I’m back in Austin! What a relief! I’m down in Texas for the annual SXSW Festival, a personal 5th! Day 1 was the perfect day of music, weather, and food, and I was lucky to catch some incredible bands. I kicked the day off at Hotel Vegas with Parisian rockers, Hooka Hey, who were definitely worth the wait of the soundman’s eternal set up. Following them, Austin-based The Preservation provided uplifting spacerock to fight any oncoming afternoon sleepiness. I bounced over to the Red Bull Space where an all Los Angeles line-up impressed and made me completely homesick! When I arrived, dancy quartet Hands, was riling up the crowd. Next, surfy and punky Beach Party and dual-drummer, electro-rock/industrial Big Black Delta kept my day at a high. Plus, I really liked Beach Party’s bassist’s Clash t-shirt! Closing off my time at the Red Bull Space was Best Coast, who has been making waves with their light indie vibes. Back at Hotel Vegas, I got my face melted upon entering by Austin’s The Venus Illuminato who were breaking down some serious blues rock. The late show started off with mellow indie trio Cheree, then the pace was accelerated by psych-rock, projection-embellished Holy Wave out of El Paso. Concluding my first SXSW day, I caught up with Joshua Tree-founded Gram Rabbit, one of my favorite bands from California (here I go with that nostalgia again…), who packed the room with heavy riffs, experiental tinges, and cowboy attitude.
Check out some photos from Rocker Stalker’s SX start!
Rocker Stalker 