Austin is a massive, wonderful and gorgeous place. And SXSW is equally as diverse and awesome, unofficially and officially. And this is not a hipster bashing rant. But if the only stain Austin has is the big stain of Texas that surrounds it, then the one bad thing about SXSW is hipsters. Not the polite, nerdy ones, who flood the rapidly gentrifying minority establishments with cash for Lonestar and Shiner Bock so they can survive. But the assholes that don’t give a damn about who the hell is even playing, bring their own damn beer, throw it all over the street and proceed to bum rush the stage in all their filthy, flannel glory and break drummers ankles for a peak at cool.
True story. It was bound to happen, there at Todd P’s growing freeness at Mrs. Bea’s. But whatever. Small piece of the story. Didn’t stop psychedelic-folk hellions, Thee Oh Sees from setting up shop on the floor of the patio, which was actually more dangerous, as frontman John Dwyer looked and thrashed as if he wanted to kill someone with his guitar. I stood on the other side of the fence to make sure. While the ’60s sunshine popsters, Woods, segued with a charming Graham Nash metaphor via an echoic cover of “Military Madness,” to exercise a beautiful moment of chill.
Maybe I had a little pent up aggression from the second coming of the Fuck By Fuck You festival at the adjacent metal house, The Typewriter Museum, as for the poke at hipsters. Still, the place is a certifiable punk-rock shit hole, with pet goats and free beer, typewriters lodged into the earth and sides of walls. Not to mention the talent pulled together: Black Cock, Clint’s Clit, Baby Got Bacteria. And people still had the decency to throw their trash in a can.
Tags: Baby Got Bacteria, Black Cock, Clint’s Clit, Thee Oh Sees, Todd P, Woods