I caught an amazing set with Daniel Lanois on Wednesday at Pangea. Daniel Lanois - in case you didn’t know is one of the most amazing producers EVER (U2 & Bob Dylan to name a few). Daniel did a track with Synthesis.net favorite Rocco DeLuca - check it out:

Right now we’re held up in a hotel room with a band, Anarbor, two models, a couple hair (Lauryn) and makeup (Shay) people, and one awesome photographer (Barry Underhill), drinking hella Lone Stars and basically making a mess of things (sorry, housekeeping). Look for the photos from the shoot soon in an upcoming issue of Synthesis Digital. Behind the scene photo by Video Matt.

I awoke to try and get some work done down in the plush lobby here at the Four Seasons hotel, bar, grill and bath house, when I happened upon an absurd amount of people milling about. I thought it might just be another wave of tanned and fattened Hollywood hipster types (which makes up roughly 98 percent of the temporary populace of this gem) fresh off the plane, but it turns out that while we were all up in good ol’ room 508, the BMI Showcase was happening down on the grassy knoll banks of what we finally found out is called Ladybird Lake. An ocean of people were down, wincing in the sun, drinking free booze, enjoying free breakfast buffet (the good kind) and watching Kaki King perform. Wish I’d have known so I could take some pictures, but the point I’m trying to make here is that THERE ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE! I know my last blog said something about if you’re not here, fuck you, or whatever, but seriously, some of you should get the fuck out of here. I can’t breathe…

All I’m sayin’ is that if there’s a walkway, don’t stand on it to chat with your friend about your new rad tat or compare the jeans you got for free from the Fader Fort; there are people behind you, baking in the heat and trying to get water. I saw five waiters become forced to spill their trays of glasses due to beligerent scenesters (who, um, by the way…what are you doing at the BMI showcase. That’s a real cred stacker…). Me, I think I’ll stick to downtown…

Plus…you should eat here if you’re downtown. Cheap, but quite delicious.

And don’t ever eat the pizza here. Ever.

It was a vicious decision to be sure. On one hand, you have yourself the downtown buzz glaring at you, bands everywhere, interesting people, all cruising around darting their eyes and swaying their skinny hips. And in this downtown area last night were some amazing shows.

On the other hand, you had the goddamn Playboy Rock the Rabbit Party. Ummmmmm.

Having almost always been a man who covets the rock over the flesh, I endeavored to resist the pull of silicon and glitter (although I’m pretty sure I wasn’t on the list anyway, but that’s neither here nor there…), so I hoofed it down the thoroughfares, saw Matt Pinfield’s shiny dome broadcasting for DirectTV on an elevated hydraulic crane stage and checked out the Weakerthans at the Cedar Street Courthouse. Seriously, this was the best decision I’ve ever made about anything. The place was sweaty and packed (Austin’s morning breezes and chilliness had long since been replaced by punishing humidity) but seeing John K. Samson’s expert songcraft, along with the rest of the band’s superb set was great.

This was all after catching DJ Tommy Sunshine at the Alternative Press party on top of some building…

and before I capped my evening off with fucking HIGH ON FIRE.

Dude, if you’re not here right now, I don’t like you.

Motherfucking Bill Motherfucking Hicks.

First things first. If you don’t know who this man is, type the name”Bill Hicks” into YouTube. Then TURN OFF THE COMPUTER, GO TO THE NEAREST VIDEO STORE and RENT Sane Man, then BUY this:

This is what I fell asleep to (somehow) the night before setting off for SXSW. I did manage to fall asleep, but man, hard to do with Bill’s ranting brilliance. Raised in Houston, TX by conservative parents, he soon fostered one of the most brilliant minds in modern philosophy. But he used stand up comedy as the sugar coating. Totally brilliant. He’s coughing up a phlegm gem in heaven right now. Cause of Death? Not ironical, cancer. He was a heavy smoker. I’ll light one for Bill in a second, but in the meantime, watch this shit.

Oh, and did I mention, everything Bill said in the late ’80s/early ’90s eerily repeated itself over the last eight years. Talk about prophetic. That’s some staying power.

If you’ve seen Heima, you already know how much Iceland rules. If you need more proof, look no further than Reykjavik!, who pummeled my nuts into a fine powder last night at Maggie Mae’s.

Guitarist Haukur Magnusson was a big sweaty mess as he melted face on guitar and babbled incoherently between songs. Meanwhile, lead singer Boas was all over the place, climbing speakers, diving into the crowd and generally causing a giant ruckus. At one point, he barreled off the stage straight toward me and I got myself clotheslined on the microphone cord. He made up for the minor assault though later in the set when he handed me the mic and asked me to introduce myself. He said I’m a nice guy and that people should talk to me.

He’s right. You should.

Two days to go, but one of my most memorable sets of the festival for sure.