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a saturday afternoon in austin: better basketball, the realization that ordering food is more complicated that i had assumed, a promising musical lineup to look forward to, the realization that we still lacked wristbands, and taxis that stayed away for far too long. afterwards, first impressions of downtown on st. patrick's day prompted bad memories of too much green, mixed with more recent nightmares of denied entry. kings of leon and field music, in separate locations and despite our efforts to the contrary, were left unseen by those that mattered most.

the night's first actual enjoyment over music occurred in a familiar venue. tucked away at la zona rosa, mohair put on a spirited performance that brought energy back to our earlier dejection. bizarre brit wardrobes aside, the set was both visually and audibly invigorating. with the rushed feel of many sxsw sets, i'm always willing to forgive a certain amount of cliche in exchange for well planned delivery. mew followed with my favorite performance of the weekend. seamless transition between varying styles was the most evident highlight, closely followed by a sound that rang true and confident throughout. throw in the expert use of the lzr stage-length video projection setup, more vodka, and fairly knowledgeable danish fans surrounding me with their enthusiasm, and the party was essentially sublime. after an hour that went much too fast, eisley took the stage and entertained in ways that were more common but pleasantly contrasting, nonetheless.

on the trek back from lzr, possible options included more storefront rejection, attending indescribable street performances, and getting into a 1am show impossibly early to ensure the elimination of the other options. choosing the latter, we took our dazed state to elysium to discuss what had just occurred, and generally remain motionless in preparation for pittsburgh's finest entertainer. for me, events occurring between our arrival at the club and girl talk's arrival on stage seemed both unimportant and blurred. once his set started, however, i was taken to a state previously unvisited during the trip. girl talk's expert blend of contrasting genres served as a microcosm to the place in my memory occupied by this intense show, in reference to the festival as a whole. people danced, screamed, and generally had the sort of experience they had dreamed of earlier in the week. saturday, yes saturday, was a good night in austin.