Austin Sound

In addition to our SXSW picks and Show Previews, we’ll be bringing you short reviews of what we saw, what we liked best, and things we caught on camera. We’ll be checking in with all our local contributors, including John Laird who keeps his own blog, Side One Track One.

Here’s what we were up to on Tuesday

I had only ever heard the Black And White Years, so I had no expectations for them live. With that being said, a good friend of mine felt that last night was far from one of their best shows. Not because of the band, but the fact that they were competing with acts playing directly on the other side of the wall behind them, and it was muddling their normally precise sound. Too bad, really. Maybe the next time I see them things won’t be so overly chaotic. (John Laird)

Fortunately, at this point the total metal rock-out on the other side of the wall had seemed to quiet down. My guess is that they were probably over at the Beauty Bar watching Belair. And why would they do that? Because the beloved local pop group rarely ever breaks out their fancy instruments and puts on shows! In fact, this was their first show in Austin in quite a few months, which is crazy.

In any case, I thought they were amazing. It was my first time getting to actually see them perform, and they did just about everything they could to avoid disappointing me. Well, not really. They only played 30 minutes. If you ever get the chance to see them play I highly recommend that you don’t pass it up, as the opportunity may never come again. (John Laird)

We’ll be updating each day continuously, so keep checking back for more pictures and quips about all things South By South West.

Feel free to comment on what you liked, or send us your own pictures and we’ll post them. Be sure to give us your name so we can credit your mad photo-skills.

See you at the shows!