SXSW Mon Mar 17 2008
Well, the bands are heading back up north. Geoff sent us one last howdy from the Lone Star State before they loaded up on BBQ and heaved themselves the van (I imagine). If you'd like to relive the whole SXSW Tour Diary experience, just check our archives or the Flickr set.
Sunday, 2:27pm
Subject: Say goodbye to Texas
Our last stop in Austin was at the lip-smackin' good salt lick barbecue restaurant. We sold a bunch of CDs and t-shirts last night and spent most of the proceeds on BBQ.
Our last two shows went well, and we had fun playing with track a tiger, another Chicago band.
Now were on the way to Iowa city, where we play tomorrow night with the tight phantomz. If we can scrounge up a last minute gig in Wichita or somewhere else on the way, well so that tonight.
-Geoff
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Anne Holub
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SXSW Sun Mar 16 2008
Just when I was thinking that The Hood Internet fellows might be lost in the desert somewhere, they surface, and with loads of photos to share. Here's an update, and some photographic highlights. For more photos from The Hood Internet, and Geoff of The Debauchers, check our Transmission SXSW Tour Diary Flickr set.
Sunday, 1:48pm
OK, where did we leave off? The Hot Freaks party was awesome. We were set up at the Mohawk under a tent and did short sets in between bands all day. Got our second viewing of the mighty Blitzen Trapper, saw great sets from White Denim, the Dodos, and our pals Cadence Weapon and Weez-L. We met Matt from You Ain't No Picasso and Chris from Gorilla vs. Bear, two of the many music blogs that put together the two days of Hot Freaks. Sean from Daytrotter was there early on but skedaddled to go record bands. BLOG PARTY 2008!
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Anne Holub
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SXSW Sun Mar 16 2008
Here's a roundup of Saturday's SXSW goings on from The Debauchers. I haven't yet heard from The Hood Internet this morning. Fingers crossed I don't get a phone call for bail money.
12:54pm
Subject: Punked by billy bragg
There's a great western clothing store next to our afternoon gig, so we decided to check out some boots and hats before the set.
Inside, we spy billy Bragg shopping for boots. He explains that he's buying everything in the place because there's a half-off sale. I start eyeing some boots and shirts, and he laughs, drolly explaining that its all half price for him because the US dollar is so cheap.
We give him a debauchers cd. I'm thrilled to have met him and flee in shame.
1:10pm
Subject: Best salsa ever
The debauchers place a lot of importance on our preshow meal. Last night we discovered a new kind of salsa -- a thin purée of avocado, jalapeño and garlic. Heaven.
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Anne Holub
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SXSW Sat Mar 15 2008
A Saturday morning update from The Debauchers:
9:55am
Subject: our tour highlights so far...
* 24 hours, 1400 miles, 3 shows, no sleep.
* An amazingly drunk woman at PK's in Carbondale walks up to our drummer, Brian, and starts making out with him.
* An amazingly sober woman at a truck stop in Arizona, walks up to Brian and kisses him.
* Realizing, courtesy of the Arkansas State Police, that not all cops are dicks. Once you're outside of Chicago, anyway.
* Taking a shower at the Marriott. One of the highlights of my life, really.
* Playing one of the best sets of our lives at a nearly empty salsa bar on Austin's East Side.
* The tequila shots the bartender bought us while we were playing.
We play three more shows today -- at the Yarddog Gallery with the Sadies, Jon Langford and a bunch of other Chicago folks, and then back to the East Side.
-Geoff
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Anne Holub
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SXSW Fri Mar 14 2008
Another quick update from the Debauchers. Luckily no bail money was requested.
2:22pm
Subject: Nabbed
Its not a rock tour until you've had an encounter with the police. Ours came in Arkansas when a state cop snagged us doing 85mph. Bad times.
We're about two hours from austin right now, hoping to squeeze in a quick nap before our first show tonite.
-Geoff
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Anne Holub
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SXSW Fri Mar 14 2008
If you've ever wondered just how to best sum up the hundreds of bands playing at SXSW, well, The Morning News has done all the heavy lifting for you. They've compiled a sharp review chart online, complete with information on every one of the 763 bands playing, and a 6-word review of the group's sound based on a festival-provided preview Torrent file. If you're standing in line right now trying to get in to see Bird Peterson or Chingo Bling, you might want to read this first.
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Anne Holub
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SXSW Fri Mar 14 2008
Ah, the grueling morning after. The Hood Internet sends out another report, post Schubas party.
Friday, 11:05AM
I am serious when I tell you that I'm still drunk from last night. ABX and I ended up rocking three different shows yesterday, only the first two were planned. We started off at the Austin Convention Center which was when I last posted. That set was fun despite a few technical difficulties. Afterwards some people doing a documentary about SXSW interviewed us, we said a lot of stupid things that will end up on the cutting room floor.
So next we met up with the homey Bald Eagle and headed down to Schubas' annual SXSW roundup at the Yard Dog gallery. When we got there, Ohmega Watts was DJing and then the Cool Kids went on. They were awesome and had people throwing their hands up at like 4 in the afternoon, which was right around when ABX and I started drinking (which didn't end until about 12 hours later, hence the first sentence of this post). We DJed in between some really good bands like Okkervil River and Blitzen Trapper. Did I mention we had some awesome shirts that said "HOOD" and "INTERNET?" We needed to be particular about the order we were standing so people didn't think we were called Internet Hood.
We chilled out for a bit (that's a lie, we totally kept drinking) and watched LOST before we headed over to the Aquarium Bar, where we agreed to play a set at 10 fairly last-minute. When we got there, some horrible band was just getting started, they were playing a variety of covers like House Of The Rising Sun, Hotel California, and some Sublime song. It was their first or second show. This dude Kyle who set the whole thing up was super cool and kept getting us drinks (and shots) and I think that's where we got exceptionally more drunk. We did about an hour set then went over to the C3/Playboy party which Matt and Tim from Schubas collectively helped us get into. Justice, Moby, and MGMT were all DJing. MGMT may have actually been playing but fuck if we remember. There was no reason to be drinking until 3:30 or whenever, but we did it anyway. Also we met Lance Armstrong, LOL.
Off to the Hot Freaks! party at Mohawk/Club DeVille. More later.
-STV SLV
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Anne Holub
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SXSW Fri Mar 14 2008
Well, the second band we asked to report back from the festival is on their way. Garage punk band The Debauchers will be playing some off-SXSW shows that will surely prove just as unpredictable and alcohol-laden as the main fest itself (see their MySpace page for a full schedule). As they drive down to Texas, we've received our first shout out back from lead guitarist, and editor of the Chi-Town Daily News, Geoff Dougherty. It's short and sweet.
9:26am
Subject: The joys of Arkansas
The debauchers are at a truck stop near hope, ark., after driving all night from our show in Carbondale.
Arkansas is full of charming people who cook excellent biscuits. We've learned that sleeping in the car is not really sleeping.
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Anne Holub
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SXSW Thu Mar 13 2008
We asked our friends at The Hood Internet to send us some word once they reached Austin, TX and SXSW this year. Here's our first installment from Steeve Sleeve. And hey, if you're actually at SXSW right now, you can catch The Hood Internet at these shows around Austin.
Thursday, 12:56PM
We're sitting in the "Artists Lounge" at the Austin Convention Center, waiting to drop a 20-minute set at the Day Stage. Haven't done a whole lot other than get in last night — my flight got in at 12:15 and ABX flew into Dallas/Fort Worth and drove down, so he showed up at like 5AM. I did go out for a minute last night, went to the Blind Pig on 6th because they have a deck that overlooks the street. Some band was playing up there, I think they were called the Carrots. Maybe food band names are the new animal band names this year. We had breakfast (actually lunch cause they weren't serving breakfast anymore) at a deli down the street and there was a sandwich called the Tuna Muffaletta. Aside from being a potential euphemism for the female genitalia, that could also be a good food band name. Anyway: we're about to do this shit, then later today we'll be at Schubas' annual SXSW roundup at Yard Dog. We'll take some photos.
-STV SLV
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Anne Holub
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SXSW, America's (and perhaps the world's) largest music festival, posted its list of performing bands yesterday, and Chicago bands are legion. A list of all 34 local acts -- and a bunch from within driving distance -- follows after the jump.
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Andrew Huff
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Here's the last post from Catfish Haven on their adventures at SXSW. The last day they were involved in the two most infamous events at this year's fest — the collapse of the balcony at the Vice party and the police closure of the IHeartComix party. These guys sure have a nose for trouble.
"I awoke Saturday morning feeling possibly the most hung-over I've felt ever. Catfish Haven drinking usually occurs in the evening but a day of free alcohol at SXSW means you can drink from noon to 4am and we did. In the drunkenness of Friday night we had lost two members of the Catfish Haven SXSW 2007 army – our 2nd guitarist Mike Lust and Timeout Chicago writer Leah (who had jumped in the van with us at the last minute the day we left Chicago and soon became one of our band of merry pranksters). I contacted Lust first and luckily he answered his cell. He had ended up partying Hot Tub style at a random Austin Texas Apartment with Chicago band Sybris. George and I went on the mission to retrieve him from the Wendy's and while we were waiting for him had to give in and eat a large Wendy's meal 'cause at this point we felt like we might die if we didn't eat. Leah's cell phone was dead but we sent her a myspace message. We know she's resourceful so we assumed she was fine and later when she finally called me we found out she was actually doing great and was at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Austin. She had crashed on the floor of documentary filmmaker Ron Mann who's most know for making the movie "GRASS" a film about marijuana that the catfish crew had coincidentally just watched at like 3 in the morning in Fayetteville, Arkansas earlier in the week during our tour down to Texas. George and Ryan met Ron on wed when we first arrived in Austin and he was a cool guy and gave them a private lecture about his film so we knew Leah was alright and we planned to meet up with her later.
This whole week we've been staying with our friend Caroline's house and she and her friends were throwing a SXSW backyard BBQ party with a bunch of bands including Saturday Looks Good To Me, Mittens on Strings, and us to name a few. Hung-over and hazy we rocked the backyard around 3pm and by the time we left to head to 6th street around 5pm the keg was dry, the food was eaten and the neighbors were sending noise complaints which are all the general after effects of a BBQ done right!
[mp3]: The Girl's Distracted - SLGTM
[mp3]: The Most Complete Skeleton Ever Found - Mittens On Strings
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Craig Bonnell
Catfish Haven is running neck and neck with Office for heaviest partying band from Chicago at this years SXSW. They also happen to have seen some amazing music and a couple of celebrities to boot. Here's their most recent tour diary entry:
"Thursday night we played our official SXSW showcase, it was the Secretly Canadian/Jagjaguwar party at Mohawks on Red River. We partied all night with some of our favorite SC/Jag bands like Ladyhawk, David Vandervelde, Okkervill River, and I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness. Luckly our show at noon on Friday was at the same venue so we were able to leave our equipment there overnight (and luckly when we showed back up about 5 hours after leaving it was all still there!)
[mp3]: War - Ladyhawk
[mp3]: Jacket - David Vandervelde
[mp3]: Black - Okkervil River
[mp3]: According To Plan - I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness
So on Friday somehow the 9 of us all made it to the venue with just enough time to soundcheck and play. The show was hosted by some of our favorite blogs we met over the last year like My Old Kentucky Blog, and Gorrila Vs Bear, and our friends Thunder Birds Are Now! played right after us so we had a great time seeing everyone again.
The fire marshalls have been coming down hard on the clubs out here during SXSW and we left our equipment next to the stage (blocking a fire exit) while we did a quick video interview for Indie911. After the interview we found out a fire marshall had shown up and wanted us to move our equipment immediately. He said there wasn't enough time to pull the van up so instead we all got our workout for the day carrying our amps and drums up one of Austins many hills.
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Craig Bonnell
Here's another entry from Office. It seems as though the chaos, sleeplessness and partying are starting to get to them. Hopefully they'll make it back to Chicago in one piece.
"Sleeping here is almost impossible. Between nerves, adrenaline and alcohol, it's almost impossible to get a good night's sleep. I woke up early yesterday for more lousy breakfast and decent coffee and checked the listings for shows, still reeking of the chlorine of the hot tub from the night before.
Last year I had a full itinerary of shows and parties that I wanted to go to, but this year I and the band have taken the drifter's approach. We readied ourselves for our evening show leisurely, watching basketball and applying mascara. The breakfast sat in our stomachs like lead. The weather isn't as good as was advertised last week, but hey–beats Chicago, right?
The traffic in the downtown area was bloody murder, and it took us a half an hour to get down 4th on our way to the Fader/Levi's Fort. But by the grace of a cute, young Japanese couple, we found parking directly in front of the space. Subs were ingested as our eyes were covered in shades.
Badly Drawn Boy was lilting through an acoustic set as we arrived. The Fort is a huge labrinthine party space. It's probably the best party down here and it goes all day every day. That's a lot of SoCo and lime. The stage manager was hilarious and incredibly with it. Everything was highly organized and coordinated, which can be somewhat of a rarity in these situations. Another (forgettable) band played before us as we goofed around in the backstage tent, taking photos and cracking our usual crude jokes. The sun cracked through the crowds as we took the stage and looked out to a full, expansive outdoor patio. The floating saddle on my guitar popped out from under my strings during the third song, but somehow I managed to repair it on the fly.
A giant Meatwad balloon was inflated on top of the building as we played. Amy Winehouse paid us some nice compliments as we came off stage and then proceeded to belt out a sweet set of her own. Some Chicago b-boys were breakin' in the back during the djs, and it turned into Alissa and I jumping along with them chanting "Chi-town" and "Office in the house" in front of myriad video cameras. One for the grandkids!
[mp3]: Rehab (Hot Chip remix) - Amy Winehouse
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Craig Bonnell
Here's more from our resourceful band Office; they party, get free stuff and hang in hot tubs down in Austin at SXSW so you don't have to! Office play next today at 5:15 at the Fader Party at The Fort.
(Hot tub party with Office and Robbers On High Street)
"Yesterday was a banger, from start to finish. Scott and I woke up early and ate the mediocre, overpriced breakfast at the hotel, rounded up the troops and headed to our afternoon show at the Nylon/Diesel house. The house is in the middle of a residential neighborhood outside of the main festival area and was a classy little joint with a large live room and several loungy nooks.
We played to a virtually empty room (only Nylon folks and our posse were there), but it was nice to warm up in front of our friends and prepare for our big label showcase coming up later that night. After our performance we were whisked into a dressing area where they hooked us up with free jeans and did an interview for Nylon TV (Nylon Mag's webcast). The swag train led us to free sneakers and Bloody Marys after we left the day's first party and before we loaded in to the Ritz.
All of our Scratchie/New Line buddies were already there as we schlepped in our gear. There were some rousing acapella renditions of mid-90s favorites (think Candlebox and Collective Soul) as we awaited our soundcheck. After everything was deemed aurally satisfactory, we headed to 1887, a café in the swank Driscoll Hotel. We dined boisterously in the 19th Century French-bistro style dining room, riffing on Alanis Morisette's take on irony, baby names and joke immunity (Erica's new nickname is Joe Community, for her penchant for making gay jokes and liking the ladies).
We retired to our manager's room upstairs to watch The Office (isn't it ironic?), take disco naps and put our faces and wigs on. Once outfitted, I took to 6th St. to soak up the ambience and get psyched for our first really big show down here. Jesus freaks preached from their soapboxes as kids with every type of terrible haircut pranced along the main drag. I shopped for a porkpie hat and came up empty.
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Craig Bonnell
There's a good chance that'd you'll find Catfish Haven on any decent list of new, buzz-worthy bands from Chicago. There's also a good chance that they'd be the only trio on that list that specializes in a soulful brand of lively, old-school rock 'n' roll. The band's name comes from the trailor park where lead singer George Hunter grew up. The great American trailer park is a pretty representative symbol of the band's earnest, blue-collar sound.
So needless to say we're psyched that the band will contribute to our SXSW Tour Diary series over the next couple of days. Their four official SXSW showcases are the cream of the crop; on Wednesday they played the Chicago Metro Party with the Smoking Popes; on the 15th they play the RXRW Party; on the 16th they play at arguably the hottest party all week, being put on by Gorilla vs. Bear, at Mohawk; they'll end their stay in Austin with a bbq on the 17th playing with Saturday Looks Good To Me.
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Random SXSW photo:
"We arrived in Austin around 4am on Wednesday morning. Tired but excited we all stumbled into the house we're crashing at for the week and each picked out our sleeping spots on the floor. We started our day fighting the lines at the SXSW convention center picking up our wristbands and then racing to our first show of the week at Emo's for the Chicago Metro Party. We arrive in time to see our friends in the Chicago band The M's and after we were done with our set we got to chill out, drink free beer, and watch The Smoking Popes. We all grew up going to see the Smoking Popes when we were teenagers so it was awesome to be able to share the stage with them.
After the day parties end there's kind of a gap in time before the official SXSW showcases start. We were able to fill that gap however with the help of a limousine service that was giving free ride escorted some members of Catfish Haven and some members of our Chicago allies Sybris to a Camel Cigarette sponsored party where we chowed down on free food drank more
free beer and even got free Cigarettes! SXSW has tons of free stuff up for grabs if you know where to look.
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Craig Bonnell
A couple of the higher-ups at Gapers Block have been down in Austin, Texas at SXSW all week chillin' and minglin'. Unfortunately for me, the grunts don't get to tag along. You're not going either, bummer. Well, we can still experience the festival almost firsthand through the wonders of the internet.
One of Chicago's finest (and most buzzed about) bands has agreed to record their thoughts, misadventures, and musical accomplishments for Transmission. Office will be our unofficial roving correspondents over the next couple of days. They get things started with these thoughts on the start of a crazy week.
"Our trip began Monday night after a beautiful day in Chicago. I was picked up around 9 o'clock after sitting on my lanai, and we loaded in to our big, red rental van. After some serious van tetris, our gear, beer, clothes, cooler and selves were able to fit inside. Erica took the first driving shift while I navigated, as Scott and Jeremy (our tech-extraordinaire) sat behind Jessica and Alissa in the second row.
Many songs were magically transmitted from electronic device to fm radio over the course of the 1,100-some-miles. Rest stops filled with American Indian knick-knacks, jerky and claw games punctuated our naps, some of us only waking to eat from the cooler of snacks.
My shift was a good chunk of Texas in the morning. Winding roads and big rigs. Jessica was my DJ/Navigatrix taking me from ambient electronic undulations to power pop. She was the lynchpin driver, pulling into a Motel 6 that was decided upon primarily for it's proximity to Denny's. We ate profusely from the well of French Slams and grey Tilapia and retreated to our adjoining boy/girl rooms in the back of the motel.
The free case of 312 from the Hideout show became crucial around 6pm, where we indulged in the original YouTube, America's Funniest Home Videos, and yes — a large cheese pizza rimmed with cheesy pustules.
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Craig Bonnell
