sxsw2015 Sun Mar 22 2015

SXSW 2015: Day 5 Tour Diary from The Waco Brothers

By Anne Holub

In our fifth SXSW Tour Diary update from The Waco Brothers, guitarist Deano lays out the what went down on Saturday. He also might be in need of a salad.

This day and night were all about Jon Langford and Buck Hogarth. The Waco Brothers had no Saturday sets. Backing up Jon's sets of solo and Mekons material would be the order of the day. A set with the legendary Buck would end the evening.

My only intake of fruits and vegetables this week has consisted of lime juice and salsa. Though I'm exhausted, sleep is difficult. I get up at 9am, put some caffeine in my bloodstream, hose myself down and head out to run some errands. Then, it's back to the office at Guero's. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Happy Yard Doggers, showing us some love!

In the early years we came to SX, I searched out and saw a lot of great shows. These days, with 15 shows of my own to do, about the only music I catch are the bands that play right before or right after us. On Friday, I saw a terrific end of a set by new Bloodshot signees Banditos. One of the singers has the tone of Janis. Lots of people try to imitate the wailing Joplin but I've never heard someone with that tone before. I'm impressed. Yesterday, I caught great closing moments of local legend Jon Dee Graham and Chuck Prophet. Langford jokes about having to play immediately after Chuck, "As he was leaving the stage, Chuck said, "Follow that, fat boy!"".

Follow we do. The Far Forlorn is now in full seven piece mode, with the addition of Yard Dog owner Randy Franklin on mandolin. The songs are coming together and the band is becoming a formidable unit. It's a shame we don't do this more than once per year!

Jon Dee Graham and band, tearing it up.

After a meal at Guero's, we head to the Continental Club for our 10pm Far Forlorn set. Jon breaks a string fairly early in the set. This only gives him the excuse he's been looking for to put down the guitar and release his inner interpretive dancer. There are a few hiccups, since there are a lot of songs that Jon starts with the guitar. How is it that in songs that contain only two chords, I can't remember their order? But we're used to laughing at ourselves and the audience is good about laughing with (at?) us.

We have an 11:00 set to play at ABGB with Buck Hogarth.

Here's the backstory on Buck:

Buck was a promising country star on the rise in the 90s. Accusations of pedephilia arose when some files were found on his computer. Though nothing was ever proven, his reputation in Nashville was ruined. A head wound which required a steel plate in his skull slowed his motor skills and further thwarted his attempts at a comeback. But he's been getting some traction of late, playing European festival dates along with original guitarist and loyal sidekick Rusty "Strings" McDaniels.

Josh Kantor, Fenway Park's organist and Buck Hogarth band member
shows us how to eat pizza and play the accordion.

At least this is the backstory Jon and I have concocted. We have a blast playing the set, in our best yokal caricature. Buck pleads his innocence in between songs. "Those files on that computer we not mine!" Loyal Rusty defends Buck at every turn. "That's just the way Buck's brain works!"

Yes, that's the near hallucanigenic level that we've reached after playing eleven shows in three days, all the while dumping any liquid anyone will hand us down our gullets.

One day and three, possibly four more sets left. Hope we make it.

- Deano

Catch The Waco Brothers at SXSW:
March 18: Bloodshot 2015 SXSW Showcase @ Continental Club (8pm)

March 18: Continental Club, (1am)

March 19: Twangfest @ Broken Spoke (Noon)

March 20: Bloodshot SXSW Day Party @ Yard Dog Art Gallery (Noon)

March 20: South by Sapporo Party @ Cheers Shot Bar (2:45pm)

March 22: @ Carousel Lounge (8:30pm)