Crimson Projekct and Dream Theater at the Moody

Crimson Projekct

Some friends of mine and I got these tickets ages ago. While excited at the prospect of seeing my friends again, I had been forewarned that they would only be doing a 45 minute set, opening for Dream Theater. The logistics were such too, that neither I, nor any of the other Austin campers were able to meet up with the band. Actually, I did run into Pat, but we were only able to talk briefly.

Set List

The music went by very quickly, but none the less, the crowd enjoyed it. My one take away from tonight was that Tobias Ralph and Markus Reuter are beasts.

• B'boom - Thrak
• Dinosaur
• Elephant Talk
• Red
• Frame by frame
• Thela Hun Ginjeet
• Indiscipline

This night almost seemed like one big tease. Not matter, there will be plenty of time to hear Crimson music and socialize in late August, when I return to camp.

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Dream Theater

Unlike my friends, I'm not a huge Dream Theater fan. I don't hate them, but I have long felt that they sacrificed musicality and soul, on the altar of technique. I found it kind of humorous that during the show, James LaBrie commented on that fact they are accused of having no soul, and then tried to disabuse the band of this reputation. If anything, he made matters worse drawing attention to this.

They were of course touring to support their new album, and also had new drummer, Mike Mangini. Honestly, I seem to really only like their early stuff, and so far, I'm still in the Mike Portnoy camp. Honestly, I think he will be back with the band in the future.

The setlist for the show can be found here.

Greg Lake at the One World Theater

Being a keyboard player, I was heavily into Progressive Rock, growing up. It should be no surprise then, that my favorite band was Emerson, Lake, and Palmer (ELP). I was fortunate enough to have also met Emerson and Palmer in Poughkeepsie, back in 1988, when they were touring with another band, 3. I have never had a similar opportunity to meet Greg Lake, however.

Time has moved on, ELP reformed and broke up several times, and then Emerson's playing career was almost completely obliterated by a nerve disorder. Keith still performs, but is a shadow of his former self. It saddens me to know that this band is no longer able to execute their music.

A few months back, I noticed that Greg Lake was coming to the One World Theater to do a solo show. Greg is doubly famous in Progressive Rock circles, because not only was he a member of ELP, but he was also one of the original members of King Crimson.

Still thinking about the show during the day Saturday, I made a last minute decision and decided to go to the late show.

Arrival at the One World

Since there were two shows (an early one at 6:30 and a later one at 8:30), I arrived at the One World around 45 minutes early, in hopes of seeing Greg downstairs. I was also hoping I might get a picture or two then, because the One World does not allow people to photograph during their shows. Greg was nowhere to be found, and then I noticed a sign at the Merch table stating VIP packages were $125.00. Too rich for my blood.

Preshow

After having a beer, I headed up stairs, found my seat, and ran into 4 fellow TOAPP Campers, Nathan Parse and his dad, and current King Crimson drummer, Pat Mastelotto with his wife, Deb. Ghosts of Crimson past and present this night, it appears.

I took my seat in the front row, and looked the stage over. The setup itself was very simple, with two stations for Greg to play standing or seated, and a single Nord keyboard. While the audience was seating themselves, they were playing King Crimson over the PA, including:

• Moonchild
• Kanye West's Power which features samples of King Crimson's 21st Century Schizoid Man

Greg came out in a dark suit, and has visibly gained a lot of weight. Enough that I am worried about the long term health impacts. For all but one song, Greg played bass or guitar and sang, accompanied by tapes or sequences.

He played two sets, with an extend Q&A session during the second set. He talked at length about his career, his own musical heroes (Elvis and the Beatles), and shared some interesting stories about Robert Fripp, H.R. Geiger, Keith Emerson, and Carl Palmer.

During the show, I was struck by how powerful and resonant Greg's voice still is. I found it to be an enjoyable night of music.

Set 1

• 21st Century Schizoid Man
• Lend Your Love To Me Tonight
• From the Beginning
• Heartbreak Hotel (Elvis Presley)
• Epitaph - Court of the Crimson King (medley)
• I Talk to the Wind
• Hey, You've Got to Hide your Love Away (Beatles)

Set 2

• Touch And Go
• Trilogy
• Still... You Turn Me On
• I Believe in Father Christmas
• C'est la vie
• Lucky Man
• People Get Ready (Curtis Mayfield)

Encore

• Karn Evil 9, 1st Impression, Part 2

Roger Waters - The Wall

Thursday night, I went with a pair of my friends to see Roger Waters perform the Wall in its entirety, at the Frank Erwin Center. Without a doubt, this is was the best show of the year for me, so far. In fact, it was the best large arena show that I have ever seen. Matched perhaps only by Porcupine Tree at Radio City Music Hall.

On his website, Roger does a excellent job of explaining why after 30 years, he is now performing this music. The music seems to resonate with many people of my age. While I would describe the Wall as timeless and poignant, I wonder whether anyone under the age of 25 pays it any notice.

My friends had already seen this show two years ago in Houston, so they gave me a rough idea of what to expect. Basically, the show starts promptly at 8PM, and consists of two sets, with an Intermission and no encore. The Wall is performed in its chronological entirety, with the two additional songs not on the album, that were added for the original Pink Floyd tour. The wikipedia article contains a good synopsis of the show, along with a set list (which should be unnecessary for any Pink Floyd fan).

The Band

Roger assembled a fantastic band, some of whom have been playing with him for 30 years. Here's the lineup:

Drums

• Graham Broad

Guitars

• Dave Kilminster - also known for his work with Carl Palmer and Keith Emerson in their solo bands.
  
• G.E. Smith - the uber-session guitarist. Among other things, known for his work in the Saturday Night Live band, and his tenure as guitarist for Hall & Oates.
  
• Snowy White
  

Keyboards

• Jon Carin
  
• Harry Waters
  

Lead Vocals

• Robbie Wyckoff
  

Backing Vocals

• Jon Joyce
  
• Mark Lennon
  
• Michael Lennon
  
• Kipp Lennon
  

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Before the Show

I took this shot as we entered the arena, to document the state of the Wall at the beginning of the show. I didn't notice the guy with the shopping cart described in Wikipedia, but we were not seated that close to the floor.

The Thin Ice

The opening songs of the show were something to behold, and included pyrotechnics, and a fighter plane model on wires, dive bombing the Wall.

Hey Teacher, Leave the Kids Alone!

Of course, if there is any song that defines the Wall, it's Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2. True to form, there was a choir of children brought out to sing the lead vocals. In this shot you can also see one of several large marionettes used during the concert, on the right side.

The Last Few Bricks

Throughout the first set, there were 5 or 6 people systematically adding bricks to the wall, which was completely finished at Intermission. The shot below shows the wall with last remaining brick to be added. I found this very striking, as Roger sang with his head sticking out through the last hole. The band remained behind the wall for the entire first set.

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Intermission and Fallen Loved Ones

For this tour, Roger made an appeal for people to send in photos and a short bio for loved ones who had fallen, as the result of war. Hundreds of these were projected as a slowly changing stream on the wall, throughout the show. It included soldiers, and civilians who perished during the last 75 years of war, starting with WWII and ending with Iraq and Afghanistan. It also included civilians, and first responders who perished during terrorist attacks. The civilians were not restricted to Americans and Western Europeans.

I found myself reading many of these throughout the show, and noted that there were way too many children. I think that personalizing it in this way forces one to look at each one as a tragedy, rather than an anonymous statistic. Several days later, I find myself still thinking about some of these people, and can only hope that a similar impact was made on others.

Hey You

After Intermission, the show moved on to some of the more powerful songs from the Wall. The visual contrasts were amazing, and enhanced the music.

Comfortably Numb

Proceeding onward, Roger was the first member of the band to come out from behind the Wall. Once again, the visual of him standing alone in the spotlight in front of the wall, was stunning. The lead singer and guitarist played from the top of the wall. I'd say this song was one of the hightlights of the show. (The only way it could have been improved upon would have been for David Gilmour to have been present, like the London show)

Bring the Boys Back Home

I included this shot to show the various ways in which the Wall was used a projection screen.

Waiting for the Worms

For the last segment of the show, the band was completely moved to a stage area in front of the Wall.

Outside the Wall

The final climax, was seeing the wall collapse. This was amazing. It appears that the bricks were made with foam or light cardboard. You can see some of the bricks laying on the floor of the stage.

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Standing Ovation

As you can expect, even though there was no encore, the arena was filled with thunderous applause for several minutes. All I can say is, Well done, Roger!

Roger thanked the crowd, and talked candidly about being able to finally enjoy the experience of performing (unlike his younger days, which included the incident that led to his writing the Wall in the first place). I probably couldn't afford it, but if the opportunity arose to see this show again, I'd anxiously do it.

The Grandmothers of Invention

I'm not sure how I found out about this show, since it wasn't well advertised. None the less, I was not about to pass up an opportunity to see 3 members of the Mothers of Invention, perform Frank Zappa's music.

Meet and Greet

When I purchased this ticket, I noticed that a VIP ticket was only $20.00 more, so I bought one. Showing up an hour early, I was immediately escorted to the dressing rooms, and backstage area, to meet the musicians:

• Napoleon Murphy Brock (with the Mothers from 1974 - 1984) vocals, tenor saxophone, and flute
  
• Tom Fowler (with the Mothers from 1973 - 1978) bass
  
• Christopher Garcia - drums, percussion, marimba, and vocals
  
• Miroslav Tadic - electric guitar
  
• Don Preston (with the Mothers from 1966 - 1974) on piano, keyboard synthesizers, electronics, magic, and vocals!
  

What a fantastic time, it was an absolute pleasure to be able to speak with Don, Tom, and Napoleon about their tenure in Frank's band, and most importantly get their audition stories, particularly after having the same conversation with Adrian Belew several months prior.

Since I happened to have a King Crimson - Discipline T-shirt on, I immediately struck up a conversation with Chris Garcia the drummer, who just happened to be a huge Bill Bruford fan. Wow, it seemed like we had almost identical tastes in music, and it was a rare pleasure to talk to people who shared one of your passions.

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The Show

The show started a bit late to a light crowd, on the indoor stage. I was actually trying to recall the last show I had seen inside, other than some Gospel Brunches. It has been well over a decade.

I estimate that the Grandmothers played for about 90 minutes, and covered the most of the material on the Roxy and Elsewhere album. If I remember correctly, the Roxy album was also featured prominently during the first ZPZ tour, with Napoleon. So, perhaps there was a bit of a statement being made, with this particular song selection. In addition to the Roxy material, they also played Peaches en Regalia, and one of my favorites during their encore, the Sofa.

I was truly blown away by this band, although I was not surprised, knowing their history. I should also add that Napoleon had the funniest comment of the night, in response to the persistent requests from the audiences for certain songs. He held up a zip-lock bag containing a 10 Finnish Mark note. And said, that requests would be happily taken from anyone present able to pay in this currency. (He also mentioned that this had backfired on them, during a stop of a European tour).

Here are few picture of these terrific musicians, on stage:

Todd Rundgren at La Zona Rosa

Although not a huge fan in my younger years, Todd Rundgren grew on me as I matured. There are several reasons for this:

• When I joined Tom Limbaugh's band back in the late 80's, Tom had been working with Producer and Engineer, Chris Andersen, who had a long association with Todd, Utopia, and Roger Powell. I gained a different appreciation for Todd through this small degree of separation.
  
• I have huge respect for Roger Powell, Todd's old keyboard player. Roger Powell was a forward looking visionary, and adept programmer. He contributed to many innovations that we use today with the digital production of music.
  
• I had seen Todd perform on episodes 23 and 40 of Live from Daryl's House, and both were excellent.
  

As a result, I hemmed and hawed over going to this show for several weeks. Originally, I had planned on going to a Kings X show, and was thinking that this would be the second time I missed Todd in 2 or 3 years, coming through Austin. Fate intervened however, and the Kings X show was cancelled after their drummer had a heart attack.

An afternoon phone call from my friend Ron, got me thinking about the show again. So, I decided to go. This turned out being one of the most bizarre shows, that I've seen in a long time.

Todd's band included the following musicians:

• Jesse Gress
  
• Kasim Sulton
  
• John Ferenzik
  
• Prairie Prince
  

Although I don't know Jesse, I know of him, since his brother Drew, has played bass with my old piano teacher, John Esposito, on numerous gigs and recordings.

As they started the set, it was immediately obvious that Todd was sick, and his voice was shot. At the end of the second song, he says (paraphrased), You may have noticed that I'm not in the greatest physical condition to sing tonight. Before this is over, we will probably have a Karaoke show.

He did several more songs, before he actually did start looking for volunteers to sing a song. He went through 4 in all, with the first being rejected because she didn't know the lyrics. Of the remaining 3, only one was really able to almost sing in key. Todd then closed out the set with his band, trudging through it.

In hindsight, I think that this was a stretch of professionalism, and things would have been better if he had cancelled the gig and rescheduled it. I'm still considering whether I will attempt to see him again, should the occasion arise.

SxSW Day 10

Sunday, March 18

For the third year in row, I drove down to Krieg Field for the BBQ. My friend, Frank Souders, says the BBQ serves as a psychological anchor, letting you know that SxSW is over. It was rainy, overcast day, so I dined and dashed.

I was surprised to notice that there were still two clubs with local bands playing showcases, later on in the night. I was too exhausted to contemplate that.

However, I sort of miss the tradition from the old days where Alejando Escovedo would close out the festival at La Zona Rosa, on Sunday night. I was trying to remember when that stopped, because I can remember going to that show. Then I found this link on his site, and have made a note for next year.

I'm finding that I don't wish every week was SxSW, but it would be nice to have something like it once a month. At the very least, a film festival. Oh well, back to the Salt Mines.

SxSW Day 9

Saturday, March 17

Panels

So I rolled into this last day of SxSWm, running on fumes. The panel pickings seemed pretty slim this year on the last day, to boot.

The Big Pink on the Day Stage

I can't remember much about this band. I remember staying for a listen, so I must have enjoyed it.

Run for Cover: The Future of Cloud Commerce

This was a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) session for lawyers, but the sessions are also open to all badge holdes. The topic was Cloud Computing, and I must say that the panel while somewhat informed, still seemed to be missing some key points.

I think much of the debate during this session is for naught, since ACTA snowball is already rolling down the hill, and will probably flatten anything in its path. I guess we'll see.

Style X

Having no interest in fashion, I didn't stay for the event. Apparently, this was one of the SxSW experiments for this year. I'm going to have to look for a write-up, and see whether it was considered a success or not.

Soul Train Tribute

Strangely, this was presented on the smaller day stage, not at a panel. It was a retrospective about the history of Soul Train, given by one of Don Cornelius' sons.

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Day Parties

World Beat Online Party

My good friends the Srinivasan brothers, are musicians who have started a new music called World Beat Online. The site promotes and features all genres of world music. This being their first year of operation, they celebrated in a big way, with a day party, on South Congress.

I walked over the Congress Street bridge to this party, and spent most of the afternoon there. In addition to a full line up of bands, featuring a variety of Asian, African, and South American music, there were also food carts, including one that sold Creme Brulee.

Music

Chrysta Bell at Ballet Austin

Some time during the afternoon, I ran into Cedric They again, and he informed me that we had missed Chrysta Bell. A quick check of Pat Mastelotto's site showed that he had not played Friday night, but would be doing a free show at Austin Ballet with her, on this night.

I changed my plans, and opted for this instead of the clubs. Chrysta played in a small intimate room at the Austin Ballet Studio, that had been setup for recording. There were about 40 people present, including her family, and Pat's wife, Deb.

The show lasted about 90 minutes, and was outstanding. Afterwards, I hung around and talked to Pat and Deb. The conversation eventually turned towards camp this year again (and I can't wait). It turns out, that a scheduling conflict occurred, and the camp has moved back one week.

Attempt to get into Antones

After Chrysta finished her show, I walked up to Antones in an attempt to catch Candlebox. No luck, the club was packed to the gills. I then walked over to 6th street, and after finding nothing that piqued my interest, I decided to call it a night.

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SxSW Day 8

Friday, March 16

Panels

Cool Garage Tools and the Crap to Avoid

This was a nice session discussing home recording tools and options, for the semi-pro, or musicians wanting to tackle their own recording. Judging from the attendance compared to some other panels, SxSWm would be well served to schedule more panels like this.

Producing Ecstacy

I started out the morning with a panel featuring the following speakers:

• Sandy Pearlman (aka. Doctor Doom)
  

  Presently a visiting professor at McGill University. Was a well known producer working with bands such as the Clash, and Blue Oyster Cult. He is also the infamous Cow Bell producer responsible for BOC's, Don't Fear the Reaper. I have been privileged enough to speak with Sandy on multiple occasions. He's one of my favorite speakers at SxSWm.
  

• George Massenburg
  

  Professor of Sound Recording at McGill. A producer and engineer of note and renown within the AES, with a resume too long to wedge in here.
  

• Don Mclean
  

  Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto.
  

This session hit on a lot of areas of personal interest. Basically, they discussed how the human brain reacts to music. There is an incredible amount of research in this area, backed up by things such as functional MRIs of the brains of subjects, while they listen to music. I was furiously taking notes, and have quite a long reading list, that I came away with.

Sometime in the near future, I hope to write an in-depth post about my own journey and research into these areas. Among other things, it seems to include:

• Analysis of Leonard Bernstein's 6 part lecture at Havard, The Unanswered Question.
• Studies of Polyphonic singing throughout the globe.
• Hypersonics or the idea that our perception of music is influence by ultrasonic and possibly subsonic frequencies.
  

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Day Parties

Cutting Edge Music Conference and Capitol View Arts

Because of my involvement with Capitol View Arts, I headed over to their non-official day party, at the Victory Grill, held in conjunction with the Cutting Edge Music Festival. The highlight for me was seeing Drastik perform. They're similar in sound and genre to Rage Against the Machine. Their lead singer is quite the showman, and has a lot of charisma and energy.

While I was over in East Austin, I also stopped by Kenny Dorham's Backyard, right next door, and had a basket of Perogies from the Food Trucks down at the end of the block.

I ended up spending about 4 hours over in East Austin, before headed back towards downtown, at City Hall, where I parked.

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Music

The War on Drugs at the Moody Theater

After eating dinner at Austin Java, I headed across the street to ACL Live/Moody Theater to see the Philadelphia based, psychedelic band, the War on Drugs. I also ran into some friends, who were raving about this band.

My friends were right, this band is excellent. Every aspect of their performance was exceptional, and they are all fantastic musicians. I have bought some of their music, now that I have seen them live, and would consider going to see them again.

Wild Belle at Antones

I walked up the hill from the Moody, towards Antones, and was able to just walk right in. While milling around as the band was setting up, I turned around and noticed Greg Kot, from the Sound Opinions show.

I have been a regular listener of the Sound Opinions podcast for well over 4 years. I have run into the two hosts Greg Kot, and Jim DeRegotis every year at SxSW. Having spoken to him in prior years, I reintroduced myself, and had a nice conversation. It was at the time, I also realized that some of the staff mentioned on the show, were with him. So, I asked Greg, along with staffer Jason Saldanha to pose for this shot.

The band Wild Belle was actually from Chicago, and Greg was raving about them. They played good solid Indie Rock, and while I say I enjoyed their set, I didn't fall in love with them.

Little Roy in the Victorian Room, at the Driskill

Leaving Antones, I stopped in at the Victorian Room, in the Driskill because it always has good sound. A reggae band from London, Little Roy, was playing. They did a great job, but they weren't Bob Marley.

Next Stop Central Presbyterian Church

Along with St. David's, I find the acoustics and listening experience at the Central Presbyterian Church, to be superb. I caught two acts here, before moving on.

Charlie Mars

Charlie Mars is a very accomplished singer/songwriter from Oxford. The lighting was too low to get a good picture with my phone, but his show went great. Most notably, he succeeded in getting the entire crowd to sing along with several of his songs. This is always a sign that the audience is enjoying the show, and having a good time.

Ingrid Michaelson

Ingrid was a multi-intrumentalist, singer/songwriter from Staten Island, NY. She was accompanied by four additional musicians, who also sang backing vocals.

She was another exceptional performer, and could most likely pursue a second career as a stand-up comic, if she desired. I think I have a band crush on her.

Graham Reynolds at the Elephant Room

I had to swing by the Elephant Room to catch my good friend, Graham, at the Elephant Room. He was playing with four other musicians, which included:

• Ruby Jane - teen fiddling phenom extraordinaire
  
• John Mills
  
• Jeremy Bruch
  
• Utah Hamrick
  
• Todd Reynolds
  

Unfortunately, I didn't get to talk to Graham afterwards. The Elephant was SRO, so I decided to move on after listening to 5 songs.

Candy Claws at the Tap Room

I quickly ducked in to the Tap Room to check out this young, pop band, from Fort Collins, CO. What they lacked in musicianship, they made up for in spirit, and showmanship. Very listenable, regardless.

St. Patrick's Day

It seems that every year, St. Patti's day coincides with SxSW, and the section of 4th street near Fado is always blocked off, with a drunken party. To be honest, this just adds more people to an already crowded situation.

Normally, I would not take further note of the holiday, despite being of partial Irish descent, but I noticed that the Frost Bank (aka. the Rice Owl) building was bathed in green light for the ocassion.

Lost in the Tree at Antones

This was a prog-ish sort of band from Chapel Hill, NC. There were 6 or 7 people in the band and included, 2 female vocalists, one of whom played keys and flute, the other of which played violin. There was also a cellist, guitarist, bassist (who also played Tuba), and drummer.

I enjoyed the set, but am not sure I wouldn't have gotten bored with their music with an extended listening. From their demeanor and stage presence, their showcase seemed like a chamber music concert.

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SxSW Day 7

Thursday, March 15

Panel

Keynote: Bruce Springsteen

Having gone to college in Bergen County, NJ, in the early 80's, I feel like I've listened to more Springsteen than anyone should have to in one lifetime. As a result, I made no attempt to enter the badge holder lottery to see him play at ACL Live. However, I did go to his keynote.

As I entered the Ballroom, there seemed to be additional security in place to insure no one filmed the speech. Things seemed very heavy handed, in comparison to other keynotes that I have attended. When Bruce took the stage, I found his speech nervous and stilted. I'm not sure what, if anything, I got out of it.

SxSW Interview: Ann and Nancy Wilson

Later in the day, I went to see the Wilson sisters interviewed. This was a nice complement to the show I had seen last year, when Heart came through town.

Day Party - Israeli Music

I stared off the evening of music, over at the Brushy Creek Park, and walked into the Israeli Music Party. There was a very good band on stage, featuring a female lead singer with a very powerful voice. Unfortunately, I could not find out the name of the band.

Zenzile at the Loft

One of the friends that I made at TOAPP Camp this past summer, was a French born, bassist from Houston, Cedric Theys. Cedric recently moved to Austin, and was helping and hosting a band from France called Zenzile. He asked me to go, but I must say that this didn't make them any less fantastic.

Zenzile was an amazing Dub Step band, with a very charismatic, female lead singer. The set went by way too quickly, and I will be touching base with Cedric, to check on their progress.

Woodie Guthrie Centennial at St David's Bethell Hall

After Zenzile, I headed over to Bethell Hall, and caught 4 segments of the Woodie Guthrie Centennial celebration. Each musician and/or singer performed for approximately 15 minutes. I stayed for about an hour and saw:

• Carrie Rodriguez
• Ray Benson
• Lila Downs
• Michael Fracassa

It was nice hearing this music in such a wonderful listening space. This hall is a treasure.

I continued over to the other section of St. David's, the Sanctuary, but did not really enjoy the band from Montreal, Little Scream, all that much.

18th Floor at the Hilton Garden

The 18th Floor is another SxSW venue that I like to hit, because it seems to draw smaller crowds, and I often hear good bands there. Surprisingly, the crowd was very thin, even for this venue.

The iphone was not up to the task of taking photos in low light, provided by red and purple gels, so I don't have any pictures to show from this part of the evening. I heard two very good acts:

• Charlene Soraia - a singer songwriter from London, with a very strong voice, who accompanied herself on acoustic guitar
  
• Lily and the Parlour Tricks - a band from NYC fronted by three female vocalists, who did exceptional multi-part harmonies.
  

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SxSW Day 6

Wednesday, March 14

Panels

Providencia on the Day Stage

This band from Columbia played some potent Reggae and Cumbia. Without a doubt, they were one of the best, day-stage bands that I saw during SxSWm.

Adventures in Songwriting with Paul Williams

With my recently adventures in songwriting, this was a not to be missed panel. I'm old enough to remember Paul, but I never realized how prolific he had been with his songwriting.

Paul was fantastic, and delivered a very engaging interview. What made this really special, was the he brought his musical director and piano player with him, and stopped at various points throughout the hour, to punctuate his stories with the actual songs.

Before the panel, I had been sitting on the fence about going to see his movie. Afterwards, there was no question about going.

Downloaded: The SxSW Interview

This was an interesting panel discussing a soon to be released documentary, Downloaded, directed by Alex Winters (Bill of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure fame).

The movie is about Napster, the creation of Sean Parker, and Shawn Fanning. Having lived through this era, I was somewhat aware of the history, but I'm certain I go watch this film when it is released.

Films

Paul Williams Still Alive

This was another great, music oriented, biographical documentary. I have developed a new found respect for Paul Williams, after watching this film. Hell, I would even contemplate going to see him perform now.

Kudos to director, Stephen Kessler, for making this film work. I'm not sure another director could have pulled this off.

Bernie

This film is loosely based on a true story, about events that took place in Carthage, Texas, in the mid 90's. The main character Bernie Tierde, was an effeminate, former mortician, who became the companion of a older widow, and eventually murdered her.

The film reunites Richard Linklater with Jack Black. It's the type of dark comedy, that's right up my alley. Richard supposedly went to Tiede's trial, and has been in contact with him in prison.

An added bonus with this film was the fact that my friend, Graham Reynolds, did the soundtrack for this film.

Music

Stubbs

I spent the first part of the first real evening of SxSWm, at Stubbs. I wanted to see a bit of Alabama Shakes' set before heading over to see Thomas Dolby.

• Sharon Van Etten

I had seen Sharon two years ago, as a solo act over at St. David's. This time she had a band. She still has an incredibly haunting voice.

• Dan Deacon - 2 drummers and DJ from Balto.

Even though I was tempted to give these guys a pass, because they were from my home town, I can't say I really enjoyed this set.

• Alabama Shakes

Perhaps the hype for this band is a little overdone. None the less, there was a lot of roots rock goodness on display.

Thomas Dolby at the JR

I totally fucked up on this one, missing the opportunity to see Thomas at a day party. From all accounts, that appearance was fantastic.

The night time performance I chose, was one of two showcases that he was doing. It was located at the JR's, or the club formerly known as Emo's.

Thomas and band took the stage almost a half hour later than they should have. Of course, there were insurmountable sound problems, and they never really got things straightened out. They played through their set, but you could tell that Dolby was visibly annoyed at the sound crew.

One of these years, I'll get to see him under better conditions.

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SxSW Day 5

Tuesday, March 13

Panels

3 Secrets to a Killer Elevator Pitch

This panel included Austin based entrepreneur, Joshua Baer, who is CEO of Other Inbox, and one of the people behind Capital Factory. They discussed the importance, and key elements of an Elevator Pitch, followed by real life examples, of people practicing their pitch. From my involvement with Austin on Rails, I know Joshua, as well as several of the people they showed videos of, like Info Chimps.

Towards the end of the session, they had some first-time entrepreneurs rehearse their pitch, through several iterations, followed by immediate feedback from the panel. Very useful, and interesting session.

A Conversation with Mark Mothersbaugh

This year at SxSW, Mark spoke solo. After starting with the obligatory personal history, Mark quickly shifted the focus on Mutato Music, his production company, rather than Devo. Of course in my case, there was no way I was missing this session.

Digital Debauchery with Anthony Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain is on the polar opposite end of the spectrum from Willem DaFoe. Bourdain has a digital media team that seems so efficient, that it seems unfair. I was very impressed with his team, and how they work. He gets technology, and social media in particular.

My biggest regret from this year's SxSW is that I ran in Anthony multiple times and don't have a photo to show for it.

Films

Funeral Kings

I absolutely loved this film about a group of kids at a Parochial, Catholic High School who are altar boys. As a result, they often get out of school for funerals. The director in this case really captured the environment in which this is set. Having been an altar boy myself, I could really relate. (Yes, we used to sneak chugs of the wine).

I won't spoil the plot, and will just add that this was just a great, and fun film.

Sleepwalk with Me

This film was based upon real life comedian, Mike Birbiglia, and his sleepwalking problem. There a few places where the story line had an odd flow, but for the most part it was enjoyable. Mike and some of his family were present afterwards to take questions.

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