Mochila y Mas

Last week I stumbled upon what appeared to be an abandoned junkyard filled with Mount Rushmore rejects. Of all the days to not have charged my camera.

Today I returned determined to capture on film what my descriptions to friends, family, anyone who would listen did not. Convinced that I would be arrested for trespassing, I did not venture into the lot; rather, I took my pictures from the street, car keys and cell phone in hand should I need them. As I was getting ready to walk back to my car, I noticed several little old ladies touring the yard, admiring the statues. Surely these ladies didn't work in the rundown warehouse attached to the lot, and surely they weren't trespassing.

When I got home, I searched "Large Cement Heads Houston," and the mystery was solved. The heads (and The Beatles) are the work of David Adickes, of the-big-statue-of-Sam-Houston-on-45 fame. The space is his Sculptorworx Studio, which appears to be a sort of Island of Misfit Toys since many of the statues are rejects from Adickes' Presidents Park in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Now that I know I'm not trespassing, I can't wait to go back and have my picture taken with William Henry Harrison.

8:37 AM Wake up!

9:53 AM Enjoy delicious breakfast tacos from Taco Shack.

10:30 AM Catch the Emmylou Harris interview at the convention center. Emmylou sings several songs and tells stories about her relationship with Gram Parsons.



11:32 AM Race to Cedar Street in time to preview the new Bright Eyes album.


Hey, look! It's Robb Nansel from Saddle Creek!

1:00 PM Back at the convention center to hear the best-slash-most-awkward interview. (Note to self: if ever given the task of interviewing David Cross, don't be retarded.)




Hey! David Cross is wearing the same shirt he was wearing last night!

1:35 PM Hit the David Byrne panel 20 minutes late.



2:00 PM Too much to do! Quietly exit the David Byrne panel to check out the trade show and Flatstock, the poster exhibit.

2:50 PM Head to the Day Stage Cafe in time to see the last few minutes of Busdriver, who blows us away.



3:03 PM Share some pasta and salad while waiting for Holy F@!k.



3:38 PM Eight minutes of Holy F@!k and we're off to The Mohawk for Robyn Hitchcock and Peter Buck.





4:56 PM Head back to the convention center for some much needed sitting time.

6:00 PM Young Love gives a very American Bandstand-esque performance. Because it was being broadcast live on Direct TV, we had all sorts of Look-Excited-And-Make-Some-Noise instructions.



6:29 PM Check out the Japan Bash Party.

7:15 PM Famished, enjoy a delicious dinner at Dona Emilia's. Yum!

9:00 PM Get to Buffalo Billiards in time for Bob Mould. Upon realizing we can no longer stand for extended periods of time, enjoy the show from a bench in the back.

9:58 PM Head to The Parish in time to catch Badly Drawn Boy's acoustic set at 11 and realize we have reached capacity for the evening. After much discussion, head home for some much needed sleep, but not before running into this guy.

11:00 AM Head to Whole Earth Provision Company for a backpack to haul around all the items necessary for the proper enjoyment of South by Southwest. Necessary items include, but not limited to: official SXSW directory (complete with color-coded tabs identifying can't-miss events), sunglasses, book to read while waiting for bands, camera, pen, and a spiral notebook.

11:17 AM Pick up bagels from Einstein's to enjoy on the car ride to the Austin Convention Center.

11:32 AM Pay nearly $3.00 for a grande drip at the convention center Starbucks.

12:00 PM Enjoy first panel of the music conference, A Field Guide to Indie Labels, featuring Saddle Creek founder Robb Nansel.

1:20 PM Sit on the floor in the back of the already-in-progress Legal Matters panel (can you guess who chose that one?) and begin reading Love Is a Mix Tape.

2:30 PM Leave the convention center for a snack of delicious vegetarian nachos and Dr. Pepper at Salsaritas.

3:40 PM Catch the end of French band Prototypes set at the Day Stage. Not bad, especially if you like songs in French.

4:00 PM See Robyn Hitchcock and producer Joe Boyd at the Day Stage. Joe Boyd read passages from his new book about music in the 60s (maybe?) while Robyn Hitchcock played said music. Included songs originally performed by Bob Dylan, The Incredible String Band, and Nick Drake.



5:30 PM Head over to the Hilton to get a good seat for Pete Townshend's keynote address.



7:45 PM Race through downtown Austin to get to the Central Presbyterian Church in time for Donovan.



8:00 PM We call him Mellow Yellow.





8:50 PM Mmmm. Pizza at Paparazzi Pizzeria.



9:10 PM Get to Emo's in plenty of time for Beirut's 10:00 set. Catch the end of Emma Pollock who is enjoyable despite sometimes sounding like she's covering a Hole song. Swear to God that John-Fucking-Norris walks past me while Mr. Mochila is off buying a PBR. Where is Mr. Mochila when I need him?

10:00 PM Beirut plays the best set of the night (the week?).









10:50 PM While walking to Stubb's to see Lily Allen, Mr. Mochila spots David Cross walking down Red River. Totally makes up for not seeing John Norris. Behold! The back of David Cross.



10:55 PM Stubb's is full. No Lily Allen for us. Oh well. Since we have some time before Blonde Redhead, why not track down David Cross? Head into Beerland (where we last saw David Cross getting his hand stamped), but alas, David Cross is nowhere to be found.

11:00 PM Back to Emo's.

12:45 AM Blonde Redhead plays, but not before The Tallest Man at SXSW (who felt it necessary to stand in front of the stage) and The Biggest Asshole, Figuratively Speaking, at SXSW decided to get in a shoving match right in front of me.

The good people at South by Southwest (finally!) released the official lineup yesterday. And while I can't say that I am ecstatic about the lineup, I am excited about checking out new bands, especially those with Panda in the title. Apparently pandas are very in right now, and not just in the U.S. Pandas are in internationally.

Pandas are in in Mexico. (Panda)
Pandas are in in Seattle. (Panda & Angel)
Pandas are in in Australia. (The Panda Band)
Pandas are in in Las Vegas. (The Pandas)

Pandas are so in right now that bands who don't have Panda in their names are starting to look a little, well, low on the panda, if you know what I mean. So in the spirit of The Dolphin Game, I thought I would bring a little panda love to some of those other bands playing SXSW.

Wouldn't you like to see:
Funky Panda?
Mistress Stephanie and Her Melodic Panda?
Yuppie Pandas?
Panda Shit!?
Pandas on Ecstasy?
Michael Zapruder's Rain of Pandas?
Who's Your Favorite Panda, God??
Shawn Sahm and the Tex-Mex Panda?

In Case You Didn't Already Figure It Out...
To Play The Dolphin Game: Think of movie title. Substitute "Dolphin" for word in movie title as in Three Men and a Dolphin. You win!

No matter how funny it seems at the time, how great of a joke it will make, it is probably never a good idea to refer to the mother of a co-worker as a whore.

Let the sassiness resume!

Mr. Mochila just informed me that he has never been to Red Lobster. Ever. In his entire life. As if that weren't terrible enough, he seems to be totally fine with this.

This really should have come up in all that pre-marital counseling we had.