Sigh. It’s hard to be a music snob. Really it is. It causes a lot of mental agitation and angst when you’re not in control of your music destiny. Take the past four days as a case in point, where I immersed myself willingly in a yoga retreat, voluntarily abstaining from my usual mental masturbation of work, music, blogging and other social media. As a result, my unoccupied mind went into a panic. The only cure, of course, was music. In need of a distraction my mind started creating playlists in my head (coming your way soon). I made a game out of coming up with the perfect song for every pose, every memorable moment. I turned into Mary Katherine Gallagher, whose feelings could be best expressed by …well you know the rest.
This morning when I woke up to the cold rain and fog clinging against the Napa hillsides, my mind immediately went to The Pharmacy’s, ‘Cold Morning Light’. First discovered at SXSW this year, the New Orleans based trio has an interesting garage pop vibe that hooked me immediately. The band is heading out on a European tour, along with other acts like Dum Dum Girls, in support of their current album Weekend. Check it out EU friends.
Yeah, I know. This post is like a month overdue. But since Austin I’ve been in work hell, life hell and right-after-I-downloaded-all-my-SXSW-photos-to-my-Mac-the-hard-drive-fried hell. Thank God for Apple Care and Drobo. I’m back on line and slowly getting back on track. So, without further ado, here are my highlights from SXSW. Better late than never, right?
Best Venue: Luster Pearl on Rainey St. hands down. Great vibe, great bands, great people. Kudos Filter Mag!
Best Celebrity Sightings – The Fader Fort VIP area with Adrian Grenier and Billy Idol to name a few.
Biggest Buzz Band:Broken Bells. Though their cool quotient has substantially dropped now that their debut album is being retailed at Starbucks. Ah well, can’t blame them really. Their album was probably one of the biggest leaks on record.
Cutest Couple: Al and Claire, who after The Broken Bells show at Lustre Pearl dropped on bended knee and proposed. (Sniff.) While that album will always be sentimental for that moment, I will personally always think of them when I hear The Temper Trap’s “Love Lost”. We had such a great time at that show and it’s one of the best, sappiest love albums ever. So this one’s for you, you saps. Congrats!
Best Band Working The Street: San Francisco’s very own The Ferocious Few and Phantom Kicks. Both working the street crowd hard and making me proud. The Ferocious Few with their signature street performances and Phantom Kicks pressing demo CDs into any willing hand. Including mine. Good job!
the OCMD 