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sxsw2015 Fri Mar 20 2015
SXSW 2015: Day 2 Tour Diary from In Tall Buildings
As In Tall Buildings, Erik Hall had just one show to play in Austin for SXSW this year. Here's how he spent the day before and after, in the mix with other Chicago friends and musicians who traveled south.
Morning: There's cool air and cloud cover. We drink coffee for a while and then sit down to breakfast tacos at El Chilito. (Funny how much more American the Mexican food tends to be here than back home, despite the proximity to the border.)
Afternoon: We're casually running through tonight's set around the dining room table when Quin receives an urgent invitation via text to join Ryley Walker and his band at the Austin Psych Fest day party at Hotel Vegas. The astoundingly effective Uber — which I've only just started to use this week — gets us there within minutes, and we're suddenly taking in our first show of the week. The band is already playing its first notes when Quin slides onto the stage, seamlessly drizzling cymbals and drums into the mix. Lots of friends present, and it's good to say hey. "Delicate" Steve Marion, Ben Boye, Scottie McNiece, Grey Gersten, Dustin and Kristin from CHIRP.
Evening: Austin is abuzz. All types of people out. We're eating fish tacos downtown while watching them pass by. Incubus is sound checking somewhere in a nearby courtyard. Some spectacle is taking place at 7/11 that — judging by the size of the crowd outside the window — might as well be Kanye buying a candy bar.
We play our show and all goes well. The cozy room is warmed even further by the crowd as we make our way through the songs off the new album. The gratification of meeting the other musicians on our label exceeds my expectations. Everyone is amazingly kind, and it feels like some kind of new extended family. Joe O'Connell aka Elephant Micah commands the room with nothing but his Telecaster and perfectly unaffected voice. Later, Ava Luna are a wild-yet-humble, effortlessly-tight ensemble, and they absolutely blow me away with their mix of beautiful and weird. I'm grateful to be among all these artists.
Wee hours: We're sitting around the table in the back patio of our friends' place observing how quiet the town has become. It's 3am, and there are no more shows taking place, no more pulsing sub bass radiating from anywhere. Instead there is a lulling chorus of toads, bugs, and night birds all around, and I remember how far south we are. Happy to be able to sleep in tomorrow before catching some more sights and sounds.
- Erik
Catch In Tall Buildings at SXSW:
March 19: at The Hideout (617 Congress Ave) in Austin, TX.
