The Strokes
Would have been awesome with say... 10k fewer people
Okkervil River
As good as ever. (Which is fucking fantastic)
Chromeo
RedLaser party
Yeasayer
Microsoft party
Queen Sea Big Shark
w taylor, kaitlynn, and 2 margaritas
Fredrik
fab
Givers
Austinist party
Imaginary Cities
not *bad*, but not inspiring
James Vincent McMorrow
Day stage; great
Judgement Day
String trio on corner of trinity and 5th
Braids
@eventbrite party
YelaWolf
The fader fort tour part was nice.
The Luyas
Just caught the end...
Geographer
More electronic than expected but good.
Mistah F.A.B.
mostly wack, but can't hate on the freestyle (also, ghost ride winning)
Killer Mike
better...
L'Altra
So good! (even w/ crazy sound person) So wish they were playing again so I could drag people over to see them.
Darwin Deez
only caught a couple min, went to cnn grill first (priorities!)
Interstellar Transmissions
post-2AM street-corner epic jams
Bass Drum of Death
A couple good licks
Gobble Gobble
As good at 11am as at 4am. Just epic.
Das Racist
45min late and mostly meh
Depedro
caught on the way to daystage - really good!
The Head and the Heart
went in the db and revised upwards. amazing songs
The Dead Westerns
CNN grill
Alexander
Revival folk!
Black Elephant
good old fashioned garage rock
Family of the Year
Resisting the extra star due to CNN grill awesomeness.
Glasser
a few highlights, but generally, bjork did it first and better
tUnE-YarDs
quirky self-sampled afro-beat freak folk? pretty great
Twin Shadow
great presence, sounded great, a few real standouts.
James Blake
a couple good songs, but way overhyped
Io Echo
Caught a track running to Owen Pallett
The Horde and the Harem
Seattle 5 piece w nice harmonies, good energy
Fitz and the Tantrums
Objectively good, but not tapping my toes for some reason
Mexican Institute of Sound
Oh man, badass. Wanna see this in a club at 2am
Jeremy Messersmith
Holy crap he looks like Buddy Holly now. Same awesome music though. :)
The Spring Standards
Reserving judgements. Good energy, only caught a couple songs.
Maritime
Awesome energy. So good!
Millionyoung
Avg chillwave, but most annoyingly chatty ppcrowd of my sxsw
American Music Club
Not bad, but not captivating
Oberhoefer
Pretty good. Catchy in a Spinto Band way.
Papercuts
Solid performance + really great songs
Dum Dum Girls
Seeing them from the front row? Definitely recommended.
J Mascis
I've always been more of a Barlower myself, but one doesn't become and Indie rock god by association. J Mascis is the real deal.
Clock Opera
Only caught the last couple songs
Joanquil
Not bad
James Woon
James Blakeish, but more fun, less pretentious
Mount Kimbie
Wish they played a slightly less songy and a more continuous set. Great groove.
Kitten
Major labels getting better at simulating real music.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Wish I caught more of them, was just passing by and they caught my ear. Great ringing guitars.
Those Nights
Nice surprise on the street. Totally legit.
Agnes Obel
Piano+cello. Great. Last song especially.
Silje Nes
Front row for amazing multi instrumental etherealness
Anamanaguchi
For my money, the best chip tunes band period.
Pujol
Sorry guys, just not feeling it.
Barcelona
Not bad in a musey kind of way.
Babe Rainbow
Not bad, but nothing really exciting. (inoffensive electronic)
Teen Daze
Love his stuff and he was putting on a great mix, but too many live bands to catch.
Casiokids
I bumped 'em up a star for a great cut. Still, overall, not feeling it.
Meiko
I want to like her less, but she's too charming.
Kevin Devine
Church was the perfect venue.
Puro Instinct
The singer apologized at the end.
Owen Pallett
The best performance I saw this SXSW. Fanfreakingtastic.
Gold Panda
Solid set w/ some nice cuts.
Cults
Not bad, but already disappeared from memory.