Pitchfork

The Besnard Lakes [Mohawk Patio; 8:30 p.m.]

The line for the Secretly Canadian/Jagjaguwar/Dead Oceans showcase at the Mohawk was monstrous, and there were still more people outside than inside when the Besnard Lakes kicked off the night. Frontman Jace Lasek used the linegoers' misfortune as a chance to crack wise, first dedicating the band's set to the unfortunate ones and then saying, "Actually, it's much better in here. There's a hot tub, the songs sound much better...and we're really cute."

Those who didn't have to peek through a fence to see the Lakes were treated to a criminally short set of sublime, open sky, guitar hero music. In other words, they perfectly matched the early spring night in beauty and scope.

Big Business [Emo's Annex; 10:30 p.m.]

It must have been wild animal t-shirt night, as Big Business bassist/vocalist Jared Warren one-upped Jace Lasek's shifty wolf with a snarling panther.

One thing about Big Business: they are loud. Okay, two things: they are loud, and they are awesome. Drummer Coady Willis showed his excellent pedigree (dude used to be in Murder City Devils) with the best purely technical drumming I've seen at South by Southwest so far.

That's not to say Big Business are purely technical, but they are impressive on that level. It's not often you get to see a bass player play chords (a shame, really), and when Warren played them beneath his Ian MacKaye-like yells, he made the band's martial attack seem pretty for a second.

Cadence Weapon [Copa; 12:15 a.m.]

I thought the reason former 'forker and Edmonton resident Rollie Pemberton, aka Cadence Weapon, was so restless and spastic during his set was that there couldn't have been more than thirty people there. But when he jokingly said, "I forgot you guys were here," it seemed genuine, so maybe he's always that wound up.

The fact is, he could have read from the dictionary and been a step up from the LFO-style ("Summer Girls" anyone?) Norwegian act who preceded him. But the Les Savy Fav show I saw him at earlier must have served as a refresher course in the Tim Harrington school of performing, because Cadence Weapon went above and beyond to engage the audience. He walked through the crowd. He rapped to himself in the wall-length mirror. He even dispensed timeless truths ("You know, learning is ageless"). Twice he mentioned that he was looking for free jeans as part of a larger goal "to get as much free shit as possible" this week. He already has a new record contract with Epitaph; an Old Navy commercial can't be far behind, right?

UGK [401 Guadalupe; 1 a.m.]

Like the Devin the Dude show the night before, with which it shared some of the same personnel, the UGK show started late. Unlike the Devin the Dude show, there were quite a few people waiting. The venue was a parking lot, but with the large white tent, the beer banners, and a few hundred people nodding their heads and raising their hands on command, it felt more like a state fair.

Despite their legendary status among Southern rap artists and fans, the duo's set was fairly workmanlike. Pimp C roamed free around the stage behind big sunglasses (Um, bro, it's one in the morning! Are you really that high?), but Bun B was the show's anchor and the ambassador to the fans. Within 30 seconds of getting on stage, he had thrown his hat into the crowd, and at one point he very matter-of-factly broke up a potential fight by saying, "Everybody gon' watch the show." He's not just a king, he's a diplomat.