SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST DAY 2: The Show Must Go On

Barrence goes Savage at C-Boys

Although the city of Austin was still reeling from the shocking police chase that ended with two people dead on Red River Street the night before, the band played on -- in fact, hundreds, if not thousands bands played on Thursday night here in "The Live Music Capitol of the World."

I spent the evening (and early-morning hours) at one of the countless un-official shows that pop up during the festival. This was C-Boys Heart & Soul on South Congress Avenue, where I saw some inspired sets by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages, Bobby Patterson, and The Woggles.

Actually, earlier in ehe night I'd tried to get into The Continental Club down the street for some official, sanctioned sets by Tony Joe White and Dave & Phil Alvin. However, those with badges outrank those of us who only have wrist-bands in the SXSW pecking order at official shows. And there were so many badge holders, lowly wristband folks were left standing outside on Congress Avenue.

The Mighty Manfred of The Woggles

So I went up to C-Boys, where you don't need no stinkin' badges. And about 30 seconds into The Woggles, I'm glad I did. This is a latter-day garage band from Atlanta, which has been together since the early '90s.

Playing mostly, if not all original tunes, you can hear a little Count Five in The Woggles' guitar and aee a little Paul Revere & The Raiders in their moves. But mostly I hear echoes of Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels in The Woggles' music. The foundation is upbeat soul.

I'd actually heard the singer of this band, who calls himself "The Mighty Manfred," a couple of days before on Sirius-XM Radio. He's got his own show on the Little Steven's Underground Garage channel, and, not surprisingly, he's got great music taste.

Next up was a veteran Dallas soul man, Bobby Patterson, who was celebrating his 70th birthday Thursday.

Patterson never was very famous as a performer. He was known mainly as a producer and a DJ. He produced records for Little Johnny Taylor, Fontella Bass and Chuck Jackson and he co-wrote a tune recorded by Albert King ("That's What the Blues Is All About.")

But his set, backed by a band that included a horn section, was lots of fun. At one  point he was joined onstage by Whitfield for a song I think is called "Upside the Head."

Speaking of Whitfield, his set was sheer intensity. Playing a set relying on his latest album Dig Thy Savage Soul, he raised the energy level several notches. Guitarist (and Taos resident) Peter Greenberg's fingers literally were bleeding.

I'd caught the tail end of Whitfield's set at Antone's Records on Wednesday, and of course, I'd seen him when he played Santa Fe in 2010. But his C-Boys set was nothing like I've ever seen. Whitfield is one of those performers who benefits immeasurably from a large, charged audience. And that's what he had last night. I just hope the shows I see tonight are anywhere near as fine.

SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST DAY 1: Tragedy in the Streets of Austin

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I had just sat down to blog about what a fine evening of rock 'n' roll I'd had -- all the great music I heard, all the cool people I saw, all the friends I got to hang out with -- on the opening day of the South by Southwest Music Festival.

But then I got a Facebook message from my brother back in Santa Fe. He had news of a bizarre tragedy at SXSW and wanted to know if I was OK.

It seems that a car that was the subject of a police pursuit plowed into a crowd in front of The Mohawk near 9th Street and Red River. At this writing, two people have died, although five more were said to have been injured critically. Police say they transferred 23 people to the hospital.

I've been to The Mohawk many times, including once, a few years ago, with my daughter and son. And I'd considered going there tonight. Among those playing were X, The Black Angels and Les Claypool. A friend of a friend was telling us that he was going there to see X. I don't really know the guy, but I hope he's OK.

I've heard grumbling for years about how the festival has grown to big, how the streets of Austin can't handle the traffic, the crowds, the insanity.

I flashed back to Santa Fe -- the gang-related Fiesta shooting in the '90s, and how that murder on the Plaza dampened the Fiesta spirit for years. (They still burn Zozobra on Thursday instead of Friday because of that killing.) I'm afraid this could have a similar effect on SXSW.

The Hickoids get inducted

And, dammit, I did have a lot of fun Wednesday. I got to see the last few songs of Barrence Whitfield & The Savages' late afternoon gig at Antone's Records. My Santa Fe crony Tom Trusnovic invited me to join him and his band The Hickoids who were getting inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame during the Austin Music Awards. I got to see Lucinda Williams perform several songs at the awards show, bringing back fond memories of when I first saw her during my very first SXSW back in '95. I got to shake hands with the great Augie Meyers backstage at that show. And I got to see The Hickoids tear up honky tonk at The White Horse just an hour after their induction.

It was a great day -- not even to mention the time I got to spend with my daughter, her husband and my grandsons earlier.

But right now I'm just feeling shocked and sad.

UPDATE: 9 a.m. Find more details about the vehicular homicides at The Austin Statesman American.

Watch This Space For SXSW Coverage

One of my all-time favorite SXSW performers, 6th Street 2006

I'm just south of Austin now, a little tired from the drive to Santa Fe, but eager to hit the South by Southwest Music Festival Wednesday night.

The Waco Brothers always are a highlight

I'll be blogging at least once a day. Figuring how to balance sleep and blogging is a constant problem during the festival. But it's a good problem to have.

I've got a long history with SXSW. The first time I attended was in 1995. It basically was a spur of the moment decision following a conversation with the late Alex Magosci, a coworker who had a band called Junk, which he fondly referred to as "Santa Fe's most dysfunctional band." He convinced me to travel with junk, which at that point was just a duo, Alex and his girlfriend Virginia Plain (but everyone knew her as "Sandy"), in their convertred school bus, lovingly dubbed The Junk Heap.

Junk rocks Brazos Street, 1995

No, they didn't have an actual slot at the festival, but Alex thought he had lined up a few non-affiliated gigs. So I got my press credentials (which was so much easier back then) and talked my editor into giving me time off to go to Austin for a big Sunday spread. She even got me a little walking around money for the trip. (That was so much easier back then too.)

It was a wild trip. The Junk Heap, which we all thought was parked safely, started rolling unmanned and nearly hit a gas pump in Santa Rosa. The the damned thing broke down in Clovis. It was obvious the bus would never get to Austin. My editor was expecting a big feature on the festival, so I ditched Alex and Sandy and took a plane from Lubbock.

The Hickoids 2012

I felt bad for them, but a couple of days later, who did I run into but Alex and Sandy. The Junk Heap had come through. Of course, all the gigs Alex thought he had lined up fizzled one by one. They tried to set up in various spots along Sixth Street only to get get thwarted one by one. Finally Alex found a friendly shopkeep on Brazos who let him plug into the store's electrical outlet. They started playing right after an Irma Thomas outdoor show about a block away, so they got an instant crowd. They played an inspired handful of songs, which was cut short once again by the Austin police. But they sold about $200 worth of their cassette tapes.

I joined them for the drive back. The Junk Heap broke down again, this time in Fort Stockton, Texas. I barely made it to work Monday afternoon.

Too much fun at the Moose Lodge, 2012

I attended the next five festivals. Then, when I started covering the Legislature in 2001, I had to cut back to every other year because the session is 60 days every odd-numbered year. And the last week always falls during SXSW.

My daughter moved to Austin a few years ago, so these days when I come to Austin for SXSW I usually spend the days with her and her husband and my grandsons -- and prowl for music at night.

So I'm back again. Watch this space, and tell your friends. 

And if you're really hard up for reading material, check out some of my old SXSW coverage HERE.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

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Sunday, March 9, 2014 
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M. 
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time 
Host: Steve Terrell
Webcasting!
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell(at)ksfr.org

 OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
What's This Thing by Mudhoney

Block Up by Demented Are Go

I Killed the Minister of Finance by Kult

Sugar on Top by The Dirtbombs

I'm Walkin' by Beatpack

Into the Primitive by The Future Primitives

Squat With Me Baby. By The A-Bones with The Great Gaylord
La Nen La Bambele by The Pussywarmers 

Jack Pepsi by TAD

Night of the Vampire by Roky Erikson

Frankenstein Conquers the World by Daniel Johnston & Jad Fair

25th Floor by Patti Smith

Burn Baby Burn by Stud Cole

Weird by Dex Romweber Duo

Bad Man by T-Model Ford
I Love to Rock 'n' Roll by Eddie Bo

Closing Time by King Automatic

Hipster Heaven by The Fleshtones

Bruiseology by The Waitresses
Buy Before You Die by Figures of Light

What's For Dinner by King Khan & BBQ
Inside Looking Out by Chesterfield Kings

Took Out the Trash and Never Came Back by Mojo Nixon
No Monkeys on This Train/ Rollin' and Tumblin'  by R.L. Burnside

My Roommate by The Village People

Creeping Away by Swamp Dogg

Golden Rule by John the Conquerer

The Freedom Under Certain Conditions by Charlie Whitehead

Early in. The Morning by Z.Z. Hill

Day Up in the Sun by Stan Ridgway 

Lucky Day by Tom Waits 
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

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THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, March 7, 2014 
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM 
Webcasting! 
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time 
Host: Steve Terrell 
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
 OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Bless Your Heart by Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs

Honky Tonk Stardust Cowboy by Bill Hearne
Turn it On, Turn It On, Turn it On by Tom T. Hall

Mamma Hated Diesels by Commander Cody & The Lost a Planet Airmen

Ants on the Melon by The Gourds
Don't Let Me Rock You, Daddy-o by Crane's Skiffle Group

Nervous Guy by The Old 97s
Me and Billy the Kid by Joe Ely

Union Maid by Old Crow Medicine Show

We Shall Be Free by Woody Guthrie & Leadbelly

So Long It's Been Good to Know Yuh by Del McCoury Band with Tim O'Brien

Face the Music and Dance by Willie Nelson 

The Sinner by Anthony Leon & The Chain

Wishin' For You by The Flatlanders

Funky Tonk by Moby Grape

Shit Shots Count by Drive-By Truckers

Jezebel by Steve Train & His Bad Habits

The Big Time by Bobby Bare Jr.

The Top 10 Commandments by Kinky Friedman 

Please Don't Go Topless Mother by Troy Hess

SLC by Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs

Three Piece Chicken Dinner by Neil Hamburger

Trouble on the Mainline by Mose McCormack 

Smokin' Dope and Snortin' Coke by Todd Andrews

One Sided Love Affair by Dex Romweber Duo

All the Pretty Horses by Kern Richards

Best of Worst Intentions by Stevie Tombstone 

Before We Come to Our Senses by Brennen Leigh & Noel McKay

Touch Taven by Elizabeth LaPrelle & Jadoo

A Fool Such as I by John Doe & The Sadies

CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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