After waking up refreshed and surprisingly NOT hungover, we headed out to check out the band I had been most excited for: Guadalupe Plata (from Spain). Unfortunately, I have the worst sense of direction and I had led us in the wrong direction (about 15 blocks off) not once, but twice. Yeah, this was the second time I had done this. We had attempted to see Guadalupe Plata on our second day of SXSW as well. You can imagine how fuckin’ pissed I was at myself. Anyways, after numerous sweltering blocks we took a petty cab to Stubb’s to hit up the SPIN party. We arrived just in time for one of my favorite bands, The Kills. Gawd damn, I love Alison Mosshart.
The Kills played a great set with plenty of songs from their new album, Blood Pressures. It was a special treat to finally hear the songs live before everyone else, and they sounded pretty damn awesome. Not to mention both Jamie and Alison looked hot and stylish even under the blistering Austin sun. Alison convulsed from side-t0-side while wearing one of her token leopard print button ups as her wild mane concealed just about every bit of her pretty face. It was rad to see the two live again after a few years of hiatus.
Up next, was L.A.’s soon-to-be-hottest beat maker, Skrillex. Even with his nerdy big-ass thick framed glasses, this kid is some dope shit. He blasts out some hard hitting beats with provocative samples that will blow your face off. Good stuff indeed. I would have liked to have heard him for more than the 15-minute intermission between sets. I guess I’ll just have to hit him up locally for some bass in my face.
Closing up the SPIN party were TV On The Radio. This was our second dose of TVOTR as we had seen them the previous night at the same location for the Spinner party. Considering this time around I was up-front for their performance, I had a better time rocking out to their reverberating tunes while directly under their noses. With humble style and grace, these guys always know how to put on an epic show. It sure was loud and full of bass thumps that tickled my face (especially my nose).
After a quick Mexican dinner at El Sol Y Luna we hustled to another Spinner party. This time the entertainment was the highly anticipated return of Bright Eyes. Spinner had announced the show via their Twitter as FREE and open to all (priority to badges). Unfortunately, they failed to announce the capacity was limited to 250 people, where 15o of the attendees were Spinner VIPs. There were a lot of disappointed badge holders and even more disappointed non-badgers that didn’t stand a chance from the beginning. Thanks to my friends at Spinner, I received entry and witnessed this intimate show (with open bar). The venue (Austin Wedding Hall) was charming and dimly lit which set a great tone for the soft voice and touching lyrics of Conor Oberst. Although, I’m not the biggest Bright Eyes fan, this show was moving and full or infectious emotion. I really enjoyed it. Especially when he went a little wild on the guitar and reverb.
My evening ended with an interesting night of bar-hopping with new friends and old friends on what I like to call, “the jungle,” in other words 6th street in downtown Austin. Holy fuck, this place was packed to the rim with drunks from all walks of life. Stay tuned for another post which will be dedicated to all the weirdos we came across on the 6th street.
Check out more photos below of The Kills, TV On The Radio, Bright Eyes and Skrillex! We also shot a video montage of their live performances. Peep it below the photo gallery!
To view more of our SXSW coverage (music, fashion, videos, interviews), click here!
Words & Photos: Sandra Burciaga
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Izdb8NnxqQ]
