April 2019 – vantravelusa2

During my past travels, the South by Southwest (SXSW) experience was recommended by many. I am glad I took their advice. What a great time! I would describe it as “Total Chaos, Yet Totally Perfect”.

I am doing two posts on SXSW. The first highlights my experience and the second is my take on a beginners guide to the Festival. The guide will discuss things like official and unofficial SXSW music.

I spent 8 nights in Austin, focusing on the music portion of the festival. I stayed at the Pecan Grove RV Park, which is a gem located less than a mile from downtown Austin. A friend (Paul) from Ohio flew into Austin to join me for 3 nights. Paul and I were able to meet up with my friends from Austin (Brian and Summer) for music, drinks and conversation.

Pics of friends:

MUSIC:

Highlights:

Many have asked who was the best musician / band that I saw. This is a hard question to answer. So much good music. However, here are my picks broken down into 3 categories.

Best up and coming act: Angie McMahon, a singer songwriter from Melboune, Australia. You can find some of her songs on you tube. She is set to release her first album sometime in 2019. I found out later that she received the SXSW Grulke Prize winner for Developing Non-U.S. Act is Angie McMahon. Well deserved. In my research on SXSW, it was often noted that you would just run across a great act by accident and that is what happened in this case. I arrived early at the Continental Club to see a different band and Angie played before them.

2. Best Established Acts: I have always wanted to see Edie Brickell play. I was not disappointed. She played at St. Davids Historic Sanctuary. What a great venue for her. A number of bands played before her and some people (mostly younger) left before she was ready to play. A lady next to me asked “where is everybody going”? I noted that given their age, they probably never heard of Edie.

A second favorite was the Iguanas. I have seen them a number of times in the past. Really like their music.

3. I am going to call this category “The Best Been around for a little while act“. Pat Byrne is from Ireland. He has a music history there, winning the Irish version of “The Voice”. He recently moved to Austin and his band has members from the Austin area as well as from Ireland. Paul and I had a chance to talk with them after their set. Really neat bunch.

Music – Day by Day Breakdown:

Day 1:

After setting up camp, I walked downtown to the Convention Center to pick up my badge and get my festival “bearings”. My focus for the evening was the Mohawk venue. That afternoon, I walked to check out the location for later but plans changed. Excellent music was already playing at 3:30 p.m. So, inside I went and remained until after midnight. I meet a couple from Iowa and we exchanged travel stories in-between sets. Cool people. We had a nice balcony view of the stage.

The band line-up was Deerhunter, Priests, The Beths, Sweet Spirit, Fontaines DC, Black Midi, Dramatic Lovers, Combo Chimbita, and Murray Lightburn. My favorites from the night were The Beths and Deehunter. Each band played around 45 minutes with a quick 10 to 15 minute stage change. It was a long / excellent day on the feet and a pleasant late night walk back to camp.

Some pics:

Day 2:

Paul flew into Austin and joined me at camp. He got settled, we walked downtown to get his badge, and then had lunch at Coopers BBQ. Back at camp, we had our usual drink of choice – Crown and Coke. We had not seen each other for a year and a half, so we had a lot of catching up to do. When we are on the road together, we usually “light it up” one night. Well this was the day / night.

We headed to the Saxon Pub for music and sat at the bar for the duration. Sitting at the bar has pros and cons. Both of which are – you get served quickly.

The official SXSW music started at 9 pm but unofficial music started at 6 pm. The photo below shows the official music list.

Each of the bands posed for pictures on the patio after their set, which allowed us to take pics and meet with the band members. Pretty cool. A Pat Byrne CD was the only one I bought during the festival. It was close to 3:30 a.m. when we called it a night.

Day 3:

Breakfast at Uncle Billies which is next to Pecan Grove. Good breakfast at a decent price. We hung around camp and explored some of the trails around Lady Bird Lake. Our music venue for the day was St. David’s Historic Sanctuary. The bands were City of the Sun, J.S. Ondara, Madison Cunningham, Sweet Crude, The Comet is Coming and Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians.

My favorites were Madison Cunningham and Edie Brickell. The original members of the New Bohemians came to play with Edie, pretty cool. Awesome venue!

Edie finished at midnight, another late night walk back to campground.

Day 4:

Brian and Summer rode their bikes to the campground for a visit. We had a good time catching up . They headed back to their place via Uber and we locked their bikes up at camp. Yes, we had a good afternoon.

Our Day 4 venue was the Continental Club. We saw FIX8, Kalu and the Electric Joint, Lisa Morales, Cure for Paranola, Walker Lukens and Los Coast. My favorite was Lisa Morales from San Antonio, TX. What a voice! And the lead guitar player, wow!

A long night and next day for Paul as he left the campground around 4 a.m. in the morning to get back for a family event. Good times were had with Paul!!!!!!!

Day 5:

Brian and Summer stopped by camp and we then rode bikes around the south side of Austin. We stopped by to check on the status of their new home in progress and I got to meet some of their future neighbors. Fun afternoon.

Saxon Pub was my venue of choice for the day. I arrived around 6 p.m. and caught some unofficial music (Denny Freeman). Then the official SXSW acts started at 8 p.m. and included Nobody’s girl, Jared Deck, Charlie Faye and the Fayettes, Bonnie Whitmore, Karen Jonas, and Boketto the Wolf. My favorites were Nobody’s Girl and Bonnie Whitmore.

Nobody’s Girl is a new trio formed by award-winning songwriters Betty Soo, Grace Pettis and Rebecca Loebe. Such great harmony singers and effortless instrumentalists. Bonnie Whitmore is a singer – songwriter with a powerful voice.

The food truck outside of Saxon that night was awesome. Veggies were grown in her garden. Yummy.

Music ended at 2 a.m. and another late night walk back to camp.

Day 6:

Three venues for day 6. I met up with Brian and Summer and we started the day at the British Music Embassy. The British Embassy rents out the Latitude 30 club during the SWSX festival (I wonder how much that costs?). The bands coming from Great Britain will play here at least once during the festival. It collects a pretty “fired up crowd”.

The Bands playing the afternoon “unofficial SXSW” set are shown in the background of the below picture.

My favorites were Island and the Snuts. More pics from the British Music Embassy:

After a few drinks at a hotel lounge near the British Music Embassy, we headed to the Victoria Room at the Driskill Hotel. We saw an International mix of musicians, Susan Kocher (Germany), La Terza Classe (Italy), Jackie Bristow (New Zeland), and Quivers (Australia). My favorite was Jackie Bristow, very good songwriter – singer!

I parted company with Brain and Summer and headed to the Continental club where I heard Hayes Carll, Angie McMahon, and the Iguanas. As described above, Angie was a standout and the Iguanas is on of my favorite New Orleans bands.

Music ended at 2 a.m., so the usual late night walking back to camp.

Day 7:

Slept in, took a nice bike ride (around Lady Bird Lake, up Shoal Creel a ways and then into town for a coffee and pastry) and then headed to the Saxon Pub for more music. SXSW had pretty much ended (there was a closing party at one venue downtown Sunday night). However, a camping neighbor had mentioned that the Lost Austin Band was playing at the Saxon that afternoon. The band leader is Bob Livingston. His on-line bio says it best:

” As a member of Austin’s legendary Lost Gonzo Band, Livingston toured and recorded with such musical visionaries as Jerry Jeff Walker, Michael Martin Murphey, Ray Wylie Hubbard and many more. Livingston played an integral role in helping to create the music that first earned Austin the designation of “Live Music Capital of the World” and helps explain why he was inducted in to “Texas Music Legends Hall of Fame” in 2016 and the West Texas Walk of Fame in 2018. ”

This was a must for me. I sat at the bar conversing with locals and was now also getting the “local beer price”. Austin music community is pretty tight and many were at the Saxon to see the Lost Austin Band.

It was St. Paddy’s day and their was a pretty good party going at an Irish Bar close to Pecan Grove. However, once I returned from the Saxon Pub, it was lights out.

Day 8: Pack up camp and head toward Colorado. WHAT A GREAT TIME!!!!!!!!!!

Some more pics from my festival and my ride back to Colorado:

What a beautiful area! Easy access to 7 plus miles of remote, white sand beaches located near Pensacola Beach. This was my third visit to the area and I will return again. Camping is available with electric / water hookups as well as showers / laundry facilities.

Along with the beach, the roads / trails offer cycling and hiking opportunities. At the end of the island is Fort Pickens which was used / upgraded from before the Revolutionary War through WWII. Free tours are available at the Fort Pickens Visitor Center and provide an in-depth history of the fort.

One of my brothers introduced me (on-line) to a previous co-worker (Charlene). She and her husband now live on Pensacola Beach. They invited me to join them for the local Mardis Gras parade. I rode my bike in and met them at the Paradise Bar for the parade and pre / post parade beverages. A major storm was set to roll through the area, so I pedaled back to camp before things got too crazy (celebration or weather wise). What a neat couple. During my visit, they invited me to their house for drinks, we went out for dinner one night, and breakfast the morning of my departure.

Some pics from the Mardi Gras parade:

Charlene and I at the parade:

A couple of stories:

Charlene and her husband took me to one of their favorite local bars one night. I had a draft beer and was talking to others. My beer never seemed to empty. I turned one time and “caught” the bartender refilling my glass. We both smiled. The next time I turned around there were two glasses of beer. Fun night.

On my way back from the Mardi Gras parade, I had no where to store the beads from the parade. So, I wore them during the ride back to camp. There is a Ranger Station as you enter the National Park. The ranger got a real kick out of my “look”. Normally when entering the park, you need to show your pass and ID. For the rest of my visit, the ranger would just smile and wave me through. I stopped one time to say hi and said “I guess you remember me riding through after the Mardi Gras parade”. He said, “Oh, Yea”.

Some pics from Fort Pickens:

At one time, Geronimo was imprisoned at Fort Pickens, sad story.

Various cycling pics:

During each of my visits to Fort Pickens, it was recommended that I visit the National Museum of Naval Aviation located at the Pensacola Air Force Base. The Base is also home to the Blue Angels. I am told it is worth scheduling a visit during their training times. A ranger at Fort Pickens noted that the fort is perfect for watching.

I recommend joining one of the free indoor tours. The guides are former military pilots and very knowledgeable. There is also a tour bus for the outdoor planes, also recommend.

Near the museum is the Pensacola lighthouse. Pretty cool:

One final story: There is a beach house within the National Park that is used for campground registration. During various cycling ventures, I had noticed that a pair of Osprey had built a nest in the chimney of the building. During one of my rides, I noticed that the female was at the nest, standing proud.