March 16
Saturday is the last full day of action here at SXSW and it was another hot and sunny day too, so once again it was to an outdoor day show to kick off the day. This time it was back to Mohawks to see, firstly, The Whigs play another great show. I did manage to speak to Parker (lead singer and guitarist) afterwards. They do want to come over to the UK sometime soon but nothing is in the pipeline yet. At that moment all he could think about was the 18 hour drive they had to make to get to Cincinnati, and bands think they have a tough life on the road in the UK!
Stayed in Mohawks to catch A Place To Bury Strangers again to see if lead singer and guitarist, Oliver, can destroy anymore guitars. He had managed to repair one of the previous guitars which after today's show, looks like it wont see the light of day again after being completely destroyed. Talk of them coming over to the UK in May.
In between The Whigs and A Place To Bury Strangers we were treated to another new band to me called Film School. This quintet from California played a good set of Psychedelic Alternative Rock. I know they are supporting British Sea Power on their American tour and hopefully they get to come over to the UK too.
In the evening it was over to the convention centre to see Sons and Daughters again. It was broadcast live on Direct TV here on what can only be described as a real stage, most venues here are just bars so to see a real venue again was a shock to the system. With a good crowd of about 400 to 500, Sons and Daughters got a good reception, even playing ‘Red Receiver’ which is a rare event in their short sets.
Then it was off to the Parish for the Arts and Crafts showcase, the Canadian record label Los Campesinos! are with. All the acts were Canadian except of course Los Campesinos! who are from Wales "which is very near England" as Gareth tells everyone here. The show started with The Most Serene Republic, a seven piece indie band with a great stage presence who again said they are coming over to the UK in May.
We then had Constantines, an alternative rock band from Toronto. Plenty of singing to them in the crowd and lots of feet tapping by myself too. Following Constantines was Jason Collett, I upset someone by calling him bluesy as officially he's classed as folk rock, sorry Zoë! There are a lot worse bands here at SXSW and my feet did tap to some tracks but I was just getting ready for the following band.
That following band, in case you have not guessed already, was Los Campesinos! They had to rush getting their equipment set up, which is not easy as there is a lot of gear, all because the previous act over ran. They soon did get going and played yet another fantastic set, with lots of dancing once again, so much easier when it is inside and air conditioned. They did get told that they only had time to do one last track but with ‘You Me Dancing’ and ‘Sweet Dreams Sweet Cheeks’ still not played it left a dilemma. One which was easily solved by playing them both without stopping between songs.
I would like to thank both Ellen, who was celebrating her birthday, and Neil from Los Campesinos! for being heroes before the show.
Sunday sees the real last day but with only a handful of shows happening, it is not the same. Having said that there is a band called Tragedy, A Metal Tribute To The Bee Gees playing tonight which sounds very intriguing!
Breaking News â€" there are reports that there was a "riot" at 4am last night as Fucked Up played an unofficial show on a bridge. As no one was hurt and the police, who were present, stood back and watched, I think there is some slight exaggeration going on.