Photos and editing by Veronica Castillo
Our last full day in Austin had arrived and that nostalgic feeling began to set in rather quickly; we packed up our camera equipment, we strapped on our badges, and made our way down to 6th Street to capture the final chapter of our SXSW experience. It all really came and went so fast… but looking back on it, it was exactly what we had envisioned before coming down here: a complete whirlwind of music, culture, and food that engulfed our every sensory function, a magnetizing experience; this type of cultural bazaar could probably only take place in Austin during SXSW.
It took us the entire week but we finally made it to our first and only official SXSW party. The Aussie BBQ took place at Maggie Mae’s, which features a typical first level bar and stage area plus an upstairs indoor/outdoor roof top space with a stage and aerial views of all the action on 6th Street. The BBQ was hosted by Sounds Australia and featured a myriad of local Australian acts, everything from indie rock, urban roots, shoe gaze, hip-hop, and DJ’s performed at this all day event. We ended up here through some great people I met on my first day in Austin, Matt and Catt, Australian residents who are big fans of music (especially live performances) and who wanted us to experience the soundscape of the Aussie music scene. Here are some of the artists we checked out while at the BBQ and worth your time to look into: Blank Realm, Sampology, Blue King Brown, and Bliss N Eso. Big thanks to M and C for the invite.
On our way to the Mess With Texas Showcase we stopped to get a quick bite. We decided to forgo the usual Tex-Mex selections and chose to go for some pizza. We stumbled upon Hoek’s Death Metal Pizza Shop located on 511 East 6th Street; this was definitely not your run of the mill pizza place. The interior was painted fire red, heavy death metal blasting through the speakers, two TV screens displaying some hardcore-gore imagery, and an outside patio where a live death metal performance was taking place. Hoek’s is not all show; the pizza was actually really good, you can grab a slice curbside or go inside for the full “Hoek’s” experience.
After our lunch we made our way east to The Eastside Drive-In to take in the Mess With Texas Showcase. We found a lot more head banging and a ton of crowd surfing. On the bill were legendary punk outfit The Dead Milkmen and the group everyone was talking about down here, Odd Future. Initially, The Dead Milkmen were scheduled to headline, but because of the enormous buzz surrounding OFWGKTA the powers that be made them the main attraction (smart move). Being that we arrived fairly early, we were able to enjoy the entire Dead Milkmen set, which was a complete stage diving/mosh pit extravaganza. Fans poured on to the stage and took their chances surfing the crowd, some faired better than others. Security was cool enough to let almost everyone jump on stage, take a picture with front man Rodney Linderman, then immediately take his or her swan dive off the stage. After the frantic Milkmen set the crowd was ready for some Odd Future. As soon as the first beat dropped, the place went ballistic and the group came out like a wild stampede, and as soon as Tyler the Creator hit the stage, it seemed like the entire eastside of Austin was going to implode. He came out ski-masked-up, menacing enough to make a grown person weep (trust me I saw it happen), and stomping on stage like a proverbial hip-hop giant, it was time for some action! The music was blaring and hitting so hard, bodies were flying and it wasn’t only the crowd’s; Tyler and Hodgy also took flight… from the stage, from the metal beams on the side of the stage, and from the top of the tallest speaker, it was no holds barred! They held nothing back and the crowd loved them for it, easily the craziest performance we witnessed while in Austin.
After getting our brains rattled even more, we took it down a few notches and visited our favorite little burger joint, Slammin Sliders, before heading to the final showcase of the week, Mad Decent @ Friends.
Got hugs?
The bill consisted of Mad Decent DJs/beat-makers/associates, with Diplo scheduled to close out the night and close out our week in Austin. When we arrived to the venue there was a line out the door and they were not letting anyone else in the building. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts to get inside we ran into Benny, one half of the Bravarian Bounce duo, Schlachthofbronx who was nice enough to help us slide right in. Once inside we posted up right in the front row and enjoyed the festivities along with the rest of the party people. When it was all said and done and to the immense disappointment of the masses gathered inside, Diplo did not end up going on. He did offer an apology through his twitter page the day after, but the Mad Decent family held him down all night, with Dillon Francis and Brodinski providing the crowd with dope sets. In the end, the night belonged to the duo from Munich who tore the house down and had everyone in there bouncing and swaying during their set. They also had special guest Spoek Mathambo on hand to perform Nasty Bass with them.
Diplo
SchlachthofBronx
So there it is, our five-day marathon at this year’s SXSW music conference and festival. Veronica and I hope that our photos and words will entice many of you to go down at some point in your lives and experience all the unparalleled festivities for yourselves. Thank you to everyone we met and came across during our time in Austin, especially to all the bands and artists for all the phenomenal music/performances, you all helped make our experience that much more incredible.
Maybe we’ll catch some of you down there next year?
