Friday was a much more successful music experience than Thursday. We rode our bikes down again, and found great parking just across the street.
We arrived at the Filter Party at Cedar Street Courtyard early in the day, to get a good spot for Phantogram. I was determined not to miss their show, so we arrived a few hours early. I spotted a girl with a killer haircut watching the earlier bands from the VIP section, and had major hair envy. Little did I know, she was actually the female vocalists/keyboard player from Phantogram. I was super jealous!
I was enjoying the show too much to mess with my camera, so the picture above was all I got. I did find these great shots via Flickr:
The vocals were amazing, and the sound perfect. It was my favorite show of SXSW 2011. Surfer Blood was up next, but we decided to wait to see them the following day, so we could make our way to Matt & Kim at the Fader Fort party early enough to get in.
We headed out to the Fader Fort on the East Side, where we waited in a long line for our wristbands, followed by a long line to get in the door...but it was all worth it. We walked around for the first hour, had some free popcorn, fought our way through a tight crowd for free drinks. Then, we headed to the stage to see
Odd Future perform, and we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. The crowd was rowdy, somewhat angry. There was a guy that wanted to get up to the front and started pushing people out of the way (quite forcefully) to do so. Another guy decided to crowd surf and fell to the cement right next to us, losing his glasses (and couldn't see!). Someone from the crowd took the opportunity to pour out a full beer on top of him, while he was still on the ground. Then, people started throwing full water bottles across the audience, hitting people from behind, while the crowd grew even more restless and loud...chanting "Wolf Gang Wolf Gang Wolf Gang." One of the musicians was encouraging the rowdiness, and let the crowd know that if he saw any more cameras while they were performing, he would kick them to the ground. It was quite an experience. Apparently,
P. Diddy was there, but we were so busy keeping a watch out for flying water bottles and watching our backs for drunk guys trying to start fights, that we didn't even notice!
(P. Diddy photo via spratt504 Flickr photostream).
The final act of the night was Matt & Kim, and it was amazing to feel the shift in energy as they took the stage. Everyone went from angry and amped to happy in about 2 minutes. Even though the performance was very similar to what we saw during ACL 2010, we couldn't help but enjoy it. They are just so fun to watch! You can really tell they love what they do. Kim is drumming her heart out with the biggest smile on her face, while Matt sings out to the audience with all he has to give.
(Photo via cshimala Flickr photo stream)
They are always full of so much energy and just make you want to get up and dance. Somehow, Kim managed to do some booty dancing while standing on the crowd:
It was such a fun show! Afterwards, we grabbed our bikes and headed through the 230,000 people on the streets of Austin to get home. The night came to a perfect end as we rode our bikes past Auditorium Shores, just as fireworks went off above Lady Bird Lake. It was such a great day!
Things have been set in motion...and I know this will be a year of change. It always happens in one way or another, but this time I can see it coming. I'm not sure exactly what will happen, but I'm sure of this...things won't be the same at the end of the year as they were at the beginning (they seldom are). I guess, in a way I've been coasting along for some time now...and sailing has been smooth. But, I'm about to rock the boat...and I might just go overboard.
will never fly
So, I bought this lovely vintage locket necklace from Room Service about a year ago, and I wear it all the time (and always get lots of compliments when I do). Today, as I was on the elevator heading out of work, a lady stepped into the elevator and commented, "I have that same necklace!" At first, I was thinking,"yeah right...this is a vintage 70s Avon locket...and there's no freaking way you have the same one." Then, she started talking about it being one of her favorite necklaces from when she was in high school. How, her best friend drew up a caricature of her "boyfriend" that they called "Fred" for her to wear in the locket...and how the drawing is still there to this day...and how she still wears the locket from time to time. I could see her getting a bit misty-eyed, and knew immediately that it was true. What a story! And, how random that this lady that happens to step on the elevator at the same time as me just so happens to have the exact same vintage necklace. It's so cool!
Day three started early so we could make it to MWTX party early enough to see Deertick take the stage at 1:55. We arrived on our bikes, and didn't even have to worry about finding a place to lock them up...free bike valet via Mellow Johnny's! We walked in, and the next surprise...Sailor Jerry was a sponsor, so they were serving up special cocktails. Cream 'O Sailor was probably my favorite, but I spent the majority of the day sipping on Sailor and root beer. YUMMY! Somehow, Jason and I ended up with 11 empty SJ commemorative cups. What an afternoon! 
