Cinematic Arias

Today I stood in what will probably be the longest line I have to endure.

Two hours, not for a band but for Franklin’s BBQ.

It was damn good BBQ.

I was then off to catch my first show, the lovely Ximena Sarinana.

Holy, she is a cutie, and she plays but accordion…

…but my heart will always belong to Julieta Venegas. Another girl also played with Ximena.

Also very cute, and very good, but it wasn’t doing it for me today.

I then ran next door (love that about this fest) to catch The Delta Spirit.

A few years ago I caught these guys at SXSW by pure accident and it was one of the best accidents to ever happen to me. They’re a great rock n’ roll band. I’ll have to pick up their new album when it drops.

After a quick nap (tons of food makes me sleepy) I hit up the Sarah Jaffe show.

She was very good but I wasn’t feeling it so I ran to check out Foam Lake.

Again, they were very good but they didn’t catch my fancy, which was apparently very hard to catch this evening. No, seriously, I wasn’t in a great mood and it was going to take a lot to break me of my bad spirit.

Next up was The Mowgli’s.

When I first heard their track, I was reluctant. When I saw them during their sound check, I was sure I was going to bail after two bars. To my surprise, they did something no one else could this evening: they made me smile.

Next it was a race across 6th to see Letting Up Despite Great Faults.

Despite the clumsy yet wonderful name, these guys were plagued by bad audio. All I could hear was the bass rumbling the last of the brisket in my belly.

I fought through the thickening crowd on 6th street to catch Chappo.

(I feel a disclaimer is in order here. I know a lot of my pics are kinda fuzzy. The lighting doesn’t help but also I don’t spend the whole show trying to take the perfect pic. I’m here to have a good time and catch a great show, not take a pristine pic.)

These guys were a complete riot. First, I loved the dress (are they Native?). Second, they did all kinds to strange things like blow balloons until they popped or shooting confetti canons at the audience. Plus they sounded pretty sweet.

(Okay, what I said earlier, that was kinda dickish. I do like taking a good pic but tonight I was in a bad mood).

With sore feet (thank God I got some new Puma for this), I hiked up to the very not-fire-safe 512 Rooftop to see Class Actress.

Oh, where do I start? First, I don’t like this venue. Second, she started 20 minutes late. Third, the sound was limp. Fourth, her character. As a filmmaker, I feel I’m allowed to critique her “performance”, especially if she’s going to call herself “Class Actress” (I used to be a teacher).

I know looking like you stepped out of an early 80s video is your thing but stop playing with your hair (first you run you hand from the back of your head to your face, then you turn away and whip around, then you do this again, and again, and again. What, are you afraid you’re not pretty enough so you have to hide your face?  Trust me, you’re plenty pretty.).

(Yikes! Man, I’m in a bad mood. Class Actress, I’m sorry. I’ll buy your next album, probably not see your next show, but I apologize… a bit.)

After elbowing my hundredth hipster, I escaped that fire trap and caught //TENSE//.

(He/they are there, I swear)

Ya know, dark dance music was exactly what I needed.

I ran up a block to next catch White Rabbits.

These guys gave a solid performance. I have to remember to pick up their album.

I jogged back down the street (no wonder my feet hurt) and caught the end of Prof.

What little I heard wasn’t bad.

My final act of the evening was The Peach Kings.

The one song of theirs I knew reminded me so much of The Kills (in a good way) that I was disappointed the rest of their stuff didn’t. Still, that girl has a got a great voice and damn she’s a cutie. She needs to get in the right hands and she could be shaped into a very successful act.

The end of day three. If you’ve been feeling my vibe, then you’ll easily guess my pick of the day: The Mowgli’s.

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Hopefully tomorrow I’m in a better mood (but I wouldn’t bet on it).