Pitchfork

[Photos by Christine Tadler]

Pattern Is Movement [Mohawk Inside Stage; 2 p.m.]

As the Mohawk's inside stage cleared out after A Place to Bury Strangers (who, at least from across a crowd of people, I didn't really get at all), singer/keyboardist Andrew Thiboldeaux of Philadelphia two-piece Pattern Is Movement announced, "we're a happy band." They certainly delivered on that claim, playing a brief set of music driven by the contrast between spare, ambient keyboards and thunderous, complex drumming. A cover of Radiohead's "Everything in Its Right Place" recast the song's mantra in much less menacing terms-- a kinda goofy move for sure, but well in keeping with the band's stubbornly positive stage energy. Case in point: Thiboldeaux applauded for drummer Chris Ward after every single song, emphasizing both the band's good-naturedness and the musical rapport shared by its two members.

Shearwater [Mohawk Outside Stage; 4 p.m.]

By the time Phosphorescent took the stage at 3:45, the inside room at the Mohawk was totally packed; we opted to move outside and get a good spot for Shearwater's performance. This was my first time seeing the band, and while I loved Palo Santo, I was completely unprepared for their impressive live show. Jonathan Meiburg's voice is a thing of beauty, and his band's just-so-slightly atypical arrangements (Thor Harris's teeny-tiny hi-hat cymbals and crackly, busted-sounding snare drum in particular) flatter the nuances of Meiburg's performance and songwriting.

I have trouble letting myself be moved by a band if I get the sense that they're trying to pull something on me, or to elicit a specific reaction via means outside of their music, but I was entirely won over by Shearwater's earnestness and ease. I was so enthralled by Shearwater's set that I didn't even notice the construction on adjacent Red River street until Meiburg pointed it out.

Upright Citizens Brigade [United States Art Authority; 8 p.m.]

After dinner, we got word that three of the founders of Upright Citizens Brigade were going to be doing one of their famous A.S.S.S.S.C.A.T. improv shows at an artspace near the UT campus. With so many big-name comedians in town, many with ties to UCB, there was talk of a star-studded performance. The show turned out to be just Matt Walsh, Matt Besser, and Ian Roberts, but it was far from disappointing-- lack of celebrity cameos notwithstanding. Breaking from the show's protocol, Walsh, Bessner, and Roberts engaged the crowd constantly, polling its male members as to how many shave their junk and soliciting stories from the audience at large.

The Judy's [Austin Music Hall; 9 p.m.]

Finallly, we headed down to the newly renovated Austin Music Hall to catch the Austin Music Awards. And it was a weird, weird combination of David Lynch-esque Americana surrealism and the kind of cultural grandstanding (WOOOO WE GOT A BIG, TEXAS-SIZED MUSIC SCENE) that makes me kind of hate Austin. On the stage, local cult heroes the Judy's were playing what I believe to be their first show since the early 1990s. I've heard and enjoyed their recordings, which sound like a more straightforwardly power-pop take on the B-52's kinda jokey new wave, but I was pretty distracted by the band's decision to trot out thematically relevant items (TVs, water) for each song. Prop rock? Really?

Okkervil River [Austin Music Hall; 11 p.m.]

From there, the night only got weirder. Roky Erickson was presented a lifetime achievement award by ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, Spoon was presented pretty much every major award, and acceptance speeches ran long and gratuitous. It was well after the scheduled time of 11 when Okkervil River took the stage, but the wait was worth it; the mood at the front of the auditorium changed drastically when the band launched into a stunning set of three songs from last year's excellent The Stage Names. The band's on-stage presence reminded me of a more sharp-focus Arcade Fire, more attuned to the ebbs and flows of individual songs than to broader, grander gestures.

Roky Erickson with Okkervil River [Austin Music Hall; 11 p.m.]

After Okkervil closed their set with a stirring rendition of "Unless It's Kicks" (my fave!), they were joined on stage by Texas psychedelic music legend Roky Erickson. I'm more familiar with Erickson's back story than I am with his music, but I was struck by how Okkervil's backing highlighted the power of Erickson's voice and the melodicism of his songs. It was a pretty great end to a very odd night.