St. Patty’s Day marked my final day in Austin. Although I forgot to wear green, I still maintained a festive attitude as I headed “uptown” to the Victory Grill for an outside show hosted by Sol Collective, highlighting several multi-cultural artists and multi-genre acts, including “interracial fusion “ tunes by Zuzuka Poderosa, Outernational, who mixed plugged and unplugged versions of their songs, and reggaton group, Los Rakas. A very far walk to the Auditorium Shores, I arrived to see the final half of Shiny Toy Guys. Following the dance-pop troupe, Austin’s infamously funky dance-blues band, The Bright Light Social Hour, had the honor of supporting legendary act, The Cult, who are still churning out music that channels the energy of their classic sound. Heading back to the downtown chaos via pedicab, I caughtyet another Outernational show (so much rocking in one day!) and Brooklyn’s rising success story, rowdy party rockers, Semi Precious Weapons, who shook the venue with mostly new music from their upcoming third full length album, set for release on Epic Records. Finishing my evening and my SXSW, I squeezed into the Treasure Island Pirate Bar for Peelander-Z, a Japanese punk/metal band based in NY. Their highflying energy, Evil Knievel helmets/outfits, and humorous antics were the consummate elements to tie up 2012’s festival.
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Rocker Stalker 