The week before I left for sunny Austin, Texas, I RSVP’d to a bunch of unofficial parties for the music portion of SXSW because I did not want to pay around $700 for a badge. All the bands that were playing “official” showcases were also playing anywhere from 2 to 9 more unofficial parties, so I knew I wouldn’t miss anything. Upon arrival and settling into my cousins’ apartment, I headed downtown and spent most of the afternoon standing in line to get wristbands for various shows and parties happening the rest of the week.
As this was my sixth year in a row going to SXSW, I knew to avoid 6th Street if I wanted to move at my usual New Yorker pace. (One of the days I was down there, I was rushing to get across town to see one of my favorite bands, and this huge group of people were moving at a sloth-like pace. This must be what dying feels like.)
After the 40-minute line to get my wristband for Hype Hotel, I finally headed over to the Parish for Consequence of Sound’s CoSigns day party at the Parish to see one of my favorite indie rock bands, The Thermals. I’d never seen them live, so I was thrilled to find that they were everything punk rock is supposed to be––raw rock exuding pure, fun energy.
I ran over to the Stage on Sixth to catch the Shout Out Louds take over the the Paste magazine party. The Swedish band serenaded the crowd with their mellow dream pop and heavenly harmonies.
Continuing my journey down 6th Street, I went to the BrooklynVegan day party over at The Main and caught Spanish alternative dance band Delorean. Though the free Jameson and vegan nachos did little to get the crowd dancing at 6pm, you could tell that everyone wanted to start moving their bodies to Delorean’s groovy electro beats.
SXSW for me is as much about food as it is about bands, so during the day-to-evening party changeover, I headed up to the University of Texas Austin campus area to hit up one of my favorite local taco spots, Torchy’s Tacos. Every year, Torchy’s fried avocado taco is at the top of my Austin Food Checklist, but The Independent, the latest vegetarian addition to their taco menu, might knock the battered avocado delicacy off its #1 spot in my heart. This new taco has fried portobello mushroom strips with refried black beans, corn, avocado, carrots, queso fresco, and fresh cilantro with a drizzle ancho aioli. I was not prepared for the flavor explosion at the first bite. Attention all vegetarians! This is the best veggie taco ever. Nothing you will ever eat as a vegetarian will taste as good as this taco. Not exaggerating, bros.
After a satisfying first “real” Austin meal, I headed back downtown, where I stood in line for 90-or-so minutes––and endured the douchy ramblings of a group of drunk frat dudes and their friends––before finally getting into Viceland to see Austra and Icona Pop.
Because I spent most of my time standing in line on my phone planning the next day, I was relieved to find a mobile charging station right next to the bar. Because I appeared to be the only Android user at this party, I had no problem finding an available charger (non-conformist perk!). I grabbed my first of many free drinks for the night and chatted up with some strangers––who all turned out to be fellow Williamsburg, Brooklyn dwellers, to my non-surprise––before heading to the stage to see Toronto-based band Austra, whose dark new wave synth pop reminded me a lot of Brooklyn band Zambri with a dash of Grimes.
Something I must say about Viceland, this warehouse was the first of many space conversions that truly impressed me throughout the week––between the free mobile charging stations at almost every major party/event, the free booze, custom hashtags, and the Port-A-Potties with foot pedal-triggered sinks and antibacterial soap dispensers right outside, they have seemingly thought of everything.
Swedish DJ duo Icona Pop killed it with their electro-beats, pop hooks, and punk rock energy. It was the two ladies’ first ever SXSW, and they were genuinely thrilled to be there, a sentiment shared with everyone in the crowd. The whole room danced and sang along when they closed their super-charged set with their summer hit “I Love It.” It was definitely the highlight of SXSW Music Day One, and it was the best way to end the night.
However, waiting for 50 minutes for the Night Owl Bus to go home killed the high from that electric Icona Pop performance. However, I did end up sharing a cab with a gentleman named Preston, a Montana native who had the greatest mohawk I had ever seen.
SXSW recap by Rebecca An