And so after some two months plus of planning, the (first) big day finally arrived – Hot Freaks was here. I was equally excited and nervous about it for obvious reasons, but now that it’s half in the bag, I can say quite honestly that I’m really pleased with how it went off. Let’s recap.

Small Sins (Toronto, ON) @ The Mohawk Patio – Small Sins had the rather unenviable task of kicking things off bright and early to an audience made up mainly of people working the show. But they didn’t phone it in and as the set wore on, their audience grew. Their sound has changed quite a bit since I first listened to their debut album from which they took their name (not technically self-titled since they were called The Ladies & Gentlemen at the time), as the low-key bedroom pop gems have dressed themselves up in rock’n’roll clothes. They wear them well.

MP3: Small Sins – “Stay”
MySpace: Small Sins

Catfish Haven (Chicago, IL) @ The Mohawk Patio – These guys have likewise undergone a transformation since I saw them last, mainly in the addition of more members to the cast. While I think the core remains a trio, their soul power was augmented by an electric lead guitarist and a pair of backing singers. Together, they quite plainly rocked the house large and blew out any remaining cobwebs of sleep that may have remained. Game on.

MP3: Catfish Haven – “Crazy For Leaving”
MySpace: Catfish Haven

Briertone (Atlanta, GA) @ Club DeVille – These guys were a total unknown quantity but sounded like a mash-up between SoCal emo-punk and old-school Bakersfield country. If that sounds like something you’d like, then check them out. If not, then don’t. I didn’t care for it and was more preoccupied with how much they looked exactly like they sounded.

MySpace: Briertone

Thunderbirds Are Now! (Detroit, MI) @ The Mohawk Patio – Every time someone talks to me about Thunderbirds Are Now!, they say how great their live show is. And their live show is great. Absurdly high energy though I have to say the songs themselves didn’t make much of an impression. But fun to watch.

MySpace: Thunderbirds Are Now!

Sea Wolf (Los Angeles, CA) @ The Mohawk – Before their set, Matt from You Ain’t No Picasso bet me a nickel that I’d like this band. I didn’t bet him that I wouldn’t, but afterwards I gave him the nickel. They played some great-sounding pop that evidenced an equal appreciation for plain-spun roots music and shimmery 80s UK pop. Definitely intending to hear more from this outfit, who I think are the first “wolf” band I actually like. About time.

MP3: Sea Wolf – “You’re A Wolf”
MySpace: Sea Wolf

Apostle Of Hustle (Toronto, ON) @ The Mohawk Patio – Everyone’s been talking about how good the new Apostle Of Hustle is and how amazing the live show is. I wasn’t a big fan beforehand and remain unconverted. The new stuff does sound more appealing – more song-y and less jammy – and Andrew Whiteman is a charismatic frontman, but still no road to Damascus moment for me with them.

MySpace: Apostle Of Hustle

De Novo Dahl (Nashville, TN) @ The Mohawk – De Novo Dahl were getting the most pre-show buzz around the Mohawk on account of the brightly-coloured nudie suits they had pulled from the band wardrobe for the day. But as it turns out, the outfits were misleading because they delivered a set of straightforward, scrappy pop – not a cosmic country twang to be found. Still alright but somehow a bit disappointing in that.

MySpace: De Novo Dahl

Imperial Teen (San Francisco, CA) @ The Mohawk Patio – When I saw Imperial Teen on the lineup, my first reaction was, “they’re still around?” Well yes they are and though they’re definitely not teens, they’re still a deft hand at breezy Cali-pop with great vocal arrangements. The old-timers in the audience were thrilled to see them and they looked thrilled to be back.

MySpace: Imperial Teen

Midnight Movies (Los Angeles, CA) @ The Mohawk – One of the sets I was most looking forward to in the day and I wasn’t disappointed. Gena Olivier and her band previewed songs from their forthcoming album Lion The Girl but the delivery was considerably more muscular and psychedelic than on record. The combined vocals of Olivier and drummer Sandra Vu sounded terrific and it was nice to see them swap places midway through the set and have Olivier take her former place behind the kit for a while. Gotta keep those singing drummer fans mollified.

MP3: Midnight Movies – “Patient Eye”
MySpace: Midnight Movies

Shearwater (Austin, TX) @ The Mohawk Patio – “Sometimes we’re a quiet band, sometimes we’re a loud band” – so said Jonathan Meiburg in introducing Shearwater to the audience. Not even a day after their dazzling show at the Central Presbyterian Church, they did it again with a show completely different in vibe – the plastic tent above the stage at the Mohawk didn’t have quite the same acoustic properties as the church – but somehow just as impressive. I’d just like to say that I’m so proud to have been involved in putting this performance on.

MP3: Shearwater – “Red Sea Black Sea”
MySpace: Shearwater

I’m also really excited about day two, going down today. And if you hadn’t puzzled out the mystery headliner yet, let’s just say their name rhymes with Mollyphonic Flea. Now onto the evening portion of the day.

Nellie McKay (New York, NY) @ Exodus – I’d almost forgotten how much I hate this venue. I was here two years ago and it was awful, with a sizable capacity but also with sightlines that suck for about 90% of the audience. So as such, I didn’t stick around long for Ms McKay’s set which was quite late in starting anyways. But while I couldn’t see anything, she did sound great and as loopy as ever. Even a short visit to Nellie-land is a trip.

MP3: Nellie McKay – “Food”
MySpace: Nellie McKay

Buffalo Tom (Boston, MA) @ The Parish – This was a band I never thought I’d see live, what with their extended hiatus beginning before my concert-going days began. But they were huge for me in high school so I was pretty stoked that Bill Janovitz has elected to take a break from real estate to return to rock. They weren’t tight by any means – Bill seemed to be having some trouble navigating his pedals cleanly – but the sheer enthusiasm more than made up for it. The set list was composed mainly of old favourites but there were a smattering of new tracks taken from their new record, due out in July. They’re lucky the BT ongwriting formula isn’t terribly complex so the new stuff sounded pretty good or at least just like Buffalo Tom. But hearing “Velvet Roof”? And “Soda Jerk”? Ace. So ace.

MySpace: Buffalo Tom

It was at this point that I elected to bail on my original club-hopping game plan and stay at the New West showcase because I would have a golden opportunity to shoot Steve Earle from about four feet away. This is not the sort of thing you turn down to go see anonymous indie-pop elsewhere. I stayed put.

The Drams (Denton, TX) @ The Parish – I saw the Drams open up for Drive-By Truckers last Fall so I knew that the time wait for Steve would be ably filled by their brand of ripping roots rock. It’s the sort of thing that always goes down well at these things.

MySpace: The Drams

Steve Earle (Schertz, TX) @ The Parish – If you didn’t know, I’m a huge Steve Earle fan so getting this chance to see him live again, and in a solo acoustic format, was pretty exciting. His set was bookended by a couple of new songs from his forthcoming debut for New West, but consisted mainly of old favourites rejigged and rearranged to fit the format of the evening. the heart of the set was dedicated to his friend and mentor Townes Van Zandt and towards the end he also brought his wife, Alison Moorer, to play “Comin’ Around”. I have to admit, I had been hoping before the show that the extra mic set up was for Emmylou Harris, who was also in Austin for SxSW and who originally recorded that song with Steve. Alas, not to be but Alison Moorer is a pretty good substitute and did help make Earle’s performance an exceptional thing to behold. Yet another highlight in what’s turning out to be a pretty terrific SxSW for me.

MySpace: Steve Earle

Bon Savants (Boston, MA) @ Buffalo Billiards – I had intended to finish the night on that high note, but as it happens I was right across the street from where Bon Savants, who were on my original schedule, there was no lineup and they were slated to start at that very minute. So I went for it. I couldn’t stop humming “Between The Moon And The Ocean” for days after just one listen from the SxSW torrent so I was interested to see if the rest of their material measured up. While I found them to have some good to great ideas, but the overall quality of what I was hearing in their mod-pop was inconsistent though promising. Of course, expecting them to follow up a Steve Earle performance is pretty unfair – I will revisit their stuff at a later date when the bar in my head isn’t set quite so high.

MP3: Bon Savants – “Between The Moon And The Ocean”
MySpace: Bon Savants

One more day. Man oh man. I miss my cat.

Interesting bit of trivia – with the exception of the trip back to the hotel last night, I have gotten lost every time I’ve gotten into my car. Not entirely my fault – they’re closing all different streets at different times this year than last. But for someone who sort of thinks they know their way around downtown Austin by now, it’s a bit embarrassing.

Anyway. Yesterday afternoon was spent at the famous Antone’s club (famous to blues fans, anyway) with the Spaceland/LiveDaily party that I was ostensibly co-presenting. Twelve hours on and I’m still not sure what that meant.

Monsters Are Waiting (Los Angeles, CA) @ Antone’s – Though I arrived a little late, the day also started a little late so I still caught most of MAW’s set. I saw them last year at a little club across the street and this larger space, with the fancy lights and all suited them better. Their new wavey rock and Annalee Fery’s twitchy/sexy stage persona works better when there’s a larger audience to witness it. Interestingly, this was the second time in the past 12 hours or so I’d heard someone play the bassline from “I Wanna Be Adored”. But while Minipop only soundchecked with it, Monsters gave it a proper cover. Which I think they also did last year. That’s okay.

MP3: Monsters Are Waiting – “Last Goodbye”
MySpace: Monsters Are Waiting

Dirty On Purpose (Brooklyn, NY) @ Antone’s – Dirty On Purpose have been coming to SxSW as long as I have and it doesn’t seem like Sx unless I catch the boys somewhere somewhen. Their set seemed extra short with a couple new songs mixed in with Hallelujah Sirens selections and while it may have been a little early in the day for some to appreciate their fuzz-pop (or maybe just early for the band to be playing) I enjoyed their set as I always do. I also conducted a quick interview with them afterwards for LiveDaily which I’m going to see about getting the audio for and transcribing.

MP3: Dirty On Purpose – “No Radio”
MySpace: Dirty On Purpose

DATAROCK (Bergen, Norway) @ Antone’s – What you need to know: DATAROCK are Norwegian. They wear matching red track suits and red wraparound sunglasses. They play synth rock that’s as awesome as it is ridiculous, I think it’s all a matter of perspective. I personally went with the former. Entertainment personified.

MP3: DATAROCK – “Fa-Fa-Fa”
MySpace: DATAROCK

Annuals (Raleigh, NC) @ Antone’s – These guys (and girl) have rather quickly busted out from the “blog favourite” ghetto and are building themselves quite the fanbase. Me, I don’t really get it. Their style of pop is ambitious and they’re all obviously accomplished enough musicians to pull it off but it’s all just a little too dense and (melo)dramatic to tickle my fancy. I felt that way about the album and the live show’s done nothing to convince me otherwise. Points for effort, though.

MySpace: Annuals

Blonde Redhead (New York, NY) @ Antone’s – And here’s where things go off the tracks. To this point, things were running around 15 minutes behind. Not ideal, but about what was to be expected. Blonde Redhead, whom I’ve only recently begun listening to with their excellent new record 23, were an exciting choice to headline and I – and the packed club – were excited to see them play. But first they had to soundcheck. For half an hour. They went on and on, testing and re-testing mics, samplers, whatever, before finally starting to play at 5PM. Of course, what we didn’t know at the time (but I suspect they did) was that there was a 5:15 curfew and after four songs and 15 minutes, the band said they were done and left. It’s a good thing that the show was free otherwise things would have gotten ugly – as it was, there was lots of grumbling from the attendees as they were shooed out the door. Even though what the band did play sounded great, it was still a pretty lousy situation. I was not impressed.

MP3: Blonde Redhead – “23”
MySpace: Blonde Redhead

Shearwater (Austin, TX) @ The Central Presbyterian Church – The evening itinerary started at a little church at the north end of downtown where local heroes Shearwater played an amazing set. To hear Jonathan Meiburg’s vocals in a church’s acoustics while pounding out “Seventy-Four, Seventy-Five” on a grand piano was something to behold. Playing material from their soon-to-be revitalized Palo Santo as well as a couple of new songs, the band sounded more powerful than I’d imagined they could and their performance was simply jaw-dropping.

MP3: Shearwater – “Red Sea Black Sea”
MySpace: Shearwater

Joan As Police Woman (Brooklyn, NY) @ The Ale House – I wasn’t really familiar with JAPW before last night but went to her showcase based on the enthusiasm of some people whom I trust. Playing solo and alternating between guitar and keyboard, Joan Wasser struck me as someone you could classify as a singer-songwriter, but not much beyond that. You couldn’t call her folk, or blues, or even rock or pop – what she was was dark, acerbic, witty and a bit weird. But also quite enjoyable.

MP3: Joan As Police Woman – “The Ride”
MySpace: Joan As Police Woman

Cloud Cult (Minneapolis, MN) @ Emo’s Jr – This was another showcase attended based largely on the positive opinions of others. Objectively, they reminded me of Annuals in the complexity and ambitiousness of their pop music, but subjectively, I enjoyed their stuff much more. It’s less frantic and more elegiac-sounding, thanks in no small part to the cello and violin players’ contributions. I wasn’t blown away but it was a solid performance and positive first impression. They also get points for having the most original band merch – during their set, they had two members painting canvases onstage, and at the end they announced they would sell them via silent auction at the merch table. I don’t know how many takers they got, but the pieces were actually pretty nice. Certainly more unique than a t-shirt.

MySpace: Cloud Cult

The Dears (Montreal, QC) @ Stubb’s – I actually had no intention of seeing The Dears, but my plan of standing in line at Stubb’s for an hour was undone by the fact that there was no lineup. I walked right in, to the front and into the photo pit in under three minutes. Hey. But if there was ever a place The Dears were suited for, it’s a big festival stage with an audience ready and primed for some hyper-emotional and dramatic Brit-influenced rock. A good primer for the headliner, and Murray Lightburn had the quote of the day when he said, “Stick around for the next band and maybe you won’t have to ask me to autograph your Bloc Party CDs”. Golden.

MySpace: The Dears

Bloc Party (London, England) @ Stubb’s – Okay, sign me up for the Bloc Party fan club. I mentioned last week how much I was enjoying their new album A Weekend In The City but now that I’ve seen them live, I’m sold. Energetic, anthemic, charismatic and unbelievably tight, Bloc Party put on one hell of a show at Stubb’s that even if I had had to wait in line for an hour plus, it’d have been worth it. I can’t recall the last time I saw a band that simply owned such a large stage and still managed to make it feel intimite, though in a thoroughly rocking way? it may have been recently – I actually can’t recall. How many bands can say they got me to dance by myself in a field in Texas with 3000 strangers? Just one. A completely atypical SxSW experience in its stadium rock-osity but still sure to be one of the highlights of this week.

MySpace: Bloc Party

Hot Freaks today! If you come by the Mohawk or DeVille, find me and say hi. I’ll be the one with my feet in the epsom salts.

So the headliners for this year’s Virgin Festival, Toronto edition, has been announced and while I secretly hoped the lineup would be all tattoos and piercings and of no appeal to me, the headliners definitely have appeal. Sure, for the second day it’s more of a morbid curiosity kind of thing, but still.

Day one the big names are Amy Winehouse, Paolo Nutini, Interpol and Bjork while day two gets Jamie T, Tokyo Police Club, The Killers and Smashing Pumpkins. Obviously scads more will be added between now and September, but these are the big ones.

The festival goes September 8 and 9 on the Toronto Islands. Two-day early bird tickets are on sale right now through CFNY for $128 and go on general sale next Saturday for $138, Prices include a $1 charity fee, $12 ferry fee but don’t include ticket outlet service charges.

One down, three to go. My first full day in Austin was initially spent hanging out at the Convention Center getting my wristband situation sorted out, which it was and by early afternoon I had my wristband, camera pass, a spring in my step and tacos in my belly. First stop of the day. musically-speaking? The Mohawk, where Austinist, Gothamist and Gorilla Vs Bearist were throwing the best (and really, only) big party of the afternoon.

Headlights (Champaign, IL) @ The Mohawk Patio – I thought I arrived early so I was a bit perplexed to hear Headlights’ “TV” wafting down Red River as I approached the club. Since when do shows run ahead of schedule? Since never, that’s when. And yet, they were. So quickly getting inside, I caught most of their set, their jubilant pop chasing away the grey skies and enticing the sun to shine. Okay, it didn’t really – it remained overcast all day – but it felt like it could have happened. A terrific way to start the day and the festival.

MP3: Headlights – “TV”
MySpace: Headlights

Nicole Atkins & The Parlour Mob (Neptune, NJ) @ The Mohawk Patio – This was supposed to be billed as “Nicole Atkins & The Sea” but The Sea, her band, was stuck in Cincinnati so she had to enlist some ringers – The Parlour Mob – to back her up. They played an abbreviated set, but it was long enough to showcase Atkins’ powerhouse voice, steeped equally in raw blues and deep twang. I’d heard bits and pieces of her stuff before, but have been convinced to investigate her work a lot more closely. Wholly impressive.

MP3: Nicole Atkins & the Sea – “Bleeding Diamonds”
MySpace: Nicole Atkins

Loney, Dear (Stockholm, Sweden) @ The Mohawk Patio – Though they were playing many showcases over the week, this was going to be my only opportunity to see them and it was a real treat. On Loney, Noir, Emil Svanangen views melancholy through sparkling pop prisms but live, with a five-piece band four of whom contribute backing vocals and harmonies, his songs take on whole new emotional dimension – they sound utterly joyous. It may simply come down to the difference between the sound of instruments being multitracked in a studio and played live, but it was really, really something to behold.

MP3: Loney, Dear – “I Am John”
MySpace: Loney, Dear

That was it for the day shows. After some dinner, it was back into it starting with the Beggars/4AD festivities at the main Emo’s complex.

iLiKETRAiNS (Leeds, England) @ Emo’s Jr – This combo took to the stage in matching white dress shirts with black armbands, possibly in remembrance but more likely in affectation. They served up some decent if not especially remarkable tunes based on dark, swirling dirges, all deep and mournful lyrics and echoing, crashing guitars. And one very aggressive trumpet player.

MP3: iLikeTrains – “Terra Nova”
MySpace: iLikeTrains

Emma Pollock (Glasgow, Scotland) @ Emo’s – It’s important to remember that The Delgados’ dissolution wasn’t Emma Pollock’s idea, so there’s no real reason to expect that her solo material would be worlds away from her contributions to her old band. Though the one track from her forthcoming album made available below would imply a gentler, folkier direction, her showcase indicated that it was more the exception than the norm. “Limbs” notwithstanding, her set – backed by a full band – was actually quite raucous and uptempo, with a bit more raggedness than was evident in her old band. Consider my anticipation for her album officially heightened.

MP3: Emma Pollock – “Limbs”
MySpace: Emma Pollock

Beirut (Albuquerque, NM) @ Emo’s – I wasn’t overly bowled over by Gulag Orkestar – I thought it was okay but not much beyond that – but judging from the enthusiasm of the crowd that piled into the Emo’s main room to see Zach Condon and his mini orchestra, I’m maybe the only one of that opinion. The kids love Beirut, that cannot be debated. And I have to say, their roaring and ramshackle live show does come with a whole lot of charm – Condon and his deep croon ooze a definite charisma and his band, seven players strong, excellently bring to life the exotic Eastern European vibe of the album. For some reason the band thought they only had a short amount of time to play and when told otherwise, ended up soliciting requests from the audience.

MP3: Beirut – “Elephant Gun”
MySpace: Beirut

On my way out, I caught the last song of The Early Years’ set – and it was explosive. Can’t wait to see them do a full set at Hot Freaks on Saturday.

Minipop (San Francisco, CA) @ The Parish II – It’s saying something said that even with lots working against them – an unfriendly venue (waiters carrying jalapeno poppers were walking in front of the stage and I was able to get the basketball scores by glancing at any wall), lousy sound and a blown power circuit midway through the second song, Minipop still managed to impress. Of course, I was already half-sold based on their sweet power-pop/dream-pop blend based on what I’d heard from the SxSW torrent and their MySpace but what did come across live sealed the deal. I got a copy of their debut album A New Hope and if it delivers as I hope, you’ll be reading more about these guys and gals here in the future.

MP3: Minipop – “Like I Do”
MySpace: Minipop

Cortney Tidwell (Nashville, TN) @ The Ale Room – I was curious how the ethereal qualities of Tidwell’s Don’t Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up would be recreated live, and surprisingly the answer was “with lots of guitars”. In addition to Tidwell, either armed with an acoustic or omnichord, there were three other electric guitarists on the tiny Ale Room stage with her (plus a keyboardist and drummer) turning her dreamy country-esque tunes into miniature novas. And while you might think that approach would be contrary to the delicacy inherent in her material, it actually worked really well – especially since Tidwell’s massive, amazing voice was lifted up on the din instead of being smothered by it. By looking at things from a different angle, the show only served to reinforce how good that record is.

MP3: Cortney Tidwell – “Eyes Are At The Billions”

After her set, I called it an early night. There simply wasn’t anyone I wanted to be seeing and if there’s one thing I’ve learned about SxSW, it’s you take your rest where you can get it. And don’t forget – this was the SHORT day. Much more on the sched for tomorrow.

So today it begins. Four days of glorious weather (though not the case yesterday, as it was pouring rain all day), foodstuffs cooked over open fire pits and round the clock rock’n’roll. The trip in was mostly uneventful – I actually slept pretty much every minute that I wasn’t required to actually be boarding or disembarking a plane. The past week/month/whatever has picked a fine time to catch up with me but last night’s 10 hours of sleep should go a looooong way. Be surprised if I get that much over the next four nights (okay, probably an overstatement but not by too much). My hotel room is interesting – it’s designed for wheelchair access so there’s a handy ramp from the the parking lot to my door and the washroom can accommodate the turning radius of a Buick Roadmaster. And there’s an IHOP outside my window.

But now I’m wide awake, its morning and I have a working cellphone (yay!). A man, a plan, a canal. Putting together my tentative game plan was a lot easier this year than in the past thanks to my obligations to the various day shows I’m helping present. Can’t very well not show up to my own parties. Thankfully the lineups are by and large solid so I won’t feel the urge to slip out the back door and check out someone else’s show (not too much, anyway). But if you’re curious, looking to find me or just living vicariously through me (not nearly what it’s cracked up to be, trust me), here’s the what where and when of the next few days.

Today I’ll mainly be at the Mohawk for the Austinist/Gothamist/GvsB show, mainly to catch Headlights and Loney, Dear but happy to catch Nicole Atkins, The Hourly Radio and Sparrow House while I’m there. This presumes, of course, that I get my wristband situation sorted out in the early afternoon and am not running frantically around downtown Austin looking for scalpers.

In the evening, after filling up at the annual Horseshoe BBQ, it’s off to Emo’s for the big Beggars/4AD showcases. The UK’s iLikeTrains are pretty much the only thing on at 8 so they’ll get the nod there, and then it’s ex-Delgado Emma Pollock showcasing material from her debut solo record. It’ll be a coin toss between seeing Beirut outside or The Early Years inside but no question about hustling over to the Parish at 11:30 for San Fran’s Minipop. We’ll see how long I stay there because at midnight Courtney Tidwell is at the Ale House and then… well I’m not sure since Daylight’s For The Birds has canceled their show at the last minute. Boo! Not a lot of other options so if I don’t turn in early, I’ll probably stay at the Ale House to see France’s Cyann & Ben.

Thursday’s the day of the Spaceland/LiveDaily jag I’m co-presenting at Antone’s, so my stomping grounds will be limited to the west end of downtown for the most part. Hoping I’ll be there in time to catch at least some of Monsters Are Waiting’s noontime set but am not optimistic. But I’ll definitely be seeing Dirty On Purpose, Annuals and Blonde Redhead and I’ve heard good things about Datarock. That’ll most likely do it for the day, and then it’s foraging for grub before night falls.

But when it does fall, I will be safely ensconced in the Central Presbyterian Church at 7:30 to see Shearwater play. With luck I’ll be able to squeeze in some of The Besnard Lakes at the Mohawk before zipping to The Ale House for Joan As Police Woman at 9. I hear Cloud Cult is the act to see at 10 – they’re at Emo’s – and then at 11, David Vandervelde has the inside track on my attention though I could be easily distracted by a shiny object. Or maybe I’ll just get in line for Bloc Party’s midnight set at Stubb’s. Apparently that’s a 3000-capacity venue so I’m hopeful that I’ll get in eventually. My optimism is somewhat less so for Okkervil River’s 12:45AM show at the Mohawk – if my two-hour wait to see them last year is any indication I’m not getting in, so as a 1AM fallback I’ve got either The Rumble Strips at the Rio or The Hot Puppies at BD Riley’s.

Friday equals Hot Freaks day one, so that’s me at the DeVille/Mohawk complex bright and early. I expect to be running around from stage to stage all day, but will definitely be taking in Small Sins, The Black Lips, Apostle Of Hustle, Imperial Teen, Midnight Movies and again, Shearwater. There may also be some sneaking out to see The Pipettes and Elvis Perkins elsewhere, but not for certain.

I’m hoping to start off Friday night at Exodus where Nellie McKay is slated to perform at 7:45. She won’t come to Canada because some of us club baby seals, but she’s no problem performing in the BBQ capital of the world. Okay. 9:00 means Buffalo Tom at The Parish and I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to see them live, something I thought I’d never get to do. Then it’s Via Audio at Club DeVille at 10 and Bon Savants at Buffalo Billiards at midnight. In an ideal world, I’d catch some of Bedroom Walls’ 11:20 set but Club One 15 is a bit of a hike from the other venues and I don’t think it’s going to happen. Then I intend to finish off the night on Maggie Mae’s Rooftop with the UK’s Electric Soft Parade.

For Hot Freaks: The Morning After, we’ve got the wonderful Broken West making 11AM a good time for Mohawk rock and Toronto’s Hylozoists offering a vibraphonic counterpoint at Club DeVille. Other hot and freaky must-sees are The Early Years, Land Of Talk, Asobi Seksu, The Rosebuds, Margot & The Nuclear So & So’s and many, many more. And if you haven’t guessed who our super-secret headliner is, you probably haven’t tried very hard.

Saturday night doesn’t offer the dizzying array of choices the previous nights did, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to fill up the sched. Locked in at 8PM are Scots My Latest Novel at Buffalo Billiards, whom I skipped some four or five times this past weekend in Toronto at Canadian Music Week. Then it’s Austin’s Lovely Sparrows at the Mohawk – I hear they’re lovely – and then possibly Tilly & The Wall at Beauty Bar. Partly because there’s not much else going on at 10 and partly to already be inside at 11 to catch The Pipettes, assuming I haven’t seen one of their dozen or so other appearances this week. And then, finally and at last, I’ll zip across town to Antone’s to see The Tragically Hip try for the umpteenth time to impress America.

And that’s all she wrote. The preceding has been geographically optimized – some artists I would have otherwise have liked to see were omitted if they were playing a venue clear across town from where I was going to be. So assuming reasonable lineups – and I’m only hitting a handful of what you’d call “hot” shows – I think the above is doable. I hope. But if not, there’s contingencies in place. I think this is going to happen. I can feel it in my bones. Yessir. But hey – if there’s something you think I should see (and you don’t work for a label/PR company/whatever), lemme know. I’m open. Pitchfork has their picks for the week but they’re rather the usual suspects so not that useful to me.

Trying to keep up with all the press surrounding artists playing the fest will be an exercise in futility so I’m not even going to try. These, however, are some that I’ve already saved down so I may as well get them out there.

Paste names Cortney Tidwell their artist of the week, Salt Lake Weekly talks to Malajube, PopMatters has an interview with Loney, Dear, Harp talks to Elvis Perkins, Uberdrivel interviewed Emma Pollock and The Austin Chronicle and Austinist have a slew of capsule interviews with, like, everyone.

And this Rolling Stone piece wondering aloud if SxSW has sold out or not makes me laugh, though I can’t figure out if it’s because RS is pretty much the last entity that should be calling out ANYONE’S integrity or because the writer seems to have such a hate-on for KC & The Sunshine Band. This Harp piece tearing the once-mighty tabloid is also a fun read.

Okay, that’s it. Once more unto the breach. And by breach, I mean breakfast tacos.