Dodos
The final madhouse of SXSW, Saturday, March 19 was probably the most action packed, fun adventure we had. Partially because of the rad music we were exposed to and the other part due to the great amount of old friends we ran into. It was such an awesome day and about 70 percent of the fun all happened at FYF’s Mess With Texas (MWTX) party.
Not only was MWTX’s unofficial showcase FREE and open to the public, but they boasted the illest line-up (duh). While there, we battled the blistering sun (with barely any refuge of shade) to catch some of our favorite acts: Deertick, Esben and the Witch, Strange Boys, City and Colour, Dodos, Screaming Females, CHK CHK CHK !!!, OFF! and Dead Milkmen. Although all the aforementioned bands were damn good, the two bands that really did it for me, both have an exclamation mark in their names and it all makes sense. After seeing both OFF! and CHK CHK CHK !!! live, you will leave with an instant perma-grim on your face due to the utter amazement of their live act. Holy fuck, they messed with Texas. Both OFF! and CHK CHK CHK !!! were so badass that they each get their own photo gallery and review … stay tuned.
Needless to say, the rest of the performers put on some awesome shows as well. I really dug watching the iconic Dead Milkmen take the stage as skate punks infiltrated the crowd with their decks in the air. Too bad I was too chicken-shit to go up-front-and-center for some live shots. That mosh pit did not look inviting and I already got a mean battle bruise at MWTX. I opted to sip on some Sailor Jerry in the backstage VIP area and bounce out to “Punk Rock Girl” and “Bitchin’ Camaro” with some friends and watch the dust storms spawn from the schizophrenic mosh pits below. It was wild …
Hmmm, Odd Future. HYPE! Not only do I hate the whole “SWAG” meme, but these kids certainly aren’t all that. After watching their live performance, they reminded me of a mini, watered down version of the great Wu-Tang Clan with far more profanity. The fact that every other word out of these kids’ mouth was “fuck,” “shit” or “pussy” really showed their young age. And this is coming from someone who loves using curse words to show emotion. These kids were like non-stop tourettes! Sure they have some tight beats and rhymes (here-and-there), but nothing so GREAT to be gaining such notoriety. They are what I like to call, “rap that white hipster kids like to listen to.” Give me something that is as intelligent and ill as Gang Starr, the Wu, Tribe and KRS-One, and then we have something we can get HYPED about. Dude, P-Diddy was on their side-stage if that says anything (what’s the name of his making-of-a-boy-band show he had on MTV?) … meh
Next, I cut out and went to catch some Roky Erickson w/ Meat Puppets. Now that was good. Stay tuned for those photos.
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Words & photography by Sandra Burciaga
Dodos
City and Colour
Esben and the Witch
Screaming Females
Strange Boys
