FRICTION NYC

Yes, that top picture is Ian McCulloch of the legendary Echo and the Bunnymen, more on that later in this post. We started SXSW 2006 off with a bang. Soon after arriving, myself and the rest of the Crackers United crew headed down to Emo’s to catch I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness. I haven’t been a very big fan of their live show in the past, but I was willing to give it another shot and hear some of the new songs off of their upcoming album. Their set was solid but didn’t really grab me the way some bands do, however, the other guys seemed to be into it. After their set we headed over to The Parish to check out Yorkshire UK’s Envelopes and also caught Darlington UK’s We Start Fires. We Start Fires was the surprise act of the day, and wow’d me with their urgent and chaotic punk, reminding me of the Breeders at times, while frontwoman Becky Stefani channeled Elastica’s Justine Frischmann. Definitely keep an ear out for We Start Fires.

Happy with our new find, we trekked away from all the action of 6th Street and made our way out to Guerrero’s Produce Warehouse for the Blender/VH1 party. Free beer and tequila kept us going while we caught performances by Tapes ‘N Tapes and Spoon. I can’t really comment on either set because I could barely hold back my excitement for Echo and the Bunnymen. I couldn’t have asked for a better setting to see one of my favorite bands of all time (for the first time). The venue itself was pretty large, but the way the stage was set up made for a very intimate setting. They opened up with ‘Lips Like Sugar’ and after the song I remember being awestruck and said to the person next to me, “that’s Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant”, she kind of laughed and nodded. After 26 years of making music, the band sounded as good as ever. They mixed in some of their new songs like ‘Stormy Weather’ with Echo and the Bunnymen staples like ‘The Killing Moon’. The show made my trip to SXSW and I could have left Austin without seeing any other bands…completely satisfied.

Check out more photos from Day 1 by clicking the “more” link below.