After their impromptu show in the middle of 6th street on Wednesday night, we had to check out Katzenjammer's full set.  We went to Threadgills for some lunch (including the best spicy veggie burger I've had), and their set.  With the rest of their instruments, and vocal mics, they were even more amazing.  The harmonies sounded amazing, and they all played each other's instruments, switching from keyboards to mandolin to horns to balalaika.  Their set was unbelievably perfect, including an homage to Janis Joplin.

Club Primo: Mouse House, UME, Follow That Bird

After Katzenjammer, I took a brief break before heading to Club Primo to catch UME, who'd I'd seen at a Christmas show with Trail of Dead.  I arrived a little early and caught Mouse House, who'd been recommended to me, but hadn't made my list of shows.  They played indie-funk, and it was a fun, cool show, before heading inside.  I'd previously seen Ume at Red7 with a ton of people, so it was a bit disarming to see them at such a tiny little bar.  Their show was no less blistering, though.  Their music pairs catchy anthems with post-rock build-and-release structures.  The build shows Lauren's gorgeous voice, and the release shows the band's ferocity, especially Lauren's.  There are no still pictures of her playing, she's a hurricane of constant musical fury.  After sweating out the show, I went back outside to grab a cigarette to the tunes of Follow That Bird, who play fairly straightforward indie rock.  If I hadn't seen Jucifer or Ume in the same week, I might have enjoyed them a bit more.

The Bird and The Bee at Waterloo

By the 4th day, we were running dangerously low on energy.  We figured our last show would be a low-key set from the cutesy electro duo The Bird And The Bee at Waterloo.  We got there a little late, and saw them from the back of the store, but it was worth it anyway.  The charm of singer Inara is even greater in person, than on singles like "polite dance song".  Unfortunately, the sound had problems, and cut out during said song.  After dinner, we felt a bit rejuvenated, and checked out a slightly larger Ruby Isle show at Lambert's, which was just as fun as their first show, albeit with proportionally less crowd.  They also played one of their covers (Skinny Love), which  was awesome.  Afterwards, we gave up trying to decide on shows, and considered it over.

The 5 best shows from SXSW 2009:

1. Kittens Ablaze (Friday)
2. Jucifer (Wednesday)
3. Katzenjammer (Saturday)
4. Ruby Isle (Friday)
5. The Rosebuds (Friday)

Dressy Bessy were an accidental show, They're a bit older, and unfortunately it shows.  Old James is actually a neighbor's band, which we only found out about when he said hi to us as we walked up to Iron Gate.  Their set was energetic, and their antics were awesome.   Their music is pretty straightforward punkish rock, which was infectious and fun.  Ruby Isle has been on my radar since their series of Elbo.ws covers.  I hadn't yet had a chance to seek out their original tunes, but it's just as well.  The tiny bar with the low ceiling and their crazy antics was the best possible way to experience them.  Despite the small venue and crowd, they were having a blast splicing the robotic apocalypse into the 80's.  They had synchronized karate kicks, a stepladder, and all manor of hilarious antics that knocked over most of their equipment due to the crampt quarters.  It was a blast, and the best show yet, although the night just kept getting better.

Waterloo Records: Telepathe, Handsome Furs

We got to Waterloo early, anticipating a crowd for Handsome Furs.  Turns out it was unnecessary, but after missing their morning show while waiting in line outside Club De Ville, we figured it was better safe than sorry.  Telepathe were a cute enough electroclash duo, and they gave us a free mixtape (on CD), and put on an enjoyable set.  Handsome Furs are a husband and wife electroclash duo featuring one of the singers from Wolf Parade.  While I passed on their first album as wolf-parade-lite, I forgot what a showman Dan is.  Even as exhasuted as they looked, they still gave the set everything they had, and it was absolutely engrossing.  His wife shows an equal amount of energy, bouncing, and playing with one foot out behind her,

Tombs at Room 710

To be honest, I wasn't prepared for Tombs.  Their show was during the normal dinner hour, and across town from Waterloo.  Their music is long-form, and immersive, which I enjoy a lot in my headphones, but I wasn't quite ready to absorb live.  Room 710 is an odd venue, you have to walk up one side of the bar, across the back, and down the other side.  After they loaded the gear in, the closed the door and killed all but a few bulbs on stage.  The bassist snarled at us as he looked about to beat us with his instrument, as the singer bellowed out the lyrics without acknowledging us.  The music is intense and swirling, and builds at epic length, to beautful and brutal peaks.

The Rosebuds at Momo's

The Rosebuds were the first line we had to wait in for people to come out of the show.  I don't know if this means we have obscure taste, or just the dedication to show up early.  Rosebuds were completely worth the wait, though.  Their songs feel like maritime drinking songs, replete with gang vocals in the chorus.  The crowd sang along on most of the songs, adding to the anthemic feel.  The singer/keyboardist had on a fantastic dress, and danced among the crowd playing tambourine when she wasn't singing.  After their main set, they came down and played a final song in the midst of the crowd with an accordion and an acoustic guitar and got the whole crowd to dance with them.It was charming and beautiful, and probably the set for which I knew the most songs.

Kittens Ablaze at Wave

I honestly had no idea what to expect from Kittens Ablaze.  the songs I'd heard could have been the work of an orchestra or a one man band, and it's all too unhinged to be sure.  They are a 5-piece: a drummer who sings lead, a bassist who fronts, but sings backup, a pair of guitarist/keyboardists, and a cellist and a violinist.  They shot confetti into the audience, and played their hearts out, despite playing on a tiny makeshift stage cut in half by a fake palm tree.  Their songs are folky, yet catchy, silly and energetic.  Their audience started with a half dozen people who seemed to have little in common, and ended with everyone in the bar.  They defied the impromptu setting with clear sonics, and earnest performance that rewarded them with new fans.

Waterloo Records: Justin Townes Earle, Department of Eagles

We caught our first couple shows of the day at Waterloo, which is nice and low key.  Justin Townes Earle was first, with some charming alt-country, before the band we came for.  Department of Eagles were pretty clearly worn out from their show the night before, but charmed us anyway.  Their set was more acoustic and folky than electronic, and their stage banter was self-deprecating and disarming.

Mexican Summer at Club 1808: Mi Ami, Golden Triangle, All The Saints

We tried to go see Vivian Girls at the Gorilla Vs. Booze showcase, but Peacock was sweltering, and full.  We went up north to Club 1808 early, and just chilled in the dark dive-y-ness.  Mi Ami came on inside, and played a DIY punk show, in the midst of the crowd.  Their myspace casts them as experimental surf-punk, but the show was more post-hardcore with falsetto vocals.  Outside, Golden Triangle played a silly show with lampshade hats, dancing, and writhing on the ground.  All The Saints were the band we were there to see, and they played an impossibly high energy show despite the sun, with the loudest sound of any band we saw (including Jucifer and Tombs).  Their drummer was completely drenched by 3 songs into the set, from playing so hard.

Tori Amos at La Zona Rosa

I don't have pictures, since this was the first of many shows to turn away non-badge cameras.  My estimation of Tori's show was about right.  She played mostly new songs, from her forthcoming album, along with a few older hits.  The older songs, she teased the vocals and enunciation as she felt moved, which sapped some of the punch out of them.  It was a pretty laid back show, she pretty much played straight through, with little in the way of introduction or banter.  It's ok, Tori is someone I listen to in my headphones, when I'm deep in my own headspace, I wasn't expecting a high energy show.

Little Boots, Datarock at Emo's Annex

Little Boots is the definition of  an internet micro-lebrity.  She makes videos of her songs, while sitting in her room, playing small electronic instruments and singing.  I was taken aback, then, when her live set was as awesome as it was.  She had pre-programmed her tenori-on so that she could mostly just sing, and her band brought the beats and the keys.  She sung her heart out, and engaged the crowd.  I foolishly followed sched's advice and tried to also catch dillinger escape plan across the street, despite them not even being at SXSW.  Thanks, sched.  Won't be depending on that service next year.  I came back to hear the rest of Little Boots' set from the line, and catch Datarock.  They were silly, but high energy and engaging.  After that much dancing, we went home exhausted.

J. Tillman, now better known for being a member of Fleet Foxes, played an early show inside at Mohawk, which was a great low-key start to SXSW.  His accoustic folk is similar to Jason Molina, and his beard evokes Will Oldham.  The lyrics are dark, which deepens the similarity to both those men.  It was a good show, and I'm a sucker for that sort of thing.

Anticon: Yoni Wolf and Themselves at Red7

After the brevity of J Tillman's set, we had more time than we needed to get to our next show, so we dropped in at Yoni Wolf's show at Red7.  I've seen him plenty of times with Why?, which pushed him out of my "must-see-artists" list, but I do love his self-depricating lyrical style, and it was a cute show.  Just him and a keyboard, playing new Why? songs, and a couple off of Alopecia.  After his set, we moved inside to catch his Anticon labelmates, and ex-cLOUDDEAD bandmates Themselves.  DoseOne's hi-speed lyrical delivery was barely intelligible, but amazing.  Their phat beatz, as it were, were also amazing.  We can only assume that the lyrics matched the dirty humor of his stage banter between songs.

The Handsome Family at Dog and Duck

Despite getting a tweet from @amandapalmer, we Missed her flash-mob-pillow-fight outside Radio Room, and had time to stroll slowly up to Dog and Duck for Handsome Family.  Their alt-country set was nice, as were the chairs after our long walk.  They played the songs we wanted, and it was a nice and chill show before dinner and the evening craziness.

Jucifer at Emo's Annex

Jucifer was hands-down, the best set of the day.  Amber Valentine came out and lived up to the Rock Star tattooed across her knuckles.  After her folky leather outfit, Her dirty sludgy guitar was the second thing to strike from the stage, she made it growl for longer than some of their whole songs, before launching into their set.  And launch they did.  She was ferocious, bringing unbelievable energy to songs from their latest double album, playing songs back-to-back, with no pause even to breathe.  Her husband and drummer was just as intense, standing up to bring more force to the stops and starts of their songs.  He also contributes perplexing falsetto vocals in the midst of his heavy drumming and Amber's heavy guitar work, contributin to their amazing stylistic breadth for a 2 person band.  Their DIY-halogen-light-and-smoke stage was amazing, too.  Most of SXSW is pretty low-budget, and low production, but not this show.

Katzenjammer in the middle of 6th street

We were on our way to see The Wierd Weeds at The Hideout when we were suddenly arrested by the norwegian folk harmonies of Katzenjammer playing in the middle of the street.  They played like they meant it, and were completely adorable.  We'll try to catch up with them later at SXSW, which I suppose is the reason for playing impromptu street shows.  The Weird Weeds are a local band who I saw just after new years.  The show was a lot more focused than the last time I saw them, but still very artsy/avant/experimental.

Dosh at Mohawk

Dosh was the victim of unfortunate circumstances.  His multi-instrumentalist electronic music is calm and intricate, which is better suited to an afternoon show than to 11PM, when I'm already feeling the wear of going to 7 different shows.  To make matters worse, Mohawk's inside venue is no longer air conditioned, and the stage is no longer visible from the far side of the bar.  In fact, with him sitting down between his drum set, keyboard, and effects, he was impossible to see.  The pictures I took are my only view of the show, since I could hold the camera up high enough to see over.

Viva Voce at Radio Room, and The Decemberists on the radio

No pictures for this show, since The Radio Room had a sign saying only cameras with badges.  After a really long sound check, Viva Voce played with very bad sound and lots of feedback.  They seemed as exhausted as we were, and unable to connect to their music at all.  When we got back in the car to go home, we heard The Decemberists playing with My Brightest Diamond on KUT, and were chagrined at our choice of shows, since it was clearly far better than Dosh and Viva Voce.  I picked up their new LP the next morning at Waterloo, since the show was so good, and I'm really into My Brightest Diamond, who appears on the album.

We arrived on wednesday, and after picking up badges, I went straight over to Mohawk for The Forms. The show was nice and open, since most people still hadn't arrived yet, and the venue was ample for those who had. The weather was beautiful, the set was great, and Mohawk had some of the best sound all week. I caught 4 bands before The Forms went on, and all of them were at least interesting. I find it sad that there are so many bands out there that I'd enjoy, and yet there's no radio station that manages to find them. No matter, the internets are better for everything. The Forms played a great set, and it was the best show I saw until Sunday.

Meeting up with the wifest again, we headed off to catch Why? at Emo's. The picture above is from Thursday, when we caught them again outdoors. They played a different set at each of their three shows, which probably makes their first one the best, since that's where they played "The Hollows", which I now realize I like disproportionately more than the rest of their stuff. Okkervil River with Roky Erickson was much more of Roky's crowd than Okkervil's, being at the Austin Music Awards and all. I'm not completely writing off Okkervil, but they're hanging by a thread.

Thursday: Shout Out Louds, Weakerthans, High on Fire

We queued up just early enough for the NPR showcase at The Parish, we were the last 2 people in before the guest-listers. The Shout Out Louds came on before Jens Lekman, who we were there to see, but had much better sound, and much more of a show to give.

The rest of the afternoon, I spent moderating comments from a certain post on my work blog, until I went out to meet the wifest for Weakerthans & DeVotchKa. The Cedar Street venue is pretty cool, although my blackberry's camera didn't do it (like so many things this weekend) any justice at all. Nonetheless, I ran off to check out High on Fire. I'd had hopes of catching Municipal Waste as well, but Emo's Annex was running closer to on time than Cedar Street, so I missed them. Hight on firesound more similar to mastodon than they actually are, live. The show was much thrashier than anything else I saw this week.

Friday: Division Day, Cloud Cult, Clouds

Ironically, despite the names of the bands, it was clear, sunny, and well into the 90's on friday. This made the trek over to Waterloo Records for Division Day pretty painful, but they made it worth my while. Their synth-emo was the right kind of dreamy to be seeing in the middle of a record store.

Afterwards, I walked all the way back to Emo's Annex for Why?, and was pleasantly surprised by Cloud Cult beforehand. They had a painter on stage, and played cool noisy experimental stuff. their forthcoming album (for sale at the show) doesn't really capture the dynamics and explosiveness of the live show. I'll definately be checking them out more, though.

For the night show, I decided that I'd had enough of standing in lines, and I'd try to stay in one place. The Hydrahead showcase is exactly what I wanted - Stephen Brodsky (masquerading as a misspelled Stove Bredsky), Clouds, and a patio to smoke on. I first walked in during some very space-y "experimental" set, which quickly caused me to go take a smoke break. The patio was filled with metalheads, for the "It's GRIM up North" Showcase. Turns out Goat the Head was about to start. The guys walked on caked in mud or blood, and wearing only diapers loincloths. Except the singer who wore pelts, and growled non-stop, doing his best to sound like this. I love metal, but sometimes you just have to laugh.

I came back in to find Stephen Brodsky playing guitar on stage, by himself. Rather than playing the very chill, very acoustic stuff from his recent solo records, he played stripped down versions of Cave In songs. Mostly from "Tides of Tomorrow", the EP that's not as inventive as Jupiter, or as pop as Antenna, released between the two. It was a really great fit.

His sometimes bandmate's band, Clouds, came on next, and played a great show. They don't so much mix stoner metal and hardcore, as they veer wildly between the two. It's a very easy type of music for me to listen to: it's intense, but it has great melody, and surprising harmonies from the 3 vocalists, who trade off songs and verses. It's crunchy and fast, and just damn good.

Saturday: The Gaslight Anthem, David Bazan, Cassettes Won't Listen

I'd tried to catch The Gaslight Anthem earlier, but there'd been a last-minute lineup change, and I wound up with a $10 tab, and an earful of some band from the Spiderman soundtrack. It was quite a contrast to the Austinist/Gothamist Showcase on wednesday that made such a great opening to the weekend. Anyway, back to Gaslight - I love those guys, and the show was just as fun as I'd imagined. Well, for their part, at least. The audience was mostly pre-teen girls, which I think was as surprising to them as it was to me, prompting jokes about braces and spring break. I think of Gaslight in the same vein as Sparta or later Hot Water Music, so I didn't think I'd feel that old.

Amongst the swag we picked up at registration, there was a card for a blackberry-based music store. There nothing I was interested in, save for a lone Pedro the Lion EP, in amongst mainstream and christian crap. Early Saturday evening, I'd queued up for Jaymay at Maggie Mae's. By the time The Wifest and Harry showed up, 6^th st. Was a zoo, since the line for the rooftop was inextricably mixed with our line. Chatting with our newfound friends-in-line, I found out David Bazan was playing upstairs, and changed my plans. David is an incredibly talented writer, and not much is lost with the transition from Pedro The Lion to solo singer/songwriter.

Cassettes Won't Listen closed out my weekend. I suffered through Tiger City beforehand, a little worried that I'd misjudged CWL. Turns out he was exactly what I wanted to see before going home. There are plenty of electronic one-man-bands that are painful to see live, because they're either mostly just playing a pre-recorded set, since they can't do it all at once, or they're so intently hunched over their laptop as to make it pointless to not just pre-record it. (*cough* four tet *cough*). CWL was the shining example of what a one-man show should be. He started out with his sampler and keyboard, building the introduction, looping and sampling himself as he went, building to the point that he could move to the mic, pull up his guitar, and just deliver. The songs were brilliant, and his performance carried the subtlety that I love about his music.

A brilliant end to a great show. You can check out more crappy phone pictures on my flickr stream, if you're into that kinda thing .