so here's the obligatory multi-part sxsw post. this is going to probably be three segments. one on phantogram, one on photos, and one on video i filmed during the weekend. the last one will hopefully be compiled into one, semi-coherent clip.
here we go with the phantogram business. at first, alison and i weren't sure if phantogram was going to play this year, but i was fairly confident that they would. their album came out right after their showcases at sxsw 2010, and they were a huge buzz there last year. after we found out they were playing a few showcases this year, we rsvp'd for the filter mag party and hoped for the best.
upon arriving last friday morning after flying in from bham, we waited around to check into our room and called a cab to take us downtown. some hipster girls stole our cab van and i nearly killed the driver, but we were lucky enough to catch a ride with the grenadines. we all got downtown just in time for alison and i to jump out of the van and rush to the phantogram showcase.
like most showcases, it was only 30 mins, but we got a good view of them from the back of the courtyard, and later, from inside the air-conditioned lounge. i got a few short clips, but here i'll post some much better clips from the set that were filmed by other folks. if nobody posts any footage of "make a fist", i'll post mine. i'm also including a few standout clips from their 2010 sxsw showcases that are fantastic.
here's the clips from the creekside courtyard set, sxsw 2011. they started with "mouthful of diamonds." the first clip here is very close to where we were standing. after watching their set, we walked over a mile in less than 30 mins to the yard dog to see the 45mins set by haha tonka. on the way there, i passed yoko ono on the street. yep.
on the way back to the west side, we walked right by phantogram, who were sitting on the curb outside of a hip-hop showcase. we stopped for a minute and introduced ourselves. sarah shook our hand and they were both quite pleasant. bonus! phantogram and haha tonka were the only 2 "must see" bands on our list, and we got to see and meet them both within 2 hours of landing downtown.
a few excellent clips of "when i'm small" from sxsw 2010 and another of "mouthful of diamonds" from last year's filter//culture collide party: