'Minutes' From SXSW 2011: Tuesday Videos

A day before the music festival even started, there was plenty of music to be he

Published: May 02, 2011

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This shot captures me (left) speaking with singer-songwriter and now novelist Josh Ritter (right) about his upcoming book Bright's Passage in part of Interactive SXSW.

This shot captures me (left) speaking with singer-songwriter and now novelist Josh Ritter (right) about his upcoming book Bright's Passage in part of Interactive SXSW. Photo:Michael Katzif - NPR

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I will attempt to capture one minute video clips of every band I see at SXSW. I may fail: It's Tuesday and though this year's music festival hasn't officially started, the streets are already overflowing with people, and it's crazy.

The airport was filled with musicians — I met Smith Westerns at the baggage claim. My official day started by interviewing Josh Ritter about his soon-to-be-published novel Bright's Passage as part of SXSW Interactive. I'll try and get audio from that conversation, but for now you can download the first chapter of his book at his website.

When night fell I set out to see a few shows.

I only caught a few songs by The Boxing Lesson, but I liked what I heard. If you look closely on the left, the keyboard player had some awesome vintage gear.

For all my love of Lost in the Trees, (their album was on my best of list last year and I loved our Tiny Desk Concert) I've never seen this band on stage till tonight. And despite the nuttiness of SXSW concerts (usually there isn't much of a soundcheck and the sets are short) it was still a delight to hear them. I invited a few musicians to come and hear Lost in the Trees and by the end of the show Josh Ritter and Adam Arcuragi were loving this band too. That was my evening's highlight.

We'd played a song by the Scottish group Admiral Fallow on All Songs during our preview show. Here's a clip of their set at Bat Bar:

Then I took a chance on a band that a fan told me to check out. Their name was De Juepuchas! They're from Colombia. I was in the men's room when the duo took the stage. A text from a friend simply said, "They are dressed up as bananas." This may be the best text message I get all week.

Wedesday's live broadcast will feature Yuck, James Blake, Smith Westerns and Raphael Saadiq. The shows are now archived on our website.

Wednesday's 'Minutes from SXSW 2011

Thursday's 'Minutes from SXSW 2011

Friday's 'Minutes' coming soon