Seraphina Lotkhamnga on March 17th, 2011

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[A recap of Wednesday afternoon – only the beginning of my ventures out into South By Southwest 2011:]

Fact: Bands who play at noon or 1 p.m. will greet fans with a “Good morning,” because when it comes to lengthy festivals such as SXSW, playing a set before 3 p.m. is like waking up at the crack of dawn. In the same vein, when showcases go past 1 a.m. for music fans, seeing band at noon seems like ages ago.

Myth: People don’t go out to the early shows during the day? False. I made sure to make my way to the first venue of the day and I arrived at noon sharp. Considering the fact that 6th Street is an incredible stretch of pavement, I really discovered the magnitude of its length when I walked past Congress Ave., past Colorado Street and past Guadalupe Street to see my first four bands of the day. Ringo Deathstarr, Blue Blood, Vanaprasta and Wild Flag served as a hearty musical “breakfast” before I headed back to the Buzz Bands LA showcase at Cedar Street Courtyard for some more legit ear candy later in the day.

Ringo Deathstarr (at Annie’s West) – It not only takes true music geeks to make sure they pack their day in from beginning to end, but it also takes the obsessed to head out and take in the meaty vociferousness of Austin’s own Ringo Deathstarr as the first soundbites of the day. Although they played a rather small stage inside, the three-piece filled the venue up like a mini My Bloody Valentine sending out sound waves loud enough to awaken the older folks at the Dogwood digging “Dad-rock” across the street. Also, even in the midst of heavy distortion, pop rang loud and clear through vocal melodies making the band both a sweet and raucous audible appetizer.

Blue Blood – Outside near the entrance of the venue, a band who called themselves Blue Blood took it down a notch as they took over the acoustic stage. As the second three-piece of the day at the same venue, sounds of lap steel and guitar cushioned melodies with softer country-folk tint and playing in an indoor-outdoor type of spot served their laid-back vibe well. Surprisingly, Blue Blood announced they are from Los Angeles even though one of the brothers currently resides in Austin. If they make the official move as a band, they won’t have a hard time fitting in with the folk scene that is blossoming in the City of Angels.

Vanaprasta — Serendipitously, one of the more well-known yet upcoming L.A. rock quintets happened to take the stage back inside Annie’s West immediately after Blue Blood. And just as Ringo Deathstarr gave fair warning, there were promises of it getting absurdly loud in there. It wasn’t much of a surprise to hear that coming from a band who brands themselves as “guitarwave.” However,  as Vanaprasta’s engaging lead vocalist, Steven Wilkin jumped out on top of the subwoofers in front of the stage and one of Ben Smiley’s drum sticks flew out into the audience, there’s always a case of unpredictability with these guys no matter how many times one has seen the band live.

Wild Flag (at Waterloo Records) — 6th Street is an extremely long street and as one goes west, there are more things to discover — but only if there is patience involved and enough strength to ignore feet which start to ache. Wild Flag, the all-female supergroup made up of former (and current) members from Sleater-Kinney, Helium, Quasi, the Jicks (Stephen Malkmus) and more, rocked a set over at the famous Waterloo record store. Banter, shredding and straight-up rock prevailed as Wild Flag, signed to Merge, demonstrated they are worth the buzz, and worthy of their legacy.

On Twitter: @Seraphina_L