Greenville Avenue Stuff - The parade starts at 10 a.m. The block party, where the Dubliner and Stan's Blue Note are, starts at 9 a.m. (Really?! Yes... or at least that's what's in my notes.) Get there before 2 p.m. unless you want to wait in a supremely long line. Tix are $5 at the gate.
The Windmill Lounge has a free Irish whiskey tasting at 10 p.m., $4 Irish Car Bombs and Banshees, Guinness Beef stew on the menu, and FREE ALCOHOL for anyone with a tattoo of a leprechaun with a gun.
The Idle Rich hosts its annual Tent Party, with Bridges and Blinking Lights at 9 p.m., and Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights at 10:30. $5 cover after 9. For the love of God, someone try the cheese fries with corned beef on top.
For people who eschew St. Patrick's Day and just want to dance, Infected Mushroom is at the Lizard Lounge and The Bassbin Twins are at Thoth.
I could barely keep my eyes open last night at 10, and I almost didn't go to the show. So glad I did: Ghostbar, for one night, felt like Minc. The crowd was casual and hip and diverse, and tons of folks were dancing, all in a big cluster in front of the DJ booth. People were laughing, smiling, whooping - there was such great energy in there.
Louie Vega is short, so I could only really see his hat from where we were standing in back. But he got everyone pumped. He opened with these rat-a-tat-tat bongo drums that instantly got my shoulders' shimmying. (It was like a trance, I couldn't help it.) Then he played a bunch of classic-sounding house - just really good, danceable beats, laced with soulful vocals.
We left around 1 a.m. because I couldn't shake my tiredness. (Going out three nights in a row and working during the days can grate on a girl.) But next time I'm going to plan better so I can see the whole thing. He's worth it!
Friends and I stopped by Glo on Wednesday night, the new lounge on Henderson and Capitol. Apparently it was the "soft opening" - they'll have a bigger grand-opening party sometime later.
It was... okay. Very clean, music was fine, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was partying in a strip mall. Maybe it was just the total newness of the space, and the lingering smell of paint, or new floors or something. Or maybe it was the glass window at the front of the bar that overlooked the patio - which overlooked a parking lot.
Also could have been the line of thick, overstuffed u-shaped booths against the wall, which said more "pizza place" to me than upscale lounge.
Maybe it just needed to be darker in there? Sunset Lounge (which the Glo owner used to own/manage) was supremely dark, which I really liked about the place.
Anyway, we'll see what happens in the coming months. It's early still.
When we last left this South-By saga, I was just coming out of a DirecTV-broadcast showcase. You were thinking how lame it was that I would spend part of my day at a TV taping when there were scads of cray-zay day parties going on in other places. I was defending the TV studio's acoustics and lighting. Then we drank a beer. Yes, you remember now.
Admittedly, convention-center stages felt a bit safe for a minute, but then I got over my own need for personal comfort and forged toward 6th Street, otherwise known as "constantly growing mass of ugly, drunken humanity." I'd always hit the afternoon Emo's Annex parties before, and there was no use in denying the urge again. The scene there, if a bit hot and sweaty in the outdoor sections, is enjoyable and friendly. Very friendly in the area closely surrounding the stage, because all I can see is tops of heads.
At Emo's I managed to catch the entire set of Canadian band the Stills. Very melodic, enjoyable think-happy rock. "Lola Stars and Stripes" and "The Still In Love Song" seemed familiar to the entire crowd, which is a good sign for any band.
You are so gonna rag on me again, but after Emo's I went back to the DirecTV ballroom in the convention center. Don't hate. It was my only chance to see Sia, a quirky but damn soulful pop singer from Australia. She and her five-piece band of dudes made good use of the fancy TV lighting. They cranked up the strobes and came out for the first song in flourescent cardboard armor and masks. It made me think of Kanye and Daft Punk, but I still lurved it. And Sia was one hell of a performer even without fluorescent garb. In a multicolored oversized blouse, black tights, and scarves that didn't match but somehow still looked good, she grinned from ear to ear when she wasn't singing, making sweet faces at audience members and forming a heart with her hands. She's a silly soul, and watching her bounce around and make weird hand motions is adorable. But the music -- thank God -- is pretty serious. She's got more raw vocal talent than most singers and employs effortless vocal runs in a non-cloying manner.
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