Pitchfork

[Photos by Christine Tadler]

Portastatic [French Legation Museum; 3 p.m.]

Chris Brokaw [French Legation Museum; 3:30 p.m.]

On a tip from a poster outside Emo's, we crossed I-35 to see Other Music's All Roads Lead to Austin party at the French Legation Museum. This is my first SXSW, and I've seen a lot of awesome stuff so far, but holy crap this show takes the cake. We staked out a good spot to watch Portastatic play a brief and charming acoustic set under a big white tent, then settled under a tree to hear Chris Brokaw (formerly of sadly overlooked Matador band Come) do a lovely acoustic set of his own.

Yo La Tengo [French Legation Museum; 4 p.m.]

At 4 p.m., Yo La Tengo took the main stage, playing a more laid-back set than their blistering performance at the Austin Music Hall on Thursday. This kind of setting is where the band's versatility really shines; Yo La Tengo were able to effortlessly recast songs like "Autumn Sweater" as sunny, relaxed summertime jams. Their set was a mere half-hour long, but didn't seem at all rushed and perfectly fit the party's mood.

Portastatic [The Parish; 8 p.m.]

As people lined up outside the Parish in the hopes of making it into Merge's stellar showcase, Portastatic (aka Superchunk's Mac McCaughan) reprised his earlier solo acoustic set with a few exciting additions. The last two Portastatic albums, the upbeat Bright Ideas and the more intricate and arranged Be Still Please are both fantastic, and selections from those records were particularly exciting (even though McCaughan couldn't seem to remember the lyrics to "I Wanna Know Girls"). A new song, about a fictional road trip to Amarillo, was also excellent, chock full of the soaring melodic turns that mark McCaughan's best work.

She & Him [The Parish; 12 a.m.]

By the time She & Him took the stage at midnight, the Parish was absolutely packed. M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel, whose voice is disarmingly lovely in a live setting, played an understated and twangy set to a room of rapt listeners. A cover of "You've Really Got a Hold On Me" made a good case for the band's broad, nostalgic appeal.

Destroyer [The Parish; 1 a.m.]

Fun fact about Destroyer live shows: When drummer Fisher Rose is playing with the band, they're about 20 times better. Dan Bejar let loose tonight more than I've seen in years, ripping through a set of material from This Night, Your Blues, and the soon-to-be-released Trouble in Dreams. The new songs ("My Favorite Year" and "Dark Leaves Form a Thread" in particular) were the best of the night, perfectly brought to life by Rose's insistent and muscular drumming and guitarist Nicholas Bragg's unending melodic runs. Destroyer, it seems, are well on their way to being a great live band.

Additional Photos:

Little Teeth [Maggie Mae's Rooftop; 9 p.m.]

Shout Out Louds [The Parish; 11 p.m.]