dudes. When I saw them as a two piece they seem to have amazing fire and energy in them, but their set as a four (5?) piece wasn’t as inspiring. I’ll have to check them out again in a non-SXSW environment.
Vivian Girls
It was then off to the Fader Fort for one of the worst kept secrets of SXSW: Kanye West performing. Before he went on, there was some good stuff though. Diplo and Switch’s new band, Major Lazer. If I had any energy in me, I would have danced like a crazy person to this, but I was already running on empty. They threw out several hundred t-shirts to the audience and it made everyone sort of lose their mind. It was fun.
I spent the next few hours hanging out with the SCHED team, talking about next year’s SXSW. Side note: I’ve learned that at SXSW you don’t need to see 20 bands a day to have a good time. In fact, I saw fewer bands this year than any other but probably had more fun. Hanging out with old friends goes a long way, let me tell you.
Before Kanye’s showcase, Dead Prez came out for a three song set. I have proof:
It was then time for Kanye West‘s G.O.O.D Music Showcase. I’d never seen Kanye live, unfortunately, so catching him in a smaller venue was a real thrill. In keeping with the SXSW spirit, he played some of his songs while also introducing his up and coming artists of his label. People went absolutely insane for Kid Cudi, man. And when Kanye brought out Common and Erykah Badu, people just about lost their marbles. Definitely a special event and I was glad to be there. Read Pitchfork’s story for a more thorough write-up.
After that I went to to see Silversun Pickups, but their show was running late and I had a 6:30AM flight to catch, so I went home for the night, already plotting out SXSW 2010.
NOTES
– SXSW is the greatest music festival, hands down.
– Shout out to my Irish roommate Niall of Nialler9. You don’t know it yet but I’m crashing at your house within the next 2 years.
– Thanks again to Energizer’s Energi to Go. You can see the photos I took on their Flickr, some videos here. Also they’re on Twitter and Facebook.
– Don’t forget to get some vitamins in you during SXSW. Pizza is delicious, though.
– It was great meeting old and new friends alike.
– For readers of DW who aren’t into SXSW, coverage is over! (for now)
– 2010 SXSW can’t come soon enough.
