Frank YangAs of Monday night, it had been four and a half years since I saw Spoon live and just over four years since I’d been to The Sound Academy (nee The Docks) for a show. One of these streaks I was anxious to break; the other I was not. To be fair, I only missed one of their Toronto shows – a 2008 appearance at the Kool Haus in support of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga – but apparently that was the one where they officially crossed over to “rock star” status. That last time at The Phoenix in November 2005, it felt like a show for Spoon fans – this time, at a room three times the size but just as full, it felt more like the show was simply the place to be that night. That’s not intended with any snarkiness, just an observation.

This tour saw the band bringing two others on tour with them – one who surely benefited from being shown off in front of such-sized audiences and another that probably could have packed a respectably-sized room all on their own. The former of these were The Strange Boys, who hailed from Austin, Texas and proudly carried on that city’s tradition of psychedelic-garage rock. Granted, they weren’t overly trippy, preferring focused pop structures over sprawling jams and weren’t above injecting some twang into their sound, but their roots and skill at said stylings were clear. A little more energy or stage presence wouldn’t have been unwelcome, but still a solid start to the evening from a band making their first visit to Canada.

Deerhunter, on the other hand, were probably responsible for drawing no small percentage of the audience, if not just for themselves then for tilting the decision of whether to see Spoon in one the city’s least-favoured venues into the “yea” column. Though their psychedelic/shoegazing/pop affinities would make them seem the sort of thing I’d really be into, I had not listened to Deerhunter much before and certainly hadn’t seen them live. And now I wish I had, because their set was pretty superb – musically, they were far more direct (read: less wall of noise) than I’d expected, but with enough bludgeoning volume and droning excursions to keep it sufficiently trippy and the show itself was livened up with Bradford Cox’s space cadet stage banter, an unexpected stage invasion from one of The Black Lips (or perhaps expected considering that before they began the song, Cox dedicated it to his fellow Atlantans) and another guest appearance from Spoon’s Britt Daniel, who took over on guitar from Cox while the gangly bandleader engaged in some on-stage shenanigans I couldn’t actually see from my angle – see the eye review for specifics. As far as their recorded works go, I’ve only really spent time with Microcastle – further recommendations are welcome.

I don’t, however, need any help getting acquainted with the collected works of Spoon, having followed them attentively since 2001’s Girls Can Tell, and if there’s a downside to their consistently excellent output over this decade – hell, century – it’s that it can cause one to take them for granted a bit. Some have criticized this year’s Transference as being less focused than its pop-friendly predecessor Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, I – for reasons I can’t quite articulate – prefer it. Both sides of the argument would have been perfectly happy with Monday night’s set list, then, as it opened with Transference’s sublime closer “Nobody Gets Me But You” and drew heavily from both records – seven tracks from each – while also hitting most of the essential notes from all the other Merge releases, even going as far back as 1997’s Soft Effects for the unexpected, “I Could See The Dude”.

In total, they ran through an impressive 25 songs over an hour and forty minutes, aptly showcasing the band’s unique sound and dynamic. Britt Daniel – he of the scratchy voice and stabby six-string – is front and centre, dancing around the stage in his herky-jerky manner as if pulled uncontrollably by his guitar but the contributions of his bandmates can’t be overstated, even if they seem perfectly happy to stay in the background. Eric Harvey’s keys provided the melodic underpinnings that allow Daniel’s guitar lines to wander while he impossibly tight and just funky enough rhythm section of Jim Eno and Rob Pope were omnipresent on this night – possibly because the Sound Academy’s acoustics leaned way towards the bassy. And don’t get me started on the sightlines – it’s a sad situation when you find yourself pining for the environs of the Kool Haus.

In my comments from that Phoenix show in 2005, I noted that ‘I will have to amend my one-line synopsis on Spoon live from “they put on a good show” to “they usually put on a good show, but sometimes they put on a GREAT show”. If Monday was a proper indication of how far they’ve progressed as a live act in the past half-decade, then their work on stage is almost on par with in the studio and I’ll have to update my notes to read, “they put on a great show” – no qualifiers.

Westword, NOW, CBC, The Quietus, The Toronto Star, The Chronicle Herald,NPR, The Toronto Sun and The San Francisco Chronicle have feature pieces on Spoon. Spin has excerpted this month’s feature piece that puts Britt Daniel in conversation with Ray Davies and New York Magazine talks to him about the art of the set list. Chart, The Globe & Mail and Exclaim have reviews of the show. The Fly profiles The Strange Boys.

Photos: Spoon, Deerhunter, The Strange Boys @ The Sound Academy – March 29, 2010
MP3: Spoon – “The Underdog”
MP3: Spoon – “I Turn My Camera On”
MP3: Spoon – “The Way We Get By”
MP3: Spoon – “This Book Is A Movie”
MP3: Spoon – “Mountain To Sound”
MP3: Spoon – “Chips & Dip”
MP3: Spoon – “Idiot Driver”
MP3: Deerhunter – “Wash Off”
MP3: Deerhunter – “Rainwater Cassette Exchange”
Video: Spoon – “Written In Reverse”
Video: Spoon – “The Underdog”
Video: Spoon – “Don’t You Evah”
Video: Spoon – “The Two Sides Of Monsieur Valentine”
Video: Spoon – “I Turn My Camera On”
Video: Spoon – “Sister Jack”
Video: Spoon – “Jonathan Fisk”
Video: Spoon – “Small Stakes”
Video: Spoon – “Everything Hits At Once”
Video: Deerhunter – “Agoraphobia”
Video: Deerhunter – “Strange Lights”
Video: The Strange Boys – “Be Brave”
Video: The Strange Boys – “Woe Is You And Me”

The Line Of Best Fit and Montreal Gazette have interviews with Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater; The Gazette has also posted the full transcript of their interview. Shearwater play Lee’s Palace tomorrow night, April 1.

Also on the bill for that show are Wye Oak, who played a Tiny Desk Concert for NPR.

Daytrotter is featuring a session with Richard Buckner.

Paste reports that Tift Merritt will release a new record entitled See You On The Moon on June 1. The Fayetteville Observer has an interview with Merritt.

Pitchfork has details on Blitzen Trapper’s new album Destroyer Of The Void, due out June 8.

MP3: Blitzen Trapper – “Heaven & Earth”

Jeff Tweedy of Wilco is interviewed by The Miami Herald, Palm Beach Pulse and The Weekender while Le Blogotheque has a Take-Away Show with the band.

The Fly talks to The National frontman Matt Berninger about their new album High Violet, out May 11. They play Massey Hall on June 8 and 9.

LAist and The Dallas Observer chat with Ted Leo, who’s released a new video from The Brutalist Bricks. A Toronto show has also finally been announced – Ted and the Pharmacists will be at Lee’s Palace on June 26, tickets $15.

Video: Ted Leo & The Pharmacists – “The Mighty Sparrow”

Spinner, Prefix and Blurt have features on the Drive-By Truckers, who bring their new album The Big To-Do to Lee’s Palace for two nights next week, April 6 and 7.

Their respective members have moved on to new projects for the time being, but that hasn’t stopped Monsters Of Folk from releasing a new video from their self-titled album.

Video: Monsters Of Folk – “Dear God”

Crawdaddy profiles John Vanderslice.

NPR is streaming the entirety of Joanna Newsom’s concert in Washington DC last week.

Under The Radar talks to School Of Seven Bells’ Alejandra Deheza about their new album Disconnect From Desire. She says it will be out this Spring; it now being Spring, I am less confident than her about this point – it will be out this year, though.

Phantogram have released a new video from Eyelid Movies. If you’ve been having trouble finding in stores in Canada, there’s a reason – apparently it’s not out here until April 6, their deal with Barsuk not counting north of the 49th? Don’t know, but it’s worth seeking out wherever you have to go to do it. Playtonic Dialogues has an interview.

Video: Phantogram – “Mouthful Of Diamonds”

Portland atmospheric electronicist Eluvium will be at the Drake on May 22 in support of his new album Similes; tickets $12 in advance.

MP3: Eluvium – “The Motion Makes Me Last”

tUnE-yArDs brings her much-feted (but not really understood by me) debut BiRd-BrAiNs to the Horseshoe on June 13 – tickets $12 in advance. I tried, really I did.

MP3: tUnE-yArDs – “Sunlight”
Video: tUnE-yArDs – “Real Live Flesh”

Blurt, Pitchfork and Paul Westerberg – via The New York Times – eulogize Alex Chilton of Big Star.

Frank YangFull writeup of the night over here.

Superchunk
– Chapel Hill indie rock legends coming out of retirement with a new album later this year; Mac McCaughan talked to Under The Radar back in December about how that was going. McCaughan and guitarist Jim Wilbur will be in Toronto on April 7 to play at The Royal for the premiere of Passenger Side, a film in which Superchunk’s music appears – details at Exclaim, advance tickets over here.
Photos: Superchunk @ Cedar Street Courtyard – March 18, 2010
MP3: Superchunk – “Misfits & Mistakes”
MP3: Superchunk – “Never Too Young To Smoke”
MP3: Superchunk – “Rainy Streets”
MP3: Superchunk – “Becoming A Speck”
MP3: Superchunk – “Pink Clouds”
MP3: Superchunk – “Detroit Has A Skyline” (acoustic)
MP3: Superchunk – “Nu Bruises”
Video: Superchunk – “Mower”
Video: Superchunk – “Untied”
Video: Superchunk – “Driveway To Driveway”
Video: Superchunk – “Package Thief”
Video: Superchunk – “Art Class”
Video: Superchunk – “Throwing Things”
Video: Superchunk – “Precision Auto”
Video: Superchunk – “Fishing”
Video: Superchunk – “Watery Hands”
Video: Superchunk – “First Part”
Video: Superchunk – “Hyper Enough”
MySpace: Superchunk

Let’s Wrestle
– London trio whose debut In the Court of the Wrestling Let’s has just been released in North America and will be at the Horseshoe on April 18 in support of Quasi.
Photos: Let’s Wrestle @ Cedar Street Courtyard – March 18, 2010
MP3: Let’s Wrestle – “We Are The Men You’ll Grow To Love Soon”
Video: Let’s Wrestle – “I Won’t Lie To You”
Video: Let’s Wrestle – “We Are The Men You’ll Grow To Love Soon”
Video: Let’s Wrestle – “I’m In Fighting Mode”

Radar Brothers
– Former Medicine guitarist Jim Putnam returns with The Illustrated Garden, another collection of languid, atmospheric guitar pop.
Photos: Radar Brothers @ Cedar Street Courtyard – March 18, 2010
MP3: Radar Brothers – “Horse Warriors”
MP3: Radar Brothers – “On The Line”
MP3: Radar Brothers – “Warm Rising Sun”
MP3: Radar Brothers – “Papillon”
Video: Radar Brothers – “Brother Rabbit”
Video: Radar Brothers – “When Cold Air Goes To Sleep”
Video: Radar Brothers – “On The Line”
Video: Radar Brothers – “Papillon”
MySpace: Radar Brothers

She & Him
– Duo of M Ward and Zooey Deschanel just released their second album of classic AM-era pop in Volume Two and will play a sold-out show at The Phoenix on June 9. NPR, Exclaim and Spinner have interviews.
Photos: She & Him @ Cedar Street Courtyard – March 18, 2010
MP3: She & Him – “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?”
Video: She & Him – “In The Sun”
Video: She & Him – “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?”
MySpace: She & Him

Marina & The Diamonds
– British chart-topper seeks to conquer America with a new EP in The American Jewels laying the groundwork for the May 25 release of her full-length debut The Family Jewels on May 25. She talks about her song “I Am Not A Robot” to Wales Online and is interviewed by Paste.
Photos: Marina & The Diamonds @ Lambert’s – March 18, 2010
Video: Marina & The Diamonds – “Hollywood”
Video: Marina & The Diamonds – “I Am Not A Robot”
Video: Marina & The Diamonds – “Mowgli’s Road”
Video: Marina & The Diamonds – “Obsessions”
MySpace: Marina & The Diamonds

DominoSeeing as how their career started with a cover – a recording of Richard & Linda Thompson’s “When I Get To The Border” for the independent film The Go-Getter – which M Ward scored and Zooey Deschanel starred in – it’s not surprising that She & Him have a yen for reinterpreting classic tunes. And when your sound is devoted to the recreation of the golden age of pop music, there’s lots of material to draw on.

For the b-side of their first single in the UK, “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?” from 2008’s Volume One, they turned their attention to Neil Young’s “Lotta Love”, which appeared on his 1978 album Comes A Time, as well as Nicolette Larson’s Nicolette. Larson’s version would become a top ten single; Young’s would only come out as a b-side.

She & Him will release their second album Volume Two this week and play the Phoenix on June 9. Neil Young continues to release material from his Archives and is working on a new album. And is awesome.

MP3: She & Him – “Lotta Love”
Video: Neil Young – “Lotta Love” (live)

Frank YangFunny thing about plans you’ve had etched in stone for weeks – they seem to be the ones that are the most fun to jettison. Leading up to SxSW, I had assumed I would stick around at Eastbound & Down through GZA’s set, which meant that my only opportunity to see Superchunk would be their Friday afternoon Village Voice show at La Zona Rosa. Easy. And yet instead of getting my Wu Tang on Thursday evening, I found myself back at the hotel staring at my schedule and contemplating a world of opportunities with that scenario out the window. And it was decided that this evening would be a Merge kind of evening.

That Superchunk were the “special guests” kicking things off there at 7:30 PM was a pretty poorly kept secret, but even without them it was sure to be a full house with the first of several SxSW appearances from Matt Ward and Zooey Deschanel, aka She & Him. I wanted to see both and not tromp all around Austin, so sitting in Cedar Street for a few hours seemed a good plan. But first there’d be some standing in line outside the courtyard waiting for doors to open at 7. And more standing. And more. Apparently, a late-running day show had mucked up the Merge schedule such that doors didn’t open until 7:50, obviously throwing the official schedule – which only would have allowed for a 15-20 minute Superchunk set – out the window. When wristbands were finally let in, I pulled a Cedar Street Slide (instead of fighting through the crowd in the courtyard, ducking into the restaurant that runs the length of the venue and bypassing them via the entrance at the front of the stage) and snagged a perfect spot at the foot of the stage as Superchunk were tuning up. Superchunk!

And man, was it worth the wait. The Chapel Hill quartet may not be on full active duty after a long hiatus, but they played like they hadn’t taken a day off. Pogoing around the stage like the kids do (or did), they played a much longer than expected set – eight songs – including a couple new ones which will appear on their just-completed new record (!!!). Those sounded great but I was of course stoked to hear the likes of “Hello Hawk” and “Hyper Enough”, as well as getting to tell Jim Wilbur that no one heard his last solo because he’d accidentally unplugged his guitar from a pedal mid-song. I had worried that going off schedule would make for a shorter Superchunk set, but it probably allowed for an even longer one and my night had hit it’s high point just as soon as it had begun. This, kids, is how it’s done.

Three of those kids were up next in the form of one of the label’s latest signings, London’s Let’s Wrestle. I’m a fan of their debut In the Court of the Wrestling Let’s, due out next week, and had been looking for an opportunity to catch them at SxSW before their April 18 show at the Horseshoe but while their songwriting and persona would appear to be of shambolic abandon, their show was decidedly more polite than expected. It sounded great and Wesley Patrick Gonzalez’s guitar had a pleasant self-destructing tone throughout, but their delivery was more of intensity than shenanigans, save for the final, instrumental title track of the album in which strings began breaking on his SG en masse, forcing him to mangle/wrangle them off whilst trying to play. Finally – some wrestling!

The last time I saw Radar Bros was also here in Austin, also at a Merge showcase in 2008. And like that time, their set was slow and leisurely, almost to a fault. I like a lot of the sounds and influences that Jim Putnam and company draw on, but delivered as they are in such a languorous fashion, it can be a bit maddening. Their new record The Illustrated Garden is out next week. I’m betting it sounds a lot like the one before it.

They may be called She & Him, but it’s really She & Him & Lots Of Backing Players – Matt and Zooey’s band is a big one, and as such, their soundcheck took an exceeding long time to get through. Any gains in time made up by compressing sets leading up to theirs were pretty much lost as they tried to get mics and monitors working. Not that anyone seemed to care, anticipation for the duo was high and hundreds of cameras at the ready… until they essentially turned off all the lights and a show official came on the mic and said that the band politely requested that no one take any photos during their show. Of course, few listened and when they finally strode out on stage, it was to a barrage of flashes and shutters. This performance had a markedly different feel from their SxSW debut two years ago, which was maybe their third-ever live performance. Despite being a seasoned actress, at that show Deschanel seemed very nervous and uncomfortable being in the spotlight, frequently looking to Ward for cues or confidence. This time out, she was far, far more at ease, chatting with the crowd, cracking jokes, jumping up and down and generally being adorable. Musically, things weren’t quite so polished as some sound issues persisted despite the elongated soundcheck and they were both working without a set list and against a shortened set time. Not that that seemed to matter to most in attendance, who were thrilled to be seeing the pair – or at least their silhouettes – and take in their timeless-sounding, AM radio-styled pop tunes. And as soon as they were done, the venue cleared out.

Which is a shame because Wye Oak were up next. I’d have liked to have stuck around and if they were remotely on schedule, I would have but still needing to grab some dinner at 11PM and with a few blocks to traverse to Lamberts for my last stop of the night, I needed to be on my way. Lamberts was where current UK it girl Marina & The Diamonds was set to hold court and, having a thing for UK it girls, I wanted to see what this was all about. Again, the start time was delayed massively by technical issues – seeing six guys huddled around a rack case with a flashlight and shrugging is never a good sign – but unlike most SxSW showcases thus afflicted, this one would hardly be cut short. When they were finally ready to go, Marina Diamandis bounded onstage clad in Planet Hollywood overalls and a giant woolen shawl with animal ears… clearly, she was not going to be your conventional diva. And not being able to quite put my finger on what she was about was kind of the overarching theme for her set. Her voice is powerful, but with enough quirks and tics to not be too cookie cutter mainstream. the musical backing is synth-heavy, but it’s not made for the dancefloor. The lyrics are dense and pop-culture referencing, but not ironic. She’s beautiful, but not conventionally glammy (see above outfit). Whatever she’s doing, it’s been a hit in the UK and if the couple hundred people crammed into the club are a representative sample of North America (which they’re not), then when her debut The Family Jewels is released over here on May 25, it’ll do just as well. For my part, I remain intrigued if not yet completely won over.

Frank YangI don’t know exactly when I became a Joanna Newsom fan. Though I’d certainly heard people talk about her, my first exposure to her music wasn’t through either of her first two records but by seeing her live on her first visit to Toronto in October 2006 – a breathtaking performance that had me picking up The Milk-Eyed Mender almost immediately thereafter and the follow-up Ys when it came out later that year, but even then I didn’t listen to them all that much. They were my go-to records for when I was in the mood for ornate and expansive, harp-led folk music, sure, but for some reason that wasn’t that often.

Even so, I was still amongst those who picked up her new triple-album Have One On Me on the day of release, and while you’d think that two hours of Joanna Newsom for anyone less than a fanatic would be overwhelming, I instead found it surprisingly immersive and immediate. It’s less quirky than Mender and less epic than Ys, but to my ears, more fully realized. Whereas the talking points for her earlier records focused on her unusual voice or the elaborate orchestrations that adorned her compositions, the only thing worth talking about on Have One On Me is the songs themselves. It’s as though she’s developed enough confidence in her craft to no longer hide behind an affected singing style or lush orchestrations, and though on paper it makes her more conventional, the sheer quality of the work makes that complaint null and void. If I wasn’t a huge Joanna Newsom fan before hearing Have One On Me, I certainly was by the time side 6 hit the runout groove.

As such, I fit right in with the rest of sold-out crowd packed into the Phoenix on Saturday night, breathlessly awaiting her first appearance in Toronto in three and a half years. And waiting. It was at least 20 minutes past her scheduled start time before the curtains were drawn back and her band’s setup revealed. Whereas her last visit was just her solo, this time she brought a five-piece backing band – drums, horn, strings and guitar – to help recreate the arrangements on the record and she herself would start things off not at her signature harp, but the grand piano. Leading off with “Easy”, Newsom managed the impressive feat of utterly silencing 1000 people as she played, all of whom were hanging on every note she played, every word she sang.

After a trio of songs on the piano – and after the allotted time for photography was over, hence the piano-only gallery – Newsom moved to the harp for “In California” and remained there for the remainder of the set. For all the elegance of the music, the first part of the set was marked by some endearingly grounded interaction from Newsom and her band. She forgot the words to “The Book Of Right-On” and then took an extended break to tune her harp, leaving drummer Neal Morgan to chat with the crowd, answer questions and generally buy time. Time which would turn out to be at a premium, as the Phoenix’s looming curfew would put a hard cap on the proceedings. Getting back down to business, they played “No Provenance” and the title track from the new record before closing with the sole Ys cut, “Emily”. Everything was uniformly gorgeous-sounding, the Phoenix never sounding better. The only source of disappointment on the evening was that it ended at 9PM, though after some (myself included) had left – the house lights and music were on! – the stalwarts managed to call Newsom and her band back for an encore. I’m sorry I missed that reading of “Baby Birch”, but it in no way diminishes the hour of music I did get to take in. Just as I said after her last show…. Amazing.

The National Post, The Globe & Mail, Exclaim and Chart all have reviews of the show and share the complaint that the set was too short. I agree, but would point out that Newsom’s Mod Club show wasn’t more than an hour long and while I’ve never played a harp, I imagine it’s pretty fatiguing – especially for 10-minute stretches whilst singing. She was toweling herself off after the more sprawling numbers. I don’t know if she does especially long shows, curfew or not? Maybe we’ll find out when her show in Washington DC on March 23 is webcast live on NPR.

Photos: Joanna Newsom @ The Phoenix – March 13, 2010
Video: Joanna Newsom – “The Sprout & The Bean”

Gibson Guitars talks to Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers about his guitars (natch) and just-released new album The Big To-Do, currently streaming at Spinner – who also have an interview. They’re at Lee’s Palace on April 6 and 7 and were, curiously, the pre-show music over the PA at the Joanna Newsom show. Maybe they were late taking the stage because she was playing air guitar to Southern Rock Opera.

Stream: Drive-By Truckers / The Big To-Do

New York drone merchants Cold Cave have a date at Wrongbar on June 19.

MP3: Cold Cave – “Theme From Tomorrowland”
MP3: Cold Cave – “Laurels Of Erotomania”
MP3: Cold Cave – “Life Magazine”
Video: Cold Cave – “Life Magazine”

Pitchfork has a feature interview with Matt Ward and Zooey Deschanel of She & Him, whose new album Volume Two is streaming in its entirety over at NPR, a week before its March 23 release. They play The Phoenix on June 9.

Stream: She & Him / Volume Two

Wye Oak will be releasing a new EP entitled My Neighbor / My Creator on June 8, and are sharing a first MP3 from said release. They’re hitting the road with Shearwater this Spring and will be at Lee’s Palace with them on April 1.

MP3: Wye Oak – “I Hope You Die”

Billboard talks to Spoon drummer Jim Eno. They play The Sound Academy on March 29.

4AD has details of what’s sure to be one of the coolest Record Store Day specials this year – a live concert DVD from The Mountain Goats wherein John Darnielle performs The Life Of The World To Come in its entirety.

NPR has a World Cafe session with Ted Leo.

Magnet kicks off a week of handing the editorial reins to Miles Kurosky, whose solo debut The Desert Of Shallow Effects is out now.

Check out the new video from Retribution Gospel Choir.

Video: Retribution Gospel Choir – “Workin’ Hard”

NPR has a Tiny Desk Concert with The Antlers. They’re opening up for The National at Massey Hall on June 8 and 9.

And speaking of The National, Pitchfork has details on their new one High Violet, due out May 11 including cover art and tracklisting.

New Hot Chip video! They’re at the Kool Haus on April 20.

Video: Hot Chip – “I Feel Better”

The Quietus talks to Bernard Sumner of Bad Lieutenant.

Spinner talks to Swedish duo First Aid Kit. They’re at the Rivoli on June 12.

Serena-Maneesh, whose new record S-M 2: Abyss In B Minor comes out March 23, talk to Spinner. They play the Great Hall on April 2.

Exclaim talks to John K Samson of The Weakerthans, whose Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre is out next week and streaming right now at Exclaim. They play an in-store at Sonic Boom on March 25 and a proper show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on May 26.

Stream: The Weakerthans / Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre

The Toronto date for Lilith Fair has been announced – it’s happening July 24 at the Molson Amphitheatre. I had been saying that if we got the right combination of acts from the pool of talent already announced to be participating, it could be good. Well so far, we have not.

And y’all will excuse me as I immerse myself in South By South Nonsense for the next few days – trip down was completely uneventful, which was all I hoped for, and though it’s a touch cooler here in ATX than I’d like (or have packed for), it’s gonna be a good time.