Day 6 - Last Day in Austin

So we woke up on our last morning in Austin before starting on the road back to Cincy. We went to Brunch with Chuck at Stubb's for the weekly Gospel Brunch. We've gone to this for the last couple years, and it's a staple for our visits to Austin now. It's hard to explain how great this show is. The food is maybe slightly above average, but the bands they get to play are fantastic.

I think Greta really enjoyed it, and she could actually see the band this time, something she didn't really get a chance to do the rest of the week. Will be fun next year when she can stand/dance/clap along!

Day 5 - Austin - Last Day of SXSW

Today was a bit more of a laid back day. It was the end of a long week and our last full day in Austin. We started things off with some food at our last usual South Congress spot - Doc's. It's a great mostly outdoor bar/restaurant, that used to be an old garage.



After that we headed to Jovita's... a little Mexican Restaurant that is also a great spot for live music with a big indoor stage and a great outdoor area (perfect for 5 month olds to hang out at).

Greta is sporting her Bloodshot onsie and basking in the sun... well, the shade at least.

We saw a ton of great bands. The show was put on by a radio station from St. Louis that every summer has an event called Twangfest, and so this was the SXSW Twangfest showcase. Bands included another set by the Waco Brothers, Chuck Prophet, Tommy Womack, and Melanie's new favorite Sarah Borges.




Another highlight of the show was the headline by Cincinnati's own Wussy. Was great to see a nice crowd there and lots of people buying t-shirts and CDs...

We wrapped up the day with another trip to Whole Foods for dinner, and then back to the hotel.

Day 4 in Austin

Today was a big day... Greta's first Bloodshot Records day show... she loved it, and was again the hit for everyone that saw her.

We started off the day at our favorite spot for breakfast - Kerbey Lane. And if you are ever in Austin, be sure you are going to the Original, on Kerbey Lane.. there are several others around town, and while the food is good at all, the original has a much cooler atmosphere as it's in a house.

After Kerbey Lane, we drove around for a bit to visit a couple baby stores and let Greta nap, and then we headed back to Yard Dog for the Bloodshot Records Day show, sponsored by Shiner Bock. This show is a big reason I go to SXSW every year. Always amazing bands and this year was no exception. We were in and out all day giving Greta time to eat/nap, but we saw Bobby Bare Jr, Deadstring Brothers, Justin Townes Earle, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, and Waco Brothers.

Greta also got to meet Jon Langford, lead singer of the Waco Brothers, and her favorite band, the Wee Hairy Beasties... he was blown away by Greta's cuteness! This is Greta showing off for Jon.

Greta was loving the tunes, and rocking it out in her I Love Indie Rock t-shirt... She was also tryin to figure out what exactly is wrong with Chuck... I'm guessing she won't have much luck though, as none of us have figured it out either!

This is the Waco Brothers rocking out the end of the show...

And then finally it was time for us all to get some dinner at Guero's, a great mexican restaurant right next to Yard Dog, and call it a night! Tomorrow is the last day for music and we hope to catch Cincinnati's own Wussy at Jovita's... then Sunday we head out (after the Gospel Brunch of course!)

dinner at shady grove

it was a long day for greta, and she hung in like a real trooper. our last stop of the day was for dinner at a restaurant on barton springs called shady grove. jesse and holly introduced us to this place several years back, and we love it for it's relaxed atmosphere and cool outdoor dining space. we grabbed a quick meal and headed back to put greta to bed. gotta rest up for tomorrow!

Yard Dog

as you can see in the picture, greta loved her first show at yard dog. mommy and papa love yard dog too. it's a cool art gallery that hosts day shows out behind their shop. there is always a great crowd and cool bands....and again, free beer. greta listened to okkerville river and black joe louis and seemed to like what she heard. greta was a big hit all day....people kept stopping us to take her picture and tell us how cute she is. (duh). our friends beth and karl were supposed to join us for sxsw but weren't able to make it. we miss them and hope to hang out with them when we get back. luckily they gave greta these great earmuffs (we don't know what to call them) so that she can listen to great music and keep her ears protected. thanks beth and karl!

eatin' and sleepin' on soco

in between the shows greta was able to sneak in a quick bottle and a few naps. we took some stroller rides and browsed some of the shops on south congress while she napped. greta also spotted ben harper while she ate....you can kind of see him in the blue jacket in the background. i think he wanted to come ask her for her autograph but was too shy.

greta also really loves papa's friend chuck. you can see his hand in the photo too. greta was big on giving chuck high fives all day....

bird's barbershop

so thursday we headed out early, with a big day ahead of us. we got greta all sunscreened up and headed to whole foods for some lunch. after lunch we headed to bird's barbershop, a hip little joint on south lamar, for our first day show. last year bird's was doing free mohawks during the shows, and this year it was free shoe shines. plus free beer, free sweet leaf tea (yum), and free music. what else could you ask for. we saw two bands, zookeeper and lykke li. greta seemed to enjoy the music as well as all the people watching. we thought about getting greta's first haircut here, but they wouldn't cut her hair since she is so young. i think if they had gotten a glimpse of her hair they would've changed their minds!! after bird's it was off to south congress, our favorite little area in austin.