Pitchfork

One of the cool things about SXSW is its diversity of venues. Sure, plenty of shows take place in sweaty clubs, but there is also music played on street corners, in nice restaurants, in peoples' basements, in clothing stores, in hotels, in warehouses, and on patios. On Friday night, I watched artists perform in a field, in a church, and in a parking lot.

Boris [Town Lake Stage at Auditorium Shores; 5 p.m.]

The largest venue at SXSW is a free, open-to-the-public, outdoor stage on the banks of Town Lake, across the water from downtown Austin. The skyline serves as the backdrop as bands play to a field full of carnival concessions and heavy sponsorship. (The official name of the venue this year was "SXSW Dew Music Festival at Town Lake", "Dew" meaning Mountain Dew.)

So who do they book to perform at five p.m., just as the happy families out for a day of free music in the sunshine are settling into their meals of corn dogs and cotton candy? Fuckin' BORIS! It was surreal, to say the least, and it was awesome. Japanese drone-metal played at top volume in the middle of the afternoon to a pack of metalheads up front and confused civilians everywhere else-- one hell of a trip.

Jandek [Central Presbyterian Church; 7 p.m.]

The best venue at SXSW, hands down, is the Central Presbyterian Church, which is exactly what it says: a church. The audience sits in the pews, there's cookies and coffee available in the courtyard, and the staff thanks you for coming when you leave.

It was an appropriate setting for a performance by Jandek, who is treated with religious reverence by his devoted fans. His lengthy set was noisy and hypnotic, an almost-continuous dissonant drone provided by Jandek on guitar, a drummer, a bassist and a guy playing "the kind of hand-pumped harmonium used in Pakistani qawwali music" according to the New York Times.

Even though he performs live now and is no longer a stranger worthy of conspiracy theories, Jandek is still one hell of a creepy, mysterious dude. As he played, I was afraid he'd look me in the eye, and I'd melt down to ash.

Bill Callahan [Central Presbyterian Church; 8:30 p.m.]

Bill Callahan, the man formerly known as Smog, took the Church stage next, joined by not-so-surprise guest Joanna Newsom on piano. (Apologies for the crappiness of the Newsom photos, but it was literally impossible to get a good shot of her, since the piano was on the floor in between the pews and the stage. But rest assured she looked incredibly cute, as usual.)

Callahan, Newsom, and a violinist performed pristine versions of tunes new and old, including "Cold Discovery", "Rock Bottom Riser", and several from his forthcoming album Woke on a Whaleheart. Pretty much everyone I talked to afterwards said it was the best thing they'd seen at all of SXSW.

Tilly and the Wall [Beauty Bar Patio; 10 p.m.]

After exiting the Church, I hustled on over to the Beauty Bar "Patio", which is actually a parking lot, for the Memphis Industries/Saddle Creek/Team Love showcase. The line was insane, but I made it in time to see Tilly and the Wall, who continue to be one of the most energetic live acts on the planet. Shouting, tap dancing, candy-colored outfits, and an enthusiastic crowd combined into one big happy party celebrating the joy of live performance.

When it was over, a dude elbowed in front of my prime spot next to the stage. I groaned, thinking it was an overzealous photographer jockeying for position for the Pipettes, who were on next. But he turned out to just be a manic Tilly fan: he grabbed their setlist, asked one of the singers what the name of the new song was ("Too Excited", for the record), and left.

The Pipettes [Beauty Bar Patio; 11 p.m.] [Photos from earlier performance by Matthew Solarski]

No, it didn't magically become daylight during the Pipettes set. Those wonderful photographs are by Matthew Solarski, taken Saturday afternoon at the Filter magazine day party. They're much, much better than the ones I snapped at the Beauty Bar Patio, and show pretty much the same thing, as the Pipettes wore the same outfits, and rocked the same dance moves.

I'd somehow managed to miss all 352 other Pipettes performances as SXSW, including the one at our own party due to writing/editing commitments, so I was super excited to finally see them Saturday night. When they hit the stage, I went nuts.

Unfortunately, I seemed to be the only one. This was the most blasé crowd I'd seen at SXSW, staring blankly as the shimmying girls gave it their all, jaded beyond repair. Is this really what you waited in line for hours to do, people? Just stand with your arms folded and text message your friends? Come on!

I hope the Pipettes come back to America to perform to more sympathetic crowds. But then again, we don't really deserve them.