BBQ Plants and Animals with Tapes n Tapes and a Beat Union (sxsw)

Fun was had at the Caswell House mansion.. the annual NXNE BBQ at SXSW where we take over a big ol' house and pack in a few hundred of our closest friends, that happen to be in Austin, and put a bunch of bands on the stage while eating loads of food.

Awesome sets by Christine Fellows, Basia Bulat, Grand Analog and The Hot Springs rockin' the century- old dust from the mansion's plaster. The show was broadcast live via Sirius on CBC Radio 3 with Grant Lawrence doing his rock n' roll duty mcing the whole thing. The party spilled onto the mansion's grounds.. people sprawling out, hanging in the afternoon sun.  

The perfect primer for Friday night's chaos in the clubs.

From the party to the streets with a belly full of BBQ I made it in to catch Birmingham UK's Beat Union on the rooftop of Maggie Mae's. Power punk pop was the order of the day from these UK thugs bashing through a noisy set of Clash and Jam inspired football chants..­

­Downstairs at the same venue, Montreal's Plants and Animals were holding court for another installment of the M for Montreal showcase. Stripped back and raw sounding, Plants and Animals were one of the highlights of the week for me. Not often do I find a band that engages me off the top. I was almost immediately held to the little spot on the floor where I happened to end up standing when I walked in to the venue, watching the band quietly set up their gear. Mixing up their familiar take on trippy, lush pop with an extra body-shot of adrenalin that can only come from playing to a packed little venue on 6th St. in Austin during SXSW. Beauty on boys.

­Back on the street buying cigarettes and water (these are my survival tools) I met couple friends and we tried to "walk quickly to the next show so we don't miss it - there'll definitely be a line...".
Once we made it to the correct venue (there was some confusion), there was only a small 'waiting
in line moment' that was endurable as it acted as a chance to catch my
breath form the walk. When Tapes n' Tapes finally took the stage they owned it. Moving easily form melody to atonal jabs and jams where   sparks form the drummer's sticks were almost visible and a glowing white line of electricity could be seen between the keys, guitar and bass.. really.