Posted By Kate Mackley

Did someone take the Barley House and move it to Austin?

Saturday is the final day of SxSW. (The few straggling bands playing the Sunday shows are on the schedule as a consolation prize: "We kinda liked your band, but you can play when everyone is asleep/hung over/leaving.") Saturday is pretty much it. By then most attendees are a bit tired. You don't want it to end, but you are ready for a rest. Maybe next year the organizers can build in a break, you know, not start until everyone's feeling a bit more energetic? But I'm sure someone would throw a day party in there.

That's what Summer Break Records head Robert Jenkins did. He brought the Barley crowd down to the Shoal Creek Saloon; not only all the favorite bands that play there, but nearly all the people who just hang out there. It was a little surreal, especially when the owner of the Barley House came up to me said hi. Are we in Austin? Are you sure?

Check out this bill: Here in Arms, Shibboleth, Chris Holt, I Love Math, Pleasant Grove, Sorta, and The Cut*Off. Oh, and gratuitous Rhett Miller photo here. Since everyone was playing for their friends, and the table of Dallas music critics and a certain mayoral candidate up front, the sets were super relaxed. None of that normal SxSW frenzy of "we have to put on our best show EVER because we're gonna get discovered!" Save that energy for later in the day.

The party was fun, just like, um, coming home again. However, I was going to do that soon enough, so I scooted out to catch the last of SxSW, just getting going around 6th Street. It's amazing how off your internal clock gets at the festival. It was now 6pm, and since it was still light out, it felt like lunchtime, something I realized I skipped. That was OK, because there was probably free food at the Chugging Monkey, where Red Monroe was also playing a day party.

If you haven't heard Red Monroe, you should. Not just once, either, because I didn't appreciate their brilliance on the first listen. Their music is experimental, gorgeous, rich. It just keeps getting better. Catch them for a stripped down acoustic set at Liquid Lounge as soon as you can; or anything put on by Spune. He gets them, too.

After this, I hooked up with the Irishmen from Duke Special, out of Belfast. I had met them the day before (did I forget to blog that? yeah I did) as we went for a trek out to Ben's to get the drummer some real Texas BBQ. They had heard about Salim Nourallah and it was my extreme pleasure to take them to that show. Salim's set was upbeat and fun; I've been reduced to tears at a Nourallah show before, and I asked him why it was so fun tonight. He said the vibe at SxSW was so upbeat, it just seemed right to play a cheery set. Lots of "1978," not so much "Life in a Split Second."

I had a bit of time before my next scheduled band, so I checked what I could catch quickly before taking off. Wouldn't you know it? Rhett Miller was playing, just around the corner at Stubbs. This was now just funny. I hadn't meant to catch every show he played (anyone know, did I miss any?), but I did. We said hey after, and I saw his eyebrow raise. No, dude, not stalking you. Swear to God. Oh well, guess I'm officially a fan now, because I did have a great time at every show. He has more energy than anyone I've ever met. Each show was bigger, better, and more fun. I don't know anything about the new album, my two listens to the new songs at SxSW don't count, and I'll stick with Fight Songs. It's old, I know, but I still love it.

My next band was The Theater Fire at Latitude, in the middle of the strip. I hoofed it quickly; I didn't want to miss anything. I had seen them at the Art Conspiracy show, but only minutes before I needed to leave. I like Latitude, it's a good venue; small, but with a big stage, and plenty of room for the myriads of instruments everyone in The Theater Fire seems to play. Mariachi songs, folksy stuff, Appalachian storytelling; clever songs in a serious tone. They also did something that I think is incredibly clever at SxSW: they gave away their EPs. Brilliant! Bands, you want to get noticed here? Go the extra mile. This is not a bad strategy at all.

Deathray Davies were next. LOVE them. The best part of the night for me? I ran out of memory on my camera. That's a good thing? Absolutely, because I get to enjoy the show. No more worrying about camera angles, f-stops, timing; I can just listen. I strapped the thing on my back, freed up my hands to clap and danced! What a great show. DRD does have some rather rabid fans, though, especially the girl who stopped the show to ask John Dufilho if he knew where her cell phone was. Huh? Apparently, her partying had begun a bit earlier, and was about to end a bit earlier, than everyone else's. Dufilho took it in stride, with humor.

A friend took me to Josh Ritter after, and I was unimpressed. Maybe it was that Ritter was a bit overly PC (he has a song about a guy who's soldier girlfriend is fighting in Iraq - sheesh), maybe it was that Eternal was the hottest club on 6th by now, but I kinda tuned him out. I think it's just that he wasn't from Dallas, and I see enough earnest singer/songwriters here, thanks.

Finally, as the culmination to a great festival, it was time for Duke Special! It was great meeting them first as just regular people, then seeing them transform and play as a band. Peter Wilson and Chip Bailey are cool people, and fantastic live. Not that we get much chance to see them play here, but I'm hoping that they will make the trip back across the big pond in the not too distant future. It was 1AM when they hit the stage at the Dirty Dog (which lives up to its name, yech), and a bit of technical issues kept them at bay for a few minutes. They play with an assortment of "instruments"; Duke Special, who is Peter Wilson on stage, plays mainly on keyboard, but he also mans a wind-up gramophone. Chip Bailey, however, has not passed a kitchen drawer without inspiration. Using cheese-graters, eggbeaters, and a stick embellished with every percussion option known to man, he whips, knocks, and shakes in the beats. The music is carnival fun, campy, yet beautiful. When Duke Special gets serious, he's heartbreaking. Find Adventures in Gramophone and Your Vandal (the vinyl version- 45 on one side, 78 on the other. Isn't that just cool?).

Whew! Done with SxSW. Ring! Ring! It's my phone? What, an afterparty? At a warehouse? My name on the list? Yeah, of course! And off we went to the next amazing experience. This was the place all the really cool people were hanging. Ours was playing by the time I made it to the stage. I had no camera memory left, again, so you'll just need to imagine: beautiful swanky people milling about an empty produce docks with an open, free bar and Ours blasting into the warm night. It began to rain, just a bit, but no one minded. Excellent. This was a great year, and a year would be too long to wait for this to happen again. Cheers!