Another SXSW has come and gone, and we couldn't have left with more accomplished and satisfied feelings then we did. The BOT team of Toast, Bacon and myself took the festival by storm, and hit up as many shows as possible. Over the course of three days I witnessed at least a few songs by 48 different bands (as well as a few choice repeats), and now I sit here in a daze trying to think about our crazy adventures throughout the city of Austin. We made it to the festival on Thursday morning, and it was on from there!

Read about BOT's Thursday, March 18 at the SXSW music festival after the jump

After a pretty easy drive from Houston during the perfect day that was Thursday, we finally made it downtown around one in the afternoon. After a brief stop at the Hype Machine party where nobody was actually performing at the time, we headed down the street to the Galaxy Room where Paste Magazine was on day two of their free day parties. The line-up was solid, and so was the venue in which it was held. I never actually made it into the Galaxy Room (formerly Radio Room) last year, so it was quite nice to experience the place for the first time. We made it just in time to see them place an empty cup over the Sierra Nevada tap which was previously pouring delicious free pints of California goodness, so it was on to the next special – $1 UV Vodka and Izzie juice drinks. Usually a few beers is the way to go on an early afternoon binge, but heck it's South By, so vodka it was. I headed towards the back yard patio, where The Living Sisters were currently folking the hell out a nice sized crowd. The triple vocal threat of The Bird and the Bee's Inara George (daughter of the late Lowell George, founder of the famed band Little Feat), Lavender Diamond front-woman Becky Stark and critically acclaimed singer songwriter Eleni Mandell easily swooned the crowd with their simple melodies backed by the solo guitar work of Stark. After a few songs, the trio made their way through an very unique cover of Doris Day's "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" which was an early weekend highlight.

The Living Sisters

We decided to hold down the fort at the Paste Party because the overall line-up was quite good all day. We made our way into the main room after another round of UV and Izzie, and got a decent spot for London indie-poppers Fanfarlo who performed an incredibly solid set that made fans out of our whole group, but most notably my father who was vigorously snapping pictures during the entire set. Their instrumentation – from the saw to the mandolin to the glockenspiel to the melodica – was quite varied, and made you wonder how they were toting around so many instruments throughout the streets of Austin for their numerous shows all week. After a while, Toast and I needed a 'smoke break,' so we headed to the back patio to partake. While back there, Gordon Gano and the Ryan's were working through a set of original bluegrass/country numbers that were full of comedic sexual innuendos. If you were just casually listening, you would have missed what he was saying because the style of music, but after paying attention, he added in some pretty crude stuff. It was fun, but eventually lost it's luster.

Gordon Gano & the Ryans

After a while, we headed back inside where Lou Barlow & the Missingmen were just finishing with their set-up. The Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and Folk Implosion founder played through a set of rockers that fit right along with his entire past catalog. Not really in the mood for droning, fuzzed out ear-buzzers, we headed back towards the outdoor stage to enjoy some sun and the indie-pop sounds of The Lonely Forest. Not really standing out from the wealth of bands doing similar things in the genre, the group fit as nice background noise to a good conversation with family and friends in the perfect spring weather.

Lou Barlow & the Missingmen

All of the bands we'd seen so far were unexpected treats, and welcome additions to the real reason I had first stepped foot in The Galaxy Room. One of the five bands I had told myself I needed to see over the course of the three days at SXSW was Rhode Island quartet The Low Anthem. I fell in love with the group after their publicist shipped over a copy of their 2008 release, Oh My God Charlie Darwin. At first, I wrote the album off, but I finally picked it back up and gave it another shot. I'm quite glad that I did, because it quickly became one of my favorites. This afternoon showcase not only brought to life the simple folk songs from that album, but stage presence and the use of a gamut of instruments made it quite a delight to see these guys (and gal) perform live. While they easily drifted through their set, I stood and looked over the crowd that featured my parents, sister and Toast scattered throughout, and gazed at the amazement that shone through every patrons face. I wasn't the only one that was instantaneously sold by their live set.

The Low Anthem

We had put our time in at the Paste party, but were still awaiting a group of friends, so we headed towards the back to catch a bit of Black Prairie. The bluegrass-inspired folk group, which consists of Jenny Conlee, Chris Funk and Nate Query (better known as The Decemberists minus Colin and drums), as well as vocalist and violin player Annalisa Tornfelt and guitarist John Neufeld, both local Portland musicians. We only stayed for a few songs, but it was quite the departure from the music of The Decemberists, and was a very refreshing twist on the indie-roots scene that's been brewing for quite some time. Soon, we had our friends, and were on our merry way. We stopped and smashed an amazing burger from Casino El Camino, then shipped off in favor of catching the end of the Other Music day party at the French Legation museum on the other side of I-35.

6th Street

When we arrived to the French Legation, we were greeted by a massive line. While we still had a little while before buzz band The xx made their way to the stage, we were unsure of our ability to enter due to the growing cue. Thankfully, the line moved quick, and I had the chance to meet up with Tofu Scramble who was there covering the show for the Houston Press. It was somewhat of a Houston gathering at this event, as I ran into several friends as well as photographer Mark Brubaker who was also on hand to cover for the Press. Due to a packed house and very poor sound quality, I decided to ham it up with my newly established group of Houstonians instead of putting my full attention towards the show. Towards the end, they turned the sound up, and I was able to enjoy The xx a bit, but overall I was unimpressed. I think I need to see them at a tiny club gig to gain a true appreciation of their work.

The French Legation Museum for The xx

I went into SXSW with no real plan for the evening portions of the festival. There were plenty of great showcases, but since I was badgeless and wristbandless, I knew I had to choose just one to go with. My parents and sister really wanted to see She & Him, and I was obsessed with the idea that I might get into the Stubb's showcase with Band Of Horses, Broken Social Scene and The Drive By Truckers, but they were both a no-go. I sent my folks off to Antone's, where the line-up was much better attuned to what they like (Grace Potter, Hayes Carll and that new Dixie Chicks group..), and Toast and I made our way towards Emo's, where we knew the whole night's line-up was stellar.

A view down Congress

We finally made it to Emo's to find a pretty long cash line, but we were assured by the staff that we should be able to make it in. Miles Kurosky was just finishing up his set as we stood there in line, and from the sounds of it, it was well received. I really wanted to make it inside for Rogue Wave, but it seemed as if so did everyone else – and those people all had wristbands and badges. As we stood there, we heard the applause as Rogue Wave started up their set. We could faintly hear them, but not enough to warrant a proper review. As we stood there, they stopped entrance completely to everyone. Apparently, the fire marshal was in the building, so for the moment attendance was capped. The fire marshal must have been a huge Rogue Wave fan, because they didn't start letting anyone in until the very end of their set. Thankfully, once they did end, hordes of people exited the venue which allowed for Toast and I to finally gain entrance (at a discounted rate of $15) an hour and forty five minutes after initially getting in line. The wait was well worth it.

Tofu Scramble had been talking all day about how much he needed to see the group Local Natives, so I heeded his words, and joined him front and center for their set. Holy shit they were good. They took what every indie rock band is doing these days, and just destroyed it. Talking Heads were prevalent in their sound (hell, they even covered them), and the drum jams, specifically during an epic version of "Sun Hands," were ethereal. As our ongoing war about my love and his hate for jambands, I sent a text to Tofu Scramble mid-set that simply stated "jammy." He didn't like that so much, and fired me as his personal photographer on the spot. Funny, he ended up using my shots from that show for his Houston Press write-up the next day.

Local Natives

After they amazed many, we headed to grab a beer and to take a necessary load off on the rickety bleachers off to the side of the indoor/outdoor venue. We weren't too excited to catch the next act, but were still intrigued by what he might bring. When we stood in line before getting in, we asked many people who they were there to see, and most people's responses were – Adam Green. While I know of his former work with Kimya Dawson in The Moldy Peaches, I had never listened to any of his other material. As we watched from a distance, his set picked up steam and was quite entertaining to say the least. I can't say that I'm going to pick up his latest effort, but his unbridled enthusiasm while gallivanting about the stage was well worth staying for. His music reminded me a whole bunch of Ween, but with much more ferocity involved. Good, but not great. Let's just say for my weird music fix, I'm sticking with the boognish.

Adam Green

The real reason Toast and I stuck out that line was for the last showcasing band of the evening. Out of the hundreds of bands I saw last year, without a doubt the best performance was by San Diego quintet Delta Spirit. I had seen them once before that opening for Matt Costa, and it didn't stick with me at the time, but going into their Bonnaroo performance a huge fan, I was blown away by how good they translate live. A lot of their stage presence has to do with frontman Matt Vasquez, as his personality and choice of words are unmatched by most. The songs, yeah, they're good too. No, not just good, as Tony The Tiger said best, they're great! During their hour-plus performance, they introduced 5 new songs, and each of them were better than the last. They've developed into a more polished unit in the short time since last year's Bonnaroo, and the new songs have proven just that. Their new release, History From Below, is by far my most anticipated album of 2010, and by the sounds of those new songs, I'm not going to be disappointed one bit. The set also featured a nice sampling of older material including a stirring "Children" and a raucous "People C'Mon" to close out the show a bit after 2 AM. It was by far the best set of the day, and in my top three of the weekend. It was also nice to cross off the second of five bands I needed to see at SXSW within the first day.

Delta Spirit

With tired ears, minds and bodies, we shipped off to our hotel where a nice bed was awaiting our arrival. We had two full days of pavement pounding, so we crashed out almost immediately with thoughts of Man Man, Frightened Rabbit and some more Delta Spirit invading our earwaves the next day.

Stay tuned for more coverage from SXSW 2010, including tons of pictures from all three days.

-Eggs