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Posts tagged SXSWCreatrs

The last performers I saw at SXSW before I had to hustle back to catch my plane. Rat Fist (aka mem LA’s No Age Randy Randall + Philly’s Pissed Jeans Sean McGuinness) were slamming out some heavy in a the smallest room at the Mohawk possible. The band was hoping for some crowd surfing action and they almost got it from back to back bodies.

After squeezing out of the tightly packed shows, I was ready for some fresh air. the soggy couple of days were wearing thin on my enthusiasm, and a warm, boring airport actually sounded somewhat appealing. Until next year, my friends!

The first time I saw Swervedriver I was a freshman in college. Sure, that may date me, but back then it was one of the most religious experiences I’d ever had in rock n’ roll. In fact, I don’t know for sure, but some vague memory tells me that my friends and I waited around the back stage area to just meet them and tell them how amazing they were. Fifteen or so years later, here we are in a new universe in Austin at the SXSW Fun Fun Fun Fest experience.

At the end of Friday’s soaking wet night, there was still a surpassing amount of spark in my body. It could have been the several power sodas that I was cranking at every venue I set my foot into. Seems that energy drink providers know there market to a tea.

Tumblr IRL was still kickin’ when I rolled in to see the last half of Travi$ Scott’s set. He was still chugging on all engines when he quit, but the audience wanted more. You don’t get a lot of an encore at short SXSW sets, but this one had an end of the night feel, he still came back for more, turned on the jets for a “not even finished yet” jam, and put the bed to night at ease.

That first image is blurry for a reason. Big Sean’s set at the FADER FORT was packed, and I couldn’t squeeze through a tackle block. both because it was raining and because the man who’s got 6.6 million Twitter followers has an audience to recon with, all of whom felt like were there in under the tent top. The performance was fast. His rapping is fast. The stage lights were fast. The cheering is, well, fast. If you were looking for energy, this was the place.

I walked into an explosion of sound at the FADER FORT on Friday afternoon. Viet Cong was lighting matches to kerosene with two drummers and dramatic guitar riffs that elevated into a frenzy that everyone in the audience clearly wished wouldn’t end. I don’t think I found another outfit hitting harder punches. You have to wonder how a band can pull that much energy out at the last performance of their 6 shows in 3 days.

Between sets, the mall of capricornia from brand sponsors whereas smart. Tippicly, I would have snubbed my nose as such obvious commercialization but I can’t deny that free Converse and selfie machines didn’t have an allure. #smartbranding

Push play. I forgot that I used two types of ‘new’ creative picture taking at the rained-in part of PRTLS party. In case you missed the first one, make it BIG.

…everyone had to retreat inside as the water gushed from above.

The great stuff about unfortunate events like this gave us a chance to recalibrate. We had to squeeze under shelter and get skin to skin. While the PRTLS crew and the house mates of this magical place had to hustle things indoors, everyone else stayed relaxed albeit increasingly chilled, in the cold sense of the word.

Aside from getting wet, the show went on. And after a brief transformation of the venue - agreeing to pick up all the household living room pieces into another space for band gear and a newly invented solutions and effort - the metaphorical and literal electricity began again.

For me, though, I had felt it was time to run back to town.

(push play to see the image larger)

Everyone was hoping for perfect weather for today’s backyard party. The forecast was hit or miss, and as it turned out, those of us who got up early to trek out of town to a surprisingly rural pocket of Austin, we were rewarded with a couple early sets the felt downright heady.

Girlpool - a duo who live near blocks from me in Philadelphia but only met here in Austin - started first, and energy around the yard was a mellow high.

While we filled out bellies with ‘portable pizza’, et aliae played us some perfectly elegant electronic that seemed to put out view of the darkening sky at ease. Perhaps too early.

Tyler Andere, creative director of the PRTLS crew stayed calm. He knew that it wouldn’t matter what comes. Little did he know…

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