Well, you must be a girl with shoes like that

Friday, March 16th
Day shows

It is Friday and I have one goal today, The Fratellis! I skipped their show last night, so today is my day. I get more sleep than I did the night before and I managed to take some allergy medicine so I am ready to go! Taylor has work he has to do at school, so I head out on my own. I am going to the Island Records UK party that I saw advertised the night before. The show starts at 1pm so I am getting there early to make sure I get in. The showcase is at Bourbon Rocks on 6th which is quite reminiscent of a bar on Bourbon street. I reminds me the most of Razoo's, for the people who have been there. I get to the bar around 12:30 and there is already a line. It isn't too long. It is a good thing Bourbon Rocks is a larger bar. There are two girls standing in front of me and I ask them if this is the line for the Island records party. They say yes. Good, I am in the right place! We started chatting and she asked me who I was there to see. I say the Fratellis of course. She has a new copy of the Chronicle and the party is advertised in there. She opens to the page and I see the Fratellis aren't scheduled to play until 5. Wow, I will be here all day then. She says they are playing at the spin party early, then they have a show at the Scottish Rite Theater after that. It seems the Scottish Rite theater sponsored a showcase for all the Scottish acts at SXSW. Wish I knew about that, I might have gone. But, the Island Records party will be the band's third show that day! Wow! The entire line up is good so I will probably just stay at this party all day.
The doors open and everyone enters. There is free barbeque on the patio and it goes very quickly. Unfortunately, there is no free beer at this party, bummer. Free food is always good though. The show doesn't start exactly on time. The MC is a guy from a radio station over in the UK. No radio station I knew. He is so British I can't believe it. He introduces all of the acts. The first artist is a guy name Josh Pyke. I have never heard of him. He is Australian and is about to release his album here in the states and in the UK. It was just him and his acoustic guitar. He apologized for being a little "dusty" since he was at the Bloc Party show the night before. I hear you, brother. He plays a few songs and finishes in about 30 minutes. The bar isn't incredibly packed, but I feel it will later on. One the original line up, Mika is next. Mika has been gaining popularity in the States here recently because of his song "Grace Kelly." To me, he sounds like Freddy Mercury. I am sure you know what song I am talking about. According to MC guy, Amy Winehouse is next, awesome. I didn't think she would be playing this early, but she is. She is supposed to start at 2. The closer it gets to 2 pm, the more crowded the bar becomes. Now, I think everyone knows about Amy Winehouse. She is huge in Britain and is recently gaining momentum here. Her sound is nothing like what else you hear from a female artist. She is a cross between Doo wop and Billie Holiday. She has this real boozy, deep voice. She has a song called "Rehab" which I recommend everyone listen to. Her record company tried to make her go to rehab and she did say "no, no, no." She says she doesn't have a drinking problem, but other people beg to differ. She starts a little late, but it is just her and her guitarist. she doesn't have a full band. The bar now is completely at capacity. I can barely see over anyone's head. I am struggling to take a picture, so sorry for the bad quality. She sounds very good live. She sings "Back to Black", "Rehab", and "You know I'm no good." Unfortunately, she only sings about 5 songs. Boo! I wanted to hear more. I am sure she has a few more shows to sing. Her big showcase is tonight for the BBC at LaZona Rosa. I don't think I will make that so I am glad I got to see her here. One thing, she was no drunk! YAY! She did apologize though for not remembering some of the words to her songs. I will not print the expletives she used though. She is so tiny, I can't believe such a big voice comes out of her mouth. Her hair is so tall I can see that well before I see her face. He is also covered in tattoos. She is not your ordinary female singer. After her performance she leaves right away, but her guitarist sticks around. A few people go talk to him and tell what a good show it was. The next performer after Amy Winehouse is Scott Matthews. He is another British singer/songwriter (big surprise). His album is not released her in the US yet, but has been in the UK. The one song that is popular is called "Dreams." I have heard of Scott Matthews because he toured with Snow Patrol back in the fall. I hadn't heard of any of his music before. It wasn't bad. After Scott Matthews, the next performers are the Rumble Strips. This is another band I have never heard of. so far, the showcase is running exactly on schedule. Each act should be starting at the top of the hour. The Rumble Strips are suppose to start at 4pm, but that is not happening. The Fratellis are suppose to start at 5pm, but everything is falling behind. The Rumble Strips are a bunch of guys who met in grade school and started playing music. He is 5 guys with a few guitars and one guy plays sax. They also have been becoming more popular in Britain. I have heard one of their songs, "Motorcycle." They tell the crowd that there are no immediate plans to release an album in the US. Oh well, maybe in the next year or so we will be hearing them on the radio. They were obviously having a good time, which is good to see. This was their first time in Austin and SXSW. I wasn't sure if they were playing another showcase. It was fun. After they were done, it was time for the big act, The Fratellis! I know everyone must be sick of hearing me type about this band. While in Austin, I finally picked up their debut album, Costello Music. I have been hearing their music for months now and their album was just released in the US the week of South by (concidence, no?). It is one of the best times I have had listening to an album. It just kicks you in the butt and drags you around for 12 songs. It is absolutely impossible to sit still through one of their songs. You must get up and dance around. I know I do. The first song is "Henrietta" and it lasts all the way to "Got Ma Nuts From a Hippy." "Flathead" is the recognizable song since it has been used in an iPod commercial. This is the song that is giving them song succes over here. The song that has me hanging from the ceiling though is "Chelsea Dagger." I dare you not to listen to the song and not scream along. I dare you! I hope I hear all these songs today! The Fratellis don't come to the stage til about 5:15 but the place is completely packed. They start their set with "Henrietta" and keep going for about 45 minutes. It was full of energy. The crowd was a mix of Americans and Brits and most people knew the songs which was good. They played "Flathead" and "Whistle for the Choir." You couldn't tell it was their third show that day. They played like they hadn't played in a week. In Bourbon Rocks, naturally like any other bar, there are a few TVs. SXSW always falls during March madness time, so all the TVs in the bar where on ESPN showing scores and games. The lead singer, Jon, looks at the TV and makes a comment along the line of "what in the hell is that?" but his accent is so thick no one really knew what he said. It made everyone laugh though. They did play "Chelsea Dagger" and I was so excited. On one side of the bar was obviously a whole bunch of people from Scotland and they had been drinking most of the day. When that song started, they erupted and started dancing around and screaming the song. They put their arms around each other in a huddle and start some sort of kickline. Perfect! I was so glad to see the crowd get into this band. I love them and I want everyone to hear them. After their romping set, it is about 6pm. Mika is coming on next, but all I really wanted to see were the Fratellis and they are done. My mission is accomplished for today. I am now hungry and haven't see my husband in two days. I think I need a dinner break to sit down for a while before I head to the night shows.