I have SO much to tell - but I'm really, really, tired and about to go soak my feet and veg on the couch - but a few highlights:
Yesterday afternoon - Perez Hilton!! He was rushing down the sidewalk, talking on his cell phone, trying to find the entrance to Cedar St. I waited until he hung up the phone and since I could tell whoever he was talking to wasn't much help, I showed him where it was. I gave him a hug, told him I loved his site, but since he seemed to be in a hurry (like
everyone is during SXSW), I didn't ask for a pic. Next time...
Last night: Kirsten Dunst in the bathroom at Stubb's. We were at the sink together - I talked to her exactly the way I would talk to any random person during the festival. Didn't mention Spiderman or anything else to let on that I knew who she was. She said she loved Austin and wanted to buy a house here. She was really nice, I don't get why Perez is so mean to her. I just checked his website and read the story about him running into her around 9:30. She must have been on her way to Stubb's then because I first saw her around 10 and she stayed for Iggy Pop, who was f*cking awesome!!
Patrice Pike was at the Iggy show too.
Wayne Coyne from the Lips - at the Amy Winehouse show at Eternal on Thu nite - I asked him if the Lips were performing any secret gigs this year. He said no, but he was doing festival coverage for Jay Leno. It's supposed to be on this coming Thursday. Cool. Oh, and he remembered me from New Orleans, when we were on the same flight together.
Last night at the Blender after hours party: Danny Masterson (Hyde from That 70's Show). My friend Steve was in the party, and sends me a photo he took w/ Danny w/ his cell phone, while I was still waiting to get in.
A couple of the Best Week Ever guys were there. Some band called Tokyo Rose, or something from Tokyo? had just finished playing when I got in. Some guy told me Amy Winehouse was supposed to play after them, but that she cancelled. I don't know anything about that, I think he might have been confused since she'd cancelled some day parties. ?? Tally Hall was in line behind me - nice boys. I saw them play at a day party. Their last song was "Freebird."
And no one yelled for them to play it either. Loved it. Cool party - free Absolut cocktails - and little lounge areas - one had Ms. Pacman, a pinball machine and foosball.
I was smoking a cig outside the convention center and saw Lou Adler having a conversation with Bill Flanagan (the founder of VH1 - he did the keynote interview w/ Pete Townshend, which was great!).
I shook Donovan's hand after his secret gig at the Whisky Bar. The only helpful text message I got from the official sxsw people all weekend. I was right next door, at Antone's, being bored by Terry Reid -got the text re: Donovan - showed it to some random guy standing next to me - who then asked me to show his friend - his friend freaked out and took off. First guy then told me his friend is a huge Donovan fan. So I made his day.
Amy Winehouse - whatever! Fantastic!
Iggy - whatever! Fantastic! Just read this on mtv.com - I totally agree! And this helps since I have no brain cells left to compose my own review:
"The true apocalypse, though, came a short time later with a set that was the perfect capper to a chaotic five-day journey. To say that reunited Detroit punk godfathers the Stooges blew the roof off Stubb's would be an understatement (and not only because the outdoor venue has no roof). The always shirtless Iggy Pop gyrated like a demented go-go dancer and kicked off the show with five classic Stooges songs that sounded so raw and snarling they made you forget the band took a 33-year break between their last two albums. "Loose," "I Wanna Be Your Dog," "TV Eye," "1970" and "Funhouse" were crackling with chaos and electricity and the permanently amped Pop was clearly sucking up the energy from the crowd."
There seemed to be a theme this year of ending the set w/ a cover song. Tally Hall did "Freebird," Badly Drawn Boy did "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey, which was hilarious, the crowd dug it. Perry Farrell's new band, Satellite Party, did one, but I can't remember now...
I totally lucked out and got a laminate for the SPIN party this year. From the CEO himself.
We were chatting at Eternal. Amy Winehouse was supposed to play at 11, but they switched her to 1 AM. That kinda screwed up my night a bit since I was planning to see the Fratellis after Amy. But that's okay, cuz I saw them play at the SPIN party. With Pete Townshend.
He joined them for one of their songs and then they did "The Seeker." I was 10 feet away from the stage.
Free BBQ, free tequila and 10 feet away from a rock god. How happy can you be?
I hit more day parties than ever this year. I've drank more Red Bull in the last 4 days than I've had in my entire life. Not really a fan of the stuff, but it's necessary during SXSW. I'll post pics and add more later - Bruce has got some stories of his own!
