It was Rainey for SXSW

That's right, it was Rainey St. to kick off what would be my last day of SXSW.

Rainey St. is the newest edition to the down town entertainment district. Located just on the south end of Red River, but still close enough to walk to several other down town venues. Rainey St. seems to have it all. There are establishments that serve food, some with lots of TV's, some whiskey bars, some beer gartens, and a great time to be had along this small stretch of road. All of the establishments are designed to maintain there original small, older home facade, but then you step in or step out back and you are blown away.

Bungalow (https://www.facebook.com/bungalowatx) was our first stop on our last day and is definitely one of those places. "Bungalow was inviting and is definitely set up for people to stay and have a cocktail (cocktail = beer or whatever else you drink).  It's a nice place to meet people or just hang out. There is a food trailer outback that provides tacos for good eats so they definitely don't want you to go anywhere. You can stay for drinks, a good time, and eat there too!" Mariza Cruz

With performances by The Dunwells (http://thedunwells.com/) and the Roosevelts on tap it would prove to be a great start to a great day. Although we did sit through the sound check for The Dunwells, (which doesn't qualify as a performance) it did keep the audience riveted. As they sound checked on several tunes to make sure everything would be perfect for the evening performance, the audience was definitely drawn in. I can say with the harmonies from the brothers that fronted the band, I look forward for an opportunity to check out a real set, and hopefully soon!

The Roosevelts (http://www.wearetheroosevelts.com) I did catch. Now that I have been privy to several performances already, including a late night fireside acoustic set (DAMN! There should be a BAD ASS video coming from that!!!!!! can you hear me James and Jason, can you hear me?) I am going to turn over the crowd source reaction to Ms Cruz.


I did catch The Roosevelts at a previous show in early February (http://livemusicinaustin.blogspot.com/2013/01/no-reservations.html), but there was much conversation, I was seated in the back, and the crowd was front to back and side to side. It was not easy to see the performance and sort of OK hearing it. THIS EVENING on Rainey St., in Bungalow, during SXSW was a whole different beast. Standing quite close to the stage and being able to enjoy the performance and see the crowd was wonderful. The full and true enthusiasm that The Roosevelts bring to the stage is completely telling. It tells of their joy in performing the music they create, it tells of their joy in performing on it stage, and most of all it tells in the audience reaction. The opportunity was definitely not lost with the band. To have many new faces in the crowd it seems that the band embraced it and returned the excitement ten fold. They have a new video they have released and it there was total crowd participation with "Everybody Knows" (http://youtu.be/TYMLzYJ-pt4). I hope 'everybody knows' about the Roosevlets soon because they are a joy to see and hear.


Laters

Written by:
M. Cruz
edited by:
William Tompkins