SXSW Day 5

I picked up breakfast from Jack In The Box on my way into downtown at 4:30pm.  That’s right. J in the B serves breakfast 24/7.  And it’s delicious.  I had an hour-long conversation with my brother in which I seriously considered starting a franchise in Tampa.

Anyways, once again, I lucked out with parking.  This time even cheaper and closer to the action!  Once I checked my assignments, I realize I was 2 blocks away from Lustre Pearl, where I would be shooting one of my favorite dance pop indie bands, Miike Snow!  The festival gods were on my side!

I headed to the venue, which was hosting tonight’s events sponsored by Dickie’s.  It was a small bungalow bar with a front and rear patio and a small burrito stand in the side yard.  When I walked around back, I was happy to see the large white tent that covered the stage, as it would make bouncing my flash a little more convenient.

The first band to play was a dance rock band by the name of Penguin Prison.  The front man rocked a beautiful Fender Stratocaster and was particularly overzealous, jumping on stage and even swinging his axe around to play behind is head.  At one point, he jumped off the 4-foot stage to make the performance a bit more personal by grabbing fans by the shoulder to sing and dance with them.

The following band, Drop The Lime, was quite a sight to behold.  They looked like they walked right out of the 50’s and into SXSW.  The trio consisted of two male greasers dressed in all black with slicked back hair and dark sunglasses while the lady honed a similar burlesque style, wearing all black with bright red lipstick and her hair pinned up.  The front man sported a gold-plated incisor with rings to match and strummed the most beautiful semi-hollow guitar.  I was surprised when he whipped out his Macbook to add a little synth to his retro punk rock sound.

The third band to play was YACHT, a group started by Jone Bechtolt, a former member of The Blow.  Though he provided vocals, the majority of voice came from the angelic white-clad, white-haired Claire Evans, who I had seen disguised as a mustached fan in the audience during the previous performances.  The two of them were incredibly lively and maintained a perfect chemistry between each other and with the audience.  When Claire descended the stage in all her pallid glory, the audience made way as if being parted by Moses.

Drop The Lime plays at Lustre Pearl during SXSW Music Festival in Austin, TX.