Music will save us all.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
I thought the Merge showcase was tonight at Cedar Street.
It was not.
I almost—ALMOST stayed at home. I know. I KNOW. I’ve been feeling guilty about school and because I had not really planned to see any other bands tonight, I was considering staying at home and working on moot court. I grabbed my directory and flipped through before Mark left for downtown just to make sure there was nothing I was missing and then I saw it: Scottish Arts Council Showcase at Parish.
If you are one of the three people reading this, you probably know of my affinity for the Scots. Needless to say, my experience in Scotland and my friends there have profoundly changed my musical life. I couldn’t pass this up. Last year this showcase was a ball and I was introduced to bands such as Dananananaykroyd and We Were Promised Jetpacks (they also do one of my favorite things which is giving away comp CD’s of tracks from all the bands who played the showcase).
I left our rented house late but was able to see a new band called Codeine Velvet Club, We Were Promised Jet Packs (again, and even more badass than last year), and my favorite of the evening, Frightened Rabbit. All the bands I saw were fantastic and I was able to pick up a comp CD and a great T-shirt with a Highland Cow on it.
And get this:
Who did I see walking unassumingly through the thick, smelly, sweaty, Scottish audience, none other than M. “badass from She & Him” Ward.
M. Ward, people…walking through the crowd…at a Scottish music showcase. I stopped him:
Hollis: Um, sorry…are you M. Ward.
M. Ward (visibly frightened): Um, yeah.
Hollis: I’m a huge fan, thanks for coming to SXSW this year! I’m going to see you tomorrow!
M. Ward: Oh, you’re going to be there?
Hollis: Yeah! I can’t wait! Well, have fun!
And then he ran away, terrified. It was awesome. I got a little bit of M. Ward awesome on my fingers when I touched his shirt.
So, you see folks? SXSW is completely and totally awesome.
