(No longer live) from SXSW (Friday night – part 1)
Posted by Val in Concert Reviews, Highlights, Random, The Yellow Stereo
Friday night was simultaneously the most awesome and the most frustrating night of SXSW. I saw four bands that put on amazing sets and remembered just why I came out here in the first place. There was also some bureaucratic hierarchical bullshit that I dealt with before seeing any of these bands that would’ve been enough to turn another less resilient person completely off of the whole festival. For the record, I knew that trying to get into the Subpop showcase without badge or wristband would be a hassle and an hour-long wait, easily, but this was rather ridiculous.
8:00pm. The friends and I decide to scope out the venue where the Subpop showcase is being held, mostly because we want to see the Handsome Furs at 10:30pm and aren’t sure what sort of commitment level that’ll take. We already see a line forming so we insert ourselves into that line. We are the 7th, 8th and 9th people in the general admission line.
8:15pm. Some guy holding a VIP All Access Pass from the SMD/Yeasayer show gets behind us and immediately starts bitching about the line, the festival, life the universe and everything. Does he seriously not realize what he’s getting into? Apparently not because he leaves. And there was much rejoicing. (Yay!)
8:30pm. The Ruby Suns go onstage. Our line has not moved and it has now stretched out to the end of the block.
8:45pm. We see the woman working the front door who has been repeatedly reminding people with badges and wristbands just where exactly to stand turn away the band Wild Light (yeah, the guys that opened for the Arcade Fire on Randall’s Island) because the band only has one collective badge. This worries me.
8:50pm. As it has become way past apparent that we’re not going anywhere until there are NO people with badges or wristbands we start (unsuccessfully) trying to convince people that they don’t REALLY want to see this showcase. Our brother is playing. And he sucks. Besides it’s badly ventilated in there. Really. You’ll get sick. Cough cough. Um…do we need to start singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall?
9:00pm. Finally! We are out of people with wristbands and badges so the laday lets in a whopping…four…people. Four. Out of a line that’s going on toward the end of the block. Then farts around for about two minutes until a line forms again. What. the. shit.
9:05pm. We’ve progressed onto trying to ask people going in with badges if THEY are in bands and can get us in the door. Because, ya know, that worked real well for Wild Light.
9:10pm. A SXSW official approaches this woman and tells her to let in 40 people from the general admission line. She argues with him and apparently wins because he leaves and we stay.
9:15pm. Woman asks us what time the band is coming on that we want to see. We say 10:30pm. Nothing happens.
9:35pm. SXSW official returns to speak to this woman AGAIN since we have not moved. She says that she’s TRYING to let us in but that every time she turns around a new line has formed.
9:40pm. The damn finally takes our money! And sends us…into the back of the wristband line. Which is now moving about as quickly as the general admission line since the people with badges, who’d previously just walked in, have now formed a line and wristbands don’t get in until there are no badges left.
9:42pm. Somebody overhears volunteer woman tell somebody that to get into the door they’d have to get into the back of the wristband line and probably wouldn’t get in. Excuse me? Someone else thinks they hear the words “no refunds” come out of her mouth. Oh helllll no.
9:45pm. We pull back another SXSW volunteer and explain our predicament. He sees roughly 20 of us that have just paid entry…and might not get in. His eyes get that unmistakable “oh shit” look. He says he’ll be right back.
9:48pm. He comes back and says that once the badge line dissipates he’ll let us all in. And there was much rejoicing.
9:55pm. He assures us that he hasn’t forgotten us.
10pm. We finally get in the damn venue…in time to see Pissed Jeans leave the stage.
10:05pm. I take a big shot of jager because that entire experience was pretty much uncalled for.
The truly amazing thing was that even after all of that…I was still able to enjoy The Handsome Furs. For one thing, Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry actually decided that since they were ready to perform before their allotted time slot truly began that hell, they’d just start early and play an extra song! How cool is that! I’d say perhaps even cooler than Boeckner opening the set by saying that they were the Black Halos and that he truly believed that 1998 would be the best fiscal year for Subpop records. Mwahahahaha.
I’d never really given Plague Park all that much of a chance. I listened to and decided that it was kinda meh and moved on. I’m gonna have to give it another chance now because their set completely made me forget about the line I’d been in to see it. Yes, half of the music coming through the speakers was electronic (and Perry had a hell of a time keeping the drum machine on the table in front of her). Yet, the pair have this organic lively presence that quickly got the audience bobbing first their head, then the entire upper half of their bodies along…because it was so easy to get caught up. This description also applies to fellow Wolf Parade member Hadji Bakara, who in between completely rocking out on the sidelines…decided to throw ice and water on the stage at the band.
Furthermore…they didn’t take themselves but so seriously. When Boeckner removed his shirt he joked about how fame had caused him to eat and gain all this weight. I think the only person performing at SXSW that Dan Boeckner might be larger than was Bradford Cox…and even that assumption is pushing it. After finishing up, Boeckner reiterated that he still truly believed that 1998 would be the best fiscal year for Subpop records…we truly believed that if anyone deserved an encore at SXSW…it’d be these two.
MP3: Handsome Furs :: “Handsome Furs Hate This City”
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