selected photography + commentary, Austin

Les Savy Fav, uh, bring the near suicide to the party.

SO I didn't quite make it to all 40 parties, but I definitely made it to quite a few, and saw some bands. These bands, to be precise: Holy Fuck, Emma Pollock, Beirut, Loney, Dear, Rosebuds, Broken West, Spoon, Dark Meat, Oxford Collapse, Novillero, Apples in Stereo, Les Savy Fav, Hylozoists, Elvis Perkins, Cold War Kids, The Trucks, Octopus Project, The Gossip, Patrick Watson, Les Breastfeeders, Do Make Say Think, The Pipettes, Thunderbirds Are Now, Sondre Lerche, Apostle of Hustle, Robyn Hitchcock & Peter Buck, Walter Meego, Tokyo Police Club, Paper Moon, Serena Ryder, Nathan, Peter Bjorn & John, Perry Ferrell's crappy new band, Badly Drawn Boy, The Good The Bad and The Queen, The Dears, Mew, Yoko Casionos, Golden Dogs, Polyphonic Spree, The Prototypes, and Junior Senior. also: some Japanese bands that I didn't have notes for as they're so damn generous with their beer and sake! I've bolded standouts and linked ones that you should really check out. The NP Proper will have stories on some of them in the coming months, I can assure.

Best in show? I received more than one puzzled stare when I told people I was most looking forward to Junior Senior this year, as I had a hunch, based on some live tracks that their show-a Saturday night bar closer-would be something else. It was. For all the Canadians I ran into going to catch the Hip of all bands playing at the same time, I had to return the puzzled stare. While the Hip (reportedly) hazily tred through the New Album, Junior Senior hosted an incredibly raucous party, with the 6-piece band blasting at full throttle in a manner akin to the Go!Team, but with far less tracks playing under them (cough) and even greater cheerleading antics. Didn't we all head down to have fun?

Les Savy Fav certainly did-they're a band I had heard a lot about but never really checked out, and they also thrilled the audience at the CMJ1000 party. Perhaps it was the free scotch flowing that prompted singer Tim Harrington to climb up the bar's balcony and pull an Eddie Vedder, but I'm sure even a 'regular' Favy show would not let people down.


A lot of people wanted to see the Meat Puppets


The most photographed half-destroyed building in Austin.