In a successful attempt to make ourselves exhausted, short-tempered and ill we decided to play three shows in one day. That day was today, Friday. It started off like a scene from a zombie horror movie as we zig zagged our way across Red River at the ungodly hour of 12 midday in order to reach Lambert's for our second House Of Songs showcase.
Awaiting us was the unflappable Troy and Leroy, who set us up immediately while coffee was poured down Johan's neck on-stage. Warming up for Kashmir, we went about waking the rest of Austin's walking dead out of their stupor, met with the DJBFA and various familiar faces before making the most of our only break in the day with a gargantuan mountain of chicken salad at Jo's on 2nd Street - recommended.
Next up was another trip over the river. The usual taxi shenanigans played out until a cuddly, upbeat smirk-monger of a man named Sheikh picked us up and regaled us with sordid but highly unlikely tales of girls getting undressed in his cab and how the local ladies call him 'Sheikh and Bake'.
We were dropped off way up South 1st street at Freddie's Place for an outside show at Chase Frank's Hot Whisky Mixer. Off the beaten track, we perused the vintage stores, stole someones bike for a photoshoot, looked for a missing dog called Barley, got a smile and a wave from a jovial lady in a pink velour tracksuit outside Austin Mortuary Service and waited at least 15 minutes to cross a road before being fantastically welcomed into the fold by Chase and Alberto.
The friendly crowd at Freddie's, including Glynn (an old friend of Manoj's), made us feel very at home, to the point where we didn't want to leave. But we had to, fast...
We finished up at 5pm and immediately had to rush straight back downtown to The Music Gym for our Danish Dynamite
showcase, ably hosted by Christian from Slaraffenland. (Big thanks to Alberto for weaving in amongst the Austin traffic to get us there on time)
So after three shows in five hours, two of us collapsed in a heap back at the apartment and the rest of us headed on out to the Jail Guitar Doors SXSW finale at The Ghosthouse. It was epic. Billy Bragg, Chris Shiflett, Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, Boots Reilly, Mike Mills from REM and Lisa Kekaula from the Bell-Rays joined Tom Morello and Wayne Kramer on stage as they locked axes in a guitar battle which had to be seen to be believed, pumping out MC5 classics such as Looking At You and Kick Out The Jams.
Lo and behold, as if that wasn't enough for one day, word got around about an afterparty (courtesy of Tom) around the corner. Involving less than the average amount of cat-n-mouse chicanery usually associated with such bombastic scenarios, we got in, and were rewarded with pizza galore, blue lagoons, purple haze, red lights and a chance meeting with uber-producer Dangermouse, who went home happier than anyone else with a TGTB CD in his jacket pocket.