Thursday marked my first real day of SXSW and I found it to be everything I was hoping for. I started my day off by heading to the Mohawk for a party hosted by Rhapsody. It was there that I got to take in The Broken West who’s album I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On has been one of our favorite records this year. Benefiting from being the first band I saw as well as performing a tight set, I can only hope that they’ll bring their live show to the city of Madison sometime soon.

It made sense for me to stay put because Loney, Dear was up next. Loney Noir received the Muzzle of Bees We Like stamp of approval last December, and it continues to be an album that we turn to from time to time. At the Mohawk, Emil Scanangen was joined by additional artists to round out his and bring the Loney, Dear album to life. The highlight was “I Am John,” which features a frenzied build up and prompted those in the crowd who may have been underwhelmed at that point to take notice.

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After the Loney, Dear set I headed to Stubb’s to meet a friend that was checking out Panthers, who are really not my thing, but eventually convinced me to stick around and check out the heavy metal Japanese trio Boris, whose album Pink received high praise from Pitchfork. It didn’t take more than a couple fast solo’s for me to realize I was certainly in the wrong place and after a few songs (and giving them the benefit of the doubt) I headed back to the Mohawk.

I caught Oakley Hall and then headed next door to Club Deville to watch Drive By Trucker Jason Isbell perform songs from his upcoming solo record due out on New West Records. I’ve always thought that the Drive By Truckers are a band I really enjoy thanks to Jason’s contributions. There is such a welcomed change in the band’s sound and direction once Jason came on board and seeing him fronting a new band was pretty exciting as well. I’ll go ahead and say that his song, “Dress Blues,” written for a high school friend who died while fighting in Iraq is one of the most memorable songs I heard all weekend. I don’t think there was a single person in the crowd that didn’t feel the same way.

I headed back to the Mohawk to catch Robyn Hitchcock and Peter Buck. I really enjoy Hitchcock’s latest, Ole Tarantula, and the songs appeared crisp in a live setting, it just didn’t have what I was looking for, which at that point was probably just a change of scenery. We decided to get in the car and head to the Peacock to check out the incredible line up that Chris had compiled for Gorilla vs. Booze. One of our favorite acts walking away from the day and SXSW in general was Peter & The Wolf. We weren’t too familiar with the group other than the continuous stream of praise allotted to them from Chris, but left believers after their set.

The Peacock provided an excellent venue away from the hustle of downtown. It was nice to be able to relax, drink some cheap beer, and catch up with friends between the acts. We made plans to meet up with others at the NASA party being held later that night where MoB favorite Spank Rock would be performing.

The NASA Party was decent, except if you wanted something other than wine or beer, you had to exit and walk all the way around a fence to get to the other side where they served mix drinks. They did reward your persistence with a giant inflatable castle which you could remove your shoes and bounce around in for as long as your head could handle it. That’s the very spot I was when Spank Rock hit the stage for his fist-pumping, crowd frenzied performance. We tried to move a little bit closer, but the crowd was pretty jam packed. The highlight of the performance for us was when he brought out Amanda Blank for a rousing version of “Bump,” during which she declared, “fuck the black eyed peas” to a huge roar and ovation.

We rang our clothes out of sweat and headed back to the hotel to spend some time in the hot tub to rest our tired feet before Friday began. You’ll get that recap tomorrow.

Myspace: The Broken West
Myspace: Loney, Dear
Myspace: Boris
Myspace: Oakley Hall
Myspace: Jason Isbell
Myspace: Robyn Hitchcock
Myspace: Peter & The Wolf
Myspace: Spank Rock

MP3: The Broken West – Down In The Valley
MP3: Loney, Dear – I Am John
MP3: Oakley Hall – Lazy Susan
MP3: Oakley Hall – Living In Sin In The USA
MP3: Robyn Hitchcock – Adventure Rocket Ship
MP3: Peter & The Wolf – Lightness
MP3: Spank Rock – BBC Breeze Rock