SXSW Recap: Part Two

Guest Appearance by Ben Harper.

Rumors started to circulate: Ben Harper would be sitting in on Tom Freund's set Thursday night. Thursday night before work, we were at The Tap Room listening to Sixpence None the Richer (who were playing their first show in five years) when a fellow volunteer confirmed the rumor-- Ben Harper was doing a sound check at Pangaea. We left quickly and were fortunate to catch the back half of the sound check.

Ben, who produced Tom's soon-to-be-released album, played slide guitar through the whole set.

Afterwards, I was determined to meet Ben. Amy was too... so she walked over with me.

Actual conversation:
Me: Sorry to interrupt, but it was a pleasure to hear you tonight.
Ben: Thank you so much. I'm glad you enjoyed the show. I'm Ben. (Extends hand to me and Amy. We all shake hands.)
Me: Nice to meet you. It was great to hear you again-- I haven't heard you live since high school.
Tom: When was that? Last Year? (We all laugh.)
Me: Back in 2004 when you toured with Jack Johnson.
Ben: Thanks for helping out. It means a lot.

We then proceeded to carry out Ben and Tom's guitars downstairs, where they were loaded up.

National Record Store Day

We were fortunate to be in Austin for National Record Store Day. After a quick lunch at Whole Foods we headed across the street to Waterloo Records. There were boxes filled with records outside- 2 for $1. Instead of sifting through the boxes searching for a gem, we went into Waterloo and opted to purchase at least one vinyl to celebrate.

My choices:
Son Volt-- Straightaways
Whiskeytown-- Strangers Almanac
John Mayer-- Continuum

Amy's choices:
The Strokes-- Is This It
The Arcade Fire-- Funeral