South By Southwest: Day 4- Part 1

Thursday was a day of, as usual, beginning to end music, as well as a day of running into friends from many different points in my life. Phase 1 of Thursday took place at what had become one of my more frequented bars, the Spiderhouse, and the venue attached to it, the 29th Street Ballroom. For SXSW those running the both places managed to cram a total of six stages both inside and outside, with near constant music on all of them and, naturally, all for free. Renée and I walked there at about noon (during which I saw my first non-internet "Seapunk"), and I met up with my old buddy from Burlington, Mike Venmen. Turns out Mike's life was taking an almost exactly opposite turn from mine (he was chasing a girl down from Burlington to Austin, and I was planning on heading back to Burlington from Austin for a girl) and somehow we happened to meet in the middle.
Not long after see Mike I ran into Lesley Hann, esteemed bassist for the previously mentioned "hot" Brooklyn band Friends, and someone who I rode around smoking with in High School. She greeted me with a big smile and a big hug because she is a really great human being. I still regret never seeing her band.
Another throwback at Spiderhouse came a little later, when the band Quilt played. I had seen them years ago surrounded by friends in Scituate Massachusetts, at my friend Olivia's barn, when all they had was a demo out. I remember very much liking the song "Falso Eto," but not pursuing them much past that. These days they are popular enough to have put out their debut on Mexican Summer, and be playing many shows around SXSW. I liked them more at Olivia's barn.
After that was Prince Rama, who i originally got my mind snapped by freshman year in Winooski, VT and who I next saw playing in the basement of the Wedge. They've lost their only male member since then, and are now a sisters only two piece, and this seems to have changed their vibe quite a bit. Though lacking none of their ferociousness, both vocally and behind the drums, they do now wear an awful lot more makeup/ glitter and wear far skimpier outfits. It also comes as no surprise that they have recently put out an Excercise Video, as their last song found them singing and doing a synchronized dance to a backing track. All of this sort of dismayed me at the time, as I saw it as a diminishment of Prince Rama's primal POWER, but my thoughts on it have since softened. The songs, crucially, were still there, and thats what matters in the end, right?
The highlight of Thursdays daytime shows was most certainly R. Stevie Moore, and not just because I happened to be standing next to a beautiful girl who was actually smiling. (I could write a whole other essay trying to analyze what the deal was with all of the model-level  beauties who invaded Austin for SXSW, but never looked as though they were enjoying a second of it. But why would I bother?)

R. Stevie was dressed awesomely, with sunglasses and a sort of hat/do-rag/turban thing on his head. His band were, for the most part, very average looking, which sort of added to the strangeness. Some genius at the Spiderhouse had him playing outside under an all Movie Character mural, perfectly situated under the two grumpy hecklers from The Muppets. These guys were actually perfect signifiers for how the show was going to go. R. Stevie is one grumpy, and hilarious, old man. Between making fun of the (awfully small- but enthusiastic!) crowd, quoting Lil B, and taking a moment to text mid-song, it was kind of a wonder he managed to actually play anything. His curmudgeonly nature only endeared him more to us though, and damn if "I Like To Stay Home" didn't sound awesome.

After shows at the Spiderhouse were winding down Renée and I struck out for our good buddy/ ex-roommate Claire's abode, because she was going to drive us to see Deerhoof & Of Montreal!
I snapped this picture of Renée on the way there. I wanted to capture the giant American Flag that was behind her at the time, but all I got was my finger: