And here we are with Part Two of our SXSW coverage! Be sure to check out Part One.
DAY 4 – Thursday, March 16th 2023
Thursday afternoon was a late start, beginning in the Red River District where we popped into The 13th Floor to catch Militarie Gun, an LA hardcore band that formed in 2020. Through their thrashes and screams comes a real sense of tenderness being conveyed by lead singer Ian Shelton.
The Plastic Picnic guys and I enjoyed some free hard seltzers at a random spot and then sought the promise of shade at Stubb’s, where Sunflower Bean was in the middle of their set. I realized the last time I saw them play was their EP release at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn in 2015. At that time, I had no idea who they were yet, but the friend who brought me was pals with Julia Cummings and promised a good show. There was even a little mosh pit. On stage in Austin, Cummings was wearing what looked like a horse hair collar around her neck, the words “unsigned” emblazoned in black across it.
Up next was a band I was unfamiliar with, but quickly learned were Austin darlings from the early aughts: Voxtrot. They are a five-piece indie band, somewhere between the sound of early Vampire Weekend and Arctic Monkeys, that had reformed not long before SXSW. After breaking up in 2010, their set at Stubb’s was part of the reunion they started last year with a short East Coast tour that hit NYC in September 2022 at Webster Hall.
I next crossed over east to Low Down Lounge where my favorite identical twins were playing back to back sets with Die Spitz—a noise-punk match made in Hell.Venus Twins is comprised of only bass and drums, and Jake and Matt Derting are the only twins I know that lean into the whole telepathy thing. I first saw the two play at the Brooklyn DIY spot Rubulad just before the pandemic and have been hooked on their explosive music ever since. Their 2022 album RAXIS is a tight production but their live shows are a whole other beast. It makes sense that the brothers champion Venus, the hottest fucking planet in the solar system.
A SXSW highlight for me was getting to see Die Spitz up front and personal. It’s thrilling to recognize the band you’re watching is fronting the next wave of Kathleen Hanna’s and Joan Jett’s in the post-pandemic era. For a relatively new band where the median age is 19, this group of four is catching fire in the local Austin scene. The lead singer has the face of an angel and the voice of Satan. The bassist looks ecstatically possessed. The guitarist and drummer swap instruments effortlessly. What is it about this band that makes me think of blood? Fresh meat up on the industry chopping block? Or in the teeth of the very youthful, very hungry?
In any case, when Cyndi said girls just wanna have fun, I’m pretty sure she imagined a Die Spitz live show.
DAY 5 – Friday, March 17th 2023
Cheer Up Charlies made another easy day for me with their excellent line up of grunge, punk, and noise bands. Brooklyn-based Native Sun was a great way to start the day, these guys are notorious showmen and their midday set on the outside stage was jarringly loud—vicious for the hungover crowd. My eardrums have still never recovered from the last show I saw of theirs with my friend and fellow photographer Nico Potosme at The Dance before it closed for good in 2019. Watching frontman Danny Gomez lose it, you have to wonder what kind of toll it takes on someone to exorcise themselves over and over for their music. Of course shows like these are always the most fun to shoot; guitars being thrown, bodies rolling off stage…one man’s hazard is another man’s opportunity for a really exciting shot.
Model/Actriz played the outdoor stage again and with their tour dates selling out the way they are, I wasn’t taking a free show for granted even if I had seen them earlier in the week. That grinding bass detune Aaron Shapiro does was especially good this set.
Enumclaw was up next. A Tacoma band with excellent shoes and an honest sound, their tenderness caters to anyone with emo tendencies. You could feel the hometown angst dripping off their music and it kind of made me wish we were at a house show sipping warm beer from cans in the dark.
I tried to catch Gargoyle, a friend’s new EBM/synthwave project, at Hotel Vegas but got confused and lined up for the wrong indoor stage. Instead I caught the tail end of another Miss Grit set, but the happy coincidence kept me from queuing in another long line. Sorry Gargoyle, next time!
Avoiding said long line, I didn’t leave the room when the next band got on stage and ended up getting to see a really fun show by Le Couleur, a Montréal based band I hadn’t heard of before but belong side by side with French electro disco artist of a similar psychedelic caliber like L’Imperatrice and La Femme. The lead singer and keyboardist, Laurence Giroux-Do, had all the energy to match the Baltimore Ravens cheerleading outfit she was wearing and more. The crowd ate it up, welcoming the opportunity to finally get to dance like it was a proper nightclub, not a dive bar in the middle of SXSW. This was definitely the most fun show I saw outside of the punk/noise genre during the entire festival and it was a great way to end the night.
DAY 6 – Saturday, March 18th 2023
Dawn of the final day of SXSW. I couldn’t call it a slog, it was too enjoyable and too full of good musical surprises to complain about, but it did feel way longer than it actually was. I was glad to be on Plastic Picnic’s show schedule for the last day because having three sets already booked removed a lot of waffling over what shows to see.
First up, a twenty minute drive south to the Do512 Presents showcase at Far Out Lounge. While the band loaded their gear into the green room, I got to give my online friend Aarvi a big hug for the first time IRL. We connected over Instagram after realizing we had both been taking photos of Plastic Picnic at their 2019 show in the basement of the old Songbyrd Music House in Washington DC. After finding out we were both at SXSW earlier in the week we made a point to meet up at this show.
Aarvi was hyped for the band just about to play, an indie rock band called Personal Trainer from Amsterdam. I was impressed they managed to get all seven members on stage, let alone all the way from The Netherlands. Their music was somewhere between Cake’s kooky, Franz Ferdinand’s panache, and Pavement’s earnesty; the effect was an entertaining genre-bending whirlwind.
Plastic Picnic has been together for several years now, all past and present members are PNW transplants that moved to Brooklyn for music. Their shimmery sound is surf-pop dreamy and consistently about love, loss, or more often both. Despite this, the average person has been known to sway, or even occasionally dance to, their self proclaimed sad songs. They’ve been compared to The 1975, Tame Impala, and Alvvays. I know these guys too well to feel comfortable writing about them more extensively but their Far Out Lounge show was a well played set to a full room.
Afterwards I watched Sorry Mom, who have a ridiculously irreverent song called “I Fucked Yr Mom” that I was happy to finally see live. Their other tracks are more serious but still tongue in cheek, with a grittiness reminiscent of Le Tigre, GRLwood, and Destroy Boys. Their debut album babyface is being released May 12th of this year.
Before driving to Plastic’s next show in East Austin I caught the tail end of Dream Wife’s set outside. Classic, unapologetic femme punk at its finest.
The next stop was an outdoor show at Fair Market but the weather was weirdly cold and dreary at that point in the day. The venue was being sponsored by an energy drink called C4, most of which were too tooth achingly sweet to enjoy. Oh, and there was also no food, no alcohol, and no water available once inside the gates. The band had sound checked in the morning but to little effect; the sound engineer had seemingly deleted their settings. All these things led to a lukewarm showing for Plastic Picnic, but honestly, by no real fault of their own. Afterwards a few fans stopped by the stage to say hi and buy some merch before we were all quickly and unceremoniously kicked out of the space…but at least it was a paid gig.
After getting to Seven Grand, the last venue of the night, we watched a band from Chicago called Free Range play an acoustic-forward, very mellow set. In the vein of Why Bonnie and Hand Habits, their music is something I’d put on after getting home from a long day; quiet, intimate, and reliable.
Plastic Picnic played the last set of the night (and my SXSW experience) and it was a relief. The set went smoothly, there was a good crowd and I had fun shooting with a new filter. Our friend Nicole from NYC came to see the show and we all celebrated afterwards. I can’t remember how we all got home, but what matters is we did. The next day Plastic Picnic hit the road for Idaho’s Tree Fort Festival and I was left with a mild hangover and the gargantuan task of going through all 128 GBs of photos I had taken on my trip.
It was nice to end the marathon of bands I saw with some familiar faces. All in all, my first time in SXSW was great, if a little hectic. While I was grateful for the free badge, I don’t think having one is necessary. The unofficial shows are worth flying down for alone, especially if you have friends with you. I’m no stranger to going to shows solo, but after this I can really appreciate that the experience of live music Is better when sharing it with a buddy or two. After SXSW 2023, I now have a very long list of new music to listen to from different parts of the world, a roster of new friends, and a lot of photos I’m proud of to look back on. If you stuck around this long, thanks for reading!
We all know what SXSW is by now, but long gone are the affordable $10 tickets of yore. I had never even entertained the idea of going but this year a bunch of my friends were playing and my work in media got me a free platinum badge. And so, high off the post-lockdown urge to travel anywhere, I booked my Airbnb and a round trip to Austin, Texas, for my first SXSW experience. Given that I’d only been to and photographed one other festival, which was Gov Ball last year, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I mean, how crazy can a six day music festival spread throughout an entire city really be???
I didn’t sleep that night (insomnia fun!) and when I got to JFK the security line was the worst I’ve ever seen it, the signs approximating over a two hour wait time. I somehow miraculously made it to my gate well after the final boarding call, with about three minutes before the doors closed. Given that I had run the length of Terminal B in cowboy boots, I gave myself permission to keep the rest of the day simple. I took a Lyft straight to the convention center in downtown Austin where I picked up my badge and camera tags, noting that all NYC artists pretty much dress the same: we’re so tough in our leather jackets, lol.
After not hearing back all day, I realized my Airbnb host was ghosting me. I had a consolation taco at Veracruz All Natural to center myself, even though it cost me more than a Brooklyn taco. “SXSW menu,” apparently. I regretted my decision to bring a duffel and not a rolling bag for the next two hours but then thankfully a friend of a friend came through (thank you Sam) and put me up for next two nights. After I finished my claim with Airbnb, I met him at Hotel Vegas where, wielding my shiny new platinum badge, I paid the $10 cover fee because I didn’t care anymore, I just wanted to see some goddamn music.
DAY 1 – Monday, March 13th 2023
Razor Braids had just started playing inside and I felt grateful for familiar faces. A Brooklyn band I’m fond of, we’d crossed paths multiple TV Eye shows. I cracked my first Lone Star and settled into an animated set, all four members dressed head to toe in their signature red. Whenever I see a band like this play live I’m reminded of how much punk and panache can be lost in translation when it comes to having to record it. While guitarist Janie Peacock tore up the edge of the stage, Sid Nichols, on drums, kept the crowd in line with a smile on their face. I lost my phone in the crowd when bassist Hollye Bynum and guitarist Jilly Karande clashed instruments, but retrieved it later from the bartender who said someone turned it in. Not sure that would have happened in NYC. Razor Braids finished out their tour at TV Eye March 31st, with Closeby and Trophy Wife.
Afterwards, we caught back to back Austin bands at the patio outside, Billy Glitter and then Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol—sharing both a name, a city, and a genre. A small but obliging mosh pit had formed at the front of the stage, kicking up dust under the midday sun.
Billy Glitter is a newly formed group of five, brought together by frontman William Grover in 2021. A self-described prog rock band, I could hear the influence of the Stooges in their set, which was already the 2nd of five shows they’d play during SXSW. Gotta say I really dug the keyboardist’s style.
Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol was similar in sound, if not aggressively more metal. They played fast and tight, with a Nirvana-worthy grunginess. The lead singer Leo Lyodon has a Jack White-like strain to his voice, cutting through Sean St. Germain’s shotgun spray drumming while the bassist Aaron Metzdorf deftly threaded through them. Put Turnstile and Wolfmother in a blender and I feel like you’d get Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol. Needless to say the mosh pit was loving them.
I caught the end of Pelvis Wrestley inside, a queer approach to country I can get down with. I realized I’d met the frontman, Benjamin Violet, at a wedding last year in Austin, but we’d never spoken. There is an epic glam to this band that’s hard to put a finger on, which feels all at once nostalgic and futuristic. This was my SXSW “one that got away,” I regret not catching any of their other shows, but I’m looking forward to whatever music they put out next. Pelvis Wrestley’s debut album, Vortexas Vorever was released this month on streaming platforms.
Last band I watched before leaving Hotel Vegas was Iguana Death Cult outside on the patio. I think they played like ten shows at SXSW; I saw them almost everywhere. A Netherlands band, they have a very juicy pop rock quality, reminiscent of early The Hives. I feel like they might not like the comparison but I mean it as a compliment. I would love to know more about their name though. Their forthcoming album Echo Palace is out May 12th via LA label Innovative Leisure.
Nearing almost 48 hours without sleep, I walked all the way to the British Embassy showcase hoping to catch Gen and the Degenerates for my final show of the night, but it wasn’t in the cards for me. I’m not sure what happened but it was no real loss because I caught Panic Shack instead, managing to get pretty close despite the room being at capacity. As I understand it, this group of four young women is blowing up back in the UK, much like Die Spitz is in Austin. They were having fun with their set, chatting amongst themselves and to a very responsive crowd between the thrashing explosion of each song.
They are a Cardiff, Wales based band that came up from the DIY scene in 2018 and you can feel that can-do energy throughout their music. They were especially fun to watch, the endearing charm of their chutzpah was lost on no one. During the finale of one song, all four lined up at the front of the stage and mimed shooting off AK-47’s with their instruments. What’s refreshing is that Panic Shack isn’t trying for “revolutionary all-woman punk band,” they’re just women, but more importantly, friends, having fun playing music together.
DAY 2 – Tuesday, March 14th 2023
After getting some food and coffee in me and feeling (mostly) rested, I headed straight to Cheer Up Charlies for their incredible line up as part of the Women Who Rock showcase. If only all venues made it that easy for me. When I got there, Barrie was playing, or rather, dancing, which is a big part of the set. The band is short for the artist behind it, Barrie Lindsey, who just released a new EP, 5K.
Cafuné was on next, a band I’ve really been looking forward to seeing live. I describe their sound as Japanese café lo fi meets electro-pop. The way Sedona Schat applies autotune selectively and tastefully throughout the set adds that little J-pop vocaloid touch to their music. Noah Yoo shreds so hard it’s incredible his glasses don’t just fly straight off his face (though they did come close several times).
Jaguar Jonze, the musical project of Taiwanese-Australian artist Deena Lynch, drew a large crowd with her defiant lyrics and rock n’ roll stage presence, playing banger after banger. It feels like Velvet Revolver meets Sasami in an eclectic genre mash up of punk pop. This cat screams.
Overcoats closed out the Women That Rock showcase, debuting some new choreography they joked about coming up with at the hotel. The duo is composed of Hana Elion and JJ Mitchell, Brooklynite singer-songwriters with an indie-Americana sensibility. Their gorgeous harmonies and catchy pop hooks are so infectious, they had the whole crowd cheering and swaying as the sun set.
As we moved into the evening showcase, Bailen, a trio of siblings from NYC played a lovely set of alt indie tracks. They were a great follow up to Overcoats, in the same vein of pop-Americana with particular attention to the percussion, manned by fraternal twins Daniel and David Bailen on bass and drums. Their younger sister, Julia, leads with vocals and winding guitar riffs.
Next, I checked out what was happening inside to find Charlotte Rose Benjamin on the stage, my friend Luc Swift opened for her at Brooklyn Made a while ago and I stuck around long enough to hear her hit “Slot Machine” before heading back outside to make sure I caught Model/Actriz.
Before their set, I ran into drummer Ruben Radlauer and congratulated him on their freshly release debut album, Dogsbody, which earned them a mighty 8.2 from Pitchfork (if that sort of thing matters to you). The man is a machine. Really, the whole band is;. Big purveyors of noise, something about the grind and wail of their sound just hits me right where I need to feel something. Model/Actriz is especially fun to watch live due in part to the frontman, Cole Hayden, and his off-stage melodrama. He crawls through the crowd, climbs picnic tables, and stares deep into the souls of strangers. Back in 2019, at the short-lived NYC venue The Dance, he scrambled up an amp in a blue sequin catsuit to hump a disco ball not unlike the one hanging up on the Cheer Up Charlies stage. Even if you aren’t into the genre, Model/Actriz has an intensity that even the most averse have a hard time turning away from.
Next, I headed to The North Door to catch Juice, a genre-bending group consisting of six musicians originally from Boston, now based in Brooklyn. The stage was a little cramped for such a musically expansive band, but they made it work with a smile. Through their soulful harmonies and vibrantly funky R&B riffs, I found myself smiling back.
Nearing 1am, I trudged down to Rainey St., dodging drunk people on my way to Half Step to see Adwaith. They came recommended to me by our EIC Kate Hoos, and for good reason. This indie rock trio comprised of Hollie Singer, Gwenllian Anthony and Heledd Owen champions the Welsh language and its cultural heritage with their music. The crowd and I perked up at the dreamy vocals and power-pop beats, all of us catching a second wind. During the set I found myself trying to make meaning of words that sounded familiar enough it seemed possible to sing along—and I really wanted to. (Check out our recent coverage of Adwaith in NYC at New Colossus Fest.)
DAY 3 – Wednesday, March 15th 2023
I’ll admit it, I started to lose a little steam by the third day but the band I was sharing an Airbnb with was getting into town later in the afternoon so I knew I’d get a breather.
I joined my friends at High Noon for Paste Magazine’s showcase because I’d told them Miss Grit was playing and their EPs had been on my heavy rotation for the past year. I’d just seen them at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn a month before but I’d really been enjoying their debut album that was just released in February called Follow the Cyborg (read our review). Miss Grit is the musical project of artist Margaret Sohn, whose nonbinary, half Korean identity fuels a lot of their work. As someone who is also nonbinary and half Asian, I find myself drawn to their themes around selfhood and liminality. I hear a lot of Mitski and St. Vincent in Miss Grit’s synth pop sound, and it really hits the spot.
The next band was a complete surprise. Somewhere between a gospel choir and an exorcism is where you’d find SUSU. I’ve heard people want to keep Austin weird, but I was really happy to see a band bringing NYC weird to SXSW. Soulful, psychedelic and seductive, the leading duo—Liza Colby and Kia Warren—had range in both a vocal and acrobatic capacity. Their set was a marathon of energy that left me feeling refreshed. Also, the body harnesses they were wearing? DIY’ed from store-bought back braces. Insane.
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I met up with Plastic Picnic afterwards at the convention center where snapped a quick photo in front of the official SXSW backdrop.
After grabbing a bite to eat, I rushed off to catch the second half of Ava Vegas at Las Perlas. Elfin and bathed in golden light, her ballads were luxurious and dreamy. The Berlin-based singer was giving German Lana Del Rey and the audience was rapt for it.
I booked it to Stubb’s next so I could see Hermanos Gutiérrez, which was the first SXSW official photo pit for me. The Swiss-Ecuadorian brothers have been enjoying the spotlight recently, and their music has been written about extensively. I felt lucky to catch the set for free, but wished I was more of an audience member than photographer because their music is a soundscape I wanted to be able to close my eyes and enjoy, especially as a live set.
Before I got to SXSW, Kate also recommended I check out M(h)aol, a punk band from Ireland that had just released their first full length album Attachment Styles, in February (read our review). I fell in love at first listen with Róisín Nic Ghearailt’s voice, her anger, and her optimism, especially when singing about the ubiquity of sexual assault on “Asking for It. ”I headed to their set at Mohawk and ended up in the front row, delighted to find that the singer was exactly the same in real life; a bubbly force of nature. In between songs she spoke fervently about abortion and trans rights being taken away, and how it was important not to lose hope because all our struggles were interconnected.
Before “Bisexual Anxiety” she asked everyone who identified to raise their hand and because I was in front, we high fived. She turned down a kiss from me, shouting “I’m monogamous!” “I’m greedy!” I shouted back, quoting a line from the song, and she winked. Later she told me that because of their Visa, they weren’t allowed to sell merch, so she gifted me one of their totes which reads “It’s not personal, it’s just vibes.”
Tired after a long day, I joined Plastic Picnic at Seven Grand where they were watching Overcoats play a late show. I’d seen them the day before but their music is so catchy and I liked their new choreography so I stuck around to listen again. Plastic Picnic will be opening for Overcoats on a six day leg of their tour in May.
Stay tuned for the second half of our SXSW coverage coming soon!
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