SXSW

What a spring break!  It began pretty low key and developed into a memorable adventure.  We had three main days of SXSW and one day off in between for recovering purposes.

It all began on Wednesday.  Luckily, Josh was able to get off work early so we could go see Michael Cera's band, Mister Heavenly.  To start the day off right, we went and got veggie burgers at Billy's along with a pitcher of Live Oak Hefeweizen and one pint of coffee porter to share.  Then, we jumped on the bus and headed downtown.  We arrived at Emo's a little early and started to walk around.  When we headed up to the patio area, we spotted Michael Cera himself!  He was talking to a group of people pretending to be a normal person (I wasn't fooled).  After standing a little too close with my camera in hand, he finally ended his conversation and began to walk away.  I saw my opportunity and approached him to ask for a photograph to which he replied, "I'm looking for my friends..."  Alright, Michael Cera, I get it.  You want to be normal, you have friends and they aren't me, but please believe I love the character you play in every movie (and real life) and I need proof of your human existence (which resides in reality and not just on film).  So, I said, "Oh, it'll only take a minute!"  Then, I held up the camera and, in my slightly buzzed state, turned it off instead of taking a picture.  Luckily, I made a quick recovery and got a picture with the amazing (and slightly annoyed) Michael Cera!

Michael Cera!  The guy behind us can barely believe it!

<3

After all that excitement, Josh and I headed to the bar and got two tall boys each of Imperial because (since SXSW was in town) it was cheaper than Lone Star.  We took some adorable pictures to pass the time and I tried not to feel too guilty about invading Michael Cera's personal space.  Before too long, Mister Heavenly came on and they were awesome!  The other members are from Modest Mouse, ManMan, and Islands.  After that show, Bailey and Rachel met up with us and we headed to some other bars.  We ran into Courtney Pettit and Karen (from Custom) which was a nice surprise.  Then, we saw Evan (another high school pupil) working the door at a place that had Mike Watts DJing.  So, since it was free and pretty good luck, we headed in.  It was a neat show and afterwards we took pictures with a man we assumed was Mike Watts (we were wrong).  After that, we went to Coyote Ugly where Rachel and I did the bar olympics (embarrassing) and did a little dance on the bar (something I've always wanted to do but hadn't been intoxicated enough to do until that evening).  After way too much fun (and by fun, I mean drinking), we parted ways and did our best to head home.  On the way to the long lost bus stop, Josh and I ran into Opie (aka Allen).  Finally, we arrived at the bus stop (to Josh's amazement) and staggered home.  Needless to say, Thursday was our day of recovery.

On Friday, we started by seeing ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead at Waterloo Records.  It was an awesome show, although they didn't play any of our favorites (which happen to be none of their other fan's favorites).  Then, thanks to Alta's keen knowledge of secret shows, we headed to the Austin Club to begin our long wait in line to see Bright Eyes play.  We ended up waiting for four hours (it should have been three, but Conor had a little episode and they went on late).  We met some nice people in line though.  There were some people from Denton, a huge fan of Conor Oburst, and (my favorite) an Australian woman named Patricia.  She was very interesting (as was her boyfriend who does not like people that cut in line).  She told us all about Australia and her trip around America, it was very cool.  Finally, a little around 10:00, we got into the Austin Club.  Boy, is that place nice!  There was wine in real wine glasses, chandeliers, and bite sized desserts on trays!  Once Bright Eyes came on, I was overwhelmed with happy.  They even played a song from each of my favorite albums (Fevers and Mirrors and Lifted).  The extreme downside was the end of the show which came a mere half hour later.  Disappointed, yes.  Worth it to see them with only about 200 other people and get only four hours of sleep before work the next day, yes.

Waiting in line

Trail Of The Dead

Bright Eyes!

Our final day of SXSW excitement was Saturday.  After getting off work, Josh and I bussed ourselves downtown again.  I was really excited about the free show he had discovered at the Mohawk featuring Okkervil River, Big Boi, and TV on the Radio, but when we got down there, the line was too enormous to even dream of getting in.  So, instead of waiting, we headed to the convention center to meet up with Peter and Alta to say hello.  After that, we briefly checked out the Flat Stock sale.  Then, we wondered around downtown and made our way to the Mess With Texas Festival.  Bailey and Rachel met up with us shortly after.  Josh got octopus balls, which were pretty intense looking (I chose not to partake).  We saw some pretty awesome shows there which included: Surfer Blood, Davilla 666, and Dead Milkmen.  We happened to run into someone else we knew there, Crystal (we learned her name upon seeing her and chatting it up) from the Barnes and Noble Starbucks!  It IS a small world after all.  We stuck around for a little bit to see people jumping over fences, pushing, and shoving to see Odd Future, then headed back out into the world.  On the bus ride home, we stopped by Austin Pizza where we saw some drunk girl without a shirt (luckily, she donned a sports bra and put everyone at ease).  We had a delicious Pesto a Go-Goat pizza and then headed home.

Surfer Blood

Davilla 666

Dead Milkmen!

It was a very eventful SXSW this year!  Although we missed Kanye West and the Saturday night Bright Eyes show at Auditorium Shores, I count this year as a huge success.  The intimate setting of the Bright Eyes show we did see was priceless.  And, hello, I got a picture with Michael Cera!  Two thumbs way up, SXSW.