Okay, so it's not SXSW's fault that my experience was pretty lame. That one is on my puny, inefficient immune system. I spent three nights volunteering as a stage crew member for the IFC Crossroads House venue. I really liked my venue-the stage manager explained that it was "more highbrow" than some of the others so we would get a lot of bigger acts. ...Okay, I really spent two nights volunteering now that I think about it. By the third day I was supposed to volunteer, I was feeling very sick. By that Saturday (my one full day off where I would get to go see any show I wanted with my pass) I came down with the worst fever I've had in years. It was terrible. I had to force myself to sleep all day because the pain was too much to handle when I was awake. So, upon reflection, my volunteer experience would have been better if 1) more friends/people I knew had volunteered so I had more people to see shows with and 2) if I hadn't fricken' gotten sick and wasted my pass. The only acts I really got to see (besides the Sleigh Bells show Tuesday night) were the ones in my venue. We got out too late and had to be there too early to go see shows on the days we worked. I'm now determined to do SXSW the "right" way-just suck it up and pay for a wristband so I can go see whatever I want, whenever I want. However, I was still able to find some great acts just from watching the shows in my venues. Here are my favorite bands/songs from SouthBy:
"Lay Your Cards Out" by Polica.
LOVE this band. The ethereal quality to her vocals. The vocals themselves. The facts that it's only a singer, a bassist, and two drummers with no lead guitarist. This music video. Plus, I am totally head over heels in love with the lead singer. She is gorgeous and can totally rock a pixie cut.
"Anna Sun" by Walk the Moon
These guys had a fun stage presence. They wore flecks of multicolored facepaint and had a good energy to them.
"July" by Youth Lagoon
They were funny and super nice. Really laidback feel to their performance. Just two guys in ratty flannel shirts jamming on a soundboard and a mini-keyboard. Pretty minimalistic, in a way.
"Stuck in My ID" by Reptar
My brother has been a fan of them for awhile, and after seeing them, I'm disappointed I didn't discover them sooner. These guys seem very low-key but also very strange. Their outfits were either weird or too casual (the keyboardist was up there in gym shorts, a tshirt, sweatbands, and addidas sneakers with mismatched socks). They were by far the best performance I saw during SouthBy. So high energy and their music is addictive. So much fun. The entire venue was dancing.
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