The beer is free, but water is $2

Taylor and I got back to the condo at 3am. Yeah, I haven’t seen 3 am in a long time. I am not my husband. He is more of a nocturnal person than anyone I know. Needless to say, getting up in the morning was rough. The other thing is my allergies. They are going crazy. There has been a spike in the oak count and I can feel it. I am determined not to let it slow me down. Taylor has to get some work done during the day, but will meet up with me for the night shows. I decide to hit some day shows. They beautiful thing about SXSW is all the free stuff that happens during the day at every possible venue. Free as in no wristband, badge or any type of cover charge. If you are especially lucky, there is free food and booze at these parties. Well, as long as the food and booze lasts! The day shows also give you an opportunity to see a band you wouldn’t see at the nightly showcases. My nightly schedules are pretty much decided on so I am taking the day parties to see other bands. This also allows bands to play multiple times each day. I think the band Peter, Bjorn and John are playing 10 shows in four days! Crazy! Today, though I will be going to the Schubas’ party at the Yard Dog Gallery on South Congress to see the Cold War Kids, Midlake and Bishop Allen. This party is free with free beer and free shoes. I want the shoes!
Now, even though it is SXSW, it is still a Thursday. People are working all over the place. Getting downtown and parking is rough because it is a workday. It takes me a lot longer to get to south congress than I thought. Parking was not as difficult as I expected. I just have to walk rather far. I find the Gallery and there is a tent set up in the back for the bands. It is a warm day and good thing everything is under a tent. The beer is free! All I need to do is show my ID. They are selling some food, but just hot dogs and chips, nothing fancy. It wasn’t as crowded as I expected it to be. The free days shows can get to capacity pretty quickly. I get there in plenty enough time to see Cold War Kids. This tent is rather small so I am pretty close to the band. They start on time, which was different from last night. There are a bunch of other acts playing this party, but I just came to see these three. Each band plays about 30 minutes, which isn’t very long. The only song I wanted to hear from the Cold War Kids was “Hang me up to dry” and they didn’t play it! Damn them! Oh well, there was set still good. It was short, but good. They were sweating profusely, as are most people standing around. I think maybe their showcase that night will be better, but I don’t want to dwell on that. After CWK, Midlake is up next. I saw Midlake last month in New Orleans at the Republic. They have a few shows and this is the only one I will be able to see. Their music is definitely growing on me. When they start their set, the lead singer makes the joke that the beer is free. I notice during their set how crowded the tent is. Midlake is from Denton so I am sure they have a lot of fans in Texas. Their set was also quite short, but they played “Roscoe”, “We Gathered In Spring,” and “Van Occupanther.” Unfortunately, the one song I wanted to hear, “Young Bride” they didn’t sing. Not having a good record today. Their set though was still very good. After they were done, a whole bunch of people left. It seems the majority of the crowd was there for them. The last band I was going to see today was Bishop Allen. They are a real interesting mix of musicians. It seemed each member played a few instruments. The lead singer plays the guitar and there is a girl who plays the xylophone and whatever else she can shake. They hail from New York and they were very entertaining. They had a lot of energy which I am always glad to see. I did like their set and it seemed most of the people here did as well. After they were finished, I decided to head back to North Austin to regroup and grab Taylor for tonight’s shows. I really need to eat and sit down. The day shows are great, but it is just more time on your feet! I have decided we will do a little bit more jumping of venues tonight.