There are two kinds of tired: 1) when you forget your audio recorder; and 2) when you go to the hotel to get the recorder and realize you had it all along. I was right on the cusp of No. 2.

I'm writing this on Saturday morning on the final day of SXSW 2010. Every day starts around 8 a.m. and ends around 3 a.m., so it's nice to start off somewhat gently. Robin and I are at the Driskill Hotel this morning to record the lovely and slightly eerie songs of the Canadian trio Timber Timbre. The combination of violin, guitar, lap-steel and autoharp was a comfy way to start out the day. We'll have that online soon.

Around 1 p.m., I went to hear The Middle East at the Austin Convention Center, which isn't the best place to hear a show. The Middle East is a twangy seven-piece band from Australia. I've liked some of the songs. Their drummer had that "train beat" down pat, and I liked his Hank Williams T-shirt. All in all, I wasn't knocked out by the band — I admired the talent, but the songs didn't grab me. Here's a bit of the one I liked best.

Next, it was off to a little dive called Lovejoy's, a bar that seemed only fit for night time. The joint smelled of cigarette smoke, though the smoking ban in Austin has been solidly in place since 2008. Somehow, I had to come a thousand miles to see a local DC-area band called Le Loup. I love Le Loup's records: The instrumentation is usually sparse, quirky and quiet, but their live show wasn't — at least not the five songs I heard. I'm okay when a band has a different persona live from a record, and I liked this set, but I love their records.

The Slovak duo Longital played in the late afternoon at Mi Casa Cantina. The mix of cultures that takes place at SXSW can be amusing. This is an interesting duo: an electric guitarist and former computer programmer named Daniel Salontay, whose best sound was the bowing of his guitar, plays alongside Shina, whose real name is Jana Loksenincova. Shina is a former graphic designer on fretless bass. She also sings. Give a listen and see what you think.

http://twitpic.com/19uh3w

I'm not sure how I just wound up watching a belly dancer at a place called Peckerheads, but I guess, "Welcome to SXSW." I had come to hear Rye Rye, a Baltimore rap artist Carrie Brownstein had recommended on our SXSW preview show. The band I was hearing, however, was called Beats Antique, and after a few songs, I was completely drawn to this duo of electronics, sometimes processed violin, long-necked instruments and one rocking drummer.
And when the belly dancers came on stage, I immediately thought about how tacky this was going to be, but it turned out to be stunning.

 

For a finale, the band put on some odd animal headgear and got crazy. The crowd, mostly there for Rye Rye, fueled them on.

Rye Rye packed the sports bar, but so did the Kansas-Northern Iowa basketball game. And though the crowd loved Rye Rye, the cheers on this video aren't for Rye Rye; they're for Northern Iowa's victory over Kansas. Sorry Robin — Kansas is his alma mater — and sorry Rye Rye; I'm going to have to see you another time.

A 10-minute walk later, I found Vadoinmessico playing at the Hilton. It was a bit sad to see a band I was so wanting to see performing in the atrium of a hotel right next to the up escalator. The audience was a mixed bag of hipsters and hotel walk-bys, but I was able to hear more Vadoinmessico than I had heard before, and was happy I did. A great band.

Well, it's almost 8 p.m.; The Lovely Eggs here I come. If you listened to our SXSW preview show, you know that Robin Hilton picked a band for me to see — it was my Secret South by Santa gift, and everyone on the team got one. Mine was The Lovely Eggs, a nutty duo from Lancaster, U.K. I'm glad I was alone for The Lovely Eggs' show, because I didn't feel like explaining my attraction to such silliness again. Idiot glee.

After The Lovely Eggs, I was off to a somewhat seedy bar; I needed the contrast. I wanted to hear Pree, which contains the former singer of Le Loup (May Tabol) and John Thayer from another D.C.-area band, Exit Clov. I liked Pree, which was kind of like seeing Joanna Newsom heading up a rock band. But you can always tell an unseasoned band because it lacks the confidence; its members don't dig deep into the songs they write and they're always looking at each other's hands.

After Pree, I went to a church to hear The Bewitched Hands on the Top of Our Heads. I didn't remember exactly what this band sounded like, but hey, with a band name like that at a church, I was going. Turns out I went to the wrong church. It also turns out that I mistakenly thought this was an ambient-sounding band and recommended to a couple of KUT employees that they might be in for a treat. So we headed to the wrong church and, boy, was I wrong, (Sorry about that, KUT.)

The Bewitched Hands is actually a French pop-rock band, and, in the church with the bass and drums being played way too loud for the room, it made a muddy mess. I left and high-tailed it to the Galaxy Room Backyard to hear the Milwaukee R&B big band Kings Go Forth. (Whenever you see the word "backyard" at a SXSW event, it's a temporary tent situation.)

I only caught the last minutes of Kings Go Forth but what an amazing few minutes — a soulful R&B band on fire.

Before I headed to SXSW, I heard that Parry Gripp was going to perform. He's not a household name, but he's probably been played in more households than any of the indie bands at the festival. Gripp wrote the YouTube smash song "Hamster on a Piano." Two things had me curious: How was he going to perform this tune? And how does a one-song wonder fill up a 30-minute show? So I had to go. When I got to the Cedar Door Backyard (tent situation), there was a crowd; surely I was in the wrong place. Then a guy in a fuzzy hamster suit took the stage, backed by a big band with a sousaphone and a megaphone. Now, do I really want to be here?

SXSW is a whirlwind in a blender, and I knew that, but nothing prepared me for the transition from Parry Gripp to the Alex Chilton memorial concert.

On Wednesday, as NPR Music was broadcasting live from Stubb's, we heard rumors that the Big Star singer-songwriter, and producer of records by The Cramps and others, had died. During the live broadcast, we confirmed those rumors. Big Star was set to do a reunion at SXSW on Saturday. That reunion was turned into a memorial.

You can read my post and see video clips from the memorial concert here.

At the end of the night, like all the other nights at SXSW, the NPR Music hosts got together and recorded our podcast. So much fun with such good people.