The penultimate day of my fourth SXSW was definitely the longest in my history of SX’s but THE best. It was the day of the Rocker Stalker Day Party!
Arriving at 10:30am at the Elvis Presley-themed Beale Street Tavern to host a show, I was out on the town for 16 hours to follow. Opening the morning, Austin’s Indie-meets-retro rock quartet, Ghost Bunny, and solo, blues-rock multi-instrumentalist and loop-master, Walker Lukens, got the ball rolling. Most attendants woke up and arrived for a bevy of Brooklyn bands: Black Taxi, The Courtesy Tier, and The Click Clack Boom. The string of East Coasters was broken by LA-born Vas Defrans who put the sound system to the test with pounding drums and intricate instrumental layering. Laid back and local favorite, The Naturals, who contrasted with the electro/dance-rock quartet, Kid Savant. NYC’s Hollis Brown closed the afternoon with straight up great blues rock and Southern rock sentiments. Yet another Tex-Mex decompression resuscitated me for an extensive evening of street performances. Renegade rocker, Tom Morello, brought the music of Black Top Demon, Outernational, Anti-Flag, and Wayne Kramer outside the Swan Dive as part of Occupy SXSW. Morello himself marched into the crowd of hundreds as a finale, and even as police swarmed the area. All ended peacefully, but it was an evening/early morning to remember! 16 hours on the town…personal record!
Rocker Stalker 