Staying out late every night seeing shows then getting up a few hours later for panels and more shows can really wear you down - but we press on!

Last night will probably be my favorite in retrospect - filled with great bands old and new. My night started with the Rebel Group's showcase at Red Eyed Fly with The Lovely Sparrows, who I discovered at last year's SXSW. The Sparrows have a revamped line-up since I last saw them and it shows. They have matured their sound greatly and it was a real treat to hear them. To compare their sound to others, think of a Jeff Mangum-tinged Bishop Allen.

Next up at the Fly was Brooklyn's The Forms. I'd never heard The Forms before last night, so I came to the set with an open mind. They play a muscly brand of rock with early-nineties pop-punk (back when that wasn't a dirty word) influences. The crowd particularly liked their Nirvana cover toward the end of the set.

Afterward, I briskly walked over to Prague to catch Fuck Buttons. This is one of the bands I was looking forward to seeing here and they did not disappoint. I came into their set after it had already started, but their live show out-does their recorded material many times over - and I'm a fan of the recorded stuff. Equipped with laptops, synthesizers, a drum, and a children's toy microphone/tape recorder, the boys from Bristol tore it up in front of an enthused yet strangely still audience.

I then left Prague to get into the Pure Volume Ranch and see The Giraffes (with the LWMB's own Jens Carstensen on bass). Other writers on the blog will probably give you a more thorough review than my daily update, but it's safe to say that The Giraffes are who you see when you're in the mood for some old-fashioned, dirty, sweaty, damn-fun rock. Standing in line outside the venue, I met a man who looked like he was straight out of the Hot Topic catalog. It was not much of a surprise that he was a huge fan of The Giraffes, but it was a bit of a surprise to find out that he was a financial analyst. I know.

After The Giraffes, I headed back to Red Eyed Fly to catch one of my favorite bands of the past years, Lucero. I've seen this band too many times to count and had even bought a poster for a show I saw them at back in '05, earlier in the day at Flatstock. This wasn't a usual show for them, front-man Ben Nichols was visibly anxious about playing at SXSW and didn't engage in his usual banter with the crowd. Even more disappointingly, he stopped half-way through his final (solo) song "The War" - presumably out of anxiety. This wasn't the drunken, rowdy, crowd-pleasing Lucero that I was used to. Despite all this, it was clear they were bringing their best stuff out and taking care to nail each song, making the set a subdued but enjoyable one over all.

One more night to go, I think I'll make it.