SXSW day six: It starts with softball and ends with star power

It's been my custom to play shortstop for the Mixed Media Mongrels in the SXSW Softball Tournament under coach Stephen Easley since 2004. I had to miss SXSW last year, so it was good to catch up with the friends I've made on the team, and we've had some good runs in past years.

This wasn't one of them, however. We were okay defensively, but couldn't get the bats going. I batted first and hit two singles before flying out to right field in the last inning, but never made it past second base. It was a single loss elimination tournament, and we went down 8-3. But troubles were drowned with a can of free beer and lots of free food, including cole slaw, potato salad, beans, sausage, chicken, chipped beef, ribs and brisket.

I got back to the condo, washed up and changed, grabbed a tin of Guinness for the walk and made my way to the Continental Club to meet Craig Laskey, who had gone earlier and picked me up a $20 ticket for a very special edition of Alejandro Escovedo's annual Sunday concert with a number of his friends. It's not an official SXSW event, but it's a tradition that I finally took part in for the first time.

Things got underway at 1:30 p.m. with sets by Frank Mustard Project, Krayolas, Triple Cobra, Kris Gruen and The Bombettes before I arrived just before 5 p.m. The adrenaline from earlier in the day had disappeared, and Craig and I commandeered two bar stools behind the club where we could still hear things but could rest our weary bones for a while since we had a long night ahead of us. But Maren Parusen and John Velghe sounded okay from a distance.

We moved inside and propped ourselves against the bar for Miss Melvis, and then I started paying more attention once Jesse Malin hit the stage at 7 p.m. The performance was highlighted by "San Francisco," "Burning The Bowery," "Black Haired Girl" (which has similarities to Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl") and "Revelations." He ended with a cover of The Clash's "Death Or Glory" that was nowhere near as good as the original, but an excellent choice nevertheless.

The male/female guitar and drums duo The Ghost Wolves was up next and the first song was an alternative blues number that I didn't mind, but the woman's high-pitched voice quickly got on my nerves and the end of the set didn't come soon enough for almost everyone in the rapidly filling club.

Garland Jeffreys played one of my favourite sets of the week when I saw him earlier in the week, and the repertoire was pretty similar in this one with the same sharp Austin musicians, but it lacked a bit of vibrancy. But he's almost 25 years older than me, so I can understand why, considering I was feeling pretty wiped out. But he walked up and introduced himself before his set, and we had a brief conversation after it, and was pleased he was so nice since I've always respected him and his music.

Tommy Stinson

Former Replacements and current Guns N' Roses bassist Tommy Stinson (who's also had shorter runs with Bash and Pop, Perfect and as a solo artist) was up next and opened with new solo album title track "One Man Mutiny" with just him on acoustic guitar accompanied by a slide player. They were then joined by a guitarist, bassist, drummer and Stinson's wife, who looked much better than she sang.

"Zero to Stupid" featured impressive lap steel and was followed by "Match Made in Hell." Stinson switched to bass partway through the set for more rocking tunes. It was good, but I'd still to prefer to see him with The Replacements one more time.

Mike Barfield

I'd never heard of Barfield, The Tyrant of Texas Funk, so took a brief respite on a padded bench by the mercy table, but went out to our perch beside the stage once I realized how good the group sounded. Mike Barfield is an entertaining frontman and his bandmates were all fine players. These guys combine to make a great party band, but I doubt they'll ever venture up to Canada.

Kid Congo Powers -- who cut his teeth as a guitarist with The Gun Club, The Cramps and Nick Cave's Bad Seeds before fronting The Pink Monkey Birds -- played a completely entertaining set that showcased his guitar skills and quirky lyrics. The frontman was justifiably smiling throughout songs including "I Found A Peanut," "Rare As The Yeti," "Golden Brown" (which he stressed wasn't The Stranglers number of the same name), "Black Santa," "Bubble Trouble" "LSDC" and covers of The Cramps' "I'm Cramped" and The Gun Club's "For The Love of Ivy." The club was packed with about 200 people, but some still managed to dance despite the tight quarters.

Kid Congo Powers

The main attraction, Escovedo and lots of guest stars, took the stage at 12:30 a.m. You can read about that amazing set in my Spinner review.

Money spent on food during six days and nights of SXSW: $8.

SXSW day three: Garland Jeffreys hasn't lost a thing

My Thursday began at the Austin Convention Center with a keynote address by Bruce Springsteen (you can read my coverage on Spinner for more details), filing my article and two free lunches: fish and chips at Latitude 30's East of England party; and steak, beef, pasta and salad with the Germans at Parkside Restaurant.

Archie Powell & The Exports

Music began at 3:15 p.m. with Archie Powell & The Exports, which has become one of my favourite bands over the course of 2010's Skip Work and Great Ideas In Action, which will be available to the rest of you on May 1. The four members were cramped on the small stage at 512, but Powell still managed to jump around. The room isn't conducive to a loud band, but the quartet's crunchy and delicious pop hooks still shone through.

Joe Pug was playing his final two songs, accompanied by an electric guitarist and upright bassist, when I arrived at the Ginger Man back patio. I'm not familiar with the singer/songwriter, but was told by friends that it was an enjoyable set.

Jon Langford and Skull Orchard

Sunshine and cold beer were a fine accompaniment to Jon Langford (who curated the day's entertainment at Ginger Man) and Skull Orchard. Jean Cook's violin was a welcomed accompaniment and Tawny Newsome made a fine vocal and visual foil to Langford. The set was highlighted early by "Strange Ways to Win Wars" before the twin guitar attack was unleashed on "Tubby Brothers." "Pill Sailor," "I Am The Law" and an extended "Sentimental Marching Song" showcased Langford's songwriting mastery, but I've heard those songs numerous times and was really looking forward to a man I've been waiting to see for 30 years.

Garland Jeffreys

Garland Jeffreys didn't disappoint and started his 5:20 p.m. set on a huge high note with "I'm Alive." The 68-year-old hasn't been particularly prolific on the recording front this century, but "Coney Island Winter" from last year's The King of In Between showed he still has what it takes. He followed it with "35 Millimeter Dreams" and climbed on a table to sing part of it. Another new song, "The Contortionist," was also strong and his band members had the material down solidly.

"Modern Lovers" was followed by another new one titled "Til John Lee Hooker Calls Me" that featured Jeffreys singing down on one knee and then on his back. That set the tone for perhaps his biggest song, "Wild In The Streets," which had many in the audience singing along.

That was cranked up considerably with his brilliant cover of ? and The Mysterians' "96 Tears," one of the best songs ever and which I also heard on Tuesday night from Joe "King" Carrasco & The Crowns. Langford got up on stage to dance and sing along, and Jeffreys and the band effortlessly slipped in parts of Velvet Underground's "Waiting For The Man" and Rosie Flores was called up for a bit of the Ernie K. Doe hit "Mother-in-Law." It was over the top.

Los Headaches

I had to return to my condo to write up my Nardwuar interview for Spinner, but was in Flamingo Cantina by 8:25 p.m. to hear lo-fi Mexican garage rock band Los Headaches. I enjoyed it more than similar bands I saw on Wednesday night because of its rootsy edge and sense of melody, and it deserved a bigger turnout than this sparsely attended showcase received.

Viva Viva's set time was moved up by 30 minutes and was almost over at Bar 96, so I headed back up Red River Street to Valhalla to see Denver, Colo. quartet Bad Weather California. I was hit by a loud and raunchy wave of sound when I walked in, but the tempo and aggression was toned down a bit on the succeeding songs, and I preferred when the guitar-driven indie rock went in more of a pop direction.

I would have preferred to have seen Bruce Springsteen, The Jesus and Mary Chain or the Big Star tribute, but Spinner assigned me to cover its showcase at Stubb's with Girls, Kaiser Chiefs and The Temper Trap. You can read that coverage here.

Cannon Bros.

The Stubb's show ended by 1 a.m., which gave me time to make it to Maggie Mae's Gibson Room to see young Winnipeg guitar and drums duo Cannon Bros. There's a bit of a buzz growing about the group's Firecracker/Cloudglow album back in Canada and, while Cole Woods and Alannah Walker (who look similar with their horn rim glasses and flippy hairstyles) are still quite young, you can definitely hear the potential in their music. They trade off instruments and lead vocals, which is the weakest element in their less muscular than the White Stripes repertoire, but the small but enthusiastic group that gathered in front of the stage showed their heartfelt appreciation by leaping on stage to dance during the final song.

That still left time to catch the end of Austin band The Gourds set at Antone's, and I'm glad I did. I've liked and respected the group for years, but this was my first time seeing it along with an audience that seemed evenly split between locals and out-of-towners. There were also more young people in the crowd than I expected for this veteran roots band, which augments the basic guitar, bass and drums instrumentation with violin and accordion. The set featured a fitting tribute to the late Doug Sahm in "At The Crossroads," which includes the line "You just can't live in Texas if you don't have a lot of soul." The Gourds have more than enough soul to retain their residency.

Money spent on food during first three days and nights of SXSW: $0.