The food ain’t free, and the hours are somewhat limited, but it’s not a bad idea to check out the day parties at Ben’s Long Branch Bar-B-Q (900 E. 11th, not to be confused with the Longbranch Inn), featuring locals like the Lonesome Heroes and Darling New Neighbors on Friday and Professah Funkensteen on Saturday. The husband and I stopped in for an early lunch (beef, chicken, sausage – oh my!) and got sufficiently fueled for the day on a mere $18.
ADOLESCENT ROYALTY
There’s something about Imperial Teen that brings out the, well, teenager in me. I abandon all pretense of cool detachment and rush to the front of the stage, where the sound mix is not so hot, but the possibility of getting hit with a few droplets of Will Schwartz‘s sweat increases exponentially. And I’m not the only one who feels this way; Ivan Howard from the Rosebuds absolutely freaked out in the audience, waving his mug of tea in the air, when the Teens launched into “Ivanka,” the opening track from 2002’s On. Even cooler? Drummer Lynn Perko is sporting a nicely baking pregnant belly. Now that’s a rockin’ mom!
BIRDS GOTTA FLY, DUDES GOTTA GET MOHAWKS
Credit: Photo By Melanie Haupt
The last stop of the day was the party at Birds Barbershop (www.birdsbarbershop.com) to see the Rosebuds perform at the SXSLamar Blowout. Sadly, the show was running behind, and your Girl was on deadline. We were, however, sufficiently entertained by the guys taking advantage of the free Mohawks (a $15 value!), though no women seemed game. It was fun and unsettling seeing these guys walking around with their tender pink scalps glistening in the sun like so many little piglets while Georgie James delivered a scorching set.
BLAME IT ON THE RAIN … OH, WAIT
Pop Levi (left) and Kele Okereke
After lunch, we waddled over to the French Legation Museum for the Arthur magazine party. We snapped a few pictures of interest, including one of Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke, who was hanging out, while we waited for high-maintenance singer-songwriter Essie Jain to complete her sound check (thereby pushing the whole party’s schedule off by half an hour). Jain’s set was pretty dull until the end, when the New York-based Briton had a full-on meltdown, screaming at a stagehand because he had started to break down instruments before the set was over. He retorted with a zinger about Mazzy Star calling and wanting their material back: the collective, silent “oh, snap!” was breathtaking. Soon after, the deliciously grungy Pop Levi took the stage, and the drama faded into the rearview while Jain calmed herself with a cocktail from the cash bar.buzzed at Birds.
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