Last day of SXSW

It’s the last day of SXSW! I attempted to sleep in to catch up on my sleep from the past 3 days but instead I woke up at 9:30 with no problem. Great.

I left my house later than I wanted because my boyfriend wanted to have breakfast with me so that took longer than I wanted. Oh well. I missed Folio.

When I got downtown, I walked over to The Palm Door which used to be Redrum once upon a time. I don’t know why someone hasn’t scooped this place up yet. It’s a great venue. Lots of space, has a kitchen, back patio, and decent sound.

Anyway, the first band I saw was Austin’s own Dynah. They had been M.I.A. for awhile for reasons unknown so seeing them again was good. They played songs I haven’t heard before but I liked them a lot. Brought back memories of when I used to watch them a couple of years back.
Sadly, I didn’t take any photos of them with my camera because when I rushed out the door, I left my SD card in my card reader after I uploaded photos on my computer. Luckily, I noticed this mistake early on so my boyfriend rushed over to the downtown area to bring the card to me.

I did take a couple of photos of Dynah however on my phone, but they aren’t the best quality so I’ll spare you.

I stayed after Dynah to see Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band. They have been featured in Spin Magazine and have an ice cream flavor with Molly Moon. Pretty impressive. This band had to grow on me. They didn’t appeal to me when they started playing but at the end of the show, I was a new fan.



The matching outfits were a nice touch.

I was determined to see Choo Choo since my last two efforts failed so I headed over to the Rockin Tomato on N. Lamar. Being their first time to Austin from Switzerland, this was a band I couldn’t miss.

Luckily, when I got there, the show was running two bands behind. I didn’t have another show scheduled so I decided to stick around to see Choo Choo. I ended up seeing The Parties who are from San Francisco, California.



They were a lot of fun. They reminded me of the 60’s psychedelic rock but it didn’t sound dated at all. I’ve seen a lot of bands attempt to play genres of the past and fail so it was incredible to see this band succeed.

After the next band (who’s name I can’t remember), Choo Choo finally took the stage and it was worth the wait. They started their show with the song I posted in their pre-SXSW interview “A Little Wiser Now”



Witnessing the power pop songs live was worth the 3 attempts to catch these guys live. The singer, Dan, did single me out during the show for dancing while I was sitting at a nearby booth through the performance. Hey, I’d been on my feet for 4 days, cut me some slack! Sometimes a girl needs to sit through a show. :)

Let’s see, after I made another swag dump at home and uploaded some photos, I headed back downtown for my last night of shows. I looked forward to this night the most because my out-of-town friends were playing one after another.

I made my first stop at Treasure Island to see Folio who I missed in the morning.



This band from Hollywood, California had everyone in the bar dancing to their electronic dance music, including moms and grandmothers. It was very entertaining to watch.

After I interviewed them (who were the nicest band ever!), I rushed over to Touché to see The States. I met these guys in 2006 as I waited for another band to perform and we’ve been buddies ever since. They didn’t attend last year’s SXSW so I made sure I got to see them this year.



They’ve gotten a new bass player since the last time I saw them, so some of the songs they played were new, especially since they are going to released a new album soon.

I did a short interview with the guys after their show and then rushed over to The Chuggin' Monkey to see AutoVaughn. I got lost so it took me longer than expected to find a bar I’ve been to many times during SXSW. When I got there, there was a line and they weren't letting people in until people left the bar. Eventually I got in after some drunken boys kept cutting in line in front of me though.

Man this band has come a long way since the first time I met them. I met this band on myspace when they friended me back in 2006. Because of a hilarious comment they left on my page, I went to see their show during 2006 SXSW. I remember it being an early day show on like a Thursday at Darwin’s Pub and they played to 10 people including myself. I immediately interviewed them afterwards and we’ve been in touch every since.

For the past three years, it seems Red Gorilla always scheduled them to perform on Saturday night at 11 pm at The Chugging Monkey, but I certainly understand why. The crowds love them, and with good reason. This band seems to only progress more and more with each new year. Why they haven’t been selected for an official SXSW showcase, I will never know.



Of course, the crowd loved them. Everyone dance, everyone sang the songs they knew. They performed new songs from the album that will be released soon (seems like everyone is releasing a new album this year) and the crowd just ate it up.

I can totally see the band getting more and more attention in the future so check them out, buy a cd and see a show when they come back to town. They are seriously worth the hype.

After I said hello to the guys, I decided to make the most of what was left of my wristband and headed to El Sol y La Luna to check out Arkells.



They kind of remind me of Fugazi and Constantines but a little bit more mainstream. I really liked them.

It was a great way to end my SXSW.

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