!Arriba Austin¡

Atlanta’s The Black Lips are getting quite a bit of much-deserved attention. And it’s not just the 14 shows they played in 3 days that’s prompted the New York Times to anoint them “the hardest-working band at SXSW,” it’s their seemingly endless font of energy. And frankly, that moniker is a little misleading, since “hardest-working” connotes – well – work in the strictest sense, and The Black Lips are all about having fun. For them, playing a show is really just another way to party and they do both like it’s their job. And if the music business - with its promotions and radio pay-for-play and suits - sometimes makes us forget what real rock ‘n’ roll is, then The Black Lips have brought it back in full force, if not redefined it altogether.   

I was fortunate to spend an evening on the periphery of the Black Lips SXSW juggernaut (there really is no other way to describe it) which was being filmed by a New York Times video crew for an on-site feature and contributed to an Almost Famous sort of surrealism. After their fourth performance of the night (that easily could’ve been confused with their first it was so full of energy) at Austin’s Blind Pig bar, the audience composed mainly of the regular UT Greek crowd - not necessarily the Lips regular fans – they hightailed it down the messy, drunken 6^th street with guitars in-hand to get to their next gig, a house party miles away from the din of downtown Austin and the SXSW commotion. It’s here where the Lips seem to be most at home, playing for friends and non-industry folk and an adorable Labrador puppy named Lola, who just really love loud rock ‘n’ roll music and want to see their friends smash up their living room. By 4AM, they finally get in gear and play a set no less rousing than any of their four previous shows of the day, proving the Black Lips aren’t just hard working, but egalitarian, too – whether you’re the VICE crew, Texas frat boys, Rolling Stone writers or teen-aged fans from Austin, they play their hearts out. And for me at least, it was this, more than their catchy songs or punk rock sensibility or messing with the city of Austin, Texas, that made The Black Lips the best live band at SXSW.