Tangents & The Times

South By Southwest went as quickly as it came, as most events that involve twelve hours of drinking with your friends for days on end assuredly do. But that is exactly what I intended to do– hang out with my friends & listen to music we enjoy listening to.

Throughout my life, music has always provided me with not only an escape, but also with a community. As horribly dorky as it is (well, maybe not anymore now that it’s even acceptable to go around calling yourself a “blogger”), most of my greatest friends have been made on the internet, over music. And nothing has changed. I can’t tell you how gratifying it is to go to something like SXSW & meet up with my favorite writers from across the country & shoot the shit about shit I care about without having to explain it all. You know what I’m talking about?

Hypotheticals, now GO!

Your friend who knows little to nothing about what you do on the day to day asks you how your day was or whatever. Some normal-ass nonsense. You’re like,
“Oh, blah-blah on bloggidyblog talked about BAND-X
& then boogity-boo said yada yada on hmmuniahhh-what”
and the person you’re talking to is like, “Whaaaaaa?”

Maybe if you’re lucky, they caught BAND-X opening for Best Coast or some shit last summer & they can piece some of it together but, even then, it’s a struggle. I have this same problem in my blog, especially as it becomes more popular. I get, er, complaints, about how I’m “unrelatable” and people “don’t know what I’m talking about half the time”.

Well, I know what I’m talking about.
And it’s so good to be around people that
I can discuss all the hmmuniahhh-whats I want around,
and have them know what the fuck I’m saying.
Lord knows Dudefriend needs a break.

Alright, alright, enough with my pre-menstrual symptomsss.

Let’s talk about my favorite things I saw at SXSW. I saw a ton of super great bands– Pure X, Lord Huron, Cass McCombs, Weekend, Woodsman, Speculator, Heavy Hawaii, Boy Friend, The Twerps, Silent Land Time Machine & many more…

But my two favorites were:

2. Dirty Beaches
Alright, now, I’ve been loving on Dirty Beaches for a minute, but um, NOTHING PREPARED ME FOR SEEING THIS BRO ALEX LIVE. HOLY SHIT. He’s got this super dreamy, sexy, Asian Adonis meets the Outsiders vibe going, but with this like 1950′s crooner attitude. Ugh. As a girl who grew up with crushes on men who stood in front of big bands with greased back hair, this. just. KILLS ME. Seriously.

1. Summer Camp
Wow, okay, let me be the first to say I ended up inadvertently stalking Summer Camp at SXSW. I promise it was not premeditated, it just sort of happened. And thank god it did. First, I saw them at Forest Family. SLAYED. Then the next day we’re at Gorilla vs. Bear & we’re like DUH WE’RE GOING TO WATCH SUMMER CAMP AGAIN, THEY SLAY!!! And well, they slayed again, this time with a bunch of adorable quips about death metal. Elizabeth (the singer) jumped down off the stage & seduced all the boys in the front row. It was then I knew she was my hero. But then when she told me they just enjoy staying in & watching 30 Rock,
I was like, “ARE YOU GUYS MY SOUL MATES?”

OK. Didn’t really say that cause that would have been awkward.
Instead we just showed up at their acoustic show on Saturday
and I was officially, just like, IN LOVE.
THEY ARE INCREDIBLE!

There were definitely tears welling up behind my godforsaken Ray-Bans. If being in a relationship has done anything to me, it has turned me into a mom watching Pixar films when it comes to Couple Duos. Ugh. First Tennis, now Summer Camp. BUT I AM NOT ASHAMED. Everyone should aspire to this sort of thing, you know, what else is art if not the power to evoke feelings in others?

I never know what to expect out of bands these days, especially ones with plenty of synths, pedals & all that other jazz I have no business trying to talk about. But Summer Camp is an incredibly talented duo and their acoustic set made me just, well, it just killed me. It was so great. They are excellent musicians as well as storytellers, and their acoustic set accentuated their more than relatable lyrics. They are truly one of those bands who really win you in their live sets, something a lot of acts could learn from.

I don’t have a video of any of their SXSW performances,
but this take-away show captures their acoustic goodness.

I got drunk last night & actually wrote an entire essay on Summer Camp but then woke up this morning, re-read it & was like DAMN GIRL.
PUT UR FEELINGS AWAY.
But I still can’t!!!

Dave of RawkBlog had a good Tumblr post today about people bitching about the corporate-ness of SXSW this year. This was my first year and honestly, I did exactly what I wanted to do & had the best time doing it.

Photos coming soon.
See you next year kids. xo