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.

MP3: Devotion by Viva Voce

Viva Voce is coming back with a new album on May 26 (mp3 above). They’re now a four piece, adding Corrina Repp and Evan Railton to the fold. To me, part of the magic of Viva Voce was that they were able to do so much with just two people. It’ll be interesting to see how the dynamics has changed now that the band size has doubled.

SXSW appearances:

Wednesday, March 18th – My Old Kentucky Blog Showcase [Radio Room – Midnight]
Thursday, March 19th – Little Radio Party [Red Eyed Fly – 4:00pm]
Friday, March 20th – Under The Radar Party [Flamingo Cantina – 1:30pm]
Saturday, March 21st – Hot Freaks Party [The Mohawk – 3:00pm]

Click here to add these events to your SCHED* calendar.

MP3: Hell or High Water by Blue Giant

I remember the first time I saw an M&M ice cream sandwich at the ice cream truck and thought, “Holy crap, I never thought of putting M&Ms, cookies and ice cream together but it makes more sense than anything else I’ve ever learned in this short life.” That is sort of how I feel about Blue Giant, a new band that features Kevin and Anita Robinson from Viva Voce and Chris Funk of The Decemberists.

It’s a combo that I never thought about, but after hearing their debut EP, I’m glad they got together. The band also features Evan Railton from The Swords Project and Seth Lorinczi from Golden Bears.And if that doesn’t entice you, the EP also features an appearance by Corin Tucker. It’s available for purchase over here.

Blue Giant has one performance at SXSW listed, but I think they might be doing at least one other event. If I learn more, I’ll update this post. (be sure to add them to your SCHED*)

• Gorilla Vs Bear has announced Gorilla Vs Booze III, featuring Vivian Girls, Wavves, more. (Remember the internet when there weren’t 500 daily references to Wavves? A Distant memory..)

• After the Jump Festival announced both official and unofficial shows
• KCRW’s official showcase features Ida Maria, School of Seven Bells, more
• Asthmatic Kitty, K Records, and Tomlab are joining forces for a big show.
• My Old Kentucky Blog is doing an official showcase. They’ve got The Grates, Viva Voce, Delta Spirit, and more.