SXSW music schedule/Free Music

The schedule for SXSW showcases is out, so you can start thinking and wishing and hoping and praying. Speaking of praying I couldn't help but notice what a kick-ass line-up the Central Presbyterian Church will have. It looks like both Department of Eagles AND Grizzly Bear will be playing the church (on separate days). I think we can expect to hear some brand new Grizzly Bear tunes at SXSW. I'm still waiting for a free party that features Grizzly Bear. Can you tell I'm excited about Grizzly Bear or what?

Of course they are only one of the thousands of bands that will be playing in churches, backyards, bridges and parking structures all over the city. I love SXSW because that last statement is not hyperbole. There will be shows in parking garages, the Lamar pedestrian bridge, and tons of backyards. I'm starting to squirm already :-).

Some random video and helpful tips after the jump..

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that SXSW.com also has some official listings of free parties you can check out here. But if you're going to get serious about combing through the interwebs for day parties you have to check out a few different sites:

ShowListAustin is pretty much your go-to guide for quick and dirty music info...always, but especially during SXSW.

SXSWbaby not as quick, nor as dirty but still helpful.

Do512 could be the sleeper hit of SXSW '09. They've got all your social-networking widgets and do-dads. They're also the first and only people thus far to mention anything about the Mess With Texas 3 party at Waterloo Park.

DoneWaiting is sort of your official, unofficial-seeming SXSW blog.

Sched SXSW is pretty self-explanatory, it straddles the gap between the official and unofficial information.

Tips are king at SX, leave your HELPFUL ones in the comments if you wish.

And now for a little tale: SXSW '07 was my first year. We rented our spare room out using SXSWbaby to these two gentlemen from England. They drank cider, they took photos, they were aghast at our food...a good time was had by all. Anywho, one of those guys is Russ Tannen who does this Oatmeal.Tv thing, courtesy of Polydor? Sweet. If I recall these two guys met in Texas at SXSW and exchanged info yada, yada, yada...So here's a little SXSW review from Oatmeal.tv.


Oatmeal.tv - Oatmeal TV Ep3 SXSW [Part 1]


Oatmeal.tv - Oatmeal TV Ep3 SXSW [Part 2] video via YouTube


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Play Free, Bird!

Andrew Bird is playing the Paramount Theatre with Loney Dear tomorrow but you can see the Bird for free at Waterloo today. That's right the day before he plays his sold-out theatre gig he'll be taking to the tiny stage at Waterloo Records at 5pm today. If you're interested in checking it out I suggest getting there an hour early. The parking is quite limited at Waterloo and there are only a few aisles to stand in where you get a good view of the performance.

Later tonight I suggest you head on over to the Mohawk where you can catch Transmography, among others, at the 101X homegrown-series show. But if that's not your scene either you can catch Austin music legend, Alejandro Escovedo at the Cactus Cafe, on the UT campus.

Loney Dear - I Am John
mp3 courtesy of SubPop Records

Video after the jump...

Before I get to the videos I wanted to note that Andrew Bird allows his shows to be posted on archive.org. So there are tons of free, downloadable performances on that site.


Andrew Bird - Imitosis video via YouTube


Loney Dear - I Am John video via YouTube


Transmography - Calerpa video via YouTube


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