Five Things I'm Stoked About For SxSW

1. Metal
With no less that FOUR showcases masterminded by Brooklyn Vegan's Black Bubblegum and 1000 Knives, plus the Converse/Thrasher parties at the Scoot Inn, Full Metal Texas and Metal Sucks' South by South Death affair (and that's not including actual label showcases), it'll be pretty hard to ignore all the glorious blast beats and feedback coming at you. I look forward to seeing bands like Kvelertak, Off!, Arson Anthem, Easy Action, the Body, YOB, and Hull. And if Agalloch get to squeeze in more than two songs, I'll be impressed.

There are definitely some non-metal attractions, too: Yuck, Okkervil River (don't front), A Place to Bury Strangers, Dax Riggs, the Kills, Wu-Tang Clan, Duran Duran and Queens of the Stone Age.

2. Bro Hang
So many metal bros, so little Shiner Bock... I'm really looking forward to sunny, 85-degree days with my dudes from Metal Sucks, Metal Injection, Metal Insider and friends from Metal Blade, Relapse, Prosthetic, plus bands like Red Fang, Eyehategod and the Sword. (No shit: I'm meeting up with someone who currently lives three stops from my apt, yet the last time we hung was at ATP NY.)

Metal Suckers

3. Bra Hang
I also get to stay with my bff4eva Merilee 666 and watch her play with her band, Blower at the High Times Party @ Emo's on Sunday night. Stoked. If that weren't cool enough, my partner in crime and hearing loss on this trip will once again be WFMU's Diane Kamikaze (also, administrator of our legendary 666 tats). Plus, the fabulous Samantha Marble and Kim Kelly will be there. Hella stoked.

Ms. 666

4. Meat
I'm fairly sure that a vegetarian plate in Texas generally means "chicken." Brisket, ribs, sausage... oh my!

5. Keep Austin Weed
I'm covering it semi-formally for High Times, so hit their site to check out daily updates. Doooo it.