Critic's Notebook

The sign of a damn good time. Somebody fucked up. Hard to read, but it says, Ha ha! I’m in Austin and you’re not!…

That is all…

Last year, it was Lady Sovereign. This year, it was supposed to be Lily Allen. But boozy blues chanteuse Amy Winehouse was the name that emerged as the next hot U.K. diva-to-be at SxSW. We’re happy to say we saw her a few times. We’re sorry to say that none…

Names: Chris Juargo (left) and Mikey Bielecki (right) Spotted: 6th. Chris, handing me a flier: Come to our show tonight. We’re in a band called Fight the Quiet. Only if you let me take your picture. Mikey: You have to get in the picture with us. We like hugs. There’s…

Click the photo for an audio slideshow of Cold War Kids, featuring live audio from their set, Thursday evening, at South By Southwest. Check out SXSW: The Daily Podcast for more live audio from the Cold War Kids, and a few words on Pete Townshend’s lackluster surprise appearance at girlfriend…

Names: Mike (left), Jimmie (right) “spelled with ie.” Spotted: 6th and Brazos, Austin. You live in Austin? How do you like it? It’s kind of overrated. I’m thinking about moving. Jimmie, what’s that a nickname for? Jimmie: That’s it. James is my name, but I’m not Jemima or anything. I’m…

Click the photo for an audio slideshow featuring Oxford Collapse, Tiny Vipers and Loney, Dear. The City of Austin is full of greasy hair, backbeats and sticky fingers. You can’t throw a rock down the street without hitting a bass player or his/her handler pimping a set later this week…

Every day we’ll be brining you a new podcast live from Austin, filled with live audio, artist interviews and some reports from real-life journalists. We’ve got a couple podcasts in the can thus far, featuring conversations about bands our colleagues are excited to see. We even threw in a few…