Share2012-03-20
ON WE ROLL...
Here we are on the back half of our US tour with the Kaiser Chiefs and we are still somewhat reeling from the extreme spectacle/cluster-fuck that is SXSW. Great times but every time we leave Austin I feel like i've take another few years off my life. Oh well…all in the name of Rock n Roll. Before I go tits up, here's a little bit of a Texas recap:
Dallas and Houston were great shows. We wound up running into The Silent Comedy and had a great time post show hitting a nearby bar for drinks. Low and behold another San Diego band Italian Japanese happened to just finish playing so, being surrounded by all the familiar faces made it feel like a satellite home for a bit.
Houston happened to be a day off and I got to catch a Jesus and Mary Chain show the night before we played at The House of Blues. We had the opportunity to hang out after the show and found out it was their first performance in 3 years. Despite the moments of out of control feedback between songs, stopping and starting a few times at the guitar player's frantic hand wave and looks of confusion painting the picture of a hot mess, they pulled songs together and delivered an impressive set.
On to SXSW - our first show was an acoustic performance for Slacker Radio at the Gibson Showroom in Austin. We got to play three tunes for the segment so we chose something old, something off of Future Selves and a new song we've been playing. I'll post some footage from that performance very soon. Thanks again to Slacker Radio and Gibson for the hospitality. Turned out to be a great time!
We went out that night and caught sets by fellow San Diego bands The Silent Comedy and Little Hurricane. Saw a band called POND that I loved through beer goggles. Confirmed after listening to their album on the ride home. After a little more research I found that the band is comprised of members of Tame Impala. I then realized why it was impressive. Love that shit.
The next day was Saturday and our double show day. First being the Sea Now! Showcase. If you're unfamiliar, check out who was involved www.seanow.org. Pretty cool. We were glad to take part and were paid by a surprise visit from our tour mates, Tribes. It was great to catch up with those lads and we made some plans to go deep sea shark caging while they are in LA in the fall. Wicked!
Also got turned on by a four-piece from Montreal called Plants and Animals that blew me back. Great sound and a killer live show.
The 11pm show at the Whiskey Room would be the last of our 2012 SXSW experience and it turned out to be a blinder. The sound was terrible and the stage was as hot as a hair dryer but we blasted it out and walked away feeling complete. A full house and great spirit in the audience made the last performance the best for us so thanks to Mario Escovedo and Requiemme for inviting us and BIG thanks to all who were there sweating it out.
After this, we got in the van and drove for 24hrs straight back to San Diego, stayed in our beds for ONE night, played the Belly Up and are now making our way to San Francisco to play THE FILLMORE. The second we start to peter out from the insane amount of miles on 2hrs sleep, wandering around LOVE'S Travel Stop like un-showered zombies, staring at the same candy isle, drinking shitty coffee, considering trucker tweak, sharing countless beat down hotel rooms…I think to myself, we're playing the fucking Fillmore…ALL GOOD!
A moment to introduce our crew:
Soundman Pete, my nephew, Matthew AKA SPARROW and young SPARROW (as a baby)
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Morale is high...
