@ZackTeibloom When you love an artist from their early days, you have expectations for them. You watch their career and feel emotionally invested in the direction it takes. This can be an incredibly disappointing pursuit. Ultimately you have no control over what they do, and nine times out of 10, they’ll disappoint you. They could have a sophomore slump, change the direction of their sound, sell out, go soft, break up or die young. It’s incredibly rare that they don’t let you down in a major way, but you can’t help rooting for their career to go the way you envision, ideally growing with each album and constantly re-inventing themselves in a way that still suits your interests. In my life, I’ve loved a lot of bands, but Weezer, Beck and Jack White stand out as ones I loved from the very beginning, and following them has been three different rides.

Weezer has had far more misses than hits in the last decade, (Hurley, anyone?) They had to resort to playing their first two albums, Blue Album and Pinkerton, live 15 years after they came out to connect with their original fans. I don’t even bother listening to their new stuff anymore. I don’t know anyone who does. I loved seeing them live last summer, but only because they were almost exclusively playing old stuff. They’re way too young for that to be OK, but that’s their reality. It’s been a joy to watch Beck’s “Mutations” from Odelay to Sea Change to Midnite Vultures to Guero and The Information, but it’s been a hollow few years. He hasn’t put out an album in going on four years, and his “Record Club” was a far better idea than it was executed. I still have hope for a lot more greatness in Beck’s future. With Jack White, the ups and downs have been unlike any artist I’ve ever followed. I’ll detail it in painstaking detail in the next couple paragraphs, but it was absolutely killing me to see him spending so much time producing or playing drums or buying an elephant’s head on American Pickers, when I just wanted to scream “pick up a guitar and sing to me!” but on Friday night, he showed us the next phase of his career and became everything I always dreamed he would be. And then some.  Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom I was worried about this crash for weeks. When Third Man Records announced they were having a showcase, it was pretty much a given that its founder, Jack White, would be headlining even though he was left off the initial bill. A couple weeks ago, Third Man confirmed that, for the second consecutive year, Jack White would be playing a small, intimate SXSW show. Last years spontaneous noon Wednesday show drew only a hundred or two on the street, but Jack would be headlining the show to be at on Friday night of music week, which would make it the hottest ticket of SXSW.

All week leading up to Friday, I prayed that some surprise last second rumor would get passed around to divert some of the attention away from my boy Jack. They always happen. The Jay-Z and Kanye rumor that has everyone running all over town. Anyone? I’d even be OK with one of my favorites like Arcade Fire or Radiohead. Anything to make sure not everyone in town would be lined up for Jack. It never happened. There weren’t any big surprise rumors and The Third Man Showcase was the place to be. Only the Kanye show last year at the Power Plant was more impossible for badge holders to get into. The poster for the show said badge holders and wristbands would be welcome, but that wasn’t to be the case. My fellow die-hard @MichaelRox had been lined up since noon, and he even had a badge! I’d joked about spending the night in the Stage on Sixth’s bathroom overnight to make sure I got in, but it was Caitlin’s birthday and I promised to stick with her for afternoon shows, through The Drums at 6 p.m. I sang along and danced to The Drums, but that 7:30 start time for Third Man was beckoning. Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom I had two must-see shows coming into SXSW. Tenacious D on Thursday night and Jack White headlining the Third Man showcase on Friday night. Yup, Jack Black and Jack White on consecutive nights. For the fourth year in a row, I had a wristband*, but I wasn’t getting into either of these shows without a badge.

I know all the venues in Austin quite well, but had never even heard of Haven. I found it at 11 p.m., after not too much wandering, and checked noticed there were two lines. There was a wristband line on the left of the door and a badge line to the right. Just as I walked up to the front door, I heard a door guy address the badge line, saying “If you are here to see Tenacious D, you are not getting in. We are at capacity. It’s one in, one out, and no one is leaving.” There was one group they were still letting in, however.  Read the rest of this entry »