Walking west past Congress on Austin's 6th St., the wind blows the smell of pot about every 10 steps from huddles of people among the hundreds of thousands out on St. Patrick's Day night at SXSW. A three-piece street band plays to a crowd of about a dozen or so, some coming, some going. The band is from Nebraska.

 

Orion Walsh, Amy Schmidt and Brian Brazier had driven down Wednesday to play an afternoon show at a coffee shop that I missed. So I'm glad to be catching them playing a similar set of Walsh's songs to this organic group of locals hopping to and from a bus, and concertgoers moving to and from sobriety.

 

Walsh on the acoustic guitar, kick-pedal tambourine, kazoo and harmonica, Schmidt on the banjo and Brazier (Bolzen Beer Band) on the tuba, the trio play about a dozen of Walsh's blue-collar, Phil Ochs-style folk songs in front of a Starbucks to a diverse crowd, many of whom surprise me at their attentiveness. I watch six people drop money in Walsh's guitar case, and grab one of his CDs.

 

A couple Nebraskans are among them. Betty Levitov and Carla Stormsberg are in town for the film portion of SXSW — Levitov teaches film at Doane College. I ask them why they were standing on this street corner at about 10 p.m. Levitov points at Brazier's T-shirt, peeking out from behind his swinging tuba. It read, “Nebraska Matters.”

 

“We walked by and turned back because we liked the sound,” Levitov says. “We stayed because we saw his shirt.”

 

The women are surprised and proud to see Nebraska represented among the hundreds of buskers trying to grab people's ears anywhere there's traffic, which is just about everywhere tonight — corners, curbs, sidewalks and the middle of 6th Street. 

 

It's not the industry execs with their shiny laminates and million-dollar record deals (ha) these guys are targeting. Many of them already played their official SXSW shows. And the question of whether the festival even offers the ability to land the long-coveted record deal is something I plan to explore with bands over the next couple of days. 

Walsh says he made $35 in tips in about a half-hour. That helps put gas in the tank, but the main reason they're busking this corner is because they want to “play music for the people by the people to the people at their level — on the streets,” he says. 

 

I hit the streets to see what other music I could find. The results, as well as sanctioned show reviews are below:

Spot: 6th and Neches

Time: 8:58 p.m.

Band: Fortified Five (formerly Knife World), Minneapolis, Minn.

Gist: Jam rock — Bitchin' Camaro meets The Doors.

Venue: B.D. Riley's Irish Pub

Time: 8:30 p.m.

Band: Matrimony, Charlotte, N.C. 

Gist: My wife, Angie, Neal Duffy and I ducked into this Irish pub for a shot of Jameson, because we're festive. We didn't expect an awesome indie-folk band. Led by a husband-wife team (makes sense), this five-piece would be right at home at the Barley Street.

Venue: Esther's Follies 

Time: 9 p.m.

Band: My Jerusalem, Austin

Gist: The bass shakes loose the old comedy theater's insulation, which drops softly from the ceiling like poisonous snowflakes between the pulled curtains and onto this five piece, led by the spitting image of Zach Galifianakis channeling Modest Mouse. The décor included a fish-tank television. Fun stuff.

Spot: 311 E 6th St.

Time: 10:58 p.m.

Band: Jimmy Way, Austin

Gist: This dude was drumming by himself. Brazier, wielding his tuba, joined in for a song.

Spot: 313 E 6th St.

Time: 11:03 p.m.

Band: We Are Question (location unknown)

Gist: Instrumental sludge.

Spot: Near the taco truck on Red River Road between 6th and 7th streets.

Time: 11:27 p.m.

Band: Black Top Deamon, Olympia, Wash.,

Gist: Punk rock 'n' rollabilly.

 

Venue: Swan Dive

Time: 12:22 a.m.

Band: Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, Muscle Shoals, Ala.

Gist: Instead of elbowing our way up to see this singer songwriter and his band (which includes keyboardist Derry deBorja from Son Volt), Angie and I spoke with an Austinite who had been to 18 of the 25 SXSW festivals. He said, prior to 10 years ago, the city hated the fest, and its suits from New York City, largely because the unofficial shows were really underground, and often prompted noise complaints and fire dangers. After the city forced the unofficial shows to get legit through regulation, he said people started realizing how they could take advantage of this economic stimulus. Interesting.  (If you have thoughts on this issue, please post in the comments.)

Venue: Swan Dive

Time: 12 a.m.

Band: Those Darlins, Nashville

Gist: Snarly, garage rock. The female-fronted foursome (with a male drummer) had this white-walled lounge packed. It was hot and sweaty in there, just like their music. 

Spot: Middle of 6th St. in front of Roppolo's Pizza

Time: 12:55 a.m.

Band: Latin drum circle

Gist: From hippies to drunk industry folk, a few dozen bystanders dancing like they were possessed. 

Venue: Bat Bar

Time: 1 a.m.

Band: The Strange Boys, Austin

Gist: Classic garage rock that makes me want to wash my Grandpa's '57 Chevy.

 

Andrew Norman edits and directs Hear Nebraska. He's filing this story while at a conference called Critics vs. Publicists: Why Must Things Be Contentious" at SXSW. Contact him at andrewn@hearnebraska.org.