The late night SXSW shows on the Lamar Pedestrian Bridge are the stuff of legend. Unannounced, often police-interrupted, and located firmly in the drunk hours of Texas dawn, the shows are a testament to the ad hoc ethos that can still be seen in the shadows of the LEVI's/FADER Forts and Corporate Showcases that have come to populate the festival. The shows celebrate spontaneity and faith, managing to convince hundreds of fatigued hipsters to walk forty-five minutes away from town, at 3am, on a word of mouth promise that something cool is going to happen on a bridge. Sometimes - as was the case in these wee hours - this promise is a false one. I was told that The XX and Surfer Blood would be playing. Sometimes - as was the case in these wee hours - it doesn't matter.
In place of The XX and Surfer Blood, Thee Oh Sees treated a crowd of around four hundred to well over an hour of fantastic music. After a brief back and forth with forgettable/regrettable band Homeblitz, Thee Oh Sees took control of the amps and the crowd, pounding through literally every song they could remember from their repertoire. The scene was one of controlled chaos; the crowd moshed, danced, and pogo-ed until the bridge was bouncing under the weight of moving bodies - equal parts exhilarating and terrifying. Thee Oh Sees fit the mood perfectly, hitting a groove that flowed until well into the fifth hour of the day. Lead singer John Dwyer was captivating. Surrounded by an ever expanding and encircling audience, he held the microphone in his mouth as he played his guitar. At the end of the show, he was a vision of adrenaline-fueled exhaustion. It was a familiar look - I walked home a tired zombie, buzzing with excitement.
