Culture Greyhound

Don’t know if you’ve heard or anything, but this weekend is Fun Fun Fun Fest, and I am so pumped. And also swamped with work I’m trying to get done before the weekend arrives. So consider this a quick post. Tomorrow I will post survival tips, and Friday look for a picks playlist, as well as a themed podcast on Saturday. Told you guys I was stoked. In the meantime, today I’m delving into the FFF afterparties, or Fun Fun Fun Nites, as they’re calling them, and picking my recommendations. For the first time this year, the only way to get into these bad boys is with an FFF wristband, and if you got one of those, the admission is free. There’s so much to pick from it’s like another festival happening right after the one at the Shores. The hustle to Red River should be exciting each night; in the meantime, here are my picks for what you should do once curfew comes around.

Thursday:

I’m probably sitting this one out, I’ll likely be finishing up school work and waiting for traveling friends to arrive, and really the only pull here is at Mohawk, where the always awesome Ty Segall will be shredding. I would show up late, though, because the Coathangers are unbearable.

Friday:

By far the best night in the afterparty lineup – go hard this evening if you go hard at all. I’m watching Cold Cave for sure at Mohawk, then skipping over to the Parish for a headlining set from the Thermals. Also, Dead Confederate is rocking Deville, which is time well spent. Dead Confed put on a loud, loud show – kind of wish they were playing the fest as well…

Saturday:

I’ll probably get dragged to Mates of State at Parish, which I won’t mind, but my preference is Emire Automotive for the hipster-tastic Gorilla Vs. Bear party – Keep Shelly In Athens, Purity Ring, and a Neon Indian DJ set. If I enjoy Purity Ring at the fest, I might insist on this one, but if not, it’s whatevs.

Sunday:

The fact that I have class and will probably be exhausted at this point likely won’t stop me from attending Dom and Royal Bangs at Red 7 – another possibility is Thee Oh Sees at Beerland, as I will likely miss them at the Fest. Sunday night’s where the Red Bull comes in handy, among other things….

So what are your afterparty picks? Taking part in the festivities? Get at me.

Ok, this is when it gets crazy. Today I’m going through the Music portion of SXSW 2011, which happens Wednesday, March 16 – Saturday, March 19.  Keep in mind there’s always gonna be pop-up shows and last-minute party announcements like every year, so follow me on Twitter and I’ll try to keep everyone abreast of anything awesome.  Also: on Monday I will post my picks for multi-day parties, like Fader Fort, Waterloo Parking Lot Shows, etc. so look forward to that. Today’s list only includes my picks for single-day parties.

Wednesday, March 16

Eat Your Own Ears/Austinist/Windish Day Party @ Mohawk – Free

By far the best lineup of the day – Cloud Nothings, Twin Shadow, Givers, Royal Bangs. Awesome.

Honorable Mentions

Altered Zones @ SXSW

Bella Union x Yours Truly @ SXSW

Brooklyn Vs. the Bay – RSVP

eMusic @ SXSW

Terrorbird Media/Force Field PR Day Party at Red 7

Amanda Shires @ G & S Lounge (Outdoors) 2420 S 1st St. – 2 pm

Queens of the Stone Age @ Rolling Stone Showcase at LZR – If you don’t have a badge, it’s likely you’re not getting in.  But best of luck to ya!

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I imagine Lafayette, Colorado, feels like Lubbock in many ways.  It’s probably not as isolated as we are out here in West Texas, five hours from anything.  After all, it’s a skip away from Boulder and is close enough to Denver to be a legit suburb.  But when I listen to Gauntlet Hair, I get the feeling that there is a small, dedicated group of kids looking for something more than what is being offered, far from the shopping malls and skate parks, far from the Coca-Cola-sponsored arenas and dingy hip-hop night clubs, far from the culture-less void that is a quiet mountain town.

Gauntlet Hair are two dudes named Andy and Craig who call Lafayette their home.  They played Todd P‘s MtyMx Festival, and they have been affiliated with Denver-based Rhinoceropolis.  Forest Family Records, the new Gorilla Vs. Bear/Weekly Tape Deck label, has plans to release the band’s first single next month.

The single in question, the most-blogged about track from the group, is called “I Was Thinking.”  You can listen/download below.

Prefix Mag described the song better than I ever could:

“…a pretty insatiable guitar stomp that throws some R&B and soul into the lo-fi revival pot, mixing heavily-reverbed guitars with a simple, but undeniably booty-shaking beat. Add in some Animal Collective-style vocal melodies and you’ve got something pretty fantastic.”

Fantastic.  That’s the word.

Gauntlet Hair – I Was Thinking

Tuesday thru Sunday will be post-less, as I will be traveling and partaking in SXSW 2010.  So, to get the rest of you as pumped as I am, here are my personal picks for parties/shows happening this year.  These aren’t all necessarily shows I will be attending (I’m sure a lot of them are happening at the same time), but they are all ones that I would probably go to if they were more spread out.  In this vein, SXSW is a blessing and a curse….but mostly a blessing.

Also, check out The Top 13’s list of day-show picks – pretty awesome.

List after the jump…CLICK!

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