Words and Photos by Andrew Parks
The most surprising development at this year’s South by Southwest festival had more to do with its countless venues than the artists themselves. Continuing a trend that began with the closing of Emo’s and FADER moving its massive showcase further down 5th Street, 2013 was the first time we spent far more time on the food truck-dotted streets of Austin’s East Side than the city’s fabled stretch of 6th Street. And not just unofficial, Corporate America-cosigned extravaganzas like Converse and Thrasher’s rock solid four-day stint at Scoot Inn; from Burger’s day-long takeover of Hotel Vegas’ four stages to Boiler Room’s wildly ambitious debut at 1100 Warehouse, many promoters seemed to suddenly downgrade the cool factor of playing in the heart of downtown. After all, where would you rather be caught Tweeting: in front of a wall of Doritos and once-fearsome/fearless MCs like Ice Cube and Public Enemy (“Fight the Power,” presented to you by Cool Ranch Tacos!), or a couple rows of Goner fans away from King Tuff and Thee Oh Sees?
The answer was certainly clear at Friday night’s Panache showcase, which served as a not-so-gentle reminder of how the booking agency’s tastes fall right in line with ours. Here are photos of a few standouts from a night that was full of ’em, including the nihilistic noise of Destruction Unit, the gap-toothed grooves of Mac DeMarco and the pressurized beat science of The Bug, who hammered the East vs. West divide home by performing on a much better sound system than the muted mess he was forced to face the night before…
