The Music @ SXSW: Koi Child Poses, All Our Exes' Crushes & No Teef Beef
"No smashed avo… Suggestion box for next year."
It's Aussie BBQ day over in Austin, Texas!
Here's what some of our acts are getting up to Stateside in between eating Texan BBQ (lots of it), catching their mates playing their showcases and everything in between.
food court
Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter
35 hours from Oz stopover in Vancouver, -15 in Toronto then Austin and we're knackered.
Arrive in sunny Austin to Hotel Vegas for our first ever overseas show for their annual Strange Brew showcase.
Run by the local Do512 music website from Austin we have a swell time and the sound is sick in their Indoor Vegas room.
Yeah beers and that aye… and so many rad bands playing on the Strange Brew party. Many thanks to Ashley, Courtney, Jimmy and Lawrence from Do512 for their amazing hospitality in a new town.
We then head down to La Perla, the last Hispanic house bar on Sixth street for a Cumbia party jukebox and some sweet Amodelos, local beer topped with lime juice and tabasco. Great day 1 at SXSW.
woodes
Started the day watching the Zane Lowe keynote at the Convention Centre. So inspiring. He spoke about what led him to his profession, coming from Auckland, NZ and closed with talking about how the uncertainty where music is headed is exciting. You can carve your own path. Walked out buzzing.
On the way to our next meeting I ran into some zombies. It was a fusion of two great things colliding and it was a great way to start the day...
Our band got some artist backpacks at the gifting lounge & I headed to the Doc Marten stage to pick up my first pair of Docs. I haven't taken them off yet... So stoked. Backpacks and boots are two of my favourite kinds of functional things. Glad I get to remember the festival with them... Grabbed a Docs hat for my dad and some stickers too.
Caught a couple mates sets - Alex Lahey and Japanese Wallpaper. It was so good to see Alex up there and the front few rows singing along!
Caught an amazing act from Austria called Manu - he and his band recently came out to Australia. Unreal hang drum performance. Plus a xylosynth. Awesome.
Then I caught a young artist called Billie Eilish that I discovered on Spotify, she's 14. Super impressive. She performed in a church. I'm coming back to the church to catch Agnes Obel & Maggie Rogers tomorrow (hopefully, if I can get in!!)
all our exes live in texas
rolling blackouts coastal fever
First rule of rock and roll: get to the airport three hours early, before the doors open.
In Austin it’s hard to avoid BBQ…
We succumbed.
Evil Bank No. 1. The banks here look particularly evil.
Evil Bank No. 2. It’s called Frost Bank and it looks like the home of Mr Freeze.
First show was at the co-op we’re staying at. Played with heaps of top bands including SLOTFACE and Alex Lahey. The co-op has been our home for the week. A bloody fun place to stay and play at.
Not pictured: Our new friend Maya who is a total champ and has been our host all week at the co-op.
Second show was outdoors at a container bar. Fran’s hand sprung a leak…
Our third show was at the Aussie BBQ. Saw an outstanding show by Slow Dancer, also killer shows from Kasey Chambers, Alex Lahey. Home away from home. Although no smashed avo… Suggestion box for next year.
Not pictured: Great shows we didn’t take photos at including Girl Pool, Video Age, Hoops, Froth, way more.
pines
vera blue
Me and the boys backstage prepping before our showcase at Sounds Australia's Aussie BBQ today. Always chatting through our set before we go on!
All Our Exes Live In Texas were the highlight showcase for me today! Absolutely love their music, their harmonies, their vibe, so thrilled that they were also a part of the Aussie BBQ line-up.
When in Austin you have to try out the food trucks, especially when there's a food truck festival inside of SXSW.
Thanks for following me at SXSW for the past few days. Long live art in Austin!
hockey dad
Haven't slept in 30 hours but at least we're eating well.
thigh master
Team Mimosa before our set at the Sounds Australia-presented Aussie BBQ. Did you know that every band here likes to tell jokes between sets? Sometimes it works. Other times bands tell jokes about trimming their hair with pube trimmers and that's a bit weird. Anyhow, we're crap at jokes so we just honestly thanked the audience for coming to witness the most hyped band at SXSW.
Our pals Totally Mild played at the Aussie BBQ too. They told a much more tasteful joke and totally ruled also. I love them.
Daniel and I met over a shared love of loud shirts with rude colours and patterns, ie the shirt I'm wearing lol. Daniel's community group was making packs for the homeless beside our show at Haddie's Food Court. Beautiful angels of Austin.
When I said bands like to tell jokes here I wasn't lying. But Thelma & The Sleaze from Nashville were actually hilarious and ripped the best set of rockin' country lesbian love songs. They treated us to their best song about butt sex at Haddie's Food Court.
koi child
After the intense culture shock of LA (and serious injection of salt & sugar), we found ourselves in Texas, stereotypes remaining strong. We played our first show that same day to a super involved crowd!
On night two Harris (our manager) and Shannon, contemplated waiting three hours to get into a Wu Tang show, due to play in about an hour. They walked a few blocks and ended up catching Talib Kweli, The Pharcyde and Redman (some of Shannon's biggest inspirations), all at the same venue.
Blake says to the crowd, "This venue is fucking beautiful, it's everything we expected from Texas, with the wood, and the hay." He was absolutely right. Great vibes, wood, hay, and even some actual Koi Child fans local to this incredible city. So much love from this place so far.
How does one pose? So many things to think about like looking cool and in control, two very elusive things.
kucka
japanese wallpaper
More From Our Network
