Austin360 blogs > Almost Urban > Archives > 2007 > March > 16
Friday, March 16, 2007
Champagne for my real friends
9:18 p.m.: I drop by the Beauty Bar looking for Doujah Raze but the patio where they are scheduled to play is quiet. In front, CX Kidtronix has pulled a sizable crowd with their blend of rap and thrash. At first I think they’re too hard for me, but then the black cat with the mohawk does a take on the Beasties “Brass Monkey” that’s pretty fly. The ode to equal opportunity lovin’, “Big Girl” is the thing that seals the deal though. These kids are all right. Meanwhile the party on the patio is starting to liven up. I bump into Zeale 32 and he breaks me off a copy of his sxsw sampler.
9:40 p.m.: I’m about to check out to head down to La Zona Rosa for Amy Winehouse’s set when I run into Matt Sonzala. He tells me the next act is a tight female MC from Houston who’s worth sticking around for. Her name is Surreal. Her style is straight gutta, fiery and raw. She has ultra-hot homegirls who jump onstage and shake their booties providing the finest set dressing a girl could ask for. Now that’s friendship!
10:03 p.m.: On my way to La Zona, I run into Adrian Quesada of Grupo Fantasma with his lovely wife, Celeste. He tells me he saw Winehouse last night outside Antone’s trying to get into the capacity-filled Stax showcase. Her people were throwing a fit on her behalf. “She just looks kind of crazy,” Adrian tells me.
10:25 p.m.: The sound tech at La Zona checks the mike using my favorite toast: “Champagne for my real friends. Real pain for my sham friends.” It’s a packed house for Winehouse. A near-capacity crowd.
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The skinny jean invasion in full effect
6:26 p.m.: I show up at “the Fort” to try to catch Amy Winehouse’s set, which is scheduled for 6:25 p.m. I’ve been checking for the soulful Brit ever since I heard her smoky pipes on the killer Ghostface collab “You Know I’m No Good.” It’s a mob scene up in here, but the notorious party girl Winehouse is nowhere to be found. The Norwegian electronic rockers Datarock burst onto the stage. They dance, they pose, they aerobicize. I love their energy (and their matching track suits!), but the whole scene is almost lethally hipsterish. The skinny jean invasion is in full effect, topped off with dark-rimmed oversized glasses. If I were taking advantage of the multiple open bar options I’d probably be completely unfazed, but I have to beat a retreat.
8:20 p.m.: Down at Ninety Proof, I’m cruising the Pop Yo Colla party, an unofficial SXSW hip-hop event, and I bump into Buddy Leroy and Cerebral Vortex. I’m so happy to see these cats back in town. Buddy’s an ATL transplant with a rugged sound that owes a lot to the Dungeon Family’s Dirty South, and Vortex spits with a raw indie intellectualism. The two formed a group called 215 The Freshest Kidz, branded their sound Texas hyphy, witty hip-hop with a skate punk sensibility, and headed out to the Bay Area. Six months later, they’re back with road tales and a new platter called “Phresh to Def.” They sound good and come with a vibe that has a lot of crossover potential. This party, incidentally, is free and requires no credentials.
