Oy is right. South by Southwest equals unholy madness, part of its charm, but when you’ve been traveling since 5 a.m., then drove from San Antonio with a little Russian man who claimed to be a former member of the Young Lords, then hitched a ride downtown with the little Mexican who works at your motel, then drank your way through the day to forget your travel woes…it can be a bit daunting. Regardless, Remezcla’s in Austin! Bringing indie bigness to your computer screens. This year there’s a great lineup of Latin talent and we’re good and ready to mediate. So here we go! Also, due to my own stupidity, I left my camera cord (I know, I know, what an amateur!). So you’ll have to sit tight for an all-encompassing monster photo gallery on Monday when we get back to Earth.
Thursday night really started with the really Mexican NACO showcase at Flamingo Cantina on 6th Street (where we ran into our fellow music-loving friends Club Fonograma), bookended by Carla Morrison and Toy Selectah. After only catching Carla Morrison’s last song (the anthemic “Yo sigo aquí“), I was left questioning the sound system, but her voice sounded true to album at least. Then came the U.S. debut of all-dude Monterrey band She’s a Tease (who are now signed to Nacional Records, so we’ll be hearing from them a lot more), and proclamations of “Viva México, Viva’l tequila, Viva las gorditas, Viva las quesadillas” ensued, a sign of good spirits. They chugged along through the bad sound system as best they could, doing the mashed potato and clad in inexplicable Baltimore Orioles headgear and what you imagine Monterrey hipsters would wear. Their single “Why” sounded almost 100% up to par, but the vocals were too low during the smooth chorus.
And then I ate. Finally. After 17 hours of not eating, we ran down to catch Los Rakas at the last day of CNN’s interactive showcase (FREE food!) and they played a short and sweet set, letting their big-beat rhyming background clips of Anderson Cooper in Japan. Not as much of a buzz kill as you’d expect.
Running back to Flamingo Cantina, we caught Rey Pila rocking out unapologetically and the members of Chikita Violenta in the crowd, head banging with delight during “No Longer Fun.” Rey Pila’s hair was so magestic, that the little breeze that did manage to flow in from outside’s bustling streets, created an ethereal bouncing effect on his fro that was so beautiful, so delicate to witness, I caught a falling tear from my left eye. It was breathtaking. Picture proof to come.
But last night’s true champion was Adanowsky…and his sideburns. The man is a breathing embodiment of sex, with all of his quirks and naked trysts with Devendra Banhart. With his red-ruffled henchmen in tow, the man. put on. a SHOW. Flailing like a modern-day mix of Jagger, James Brown, and Ian Curtis, Adanowsky took no prisoners. The room got packed tighter and the women got more hot and bothered (including me), during songs like “J’aime tes genoux” and “Estrella Eterna.” Adanowsky and I then went out for tea, talked about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness. He told me I was the only girl for him. I told him I loved his sideburns. And then we made sweet love. And then he vanished and never called me. I’m left feeling cheap. Oh but what a night!*
Then all hell broke loose when the fifty gajillion trillion people trying to exit downtown Austin all decided to hail cabs. And that’s when Remezcla flipped a shit and killed many a people. But more on that later. Elsewhere our XLR8R Tormenta Tropical party was raging and tonight should be another amazing one, with Austin’s own Peligrosa crew taking to the turntables. Stay tuned, plenty more to come, as today we’ll connect with Gepe, Francisca Valenzuela, Polock, Russian Red, and more. Pray for me, people. Pray hard.
* I did NOT have sexual relations with Adanowsky. I did however make out with Rey Pila’s fro.