The Rocket Boys and Blitzen Trapper at SXSW Music

I prematurely left SXSW on Thursday afternoon for a family commitment.

I managed to attend two phenomenal shows during the day – one old favorite and one new to me.

SXSW is so great because you van just stumble upon good shows and discover new music. There were some people queued up at Maggie Mae’s which acted as a divining rod to point me to The Rocket Boys (Austin, TX) that put out a nice indie sound.

The second line that drew me in was much longer… about 50 people. I saw people with SXSW wrist bands didn’t have to wait and made good use of my wrist band to get in. Lo and behold Blitzen Trapper was what all the noise was about. I’d seen them perform from the rafters at the Hollywood Bowl and so very much appreciated the more imitate setting at The Stage on Sixth. I could see their faces real good.

Returning to SXSW in 2013

I’m on the verge of seeing my last band on my second – and final – night at SXSW. I’ve been here solo for the music portion and am actively recruiting friends to experience this with next year.

That’s the silver lining, I’ve gotten a taste and am eager to return for a main course of weekend entertainment next year. So much music and so urban compared to where my imagination goes when I consider Coachella. I am waiting for an “Occupy SXSW” with spontaneous camps, but for now it looks like the majority of people prefer to sleep in doors.

Okay. So wrapping up my second night I’ll share the bands I saw perform today. It would make me so happy if even one person got turned on to a band as a result of this post!

First up;
Oberhofer – I hadn’t realized how many of the tracks I knew until I saw them perform love. Lots of songs about separation. Please complain if I get this wrong, but I conclude, sounds like Vampire Weekend. This performance comes KCRW endorsed.

Next:
Had to see Apache Relay perform live given the chance to see them a second night in a row. Check out this Nashville, TN ensemble.

Third up:
Bleached. Three women, one male drummer. Enjoyed set.

Fourth:
Stumbles into a quite pleasurable country performance in an Episcapalion Church by Anais Mitchell. Reminded me of a hipster (look) Dolly Parton.

Fifth:
Bear Hands.

Amazing music at SXSW – Polica and Ghostland Observatory

Saw two tight bands sponsored by HP Cloud Sevices the night befor SXSW music started.

The opener was Polica (Minneapolis, MN) with a woman on vocals, a bass guitar, and two drummers. Lead guitar is notably missing visibly, but from the band’s sound I could not care leas that they omitted this traditional keystone of rock and roll. A good indie sound that transported me while the band was onstage.

The headliner, local artists Ghostland Observatory (Austin, TX) tore up the joint. I’ve only occasinally felt a band generate so much energy within the crowd. This is a two man crew – one Man’s vocals and the other synthesizers and whatnot. Get there music, throw a party, and hit play for a good time.

First night of SXSW Music

Even Tuesday night, which is much milder than the weekend posted a lot of energy. Whether or not you have an official pass or badge, stroll down 6th street for the energy. Many venues will allow you in with a cash cover payment. If you cam deal with the frustration of watching badges and banded SXSWers enter with priority ahead of you and you don’t want to shell out $170 for the wristband, than you might try that.

I saw two Banda last night: Apache Relay from Nashville, TN which ROCKED it and Quiet Company from Austin, TX. Most of the time I learn about new music fro
KCRW Djs, so it was cool to see excelled bands without their assistance.

Ace Hotel Palm Springs California

This will be a short post.

We booked a night at the Ace Hotel Palm Springs hipster hangout. Our stay was short as we were not allowed to check-in. Not only was I not wearing tight jeans, but a freak windstorm had taken down the power and the hotel was closing for the night. They refunded our non-refundable reservation.

The hotel IS supercool. Check out there website to imagine a weekend
there:
http://bit.ly/AsK6dG

We arrived in town after naively driving through a sandstorm that kicked up once we turned off the highway. We learned later the road had been closed.

Real Ales in London

Real ales were not on my radar until I begin researching my trip to London. Londoners refer to what we call cask beers in the states with the term “real ales”.

What stunned me in London pubs was the prevalence and number of taps dedicated to real ales… typically 4 taps per pub. Whereas in the U.S., you only occasionally will see a cask ale and those only appear at very specialized beer enthusiast bars.

The difference between a real ale/ cask al and your typical ale (or lager) is that we American’s almost always are drinking beer that have had additional carbonation added to them after the brewing process. This carbonization with carbon dioxide (CO2) not only makes the beer more fizzy, it also pressirizes the keg to make it easy to tap and dispense.

Real ales, by contrast, need to be drawn with a tap that works like a pneumatic pump.

To my American palate, the mouth-feel of most real ales is unnerving. It tastes like beer, but rather than tickling the tongue, it’s smooth, like water.

The London bartenders often had favorite real ales. It was hard for me to adjust.

My favorite beer, and a bartender recommended it, was not a real ale – instead it was a draught pale ale – Camden. Pale Ale from Camden Town Brewery. I had three and a half pints of that brew at the gastropub null & Last in Kentish Town.

Here are pubs I recall and recommend drinking at if you enjoy beer.

Highly recommended:
• Bull & Last (Kentish Town)
• The Harp (Soho)
• Ten Bells (East London)
• Exmouth Arms (Islington)

Recommended
• Feathers (Westminster)
• Fitzroy (Fitzrovia)
• Windmill (Southwark$

New Year’s Eve (NYE) London Fireworks

Erin and I learned a bit about selecting a way to celebrate NYE in London as we sought to usher in 2012.

Here are tips on both FREE and expensive ways to spend the NYE.

The most enjoyable part of our NYE was FREE. Beat of all we both avoided crowds AND saw the London fireworks over the London Eye live.

We watched from a spot near the Lambeth North tube stop on the Bakerloo line. Here’s a 30 second video looks like from this point.

It was a memorable 11 minutes. We discovered an even better spot on our way over to Elephant & Castle. Our new secret spot is on Black Friar Road between Pocock and Webber. You can fully see half the London Eye from here!

We spent the time before the fireworks at the Windmill pub on The Cut. It was possible to get a seat, people were mellow, and we enjoyed a bottle of prosecco.

We also purchased tickets to Eastern Electrics. I’ve wanted to see the London Electronic music scene for like 10 years. We went to the club at 1:00am and were able to see part of Laurent Gaultier’s set.

Here are some other tips for New Year’s Eve revelry in London;

• Another FREE option that was recommended to us was watching the fireworks show up on the hill in the Hempstaead Heath or at Primrose Hill.

• Book party tickets well in advance of your trip to ensure availability for you top choice

• Consider booking a hotel room overlooking the Thames. You’ll have the choice of watching fireworks in private from your room or booking guests only tickets to a party with a view. I’d look into staying at the Marriott for my next NYE visit.

• Saw one intriguing party at the Savoy for £1.000 if you have an excessive budget.