Show 62: SXSW 2011 MidCoast Takeover

Last week, our band (and 30 or so other KC bands) headed to Austin, TX for this years South by Southwest and more importantly, The MidCoast Takeover which is a showcase of Kansas City bands put on at The Liberty, a bar on East 6th street. We were scheduled to play on Saturday night at this showcase as well as a show on Thursday at another venue, but we'll get to that in a moment.

We were obviously excited to play during SXSW in Austin so we made all the usual preparations and plotted our trip accordingly. We even decided to bring some backup with us in the form of the one and only, Patrick Doyle. For those of you that know Pat, we need say anything else. For those of you who do not, just imagine a slender, fiery man of Irish descent with lighting fast wit, a heart of gold, and a proclivity towards getting naked in public. That's all we are allowed to say but I think you get the picture So on Wednesday, all five of us headed down to Austin. We made it down there without an issue and rolled into our friends place where we were staying.   That night we went out and surveyed the Liberty, had some drinks and called it a night. 

The next day, we woke up and began the journey to our first gig in Austin, TX scheduled to be at 2:50PM at Thunderbird Coffee. We got to the Thunderbird and the first band was setting up already.  To be honest, this wasn't what we expected. It's basically just a coffee shop, not a venue. But, we were down to play it anyway. As we unloaded our gear onto the front lawn of the Thunderbird in the baking Austin sun, all of us were just happy to be playing that day.  Unfortunately, that wouldn't happen. As soon as the first band was finished, a couple of authoritative looking portly men showed up in what looked like police uniforms but weren't. They were the bar/license cops. Apparently, neither the Thunderbird nor the promoter bothered to spend the time getting a permit for the shows that day. The show was shut down. Bummed out, we packed up our shit and went back to where we were staying. We tried to contact the promoter and get on another show but we got no call back. So with that, James Taylor at Giant Steps Promotions: FUCK YOU.

Over the next few days, we hung out at the Liberty and got to check out a ton of bands. It's funny that we traveled to Austin to see a bunch of KC bands but it was awesome nonetheless. We also got to hang out with many of our friends and make some new ones as well.  Many good times were had.

On Saturday night, it was a supermoon and our MidCoast show was scheduled to happen at 9:00PM which it did without issue. We went on and played a 30 minute set. We had a few technical difficulties during our show and it wasn't the best we have played but I have to say, it felt quite awesome to be there and we were received well.

This was an incredible experience for us.  W got to hang out with so many of our friends and people we usually don't get the chance to and everyone was super cool throughout the showcase. No egos, no bullshit, just real.   For the first time , we felt like we were part of a collective made up of other musicians/bands in Kansas City rather than just one band.  It's odd that this happened in Austin, TX but we are glad it happened. That is something we need more of in Kansas City.

We would like to give a big thanks to:

• The Midwestern Music Foundation and EVERYONE who worked so hard to put The MidCoast Takeover together.  This was a monumental task and you planned and executed this better than anyone could have. It was just fucking magical.

• Our friend John Mann, Mossberg and Vandal for letting 2 + bands crash at your place all damn week. You are a saint!

• Our friends, Uncle Stan, Drew, Austin, Joe and Jeremy of The Slowdown (a band you should check out) for helping us with some technical difficulties at the show. 

• Casey and all the staff @ The Liberty for going above and beyond with our band and making us feel like we were right at home in Kansas City.  We love you.

• And last but not least, Pat Doyle for all of your hard work, the many laughs, and non-lethal doses of insanity. Friends 4 life.