SXSW Day 1

I drove from San Antonio to Austin yesterday morning and met Sean and his friend Eric at the airport. From there, we checked into the Hilton and stood in a line that was way too damn long to get our badges and then stood in another damn long line to buy wristbands for Erin. From there, Sean, Erin and I headed off to Emo's. The first party had no free beer and no good music either, but I did have my first Shiner Light. This was one of Emo's outside places, I have no idea which one, but it was open and across the street from the main Emo's. We quickly left and went to the Iron Cactus for lunch-- damn good, except for the rice.

After a two maragarita lunch, we went to the main Emo's for more Shiner Light. It was at this point that Erin discovered the refreshing taste of Tecate and we heard Sheerwater. We were glad when they were done. After that came my first Tecate (damn good) and Mono, who were fucking awesome. They were so awesome that we all collectively realized their awesomeness without even seeing them play.

Sean wanted to go see an old, old friend, Danny McGuiness, at the Blind Pig at 5pm, so he and I went there. I had a very small Diet Coke and watched a few songs before I headed back to Emo's for I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness-- which everyone agrees is one of the best band names in recent memory. On the way back to Emo's, I stopped at the ATM of a cigar shop because it advertised that it had the lowest fee ATM on 6th Street. At $2.75, I better find a cheaper one. I did get to see some creepy guy roll a cigar though, which was sort of cool-- but not $2.75 fee cool.

Anyway, I joined Erin for I Love You...etc. and they were cool. When they were done, we finished our Tecates and walked out of Emo's because they were closing for a little while. On our way out, we walked right past the lovely ladies of Sleater-Kinney who were talking and taking pictures with fans.

Things were starting to get fuzzy for me around this point when we walked into Casino el Camino or something like that. It was very dark with really bizarre subtitled black and white horror movies playing on the tvs. Sean and I eventually left to get pizza for dinner. I had a very lovely and tasty stromboli. We walked out of the pizza place and into Mahmood and Tim and wandered into Tristeza at Eternal. Mono was playing there later in the evening, so I bought their CD. We met up with Danny McGuiness and his guitarist, Kent, there and thankfully saw a very small amount of By the End of Tonight (instrumental punk that wasn't well executed).

Sean and I made the trek to Antone's, taking a cab (awesome cabbie!) the last block when we thought we were going the wrong way. Hubert Someler (sp?) was onstage playing guitar when we walked in and Elvis Costello was singing! Elvis left the stage and walked right past us, so I patted him on the back while other people took pictures. We met up with Chris, Danny and Kent who informed us that Robert Plant had been standing right in front of them and was going to go onstage, but then didn't for whatever reason.

From there we treked to Maggie Mae's to see Smoosh, but by the time we were let in, the show was over. :-( We walked over to Emo's to catch the Donna's opening for Billy Idol and I stood in the longest bathroom line of my entire life. Seriously-- it was at least 30 minutes. We saw Billy Idol come onstage and do some lame new song that had a chorus that sounded like a sitcom theme song and "Dancing with Myself." At this point, it was getting way too crowded and Billy Idol was bobbing his head around like George Michael in that Wham! video, so we left.

I was going to see Sleater-Kinney with Erin, but my feet were killing me and I was too damn tired, so I found her, said goodnight and rushed to catch up with a very tired and drunk Sean who just purchased the best damn steak fajita from a street vendor. I don't know what was in it, but it was extra tasty.

Totals for the day:
Different Beverages (multiples of most): 5 -- V8, Shiner Light, Agave Maragarita, Tecate, Diet Coke
Bands: 7
Bands I will seek out again: Mono, I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness