SXSW 09: Bird Peterson & Flosstradamus

To start off my SXSW adventure, I caught Bird Peterson & Flosstradamus at Beauty Bar on Wednesday night. Although the venue is kind of a chain, it's an interesting space. It's a lot like an indie oasis in the middle of dirty 6th street.

This joint is always full of a colorful mix of characters (which is getting harder and harder to find in Austin). From your ultra hipster crowd sporting their Converse high-tops and and tight jeans, your techies with their iphones, your weirdos with their mohawks, and even a couple of squares mixed in for good measure. Bird Peterson was solid, mixing across musical styles. His warmup lead up to Flosstradamus. The duo of DJs from Chicago rocked the crowd. Flosstradamus encompassed a long list of different styles from baltimore club to house to dubstep and onward. About halfway their set a group of guys started a j-set routine. If you don't know what J-Set is, check this for example (Youtube). Yeah...strange.

Anywho, the highlight of the night was a mix a house mix of R. Kelly's Ignition. It sent the crowd into a frenzy.

The Week Ahead: SXSW

I have been waiting with a good deal of anticipation for this year’s SXSW. I have to confess, even after 11 years living in Austin, I have not been the biggest fan of live music. SXSW is usually one of the weeks I aim to avoid downtown as much as possible. However, this year is different. With my newfound appreciation for genres such as Electro, Indie Rock and Baltimore Club and the discovery of nightlife away from the far too touristy 6th Street, I have found myself strangely optimistic this year. It also helps that I actually know some of the acts that are coming into town this year and there is a good number of reputable DJs on this year’s bill. Some of the more interesting acts include (Kid Cudi, Blaqstarr, Don Rimini and Tittsworth). Must sees for me include New York/Atlanta DJ Treasure Fingers and Brazilian DJ/Producer duo The Twelves at Beauty Bar on Friday, March 20th. Also, Grammy nominated DJ/Producer Diplo plays a huge party on Saturday, March 21st at the Abandoned Salvation Army.

This along with the NCAA tournament should make for an interesting week. Or maybe not.