SXSW Recap and Michelada Memories

 

So I never really got to posting about my last day of SX. Let’s just say I was tired.  It was an awesome time and I got to see some really great shows. On my last day I hit some day shows on South Congress. I had a really wonderful piece of pizza from Homeslice and amichelada to zap me back into life …..yum. Musical highlights that day would have to beThe Bird and the Bee  (a poppy all-girl group with super cute matching outfits) andErykah Badu (who showed up late, but rocked it any way).

Michelada recipe:

Can of beer (try Modelo, Lone Star or Dos XX)

Lemon juice from 1 lemon

2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce

1 dash of soy sauce

1 dash of Tobasco

A pinch of black pepper and salt

Salt the brim of a glass, mix together everything but beer and then pour beer over the top of mixture.

Day 2 … a nice night at church and other peaceful music

I’ll start at the end … at church.

I never imagined that one of the best shows I would see during sxsw would be at church. Thanks to some genius in the booking dept. at sxsw corp. (whoever they may be) some of the most interesting and best sounding concerts this year happened at Central Presbetarian Church. I’ve read lots about St. Vincent and Grizzly Bear, all of which also played in this cool downtown sanctuary during sx this year. I caught Elvis Perkins in Dearland on Thursday night. It took the band a while to set up, but it was worth the wait.  They had a horns section, complete with a French horn and baritone. Their drummer also was quite cool. At one point he was on the floor beating a marching drum and jingling some bells. Another song’s intro included whistles and bird chirps (supplied by the drummer again). Elvis lost both of his parents early in life and his soulful, at times sad, songs fit well in the peaceful, somber church at 1 in the morning. 

Listen to that bird chrip song here…. it’s called Shampoo

Earlier on Thursday night I caught up with the beautiful Laura Gibson. I really don’t know how I stumbled upon this artist. I just listened to one of her songs and thought she would be cool to hear play. She’s from Oregon (so were the other acts playing that night at the Red Eyed Fly). Laura has a soft, voice and this may have not been the best venue for her to play. The folky, sweet singer at time was over powered by thumping and thudding of neighboring acts. At other points some audience members were a little too loud. She’s the kind of act you really need to sit and be quiet to enjoy fully. One of her songs was used in this cute commercial for the Oregon Humane Society. It’s just as sweet and cute as she is.

SXSW Day One: Off to a Rough Start

 

my bus stop

 

If I had to guess, Wednesday was going to be a bad night. Things started  out ok, caught the bus downtown, walked to my first show of the night, got in without having to stand in line. But then I discovered I had forgotten my ID at home. The ultimate party foul. It was in a pair of jeans I had worn out to St. Patrick’s Day. Doh! After a little sweet talking and promising that I am in fact over 21, the door guy let me in. I think I coughed up by CostCo card (and that seemed to do the trick).  I caught a performance by the aforementioned Thrift Store Cowboys. They were great, and I think a packed house of what seemed to be alt country music lovers agreed. But there wasn’t much time to hang out as I was headed deeper into downtown for the rest of the night. I decided to take my chances sans ID and it all worked out. Thank you door guys (you know who you are). 

On my quick walk down 6th St. I ran across some interesting characters. There was some hair band from Japan all dressed up in spandex mugging for photos in the street. Some dude with a giant light bulb on his head, and this thing walking around on stilts. Gotta love sxsw freak watching.

Next up was The Seedy Seeds. This quirk duo from Ohio mixes folk with electronic pop. They play banjos, accordians and kazoos, along top of electronic drumbeats.  It’s just the right mix or nerdy weirdness that I like. I first heard them on My Old Kentucky Blog’s show on Sirius. The crowd was small, but dug the happy music that The Seedy Seeds were able to provide. I snagged a CD before I left and enjoyed overhearing people from up north talk about how great the weather is in Austin. Haha, I live here.

Another quick walk down Red River St. got me to Stubb’s where I was hoping to catch The Decemberists. But once I saw a huge line that snaked down the sidewalk and around the corner, I figured it would be impossible. So it was on to my backup, Club DeVille for a showcase put together by another blogger, Brooklyn Vegan. I’m glad I made it. I caught and unplanned, yet awesome, set by Those Darlins. The girl band from Tennessee had tons of energy with the honky tonk tude of Loretta Lynn and the playfulness of drunk Dixie Chicks. It’s their first SXSW and it was nice to see a band super excited about the experience. “We plan to Slut it up real good,” one of them said. Apparently I wasn’t the only person that enjoyed the show.

I was getting sleepy at this point (I did have to get up and go to work the next day). So I headed out to catch a cab home. But on my way by Stubb’s I noticed that there was a short line to get in to the Decemberists and I figured, what the heck. I had only missed maybe 20 minutes of the show really. The band was performing its entire new album, The Hazards of Love. The new disc is a rock opera concept album with a story line and characters. It also was broadcast on NPR. You can listen to it here. I’m not really sure where all those people went who were standing in line earlier. But Stubb’s really wasn’t that full by the time I got there. I don’t know if people didn’t like the weird concept, or maybe had to get up and go to work the next morning, but I was able to get up fairly close.

I enjoyed the show, and it was awesome to see and experience something so unique.

 

 

 

So, tonight is Day 2. I’m pretty tired….but I do have Friday off from work. I’m sort of playing it by ear tonight, with really no set plans. We shall see where the night takes me.

Let it Begin

The music portion of South by Southwest 2009 has official begun. However, I really wouldn’t know, since I had to work today. While many attendees had fun drinking free beer and listening to tunes at some free day shows today, I was stuck writing about lasers. Oh, well.

I was able to pick up my wristband yesterday. After scoring a primo parking spot near the convention center I found my way to Exhbit Hall 4 where they were dispensing the little pieces of plastic. When I arrived some volunteer informed me, “the system is down,” and it had been for like 30 minutes. There was a line, but I wasn’t going to waste that awesome parking spot for nothing. So I decided to wait. Before I know it, the system got back to running and the line began moving swiftly.

line to get sxsw wristbands 3/17/09

I must say that the wristbands are a lot more futuristic looking this year. At first glance they look more like a funky slap bracelet, than a run of the mill festival wristband. They are mustard yellow with green, black, and white holographic images. When I turn my wrist a certain way the images change. Pretty neat.

Although I missed all the day shows today, I do plan to venture out tonight (after a quick disco nap). My plan is to take the bus downtown (parking and driving sucks this time of year) and go see a few bands. First up is the Thrift Store Cowboys. A couple of the guys in the band actually went to my high school. This is pretty amazing since there were only like 50 people in my high school. These guys are awesome and I always make a point of seeing them when they are in town. They have to be the coolest people to ever graduate from Borden County (besides me of course).

Later tonight I hope to catch The Seedy Seeds and The Decemberists.

Stay tuned for more sxsw play-by-play action.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

This week marks the celebration of many great things … green beer, spring and South by Southwest. I’m going to pick up my wristband for the four-day music marathon here in Austin tomorrow. I plan to take lots of photos and blog a bit about my experiences. Stay tuned

Mexico day dreaming

 

 

 

My Hulu Obession

So I’m a TV junky. There is nothing like kickin back on the couch and soaking up some mind numbing boob toob action.  It may soften your brain like a soft banana, but what can I say, I like bananas. But sometimes 200-plus channels on digital cable just doesn’t cut it. That’s why I seek out the awesome wonderfulness of Hulu. The Website (which is a joint effort between NBC, News Corp and some big investors) offers some of my favorite TV shows, clips of programs like Saturday Night Live and even some movies. 

Since my Hulu discovery I’ve started watching It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Arrested Development, and even Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Other awesome finds on the sight include Wall Street Warriors : a reality series on MOJO about those wacky Wall Streeters. You see, on Hulu you find the best of current programs along with classic TV gems and stuff you may have missed along the way. It’s all free and they only make you watch short 30 second ads, maybe once every 20 minutes or so. For a cheap skate like me, it’s worth it.

Happy Huluing.

Bleeding Orange…

I have an uncanny craving for fish sometimes (must be running low on Omega 3 oils) and I also love fruit. During my recent trip to the grocery store I found lots and lots of fresh citrus — beautiful big lemons, heirloom navel oranges, grapefruit and blood oranges. They also had salmon on special so I thought I would join the two. I made some of the yummiest salads…if I don’t say so myself. I had never really eated blood oranges much before and now I’m hooked. The beautiful red color and sweetness is soooo good.

Here are a couple of recipies that marry citrus and fish….a perfect meal for the 78 degree January days we’ve been having.

Salmon with Citrus and Arugala Salad
2 oranges, blood oranges, tangeries or a mix, sectioned

1 lemon
2 cups washed, arugula leaves
2 TBSP olive oil

pinch of thyme

1/4 cup of toasted almonds (I just used some pre-chopped almond/breadcrumb mix)
1/2 tsp crushed chile pepper
Salmon filets

Directions:
1. For dressing combine oil, lemon juice, zest, and a pinch of thyme
2. Bread salmon filets in the almond/breadcrumb mix, sprinkle with crushed red chili pepper and cook in skillet with oil
4. Mix together citrus/arugula and dressing and plate salmon on top.

 

Mahi-Mahi with Blood Orange, Avocado, and Red Onion Salsa

1 blood orange, Cara Cara orange, or regular orange
1/2 cup 1/3-inch cubes avocado
1/3 cup chopped red onion
2 teaspoons minced red jalapeño
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

2 teaspoons olive oil
2 6-ounce mahi-mahi fillets

Using small sharp knife, cut peel and white pith from orange. Working over small bowl, cut between membranes to release segments. Add avocado, onion, jalapeño, and lime juice to oranges in bowl; stir gently to blend. Season salsa to taste with salt.

Heat oil in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Add fish to skillet and sauté until brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.

Place 1 fillet on each of 2 plates. Spoon salsa atop fish and serve.

I’m in Heaven!

 

Finally, after more than a month without cable and Internet at my house I have it Wow, you never really now what you got til it’s gone. Let’s just say I got watch a lot of local news, semi-entertaining sitcoms, and even ice skating during my 30-plus days on the rabbit ears.

Alex, the friendly Russian U-Verse man set it up bright and early this morning. This was only after two other AT&T techs came out to get some install work done. So far, so good. The picture looks good, the recording function seems cool, and I have some 300 channels! I’m rather clueless when it comes to technical electrical stuff. I’m just happy that I can now catch up on some of my favorite shows like Top Chef, AND the Big Love premier, which comes on HBO this Sunday! OOOO how I love catty chefs and polygamists!!

Now you must excuse me, I have some TV watching to do.

Longhorns, Cotton, Red Raiders and Tumbleweeds….a winning combo

My trip out to West Texas for the Texas Tech vs OSU game was awesome. It was a thrill to get back on campus and and watch the No. 2 team in the nation at work! I haven’t seen Tech fans so energized. It was great to see. 

Pre-game activities included a visit to my family’s farm. We fed the cows, walked around in the cotton and hunted down a few tumbleweeds for my friend, Holly, who wanted to take an authentic West Texas Tumbleweed home with her.