The day started good, not too early, SX morning with some Tyson’s for some of the crew. They totally hit the spot though I’m still mourning the loss of the golden balls of sunshine or whatever those deep-fried egg yolks were called.

Andee missed out on the breakfast tacos because she went to the office for a few hours. Planning started in earnest on her drive home and though Shiny Ribs at The Cactus Cafe has been a strong contender, we opted for The Scoot Inn and arrived just in time to catch the Otis the Destroyer.

Outside we saw:

Otis the Destroyer

Illiterate Light (They were very My Morning Jacket-ish. It was hard because it was early, so they’re worth another listen.)

Pottery

Pink Sweat$

Duncan Fellows

Black Pistol Fire

Question for the audience: Is the drummer wearing pants? Are you?

Inside we saw:

Adam Melchor

Sego

Barrie

Ambar Lucid

This show also had some free SWAG, including unlimited Topo Chico. The day before we realized Jenn had never had a Topo. Welp, here’s a great time to try it and we stayed well hydrated and a little buzzed thanks to the samplings of Nine Banded Whiskey and Goodnight Loving Vodka.The sky was mostly cloudy with light drizzle, making the weather really perfect and we just really enjoyed the laid back atmosphere at Scoot Inn!

Next we headed over to the fancy new Fairmont Hotel’s 7th floor bar where we had a beautiful view of downtown, delicious coffee, fried chickpeas and overpriced chips & salsa followed by some great music. It was really nice to just sit in a comfortable chair for a bit!

Georgi Kay from Australia played an electronic keyboard set up and sang.

KOLARS were up next, which is who we were there to see. Watching them set up made me appreciate them even more. I mean, they are only two people, but Lauren, the percussionist, has a full drum/stage to tap-dance on and drums on stilts to bang on while she dances! Not only does it need to be mobile, set up easily, and sound good, it also has to be safe. They were set up and through sound check with professional precision in spite of the weird space, again, a rooftop bar with a pool in a swanky hotel. Next time we are bringing our bathing suits and towels. We totally blend.

The set began a bit tentatively as the band tested the atmosphere. This is good rock and roll however and after a few new songs, which we are excited to hear more of, we were rocking to this fantastic band in an unlikely space. Patrons there for networking after SXSW Interactive sessions, a family with two small kids, and a handful of us, excited fans were given a full, all out show. It could have been easy for KOLARS to take it easy and just play but they did not, they put on their shiny, shiny pants (and jacket) and sparkle fish-scale dress and rocked out. At times it felt like it was just for us and really, with the small crowd, it might have been… and we are so grateful! This will be a show that gets talked about for years to come!

Also, we both got to hug Lauren and really that may have been the highlight for one of us!