SXSW Recap

Thumbs up:

1) I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness - an Austin 3 piece band that is scary good. And the best name in the industry.
2) Rudy's Barbeque - found in various gas stations in Austin, it's a hell of a step up from a McDonalds in a travel plaza `round here.
3) The Dears - the brunette in the band is wicked cute. Then again, meesa a sucka for Francais-Canadiennes.
4) The Salt Lick - all you can eat barbeque south of Austin. Three days later, and I'm still stuffed.
5) Apollo Sunshine - blew my mind
6) Trashcan Sinatras - heheheheheheheh
7) Of Montreal - didn't get a chance to hear them play, but they're really nice folks, and way too young to worship the Beatles so.
8) Gumbo's - restaurant in Red Rock that certainly doesn't suck
9) The Doves - why they aren't bigger will mystify...mystify me. (sorry, channelled INXS there)

Thumbs down -
1) Fry's Electronics in Texas aren't nearly as junk-filled as Fry's in California, and I like the junk.
2) Buck and Stretch - two mini-wiener dogs who treat every rug like a litter box.
3) The line @ Stubb's - all I wanted was Stubbs' BBQ, and a two-hour wait in the midafternoon is a little brutal.
4) Aimee Mann - gee, could you be a LITTLE more full of anger towards your audience? I mean, you're talented, but you ain't THAT talented
5) Austin East Side - why is it that most cities' east sides are the lousy sides??? Pick a city - Baltimore, DC, Des Moines, St. Louis, Denver, LA - the East Side is all nasty, and the West Side is nice. I don't get that.
6) The seven-person after-hours party. Wow. Contain the crowd.
7) Hipsters hipsters hipsters - really, be honest, how excited can you *REALLY* get to see a female Japanese bluegrass duo? And I don't mean sheer novelty value aside. There were hipsters who were legitimate fans of this crap. American bluegrass sucks enough; slap a Japanese girl in place of Earl Scruggs, and it don't get no better.

They were cute, though.