Pitchfork

[Breeders Photos by Christine Tadler]

On the last big day of SXSW, a non-SXSW event was the hottest ticket in Austin: The Mess With Texas party, which began last year as an impeccably curated show at a small bar and has expanded this year to become an impeccably curated show at a huge park. Doing SXSW "right" essentially involves finding the right balance between frantically running across town to catch every band you want to see, and chilling out with the understanding that wherever you are, something good will probably be happening somewhere nearby. Though not officially a part of the festival, Mess with Texas Party perfectly embodies this balance; three stages, all day, a broad and exciting assortment of music and comedy. You can push up front and stand in rapt attention, or you can stake out a nice spot on the grass and chill out with a beer and some BBQ. Still recovering from Merge's excellent showcase on Friday night, I tended more towards the latter.

Hard 'n Phirm [Super Deluxe Stage; 4:15 p.m.]

Paul F. Tompkins [Super Deluxe Stage; 4:35pm]

Brian Posehn [Super Deluxe Stage; 5 p.m.]

Human Giant [Super Deluxe Stage; 5:15 p.m.]

The party's third and smallest stage spent most of the day hosting a rapid-fire barrage of excellent comedians. We arrived just in time to catch a pretty-funny set from musical comedy duo Hard 'n Phirm, and brief stand-up sets from Paul F. Tompkins, Leo Allen, and Brian Posehn (who, having lost his voice, whispered his jokes to Eugene Mirman for more robust delivery). Aziz Ansari and Rob Huebel of Human Giant finished the comedy set with a brief and hilarious bit involving t-shirt guns and armed robbery.

Pissed Jeans [Stage 1; 4:40pm]

Jay Reatard [Stage 1; 5:15pm]

Across Waterloo Park at the party's first stage, audience members were treated to a one-two punch from Pissed Jeans and Jay Reatard. If one were to reify the bands currently trading in rough, energetic rock into a "scene," Pissed Jeans (signed to Sub Pop) and Jay Reatard (recently signed to Matador) would both qualify as dignified ambassadors to the world of indie rock at large. The two bigger stages were set up perfectly for quick set changes-- each was adjacent and utilized the same soundsystem. As Pissed Jeans finished, Jay Reatard was ready to go.

Atlas Sound [2nd Stage; 5:25 p.m.]

Crystal Antlers [2nd Stage; 6:10pm]

Mr Free and the Satellite Freakout [2nd Stage; 6:30 p.m.]

After Jay Reatard's excellent set, the better part of the evening belonged to the middle stage. Atlas Sound provided one of the party's many pleasant surprises; I enjoyed their record just fine, but was really impressed by how their songs came across in a stripped-down, good-time live setting. Neon Neon showed up late to the party and couldn't play, so their set was split between Crystal Antlers (who put on an enjoyable live show but didn't seem terribly substantive) and some band called Mr. Free and the Satellite Freakout. The band's lead singer, who I can only assume to be "Mr. Free," showed up decked out in gross make-up and an even grosser sock on his scraggly junk. I have no idea why the party organizers tried to split one set between two bands, and I was pretty relieved when they cut sock-junk-guy's mic.

No Age [Super Deluxe Stage; 7:10 p.m.]

Back at the Super Deluxe Stage, No Age provided another one of the party's pleasant surprises, playing a short, fast, and extremely fun set. Guitarist Randy Randall made a brief run out into a crowd that was more than happy to rock out along with him, highlighting the festive mood of the day.

Black Mountain [2nd Stage; 6:50 p.m.]

Islands [2nd Stage; 7:45 p.m.]

As the sun began to set, the crowd around the second stage seemed to grow exponentially. Black Mountain provided a great soundtrack for a lazy forward charge, and their chugging riff-rock was equally inviting to those pushing their way towards the stage and those sprawled out on the grass. By the time Islands took the stage, the crowd was more dense and focused, the young'n Islands fans pushing against the metal barrier and the older Breeders fans congregating around the edges. Islands are a great band to push towards the end of a party; their show was energetic and engaging, their music upbeat and full of enough big, bright changes to keep things interesting. As their set drew to a close, people began shifting over to the adjacent stage to get a good spot for the main attraction.

The Breeders [2nd Stage; 8:40 p.m.]

This was my third time seeing the Breeders live; the first was their big Chicago reunion show in 2001, and the second was at the Bowery Ballroom in New York. This show was at once the best and the most frustrating. On the plus side, the Breeders as a band seemed more energetic and purposeful than I've ever seen them before. Unfortunately, the show itself was marred by lots of technical problems: There was something going wrong somewhere in Kim Deal's signal chain that seemed to be bothering her more than it did the audience. Also, as has been the case every time I've seen the Breeders, Kim's singing seemed to hover just a little bit behind the beat, a particularly irksome tic.

Undisputed highlight of the night: When the opening bars of "Cannonball" drew throngs of kids over from the NOFX performance taking place at the main stage. Familiarity is a powerful force when that many people are assembled in one place, and the Breeders' best-known songs have the added advantage of being, uh, really really, really great. "Divine Hammer" and "Saints", in particular, totally destroyed. It was hard to get a feel for the band's new songs; the way they came off at this show, they could either be more arranged and confident, or more "adventurous" in a kind of contrived and useless way. Point is, it didn't really matter-- this was the last show of SXSW for a lot of people, and everybody present seemed happy to relax and enjoy.

So, that was SXSW. Lessons learned: Get to big showcases early, stay hydrated, and eat lots of queso. My friends say that they spend the rest of the year looking forward to SXSW, and after this week I can understand why.