This time of the year is always pretty hectic. Between not paying for badges and getting into half of the shows we wanted to, getting drunk and finding free shit, SXSW can be a pretty pressing time. Luckily, we don’t complain that much. We threw up a mixtape prior to the event, but in any case, this recap will be quick and to the point. You’ll find each day broken down into who and what we saw, accompanied by blurbs written by Sunbear and I — all will be marked for your convenience.

You’ll also find some photos we took, many from Sunbear’s Instagram binge and some from my shitty point and shoot. Enjoy!

-grizzly & sunbear

DAY ONE
(G) indicates a Grizzly blurb
(S) indicates a Sunbear blurb

After arriving to Austin, we stood in a few lines and got virtually nowhere. We hit up the Fader Fort in a futile attempt to get our wristbands and get our drink on, but to no such luck. The line looked impossibly long, so we decided to try our luck at the MTV Garage to catch Theophilus London and Matt & Kim. The line wasn’t as long, but we would find out that they were either at capacity or bullshitting from the get go. The show was all ages, and we weren’t having that. (G)

After catching a few Theophilus tracks from the street, we were handed a flyer for an open bar and bands, so we gladly obliged. We headed to the Beauty Bar and were treated to free koozies, nachos, American Apparel shirts and an open bar – not a bad start for not having seen a band yet. The BB’s porch boasted a neat band who to this moment, shall remain unnamed, simply because we never caught the name. Thanks for the rock and roll, gentleman.

Headed back to the Fader Fort, got our passes and a handful of drinks to keep the good times rolling, and I believe what was the ass-end of Givers’ set. Either way, we headed to The Dirty Dog bar for the Gatsbys American Dream reunion. (G)

Gatsbys American Dream was a seminal band for the bulk of weworemasks. After having seen them plenty of times in the past, we never got to see them tour on the self-titled record, so we were especially looking forward to their first show in five years. The band opened with “You All Everybody,” which seemed strangely appropriate given the “It doesn’t feel like music at all” lyric — something I believe was responsible for the hiatus in the first place.

But no seriousness here, as the boys in Gatsbys were as tight as ever. Nic Newsham carried the crowd, a group of about 100 drunk twenty somethings, all of whom knew every word to every song the band played. It was good to see all of the guys play live again, as they were always one of the most technical and fun bands to watch live. A short, but sweet thirty minute set, but we were treated to the first ever performance of “Modern Man,” as well as favorites like “A Mind of Metal and Wheels” and the surprising cover of the Cure’s “Just Like Heaven,” for which I’m sure is a first for any GAD fan.

Welcome back, boys. (G)

Turns out, my phone died, and I’m a sucker for technology. For the record, the city of Austin prepared poorly. They knew a plethora of kids now boast iPhones, Blackberrys and the like, so why the hell wouldn’t you up the 3g by putting more temp-towers/allotting coverage/whatever is necessary to prevent blackouts, shortages and all around bullshit in many areas? Regardless, I had to bypass my attempts to try to measle into Raphael Saadiq at the Cedar Street Courtyard (we missed Cults earlier, too) so that I could catch up on the internet and in the interim, charge my phone at the Fader Fort. I spent a good two hours there catching acts like:

The Chain Gang of 1974 – who I’ve hated on the past, but I must admit – puts on a good show.
Esben and the Witch – who I literally can’t remember a single thing from.
Mac Miller – one of the more annoying acts of this new class of rappers

and to close out the night, Wiz Khalifa. (G)

Wiz Khalifa is quite the showman. He’s had a huge year in 2010, and all of that came around full circle when he played to over a thousand kids at the Fader Fort, closing out one of the bigger nights. He played plenty of songs from his brand new mixtape, Cabin Fever, as well as tracks off of his upcoming record, Rolling Papers, which is dropping next week.

Obviously, the greatest responses came from his Kush and OJ material. After burning through (heh) hits like “Mesmerized,” “Waken Baken” and “In the Cut,” it seemed apparent that everyone was getting high, catching a contact high or making out with a tree because they were high. In the most proper of fashions, Khalifa took a few minutes aside do showcase a medley of Nate Dogg‘s biggest hits, as a tribute to the late West Coast legend. Closing out the night with “Black and Yellow” was both expected and undeniable, as the last time I heard the Fader Fort that loud was during Kanye West’s 2009 showcase. (G)

photo credit: jose ole

For realsies – how often is the average music fan presented with the staggering opportunity to watch The Strokes for absolutely free? Not often I imagine. Not often at all. Loading up on drinks at the Fader Fort I quickly hoofed it to the exit gate (luckily the only hoofing I’d have to do) and snatched the nearest pedicab I saw. I told my driver, Alfonso, to make like the wind for the North Auditorium Shores stage by Lady Bird Lake and did he ever. A mere 8 minutes later, and what I found out would have been a 30-minute pedestrian venture, I was dropped off in front of the festival entrance and through some divine intervention, was shooed in by a security guard past a seemingly endless line of other Strokes fans. He must have recognized me from the blog. Pop-pop!

Synth pop band Twin Shadows were billed directly before the main event and played to a disinterested but polite crowd of thousands of anxious festival goers. The lights eventually dimmed and the overpacked venue roared with excitement. Sauntering on stage in an air of cool that only they could have, The Strokes immediately indulged the festival with a one-two punch of “What Ever Happened” and “The Modern Age.” Only a mere 4 songs from their upcoming Angles were performed, a couple to lukewarm response, but every last song from the first two albums (First Impressions of Earth was given a single outing – “Juicebox”) were gobbled up fiendishly by the crowd. “NYC Cops” boasted some flashy guitar work from Nick Valensi, and main set closer “Take It or Leave It” left everyone breathless. When finally closing out their encore with the eternal “Last Night” a massive fireworks display erupted from behind the stage, illuminating the silhouettes of the band members across the downtown Austin skyline. Needless to say, it was a revelation. (S)

At this point, we were all pretty tuckered out. So what to do? I know, let’s go to Applebee’s. Not only did we fail to keep drinking, but we suddenly found out that Applebee’s in Austin are huge fans of UGK, 2pac and Z-Ro, as we heard about 10 songs in a row from these artists. Regardless, we decided to call it a night in the realm of shows and found ourselves looking for drink specials and the like. Before heading home, we were driving by a show that sounded a lot like Talib Kweli.

Sure enough, Talib Kweli was on the ass end of his set at the Scoot Inn, a show the Niceguys had also played earlier. Talib flew through a couple songs before ending his set, but what little we actually did saw was very tight, as he was backed by the tighest of live bands. One performance of “Get By” later and we had ended Day One on a good note. (G)

DAY TWO
(G) indicates a Grizzly blurb
(S) indicates a Sunbear blurb

Starting my day two yet again with cheap (free) drinks at the Fort and some good friends, I scurried into town into Red River’s Barbarella to catch Brooklyn Vegan’s day party, which was spread across the three stages that connected Barb’s to Swan Dive. Posting up on top of a lawn chair in Barbarella’s patio venue, the always rollicking Old 97’s took the stage with all smiles and immediately began a blitzkrieg set that I can only describe as a Texas-borne whirlwind. Playing only their breakneck=speed songs from their extensive back catalogue. Rhett Miller, a consummate charmer of a frontman, screamed him lungs out to familiar tracks like “Big Brown Eyes” and “Every Night is Friday Night,” swiveling about like a boozy Elvis. In a time-honored tradition the boys closed out with “Timebomb” which set off the friendliest mosh pit I have ever seen from late-twenty somethings. The Old 97’s brought out the Texas pride in everyone present, even them fancy-britches outsiders from New York City. (S)

For a band who this time last year, had no music out, no proper band name and played a discreet SXSW show to a thin crowd, Middle Brother had the entire patio (which had doubled in size) buzzing with anticipation before their performance, and with good reason too. Running the gamut of vibes that any down-home Americana folk band can give off, from pastoral and plaintive, to a jangly hoedown, supergroup Middle Brother performed with the precision and energy of a great band playing its final show to a hometown crowd. Deer Tick’s John McCauley jumped in the crowd to rock out with the crowd, national treasure Jonny Corndawg joined on the band’s anthemic self-titled song, and Delta Spirit’s Matt Vasquez was the screwball manic he always is – howling like a wolf between songs, sloppily crowdsurfing when he felt like it, and spewing beer over everyone around him. My tweet during the set read “Middle Brother – a hootenanny of a beer-spraying good time.” It was exactly that. I’m almost certain Corndawg demanded that the crowd “not be a pussy – go out there and kick some ass!” If only we could keep up with Middle Brother, Corndawg. (S)

After a text I received from Daniel Gleason (previously of Winston Audio), the current keyboardist for Death on Two Wheels, I hustled over to Red Fez to catch a late afternoon set from a band that I’ve only recently discovered. I showed up half a song into their set, and for the greater part of the next 30 minutes, singer Trae Vedder was melting my soul with rock and roll. Do yourselves a favor and catch these guys if they ever hit your town. They’re the kind of rock band that have a sound transcending years of trends (see: Grunge, punk rock and metal) to make a conglomerate of awesome things. Shout out and huge thanks to Daniel for throwing me a copy of the band’s latest album too! (G)

Re-joining Grizzly on the streets of 6th, we headed across town to The W, one of Austin’s swankiest hotels for the Theophilus London show presented by Nylon. The place was so damn swanky in fact, that we weren’t even permitted entrance to the outdoor patio that Theo was performing on. So from a sad two stories below, we saw (what we could) the last bit of what was probably a great Theophilus London set. For the second time, we were hearing him from the street. (S)

By sheer luck I happened to wander into a bar that was hosting The Antlers, who were performing songs off their upcoming album Burst Apart. The band sounded absolutely stunning in the venue, their spacious songs resonating throughout the room. It’s always a risky move performing brand new songs live, but they sounded so damn good I don’t think anyone really longed for anything else. (S)

With heavy hearts and almost drained of determination to carry on after the booze in our veins ran dry, we headed to Peckerheads a tad early (3 hours, in fact) to catch Gatsbys American Dream yet again. Don’t knock us – you would too if you knew just how dearly we love this band. But man, can 3 hours fly by quickly when there are free hot dogs, Coors and Fat Tire ale. Air Dubai hit the stage shortly after we arrived, and even though we didn’t get to see our dear friend Emily Driskill (we hate you, whitey!) since she’s moved to Denver (and dates one of the members), we enjoyed these Denver natives at what was a showcase of Coloradic proportions. While the Dubai boys only had four songs in their setlist, they managed to fly through them with ease and finesse, easily making friends from everyone in the venue. Eventually, we’d catch a background set from frenzied math-rockers The Photo Atlas performing a ferocious 4-song set, we were reinvigorated and ready to lay it down with Gatsbys again. (S/G)

Now, don’t get me wrong; the reunion show was great. But I gotta say that this particular set was not only the better of the two, but it had a. better fans b. a slightly better setlist and c. sweaty dudes. You know we love all three of those things to an extent, so Sunbear and I were happy being perched upon the stage front and center…that is until the show started. (G)

We spent the next 45 minutes fending off fans jumping on our backs and trying to muster up enough room to dance, but hey – this was all in the name of music and nostalgia. These boys gave themselves a run for their money by making their previous show at The Dirty Dog bar obsolete with this incredible set. And hey, we even got a performance of “Snicker at the Swine.” In typical bear fashion, we hugged the hell out of those Gatsbys boys and networked our way to hopefully landing an interview in the near future.

In further bear fashion, we spent the night drinking liquor and dancing to hip-hop. (G)

DAY THREE
(G) indicates a Grizzly blurb
(S) indicates a Sunbear blurb

photo credit: austin360

Day Three began with quite the dilemma. We had the best time last year at Rachel Ray’s shindig, as the free food and endless liquor were enticing on their own. But with the early morning find of the MOG showcase, we decided on the latter due to its lineup. It came down to the absolute need to catch sets from Big Boi, Theophilus London, TV on the Radio, Wild Flag, Okkervil River and many more.

Don’t get it twisted, we’re still weworemasks and we’re still thirsty fans of free shit. So we got in line early for Rachel Ray, entered, and drank heavily for an hour. And by heavily, I mean we threw back 8 Sweet Tea Vodka/Sodas back in that time frame. We would walk down Red River to hit the line at the Mohawk, to which we were joined by some of our better friends from Houston, which was a huge plus and made waiting a lot more bearable, as did catching the ass end of the Smith Westerns set. (G)

Planting ourselves a good 6 feet from the stage and appropriately earning our “Put a Bird on It” badge on Gowalla, we stood witness as the super-girl amalgamation band Wild Flag took the stage. To our right, two thirds of Sleater-Kinney. To our left, former Helium leader and a member of The Minders. Wasting no time in rocking the socks off all present Wild Flag kicked into their psychedelic garage rock. Carrie Brownstein was all high kicks and wide grins as she took the reins on the bands’ more aggressive songs, as Mary Timothy was the more melodic of the two. Wild Flag played all ranges of their sound to great response by the Mohawk crowd. Theirs is an album I’m definitely looking forward to. (S)

After two days of disappointments and missing sets, we finally saw a Theophilus London set. Sure, we’ve seen him every year for the past three, but that won’t change our admiration for our swagged-out (I mean, look at his shirt.) Brooklyn groover. Joined on stage by Lightspeed Champion’s Devonte Hynes, Theophilus London showcased songs from his brand new Lover’s Holiday EP, as well as shedding light on older songs like “Humdrum Town” and “Sorry to Interrupt.” (G)

The more time that passes, the more I’m convinced Theophilus is headed for more than blog stardom. The man performs with a ton of energy, has an endless arsenal of dance moves and loves interacting with his fans. The makings of a true star, I’m sure of it. (G)

Back outside, Okkervil River was wrapping up their show with the opening salvos of The Stage Names – “Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe” was immediately followed by “Unless It’s Kicks” for an appreciative crowd. It’s always great to see this band, and they’ve only gotten tighter and more proficient with each release. Closing out their set with a new song from their upcoming I Am Very Far, I came to find out that the second they leaped off the stage, they were due to play another venue a mere 30 minutes later. Such is the way of SXSW.

TV on the Radio had been inactive for a good few years prior to this SXSW, but a few released songs from their upcoming LP Nine Types of Light reignited the hot ticket that TVOTR always were. After playing quite a few high-profile shows, I was more than gratified to finally be seeing the band live in such an intimate setting. After getting off to a sleepy start, the band found a real groove in their older material, and kept the party going from there. Tunde Adebimpe was in fine form, keeping the audience riled up as he wailed though the bands’ catalogue including closer “Wolf Like Me.” It was over as fast as it started but it’s impression was lasting. (S)

Oh, hell yes. Big Boi. I can’t tell you how many good things I have to say about this particular set. Not only is Antwan Patton one hell of a performer, but the man knows how to create a setlist. Never was there a lull, and never was there a moment where it was “too much Outkast” or “too much Sir Lucious.” The man blazed through a furious string of Outkast and Sir Lucious hits without missing a step. (G)

For the Outkaster in all of us, fans heard verses and chrouses from the following (yes, I’m listing all of them): “Elevators,” “B.O.B.,” “Ms. Jackson,” “So Fresh, So Clean,” “Rosa Parks,” and “The Way You Move.” Needless to say, a grand old time was had by all 500 or so people packed into the Mohawk outdoor area. Patton had the right amount of hype and an overwhelming amount of bass while he played an hour-long set. As Sir Lucious sat confidently in my top 5 albums of 2010, I was more than receptive of solo material, throwing fists and ad-libs just as enthusiastically as I did for the Outkast gems.

Oh, and: Sir Lucious Leftfoot > Andre 3000. Fight me. (G)

photo credit: fader.

Headed over to the Fader Fort quite swiftly, so that we could make sure that we could continue to stay drunk and catch the finale of the Fort, which presented us with The Cool Kids, Currensy, Justin Vernon and Lil B, The Based God. Sure enough, we would hear The Cool Kids set from the confines of the line outside, which was no problem for us. We made our way in, got drinks and caught a quick set from Currensy, who breezed through 30 minutes of his best material, which included “Glass House,” “Michael Knight” and “King Kong.” JETS. (G)

photo credit: fader.

Announced just a few days prior to the beginning of the music portion of sxsw, Justin Vernon and his former band DeYarmond Edison, now all renamed Megafaun as well as core members of Minnesota collective Gayngs, were to reunite under the DeYarmond moniker and play as the closing night’s surprise guest. After quietly setting up, Vernon and crew came out to the predominantly Hip Hop oriented Fader Fort and preceded to lay out more soul than the likes of SXSW would see in a 10 mile radius. In a mere three songs (one of them being Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend”). With the three ballads DeYarmond performed, the riled Fader crowd eased into putty in Vernon’s hands. With his smooth as butter voice and loose band to keep things limber, DeYarmond Edison proved to be a surprise dose of what the doctor ordered for the usually stuffy SXSW lineups. (S)

photo credit: fader.

I still don’t quite get this Lil B the Based God phenomenon, other than a few choice songs (see: “Wonton Soup,” “Miley Cyrus,” “Justin Bieber”) and his internet memes, as well as Twitter antics. So when it came time for him to hit the stage, he was introduced by none other than Sean Puffy Combs, to the delight of many. The Based God then ran through an hour and twenty (way too long if you ask me) minutes of his material, which ranged from rants about Ariel Pink to his book being the best book ever written, to deep, poetic shit about war and politics.

This dude is straight fucking insane, but was welcomed with open arms and constant chants of “Swag!” to which all of us were drunk enough to oblige. (G)

photo credit: fader.

Sure enough, Diddy came out and closed out the show. Not that it was planned, but chants of “Diddy!” brought him back out to the stage after he said goodnight, and he would eventually throw a half-assed, fully hype performance of four of his biggest songs. His “set” included his verse from the “Oh Let’s Do It” Remix, “Mo Money Mo Problems,” “All About the Benjamins” and personal favorite “Victory.”

Fader knew that this was a personal high for me, so what better way to kill the mood than to bring out the moronic brats in Odd Future. The crew performed “Yonkers” and some other song that involved yelling, during which I swiftly attempted to retreat away from the pit that was forming. Regardless, this was a pretty good consolation prize to Kanye-Gate, in which Vevo dicked many of my friends out of the chance to see Yeezy and his crew. (G)

photo credit: fader.

We would then eat (and continue to drink at) Taco Cabana of all places, before finding the IHeartComix showcase/after hours party at Austin’s Highland Mall. With promises of a great lineup, I showed up way too drunk to enjoy everything, chalking sets from Treasure Fingers and Classixx up to “rave music that I don’t give a shit about/am too drunk to enjoy” before we made our exit shortly after 2:45 a.m., ending our SXSW excursion on a very properly drunk note. (G)

Till next year, yall.

GRIZZLY Y SUNBEAR SIGNING OUT.