SXSW Day 3: Leslie and The Badgers, Uffie, The Ruby Suns, Freddie Gibbs, Broken Social Scene

By day 3 of SXSW, my fellow colleagues and the festival goers surrounding us were all complaining about lower back pain, feet on fire, and legs feeling like they were about to fall off. However, that didn’t stop us from going to see some great shows for the day and well into the night.

Friday was a bit chillier than the last two days, but the Austin sunshine was still there to greet us as we decided our next moves. First stop for me was Los Angeles’ Trailer Fire Records’ day party where Justin Gordon, Olentangy John, We Are Country Mice and Leslie and The Badgers were playing at Shakespeare’s Pub.

I walked into the party just as Leslie and The Badgers were about to go on and as a pub that naturally pulled in many country fans, their crowd exponentially grew with every song. There was a crowd both upstairs on the patio and downstairs outside and cheers and feet-tapping could be heard throughout the set. As I got chills from Leslie Steven’s vocals again, I felt a bit odd that I was seeing a Los Angeles band while I was in Austin. However, as they proved with their set, the musicality in this band is beyond solid. Although LA is mostly known for noise rock bands, Leslie and The Badgers’ consistency with every single instrument in the band is insanely impressive.

Afterward, I quickly hopped over to the The Hype Machine’s day party (which went on every day from 12 pm to 2 am – talk about commitment!) over at the dance club, VICE. After seeing Fenech-Soler the night before (See Day 2), I was curious to see if there were any new fun bands I could discover. I walked in because I saw New Zealand’s Bachelorette on the set list and had always been meaning to catch one of her shows. However, I was utterly disappointed when I walked in and saw press photos of Uffie projected onto the walls. I look over and sure enough, rapper-singer, Uffie was hyping up the crowd.

If you know who Uffie is, you know that Ke$ha has been compared to her a lot lately because of the similar conversational tones in their songs. Even though I’m not sure if Uffie really raps or sings (much like M.I.A.), I knew that her vocals were already much better than Ke$ha’s. Uffie had a new DJ and the crowd was going crazy for her. She started her career at an early age when she teamed up with label mates, Justice, on a song and I had a feeling I may have been able to get into her as an artist, but Ke$ha’s existence may have just ruined her for me.  The association did not dissolve for me. I managed to (unfortunately) catch her entire set only because I was meeting a friend who was helping out with the party. I also discovered that she was on instead of Bachelorette because Uffie was missing earlier in the day. So when she showed up, I suppose they have her priority in the lineup.

After hearing that nonsense, I went over to I Guess I’m Floating’s day party over at Love Joy’s for Ruby Suns. The line was a bit long though, and I was afraid I was going to miss their set. However, after I settled in with a beer, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that they had not even gone on yet. The Ruby Suns, another band hailing from New Zealand, is definitely a band that should be on anyone’s to-see list. Although they are considered an indie pop band, The Ruby Suns give off an Animal Collective/Miike Snow vibe, and for such a crowded and stuffy place, they pulled off a great performance. It was nice to see band member, Ryan McPhun, on stage again doing his own thing outside of The Brunettes or The Tokey Tones. The Ruby Suns excel in staccato rhythms but also know how to take it down with some ambient tones. In fact, one of their songs even had a festival goer believe that it was Washed Out (who was up next) playing instead. (If they had heard the upbeat songs played first, they would have known that there was a vast difference in style.)

Next up was the Gorilla Vs. Bear party since I had been meaning to see The Golden Filter for over a year. It seems that no matter when they came around to any location I’ve been in, circumstances have kept me from seeing them live. Unfortunately, the line for the day party was incredibly long, and I managed to get in the door right after they finished. Seeing Best Coast again was fun, but I was also beginning to feel a little guilty for giving so much LA love while I was in Austin scouting new music for everyone.

I then headed down Red River to see if any of the other acts across from Stubb’s (I was definitely not going to the Muse show) and ended up at The Mohawk because people were in line for Miike Snow. Hoping to see Miike Snow soon, I was disappointed as I entered the venue and realized that they were running incredibly behind and Freddie Gibbs was still on stage. It was Gibbs, followed by Donnis and then Miike Snow as the the closer. Hip-hop is a great genre but as soon as Gibbs finished his set, I only stayed for one song from Donnis and bounced before Miike Snow because I knew Broken Social Scene was playing again this night at The Parish. However, I did leave with one thought: I need to get back into hip-hop. Seeing Freddie Gibbs and Donnis was more refreshing than I expected.

Of course, there was a line at The Parish. It was a free show for only badges and wristbands and I finally decided to take advantage of my wristband capabilities and see a big act. If you are unaware of how the system works at SXSW, badges are first, wristbands are second and those without registration credentials are sometimes given the option of paying a cover. However, this was Broken Social Scene, so this was definitely not a free show for everyone. By some miracle, I was able to get in right as BSS was starting and the upstairs venue continued to quickly thicken. Broken Social Scene is undoubtedly one the more well-known bands in Canada for having a massive amount of people on stage. It was no different this night as there was about ten band members on stage at one point. Lisa Lobsinger was also there to provide backing and duet vocals as was Jason Collett since he was already playing SXSW earlier in the week (See Day 1).

Broken Social Scene played well into the night. At 1:15 AM, they were still going strong. For some reason, they seemed keen on repeating how intimate this party was (I suppose it was, in a sense) and that Sandra Bullock should join their group – as if they needed more band members! They played “Love Is New” for the second time ever in history, again with Lisa Lobsinger on accompanying vocals. Jason Collett also sang lead on a couple of songs and they decided to premiere their song, ‘Ungrateful Little Father” for the first time that night as well.

Although I’m aware of the fact that I could have seen Broken Social Scene any time they come around on tour, I’m very glad that I got to catch such a special set from the band at one of the biggest festivals in the nation. Seeing a band like them on a small stage feels like a rare opportunity and my time in line was well worth-spent.

SXSW continues for Day 4! Stay tuned for more recaps and photos.