Overcasters SXSW tour diary

Saturday, March 20: The sun burned off most of the cloud cover as the crowd continued to swell. In the Bat Bar, the Von Bondies tuned up all of their gear for a DirectTV taping, then launched into a near perfect set of fuzzy soul blues mixed in with a pop love in. Big smiles and upbeat vibes. As the sun started to set, we made our way to the Congress Bridge on the river to watch the bats swarm from under. As they swirled skyward, boats on the river watched the gather to ascend. Stopped at a crepe shop for a kick start with a four shot iced mocha. Next stop Airborne Toxic Event. Airborne Toxic Event was packed to the wall and sounded like the official indie rock version of the hula hoop. A little too Scooby Doo for our taste. Upon recommendation we went next to check out Brooklyn's Dirty Projectors. Complicated indie art rock/math rock with a lot of complex original sounds. Challenging to listen to so we moved on. Back on Sixth Street sipping our coffees, we got a nice surprise in Gift Horse playing a small stage in a window at Club Agave, with colored lights streaming through the openings. It was a more psychedelic version of the Telescopes drony and very groove heavy. Running an hour late at The Red 7 Patio, Crystal Stilts played a spacey shambling velvet meets the Mary Chain at a Coney Island beach party with ghosts of Beat Happening floating in between. We wandered the streets as observers of the amense human condition before us.

Thursday, March 19: A twelve-foot glittering robot Elton John clown presides above 4000 urchins. So many brown floor bottles you can almost swim. Parking woes and curbside ambulance load in. Short set of Overcasters chaos. Cut my hand due to close proximity. Sound guy was nice. Venue was small, loud, "like a bomb in a broom closet. The Cynics blew up a packed basement, and the entire room was dancing at a full clip. Roky and the Black Angels did make a tear rol down my cheek. Juliette and the New Romantiques: Juliette believes she's a rock star and plays with a lot of conviction. Songs were new material. New band not quite as convincing as the Licks. Echo and the Bunnymen -- best show of Bunnymen I have ever seen. Intimate. Mculloch's upper register was beautiful.

2 p.m. Wednesday, March 18:  The line is long as the convention center is wide. Rolling up on forty min wait almost to check in. Lots of black, lots of tattoos. Humid. Impossible parking. Pretty excited to play tonight! Lots of energy here. -- Kurt and Erin

Throughout the week, we'll be maintaining a tour diary consisting of entries from various Denver bands that have made the trek to Austin for the city's annual South By Southwest festival. Keep checking back for frequent updates.