DCist Does SXSW

Middle Distance Runner at Friends Bar, Wednesday afternoon

Middle Distance Runner's set brought in a steady flow of traffic to Friends Bar. Since last year's SXSW, the band has added new songs, a new bassist and some new instrumentation into their repertoire, and it has injected their set with a fresh energy. They're still ending their set with the familiar sing along, "The Sun and the Earth", but "The Unbeliever" might end up being their new "Man of the People".

Edie Sedgwick at Waves, Wednesday night

There are a lot of free shows, free food and free liquor for everyone who shows up at SXSW. But then night comes and so does some of the industry snobbery that goes along with it. Edie Sedgwick had no time or patience for people in badges who aren't ready to have fun, so she asked for people to have the respect to give up the badge. She then jumped into the audience, took a badges from a concertgoer and gyrated around the stage, swinging it. The D.C. folks in the audience knew what they were in for and enjoyed themselves. The rest of the crowd at Waves seemed pleasantly but utterly confused.

Thao and the Get Down Stay Down at Radio Room, Thursday afternoon

Thursday was the Northern Virginia native's birthday, and from the sounds of it she had definitely been celebrating. How many sober people do you know who tell their friends (or in this case, their bassists) that they look like alcoholic dads? Not that the music suffered in the least. By showing off her spirit and grit while powering through the songs off last year's We Brave Bee Stings and All, Thao proved that the hour-long wait to get into the Radio Room wasn't just for previous acts The Wrens, The Avett Brothers and Cursive.

Benjy Ferree at Okay Mountain, Friday afternoon

The unfortunate thing about SXSW is that it's very easy to find out about performances once they've already happened. As such, DCist missed Benjy Ferree's show at the truly gorgeous French Legation museum and had to walk out to a backyard garage show close to the Fader Fort and NOTHING ELSE to catch Benjy Ferree. One would have thought that Asthmatic Kitty Records might have found a closer venue. The handful of healthy walkers got to see Ferree, in an unkempt black curly wig, playing a set full of whistling throwback tunes and one Magnetic Fields cover. Ferree was good, his vocals on point (with great harmonies from his friend Drew Mills) and his guitar strumming winsome yet fun, but half of the audience looked more interested in the free keg in the back. Such is the problem with an early show full of hungover people. Ferree dedicated no less than one third of his set to people in the audience, but nobody got more love than Pasta, the adorable dog, who actually received two dedications.

These United States at Mohawk, Friday afternoon

"This is a new song," quipped Jesse Elliott in his trademark drawl. "But then again, all of these songs are new to you. Hurray for all of our new songs!" Elliott's humility was charming but misdirected. There were almost as many people singing along to songs like "Honor Amongst Thieves" at the Hot Freaks party at Mohawk as there might be at a local show. J. Tom Hnatow disappeared briefly to do some emergency troubleshooting on his steel pedal, but otherwise the band seemed as comfortable as ever, and sounded truly honored to be playing on the bill.

U.S. Royalty at Beauty Bar, Friday afternoon

The U.S. Royalty show at Beauty Bar was an exercise in overcoming circumstances. As the last band to play the West Rocks day party, they had to cut their set short (due to the bar's inflexible ending time). Furthermore, singer John Thornley's penchant for wild Revival-esque onstage movements didn't work so well with the miniature stage, as he kept knocking into equipment and other band members. By the end of the show, he decided to use the space in front of the stage, which was big enough for the band to have driven its van through. U.S. Royalty's rootsy tunes and onstage charisma drew more and more people into the room, and all of them crowded in the back as they clapped along.

Medications at Radio Room, Saturday afternoon

"I have an unhealthy obsession with all of the Dischord bands," said a wide-eyed kid looking college age at best. "I had to see Medications when I heard they'd be down here." At just after noon on the last day of SXSW, it took at least a healthy Dischord obsession to draw people to the Radio Room, but even after doing double duty as Edie Sedgwick's backing band, Medications didn't disappoint. They switched up their instruments and did a quick 20-minute set. No filler, no frills, no problem.

Frodus at Radio Room, Saturday afternoon

Frodus was one of the main acts billed for the Radio Room day party and completely packed the outdoor tent. Drummer Jason Hamacher came up before the start of their set to let the crowd know that this was the first show that Frodus has played outside of D.C. in ten years, and that part of the reason for their breakup had to do with his fiancee's death from cancer. So he directed the audience to the Shirts for a Cure tent before completely ripping their ears apart, not missing a step. Although Hamacher also said that he approved of stage diving, the audience's enthusiasm stopped short of such concert aeronautics, and stayed at a moshing and fist-pumping level.