SXSW Music Day 3: Cedar Street Courtyard Showcase With Peter Bjorn and John, Grizzly Bear, and Dinosaur Jr.

According to some fans, day three of the SXSW music conference was referred to as ‘Metallica Day’ – and yes, the metal legends did take the stage at Stubb’s BBQ for a 90-minute greatest hits set to help sell their new game ‘Guitar Hero: Metallica.’

But for others (like myself) who didn’t make it in to the industry-dominated showcase, day three was more like ‘So-Much-For-Metallica Day.’ And with lines around the block at Emo’s and many of the other well known venues, it was the same story at many of the showcases for anyone without a badge.

But musical magic was still to be found at Cedar Street Courtyard on W. 4th Street, where I slipped right in and camped out for an evening of indie rock that culminated into an extraordinary shred-show with indie/alternative legends Dinosaur Jr.

The six-band showcase began with a 30-minute punk-pop set from Reading, England’s Pete & the Pirates, whose catchy yet crunchy guitar riffs echoed the full-speed-ahead stylings of Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner.

The next two bands, Baltimore’s ever-mellow Beach House and Toronto-based ska revivalists Bedouin Soundclash, seemed to relax the beer-guzzling audience members, who were clearly as impatient for the main acts as I was after a long day of being locked out of various venues.

After a short wait, Swedish trio Peter Pjorn and John came out for a half-hour run of their tightly-woven power-pop/rock ballads. The group premiered a few new tracks from their upcoming album “Living Thing” (out March 31), which saw the band exploring the increasingly popular dance-rock genre.

In true mountain-man fashion, Brooklyn’s ambient/psychedelic rockers Grizzly Bear came to the stage around midnight adorned in matching flannel plaid shirts. For a group that delivers such a mellow mix on recording, Grizzly Bear’s live show presented an image of intensity with each member taking his turn at singing and shredding. The crowd favorite was the dance-worthy “Ready, Able,” featured on the group’s (already leaked) upcoming album, “Veckatimest” (which is offically released May 26).

Each band featured at the Cedar Street Courtyard showcase proved their worth, but none could stand up the climactic chaos incurred by Amherst, MA’s Dinosaur Jr. Despite a half-hour delay caused by the power-overload of J Mascis‘ three tripple-stack Marshall amps, the indie-rock legends’ second show of SXSW (they played a secret late night show on March 19 at The Mohawk Patio) was raw enough to rival Metallica‘s (and I don’t just say that out of bitterness). The trio ripped through more than an hour’s worth of tunes, mostly from breakthrough album “You’re Living All Over Me” and their latest effort “Beyond.”

Dinosaur Jr. might not have their own video game, but no one (not even Kirk Hammett) can outshine the influence of J Mascis’ impassioned guitar heroics (the kind that can’t be imitated by a video game controller).

There have been loads of legendary acts popping up at SXSW. Who was the most mind-blowing so far? Who would you like to see in the last two days of the fest?