John's Disses

My friend BC moved to Austin in December and I decided to plan my first visit during SXSW. I had a small list of bands to see, but was more interested in hanging out with my friend, his fiancé Jenn, and their two rat terriers George and Toby.

I took the red-eye out of LAX and was treated pretty badly by the security staff. Got the Larry David stare down by the guy who took my ID and boarding pass, then got patted down by the guy supervising the machine you walk through. Lame.

At the Dallas airport, where I had stops both ways, I overheard a pilot talking to some flight attendants about how the security inspectors at LAX play games and make flights late just because they can. The pilot said he kicked one of the guys off who said it would be a 90 minute wait to check the plane and then stood around talking on the phone. I thought that was pretty cool of that pilot. Apparently there were some layoffs at LAX by American Airlines and the staff is taking it out on travelers by making their flights late.

All the TX airport personnel were polite. The guy who checked my ID before the return flight was smiling and rapping as he checked us in. I think you can tell more about a person’s intentions when joking with them than if you stare at them like a serial killer. His technique seemed better all around than that LAX douchebag’s. How can you act anything but suspicious while getting treated like a criminal? I know I matched the intensity of that stare and probably got that extended pat-down because of it.

The trip was great. BC and Jenn drove me all over. Southern hospitality all the way. Austin was beautiful as I’ve always been told it was. For some reason I didn’t think I’d like it as much as I did. I didn’t feel like I was away from home like I do in most cities. I can definitely see myself living there.

In between beers, coffee stops and long talks about the master plan, we got to see some amazing shows: Cheap Trick, Michael Monroe, The Bluebonnets, Muck and the Mires and The Right Ons. My only regret was missing Jenny Dee and the Deelinquents (their Myspace had the wrong time for their show), but I did get to meet the lovely Jenny Dee and Ed Valauskas (bass) from the band so that was cool. They were both very nice. If you subscribe to The Bull Pit podcast, you heard them on last week’s episode. And if you don’t subscribe, you should! I’ll be playing a lot more of their stuff in the future.

Cheap Trick did their thing. Rick Neilson’s son sat in on drums as Bun E. Carlos is taking some time off. They didn’t miss a beat. They played a lot of non-hits, quite a few from the new album as well as their first album. They said Alex Chilton wrote their “That 70s Song” and dedicated the songs “Sleep Forever” and “Heaven Tonight” to him. It was a moving tribute. Robin Zander sang his ass off on “Sleep Forever”. I don’t know how he holds those notes! And “Heaven Tonight” is one of my favorite songs. It was a free show at Auditorium Shores. They did not disappoint, their set was long and their encore was three songs. One of the highlights for me was “Gonna Raise Hell” off the Dream Police record. And of course, the songs “Dream Police” and “Surrender” were there, and gave me chills as always. I know it’s supposedly the thing to like bands’ non-hits, but hits are hits for a reason, it’s not just marketing.

Michael Monroe’s Maggie Mae’s Rooftop gig on Saturday was short but sweet. They played from 1-2AM. The audience went absolutely off-the-hook insane for them. What a kickass way to end SXSW! They tore the place apart, much like the Viper Room show I went to but with good sound. There were sound problems, of the bad cable variety, but I far prefer that to the bullshit I had to deal with at the Viper Room gig (see my review here). It was just under an hour, and was a perfect length. It left us all wanting more, like a good Ramones song does.

Two other standout bands we saw were The Bluebonnets and The Right Ons. Both played at Gingerman earlier on Saturday. We were there hoping to see Jenny Dee and the Deelinquents, but instead saw those bands. The Bluebonnets featured guitarist Kathy Valentine (Go-Go’s bassist) and Clem Burke (Blondie) on drums. It was pretty awesome to see Elvis Ramone from just a few feet away. They are punky, bluesy, a very interesting sound and based in Austin. I think this was Jenn’s favorite moment of the weekend.

The Right Ons destroyed the place. They are also a band I’ve featured on my podcast and were produced by Ed Valauskas of The Gentlemen and Jenny Dee and the Deelinquents. Audience reaction to their set may have actually rivaled Michael Monroe’s, I gotta say. That singer had them in the palm of his hand. At one point he was on the tables shaking a tambourine as if possessed by the Devil. They’re from Spain but if you see em coming your way, I wouldn’t miss the show. They are a band afire.

This was the first time since March, 2008 that BC and I had time to talk with no agenda happening around us. It was great. Tons of collaborations have come out of those talks when he was in LA and I predict more fun, creative projects coming very soon.

Right before they took me to the airport, BC opened his proof copy of the New Terminal Hotel DVD. I got a photo of the moment. We put it on his player and it looked amazing. You really want to own this film! He’s outgrown his genre by millennia. I wonder how it feels to have status in an industry then have a total unknown like BC blow you out of the water from out of nowhere.

BC Furtney is a great filmmaker and if you don’t know it yet, you will.

Go here for more SXSW photos. Michael Butler from the Rock and Roll Geek Show has posted video of both Michael Monroe and Cheap Trick live at SXSW that you can download for free on iTunes here.