| SXSW Day 3: Gallows kicked off the day at the Fader party at Austin’s new Levi’s store.
I can’t believe a city in Texas just got its signature American denim shop this week. The turnout was pretty slim, and the band was clearly frustrated, but that in and of itself makes them entertaining. Frank Carter (vocals) explained that these were the exact kind of shows they played when they first started gigging in London, so they’re used to it. About two minutes later he clarified, “That show was fucking awful.” Vice Saves Texas, the Vice Magazine party boasted Deerhunter, which reminds us of heroin (and we aren’t referring to the band Heroin here…) followed a ferocious and pounding set from Big Business, who are currently a three-piece with guitar added by the legendary Dale Grover of the Melvins. The crowd cried a bit at the announcement that Boris was not performing, and Qui was running late and wouldn’t arrive until later in the evening; but that translated to Turbonegro heading to the stage early and delivering a sun-drenched sonic sampling of the now enormous catalog. Frontman Hank Von Helvete was in great spirits, honoring the three generations of Turbonegro fans and dedicating a song to the children in the audience, “because I am really just a child in a man’s body.” Hank then audibly muttered to himself, “That sounds a little creepy, eh?” No, Hank, not compared to “Sailor man, come take my hand.” THAT is a little creepy. The industry started to weigh a bit heavy at this point in the festival. The setting sun equates to badge-holder admittance only at most venues; and most places don’t have a guest list. A bit frustrating, but this was a good opportunity to rest a bit and get clean after rolling around in the grass all afternoon. Just as we were heading back out, word came through that Gallows bassist Stu Gili-Ross had decided to get his band’s name tattooed on the inside of his lip. “My mum’s gonna hate this. She already hates the tits,” he said in reference to a scantily clad woman he has inked on himself. The KB posse gathered itself and headed to the iheartcomix.com party, which was a late starter (and an all-nighter). Hoping to catch Girl Talk, we arrived at midnight, only to find that one of Austin’s A-list parties had already blown up the spot. Apparently the fire marshal declared the space to be too small to accommodate the party, and had it canceled. We went in to check things out and found a sorely disappointed DJ Frankie Chan packing up his gear. The staff was friendly, nonetheless, and was glad to feed us a few drinks from the enormous stock of complimentary liquor that they didn’t use. We scored a full bottle of UV Grape Ape (grape flavored vodka) and headed back downtown. I got in line for a set with the Walkmen and was told that it wasn’t a badge event; but when I was queued to the gate, the staffer looked at me and told me to get in line. “I just was in line.” I explained. “Well where’s you badge?” I explained that I don’t have one, and that I was working for independent press (this was the Independent Press party, after all.) She sent me back to the line, where the person who granted me entry at first now looked at me and said “Who are you? WHAT are you?” Annoyed at the audacity of the question, I decided to turn it in for the night. Finally finding Sam’s BBQ—truly Austin’s finest—to be open on route to our bunker, we dropped in for a heavy helping of “cow ass and pig rib.” Along with that bottle of grape vodka, the reminder of the night was a slobbering success. photos: Jef Hoskins, Kim Owens SXSW 2007-Renegade Report, Wednesday Mar 14 |
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SXSW 2007 – Renegade Report – Jef Hoskins – Day 3, Friday, March 16
