“It’s quite early for some punk songs, but y’know, what do you do?” announced the frontman for Food Court near the outset of their early afternoon show as part of Sounds Australia’s Aussie BBQ showcase at Brush Square Park and it’s a fair point. During SXSW, that’s frankly a bit early for almost anything, though it is a pretty good time to grab a sausage on a bun, which is what i happened to be doing for the first few minutes of their set. The appropriateness of waiting in line for food while watching a band called Food Court was not lost on me. One I’d grabbed a bite to eat, I made my way closer to the stage where the band’s fuzzed out garage punk sounds definitely grabbed my attention.
From there i made my way from Australia to Spain, or rather from Brush Square Park’s East tent to it’s West tent for Sounds From Spain’s Paella Party (food and bands go together at SXSW like, um … alcohol and bands I guess) to take in Joana Serrat’s short set and while it wasn’t too far of a trip, Serrat certainly brought travel to mind. “Let’s all go to the forest,” she said before one song and described another as being about being away from home on the road. If Serrat’s sound could be correlated to a physical journey though, it would definitely be a road trip through the countryside – light, breezy, and utterly enjoyable.