Dear Internet,
What an incredible weekend! Broken Umbrella Academy made it’s first appearance at KTSW’s Mr. Fest this past Saturday and the whole weekend was full of good music, good people and great times. Let me take you through the play by play:
THURSDAY: We played a benefit show for Invisible Children at the Coffee Pot. It was lovely and the first time the full B.U.A. lineup all shared the stage together. After the show, we got to see Henry + The Invisibles getting funky with it to a packed Tantra Coffeehouse crowd. All there is to say is legendary.
FRIDAY: Back at Tantra but this time for Fire in the Pines with Matt Lockman flying all the way from Washington, D.C. to throw down on some banjo, mandolin and slide guitar. Beautiful compositions thanks to Mr. Ben Worley (p.s.–Ben we are going to steal that horn player ~cheers!~). After the Fire in the Pines boys threw it down, it was time for one of San Marcos’s personal favorites The Blue Hit to do what they do best. They were accompanied by the amazing visual productions of ARTheism. If you haven’t gotten to see ARTheism or The Blue Hit, it is time for you to get your life together and make it happen. Thank you to all the wonderful production staff, performers, and Tantra for putting on such a wonderful event.
SATURDAY: Oh where to begin! B.U.A. checked into the Artists Village (KTSW provided wonderful food! Thank you Daniel Hughes, and Lauren Johnson! Good work all around!) and then jetted over to Mimi’s Trailer Park to watch Kabomba!’s Caleb Comstock play with Antiques, who seem to constantly be getting better. I really love their style, and they are all really cool people too. We are always glad to see them and so happy that Caleb was able to sit in on a set. It was then time to jet over to Triple Crown for our 3:15 time slot. We were able to catch the last bit of Fulton Read and it has been too long since seeing those guys, man do they rock. Anthony knows how to put on a show, and it doesn’t get better then watching passionate artists do what they do.
The B.U.A. ladies dawned their sequins (Casi had red sequin pants, and Shannon rocked a silver sequin top) while the B.U.A. boys looked like river bums. The show was awesome, great sound and good times. I finally got to meet Eric Shaw (booker and promoter for Triple Crown) after years of talking and working with him on shows and events, but only ever on the phone and never quite knowing what he looks like. I was convinced he was a hyper advanced computer until I actually saw his physical form!
We dashed over to Sean Patrick’s to catch Wild Child and Those Nights. It was my first Wild Child experience, and I really had a lot of fun. They can really boom and have a lot of talent. Plus, they are big 7+ people band, and if you know me, you know my opinion is the more instruments the better. They keep it classy, while still having a good time. They were very cool people, signing a CD for Casi. Thanks Wild Child, it was great meeting and hearing you all.
If you don’t know about Those Nights, you need to ask yourself “What am I doing with my life?” Their music just makes me feel good about life. Epic male choral-ness, hip-hop, folk fushion. I mean what’s not to love. Thank you Those Nights and Wild Child. I hope to be seeing you again!
After the show, the Wild Child drummer and bass player were talking about an after party show they were going to play at. So we ran over to the house party, and got a chance to catch the very talented New York City Queens. These cats rock hard. Loud noises, and a triple guitar attack akin to Radiohead, but more punk! They’re cool, and we are going to try to bring them back to San Marcos. The cops came and busted the Wild Child set about 3 to 5 songs deep. It was actually right as I started dancing to a waltzy number they were throwing down, and people started to yell “5-0″. The cops always come as soon as I start dancing.
Needless to say that gave us time to run over to Texas Music Theater for Quiet Company and White Denim. Wow! I got introduced to Quiet Company during last year’s Mr. Fest, and they keep getting better each time. Great performers, and real nice dudes. We were hanging out with Vinny from TMT and another member of Quiet Company laughing about Slayer’s fake rider they sent Fun Fun Fest. Good times! I believe Quiet Company will be back at TMT with Those Nights and Fire in the Pines in the very near future. White Denim is definitely a rock show to catch if you can. They are awesome, and just general good time music for all.
While back stage, we met up with Anthony Erickson from Fulton Read, and Matt Hines from The Eastern Sea. After an awesome discussion of philosophy and music, we come to find out that Matt Hines lives right next door to us in Austin. We have always heard each others bands play and practice, but we have never gotten the opportunity to meet. It’s hilarious how interconnected we all are, even when we don’t realize it.
Thank you KTSW for an awesome weekend. Daniel Hughes was the productions manager over the whole event, and I was very sad to hear that he was graduating and moving onto bigger and better things. I am excited for what the future holds for him and KTSW.
SUNDAY: Hung over, at Tantra Coffeehouse we heard a violinist (Ash Knutson) playing. We went over and I grabbed my guitar and we started jamming. Ash and Matt McClain were super cool people, we talked about comic books and stuff, and then invited Ash and Matt to come hang out with us at our friends yard sale we were going to play. It was a fun but somber event because our friend Vanessa is moving to New York and so she was selling all of her stuff (we will miss you Vanessa!). But it was tons of fun getting to jam with Ash, and what a perfect way to end the weekend.
MUCH LOVE TO EVERYONE FOR MAKING THIS PERFECT WEEKEND A POSSIBILITY!
~Cheers~
Matt Schuster
