So I’m writing this one Friday evening, just before the showcases get started. I’m not sure I’ll reach a computer tomorrow, so I’m going to write up today’s day shows and set it to publish sometime tomorrow, then update it with the evening shows when I get a chance.

So starters – hung around downtown Austin for a little while in the AM just enjoying the relaxed time while it lasts. Caught a bus out to Waterloo Music and did a little shopping. Impressive store, but a rather disappointingly small used section. Still, came away with a few things, then hoofed it back to Emo’s (yeah, there again) to catch some of the day shows. They were running behind schedule because I got there just in time to see New York’s Asobi Seksu but caught about 20 minutes of a set from Sutro, out of San Francisco. Not very interesting, but I felt bad for them – it’s hard to pull off the sexy diva/vamp thing when it’s high noon and there’s no one in the audience. Asobi Seksu then came on and played a pretty good set – not overwhelming, but I enjoyed it. I couldn’t stay to the very end as the Experimental Aircraft show was a ways outside of downtown and there were going to be buses involved. Good thing they were all running on time and I made it to Trophy’s in time to see most of their set. The tunes were alright but they were rather deficient in the stage presence department. Maybe playing on an outdoor stage with their backs to a major street bustling with traffic messes up the vibe?

And then back on the bus and back up to Emo’s. En route, I passed no other than Willie Nelson walking down 6th. Neato. I was planning on catching Calexico, but they were running a little behind so I caught the last couple songs of the Frames’ set. They were entertaining if a little hammy in the stage antics. I guess being used to playing stadiums in Ireland will do that to a band. Calexico took a good while setting up, not surprising for a seven-piece band, but when they finally got started, they were amazing as always. They’re always a treat to see perform. If they had been running on time, I had planned to head out early and try and catch Phoenix at the Filter party, but decided to not bother and stuck around for most of Calexico’s set. Turns out it was for the best since when I did get to the Cedar Street Courtyard, I found out that Phoenix cancelled their slot due to sickness. I still managed to get in and get a front-row seat for the Kaiser Chiefs, my one hype-band performance of the fest so far. I had been underwhelmed by the mp3s I’d heard, but their live show was pretty good. The singer was nursing a sprained ankle of some kind, but was still hopping around like a madman. The crowd was absolutely eating them up, too – I’d never seen that many cameras come out of the front row before. I got some good shots too, hooray for outdoor daylight shooting!

That did it for the day shows, and not a minute too soon as my feet hurt something awful and I was walking funny. I did drag my sorry ass over to Stubb’s and got some beef brisket for dinner. Mmm, good eatin’. And now I’m here. I’m not sure what the itinerary for the evening will be, there’s a few options but the only shows that are must-sees for me are Saturday Looks Good To Me at midnight and Centro-Matic at 1. What I do between now and then is anybody’s guess… but of course, by the time you read this, I will have already made up my mind.

Right. Off I go, I will post part 2 to this tomorrow or Sunday.

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