Friday March 20 2015

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Ana and I wake up in the humid van to the sound of woodpeckers tapping on the trees around us, and along with other unfamiliar wildlife sounds of Austin.

Banana.

John and his girlfriend, Jessica, take us to Torchy's Tacos, one of the best taco places in town. Two Egg Tacos with all kinds of good fillings.

Picking up seven yellow $3.99 ponchos from 7-11 to keep us dry as we walk around in the rain. "Adult Poncho" the band is thus formed!

Ana and I split a half of a weed cookie but it doesn't seem to do much for me. We catch the Best Coast show at an outside patio stage, which turns out to be quite a mediocre performance in all our opinions.

Then, the Hotel Vegas stages. We spend the rest of our evening here. It's like a mini music festival inside another music festival. You just walk from one stage to another and check out a new band. My legs get sore from just standing around. But it's crazy how many new bands are out there. SXSW is like an over stimulation of new music. 

Babes, a garage punk band from New Orleans, really clicked with us. Right up front with the gang flailing our heads and bumping our bodies into each other. The lead singer chants into the mic with white mime makeup on his face and fishnets. By the end of the set he's without clothes except for one dangly black thong, a highlight of our night.

Almond Granola Bars.

Wand, a prog-psych-punk band from Los Angeles, drains our ears dry on the big stage. Earplugs are being used of course.

More standing and waiting and watching.

Sharing Veggie Burgers with Ana.

Then, the most anticipated band and the last one for the night: Thee Oh Sees.

The crowd is thick with angst from all the waiting. As soon as the band kicks in with their first song a push pit is formed in the middle right underneath a tree. Mud covers everybody's feet and pant legs but nobody cares. They're still jumping off the stage and into the pit of people. Ana explains that it's like a pot of boiling water and everyone is the bubbles. One guy tries to be Tarzan by hanging onto a tree branch for deer life. After the show is over we all feel satisfied. Without a doubt this is the highest of the highlights of SXSW. We could just as easily go home without playing our show tomorrow and be happy.

Back at the "basic house". We settle down and rest up for the next day's activities.

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[i] Images by me.