Rumors and Secrets Shows that weren't so secretive.

If you attended SXSW day in and day out or even just walked around town, you probably overheard people talking about Metallica and Kanye West "supposedly" playing SXSW. 

Others rumored to play secret shows were The Flaming Lips.

The Flaming Lips did not play SXSW, but Metallica and Kanye West most defiantly did.

Promoting their new Guitar Hero game Metallica played to a packed out Stubbs's crowd. I did not attend, however there is evidence below of Metallica's performance at SXSW.

Interview with Kirk Hammett of Metallica at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin.

Kanye West played to a wristband crowd only at The Fort along with Common.

Its good to see SXSW still has some tricks and surprises up its sleeve.

Did you hear about these shows? 

Day Four

Explosions in the Sky played Saturday to a packed out crowd at Auditorium Shores. There would be no better place to see this epic instrumental band, but in Austin, outside at Auditorium Shores. The weather was nice, the venue was great and the music was phenomenal. 

This band's music is so emotional and speaks more to the audience than most bands with the help of lyrics. 

Fireworks filled the sky with light and the air with energy as Explosions ended their set.

Nothing could have been a better ending for South By Southwest.

Did you have the chance to see Explosions In The Sky?

What do you think of Auditorium Shores?

Day Three Review

People came in masses to watch Third Eye Blind play the Austin Convention Center at 8:00 on Friday. This 90's pop band went through hits such as "Semi Charmed Life," "Jumper," "Crystal Baller" and "How's It Gonna Be." Third Eye Blind also played a handful of new material that the crowd obviously didn't take too much interest in. The band was enthusiastic on stage, but the performance came off weak. The band is forever wrote as a pop band from the 90's; this is unfortunate because I believe they still have some hits left in them. This event was filmed for Direct TV and you can pretty much YouTube the entire show if you couldn't make it on Friday.

Other notable bands that played Friday: DJ Shadow, Cursive, Silversun Pickups, and Dinosaur Jr. 

One of the biggest disappointments of SXSW for me was missing Cursive who I have been a fan of for quite some time. I would have loved to see how "The Recluse" played out live.

Did you go to this show? 

DJ Shadow. Those two words are enough said. DJ Shadow played an exclusive DJ set at Stubbs that was nothing but EPIC. This guy is phenomenal and one of the best DJs I have had the honor of hearing.

Who did you see on Friday?

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Explosions in the Sky

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I'm heading now to see Austin's own Explosions in the Sky at Auditorium Shores at 8:00pm. 

This could be my favorite of SXSW.

BE THERE!

Show review from last night coming soon.

Austin is the place to be!!

Here The Bronx is talking about SXSW

who wouldn't want to play South By Southwest?

Share your SXSW videos and pictures.

Day Two in Review

For those of you who have not heard of Bus Driver I high recommend checking this artist out.

myspace.com/busdriver

My day started at 2:00 pm at Birds Barbershop on the East Side.   http://www.birdsbarbershop.com/

Birds was celebrating the grand opening of their brand new shop at 1107 E. 6th Street. This was the place to be! Great music, free beer and merch. I would end up watching Bus Driver and King Khan and the Shrines. Usually i'm not much of a rap fan, but Bus Driver somehow does the trick for me. His on stage antics are unusual and often awkward, but the strange vibes he gives off during his set often adds energy to his set and makes the show much more exciting. Don't write off Bus Driver as just another rapper or hip hop artist; his raps are often political, thoughtful and intelligent. At one point in the show he even went off on AIG in a free flow. Not only would I watch Bus Driver at Birds Barbershop, but I also caught his show at The Independent on E. 6th (brand new venue, worth checking out). If you like intelligent beats and lyrics then I highly recommend checking him out (link at the top of the page). King Khan and the Shrines were also quite interesting performers. The lead singer wore a cape and helmet while a cheerleader was present throughout their set. The performance was well above par and would really outshine their musical capabilities. 

Another great show I caught was Elvis Perkins in Dearland and The Cold War Kids at Auditorium Shores. 

Auditorium Shores so far has been my favorite place to experience a show. Right on the south side of the lake by the Congress bridge, outdoors, soaking up the weather and atmosphere our city has to offer. Auditorium Shores is also completely free, but if you need to use the ATM to buy a hotdog or beer expect a 4.50 connivence charge.

Cold War Kids played for an hour and filled their set with crowd favorites such as "Hospital Beds" and "Hang Me Out To Dry." They sounded great live, but the crowd lacked a lot of energy. That is really the only trade off for attending shows at Auditorium Shores, attendees are usually more casual music fans. Overall, it was a great experience and I highly recommend checking out the Cold War Kids and seeing a show at Auditorium Shores!

Here is a fan video below of Cold War Kids at Auditorium Shores.

Who did you see on Day two?

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Day one in Review

Day one was certainly a unusual experience. 

After getting my wristband I checked out several bands at the Radio Room Patio; which included What Laura Says. This Tempe band put on quite a good show and was definitely time well spent watching their set.  However, I quickly learned about the beauty of SXSW, which is all about discovering new music. You might not get to see all the bands you want to see, but in the process there is a plethora of new music at your disposal. So I took advantage of this new experience on day one and went where the night lead me. A good portion of the night I ended up at Paradise on 6th listening to some new music. After watching several new bands I decided to head over to Smokin Music to check out Billy Bob Thorton's new band. 

It was obvious the crowd was there for the celebrity and not the music. Billy Bob Thorton standed awkwardly on stage smoking cigarette after cigarette somehow knowing the music wasn't the pull. The band played well but the music in which they played was quite unimpressive. It was still entertaining to watch Billy Bob for ten minutes or so. And the band looked like they were having fun on stage, although I hope they didn't take themselves too seriously. 

Day one was quite a great experience overall, and I am starting to get a great feel for SXSW. There is music in literally every corner,park, parking lot and bar in the city. It is a glorious event for music fans and a site to see for all. 

More to come on day two.

How did you spend your first day?