On Friday night, I opted for two of my pre-SXSW/I-only-know-you-from-an-MP3 faves, the Explorers Club and the Whip. Getting in to see the former proved to be no easy task.

San Francisco's Birds and Batteries played the Bay Area Takeover showcase Thursday morning at the Beauty Bar, with the quintet peppering their setlist with B&B's finest, among them aching electro-country anti-lullabye "Never Sleep Again." After frontman Mike Sempert issued the obligatory "We're real happy to be here," a neighboring band took it as their cue to make him r

When life gives you bunnies, you do the bunny hop. At least that's the tactic the Heavy's frontman Kelvin Swaby employed at the Playboy party Thursday night, peppering a funk-tastically grimy set with elated proclamations about his present company.

Usually the phrase "pleasantly surprising" doesn't go hand in hand with "slap in the face," but last night's scorching Jay Reatard set at 6th Street venue Vice was a whole new play on words.

Following Bon Iver's set, the buzz at the Mohawk continued to grow, the entry line reaching unprecedented lengths, some fans giving up and standing on concrete barricades and climbing trees to get within ear shot of Swede Jens Lekman's set.

An assortment of music celebs star-studded enough to comfortably fill out an HBO special (think My Morning Jacket to Moby -- and that's just the M's!) gathered to pay tribute to Lou Reed at the Levi's/Fader Fort Thursday afternoon, coming on the heels of Reed's keynote address that morning.

Austin’s Yard Dog folk art gallery played host to the Schubas/SPIN afternoon showcase Thursday, its narrow, rear courtyard providing a charming, if sometimes crowded, escape from the hot Texas sun.

While the SPIN/MySpace Saloon was being erected on Austin's 6th Street, a few bands were kind enough to join us at our hotel suite for some Q&A. Here, the entirety of Tapes 'n Tapes meets with our William Goodman to talk about their new record, their festival tour plans, and their SXSWs of yore.

While the SPIN/MySpace Saloon was being erected on Austin's 6th Street, a few bands were kind enough to join us at our hotel suite for some Q&A. Here, Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig and Chris Tomson visit with SPIN.com's Peter Gaston to talk about their SNL appearance, the aftermath of their Spin cover, and more.