The Wave Magazine: SXSW Day Four: traffic, crowds, heat, the end and three Israelis that shocked Austin.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

SXSW Day Four: traffic, crowds, heat, the end and three Israelis that shocked Austin.

Monotonix at Waterloo Park

Andy Cabic, the lead singer/songwriter of Vetiver, told me that trying to write about music is like trying to dance about architecture. And after four days of trying to make sense of the South by Southwest music festival, I'm finally understanding what he means. There are few words to describe the chaos surrounding this event. The only thing you can do is try to document and capture what is presented in front of you. I guess that's actually the point of this whole thing. There's no purpose here, other than to entertain. Sure, you can get into all the underlying monetary issues, and try to delve deep into the struggles that musicians face, or the backroom dealing that's going on all over town by greedy record executives looking for the "next big thing." But if you go that route, I assure you, you are missing the point. All you need to do is read the bumper stickers, posters and T-shirts, proudly urging all citizens to "Keep Austin Weird."

And nothing can be weirder than Monotonix, an Israeli threesome proned to lude acts on stage, perpetual crowd surfing atop drum kits, and a tendency to leave a venue while still playing their instruments, taking the party outside into the streets to climb on street signs and building edifices. Check out the last set of pics and viideo below.