Home > Austin Music Source > Archives > 2009 > March > 19 > Entry
SXSW scene report: Radio Room on Thursday
Radio Room was absolutely scorching Thursday afternoon.
“It’s so hot,” Wrens frontman Charles Bissell howled. “We’re from New Jersey! But you are the most beautiful sweaty people we’ve ever seen in our lives!”
We were lucky to be there. At 3:30, the line to enter the Paste magazine/Brooklyn Vegan party stretched longer than a block down Sixth Street. It stayed as long until at least 5:15. Luckily, the scowling, disaffected doorman at the rear alley entrance could’ve cared less who went in the back way. So, we did.
Austin folk hero Daniel Johnston performed earlier to mixed reviews. “I’m a big Daniel Johnston fan,” said Greg Hazel, a volunteer manning Seattle’s KEXP radio table, “but the crowd didn’t react the way I wanted. I think they were surprised at his age and the lisp.” Two passers-by nodded at the comment, while another young lady succinctly summed up his set: “Excellent.”
Few seemed disappointed in the Avett Brothers. North Carolina’s rising heavy-metal bluegrass quartet — brothers Scott and Seth Avett, plus bassist Bob Crawford and cellist Joe Kwon — took the stage 45 minutes late but delivered immediately. Fan favorites such as “Shame” and “Die Die Die” from 2007’s“Emotionalism” ignited an obvious spark.
“This one’s about going down the road over and over and over, a decidedly human affliction,” Scott said introducing “Distraction #74” from 2006’s “Four Thieves Gone: The Robbinsville Sessions.” “Well, these humans anyway.” The peaking roar suggested a universal understanding.
Follow Austin Music Source on Facebook and Twitter.
Permalink | | Categories: Urban Music Fest
