ShockHound

It's over — and miraculously, we're still alive to tell the tale. The ShockHound Gang has returned from the musical marathon known as the South By Southwest Festival, a true endurance test involving more beer than you can possibly drink, more Texas BBQ than you can possibly stomach, and (most importantly) more bands than you can possibly see in your average lifetime, all crammed into four insane days. And while reliving our SXSW memories this soon after the fact feels a little like wiping one's face with the same towel that soaked up last night's Lone Star spillage, we nonetheless feel duty-bound to let you know what all went down.
     As one of the co-sponsors of the Levi's Fader Fort, ShockHound helped present a wide array of dynamite performances (all of which streamed live on ShockHound) over the course of the festival, including sets by rising British electronica disco darling Little Boots, Brooklyn buzz band Amazing Baby, James Iha's power pop supergroup Tinted Windows, '90s trip-hop pioneer Tricky,  New York buzz band Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Swedish alt pop trio Peter, Bjorn and John, British indie electronicists Late of the Pier, sci-fi soulstress Janelle Monae, superstar DJ Diplo and his new Major Lazer project, and up-and-coming Georgia rapper B.o.B — oh yeah, and a mind-blowing Saturday night performance by Kanye West. We even helped engineer a last-minute set by UGK’s Bun B, who came by the Fader Fort to do a ShockHound interview, and wound up rocking the stage just a few hours later.
     The Levi's Fader Fort itself was a sight to behold, a massive compound built around a decrepit-looking (but newly retrofitted) old warehouse in an industrial area just on the other side of the freeway from the festival’s Sixth Street epicenter. The Fort included blogger and Xbox rooms, DJ areas, outdoor bars and lounges, and a ShockHound rock tee and video installation, which celebrated the history of the rock T-shirt while flashing numerous highlights from our video programming of the last six months. The place really came into its own in the evenings, when the sun went down and the lights went up, and the mood changed from laid-back hipster RenFair to outdoor nightclub bacchanal.
     Still, we were (mostly) too busy working to join the party — in four days, we interviewed nearly 60 different acts, including everyone from the Decemberists and Silversun Pickups to punk progenitors Devo and X's Exene Cervenka, to disco diva Little Boots, Dresden Doll Amanda Palmer, R&B legend Andre Williams, and dance terrorists MSTRKRFT and Pendulum, with Big Boi, Jadakiss, P.O.S. and Lady Sovereign rounding out the rap contingent. Look for these interviews and tons more on our site in weeks to come. In the meantime, check out our daily updates from SXSW below:

Day One: The Decemberists give their new album its live debut, while Manchester Orchestra and Priestess bring the big rock noise.

Day Two: The reunited original Jane’s Addiction lineup plays their biggest show to date, rocking the bunnies (and about a thousand other peeps) at the Playboy party.

Day Three: The festival peaks with a three-way late-night battle of the titans between Devo, the New York Dolls and Metallica. The winners? Anyone who saw any of those shows.

Day Four: Kanye West closes the festival with a historic all-star performance at the Levi's Fader Fort.

Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re gonna need some aspirin, a big glass of water and a long nap.
 
— Dan Epstein and Randy Bookasta

ShockHound rock T-shirt installation at the Levi's Fader Fort

More lounging at the ShockHound installation at the Levi's Fader Fort

Devo's ShockHound interview

James Iha and Devo's Josh Freese outside the ShockHound trailer

Janelle Monae live at the Levi's Fader Fort

Amazing Baby live at the Levi's Fader Fort

B.o.B.'s ShockHound interview

B.o.B. live at the Levi's Fader Fort

Jadakiss' ShockHound interview

Little Boots live at the Levi's Fader Fort

Devo's Booji Boy live at the Austin Music Hall

Big Boi's ShockHound interview 

Jane's Addiction live at Playboy's "Rock the Rabbit" Party

Related Artists Devo Jane's Addiction Janelle Monae Kanye West B.o.B