Hooves on the Turf

Hello everyone, we drove to Austin this year and I’m pretty out of it. Car lag is way more severe than jet lag. Spent most of the trip with non-functional internet. But I hate blogging these days anyway, what a time suck. And look how tiny these pictures look, I need to redesign this site. Lots of great bands in this post, though.

Austin Day 1! After wandering around a bit and eating incredible Thai noodles by the University, we finally headed downtown and got in the Mohawk line (Washed Out played while we waited). It was an Austinist/WOXY party. Sitting through Bersnard Lakes was a bit of a torture. I would’ve had to have a different life for me to really get what they were feeling. But I was there to see White Denim. They were super good; the Mayor of Austin introduced them. I just wish they’d hang out with cooler kids. These downtown venues aren’t that much fun compared to other freebie options.

The sound guy was proudly displaying a busted head. Apparently he fell while setting up the stage for Bersnard Lakes. Why was he walking around with a bleeding head? “It’s SXSW!” he explained.

Free ice-cream from Ice Cream Man outside Mohawk. I had mango, but he also had Pineapple with Basil. Imagine that.

A Giant Dog is a party band. Ran into them playing at Beer Land.

The show spilled on to the street pretty fast.

Walked over to what used to be Ms. Beas, now known as Cheer Up Charlie. I was a little taken aback by the blatant transformation of a dingy Mexican bar into a proper family-friendly music destination. Last year I had a very basic burger, which was scarce. This year an impressive Korean Mexican food truck was just one of the options.

There were actual stalls:

And benches:

A new stage, accompanied by a cool sculpture:

And the guy from The Beets.

And more food trucks. Picnic tables. Kids. This one sold waffle tacos.

Which looks like this; waffle taco with fried chicken, swiss cheese and bacon:

Headed over to Longbranch Inn, which was our main destination for the night. Looks like Impose found its Austin equivalent of Don Pedro’s. It was the first of three Austin Imposition nights, and this one was curated by Famous Class. Probably the funnest show we went to.

The Beets Representing NYC cool everywhere.

The bar had awesome artwork by Hope Perkins.

Grooms Formerly known as Muggabears. Super-human drummer and Hollywood good looks.

Sisters

Tony Castles New favorite!! Dancy 80’s ballads with a voice cool enough to make you giddy. And really nice songs!

Darlings They were so much better than when I saw them at Market Hotel. Listened to them plenty during our drive.

JEFF the Brotherhood From Nashville, TN. Rockstars, clearly, and without being annoying.

Turbo Fruits Also from Nashville, TN. Champions for following JEFF the Brotherhood set with unfettered enthusiasm.

Download Teenage Girl by the Darlings
Download Pirates by Tony Castles
Download What Did I Do by the Beets
Download Wet Sand by White Denim
Download Bone Jam by JEFF the Brotherhood