Friday, March 20, 2009 1:30PM - By davidhall
After learning a few lessons on day one of the SXSW music conference , I began day 2 (March 19) with a fresh fervor. No line or mob of badge-holding yuppies was going to stand in my way this time.
My determination served me well, but not at first. The line for the Von Bondies at the Austin Convention Center was a sight to behold – it snaked almost all the way around the hallway to the registration center. Instead of sticking around for a lost cause, I embarked on a walk up Red River Street toward Stubb’s BBQ.
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Thursday, March 19, 2009 1:15PM - By davidhall
If you’re heading down to good ol’ Austin, TX for SXSW this week and you haven’t arrived yet, get reading to hit the ground running. I’m an Austinite myself (yes, that is our title), so I know the city back-to-front, but it’s always difficult to prepare for the throngs of people clogging the downtown streets.
Air travel was a nightmare (Dallas- Fort Worth’s airport was an anxiety-ridden scene of stranded South by Southwesters), and traffic on the freeway slowed me down even further, but once I finally joined the mob on Red River Street for Day 1 (March 18th), the feeling of joy was immeasurable…
After grabbing my wristband from the Austin Convention Center, I followed the sweet sounds of power-pop to one of Austin’s trendiest clubs, Beauty Bar. Since it was only a tad before 10 p.m., the line moved quickly, and soon I was soaking up the New Wave-infused glory of Fol Chen (above), who delivered their brand of (usually) production-heavy pop-rock with an erratic punk-rock twist.
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Monday, March 16, 2009 8:00AM - By davidhall
Too many headlines, too little time. But never fear! BeatCrave has taken the liberty of scouting out the weekend’s top stories and tightening them up for your speed-reading pleasure. Take a look at the latest scoops:
- Austin Powell of the Austin Chronicle has printed a story that he’s received confirmation that Metallica will take a giant step outside of arena-land to play this Friday (March 20) at Austin, TX’s legendary Stubb’s BBQ for SXSW‘s “Guitar Hero: Metallica” showcase. The venue holds only 2,100 people, so if you plan on going and want to make it in by 10 p.m. to see the band, I recommend getting in line the night before if possible. SXSW won’t publicly affirm Powell’s statement, but I’d say get your metal horns ready, just in case.
- UK’s pop-rockers Klaxons are the latest victims of overbearing label execs. Or at least that’s how the situation appears, because the band has admitted that they will re-record parts of their second album after Universal rejected the first take, which band member Jamie Reynolds described as “really dense” and “psychedelic.” Reynolds indicated that the tweaked tracks, which will be done in four weeks, would be more pop-oriented, but it’s not clear if this is more the band’s decision or the label’s. At any rate, it’s sad knowing that the album in stores won’t be what the band was originally shooting for… bands need to stand up for their music!
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