Later that night, a flurry of varied performers cometh, starting with the winsome Kate Nash at the Q magazine/Guitar Hero get-down at the swank Driskill Hotel. I kicked myself gently for missing These New Puritans by minutes - after hoofing it at high speed across town and stopping only briefly at the Nylon rooftop party sprinkled with spidery, tousled-haired Mary-Kate Olsen lookalikes and teeny Cliff bars - but I gotta say, Nash is a lot better on her own with just an acoustic guitar: the charm of first-person, girlish ditties emerged apart from the flaccid band arrangements that were in full effect at her recent ho-hum Popscene performance in SF. It was a lot easier to make out what the fuss was all about.

Finding the Kate Nash amid the branding.

Wales soul songstress Duffy drew a massive crowd to Stubb's for her official debut - her first show outdoors ever, she exclaimed. Say what you will about whether she's the next Dusty Springfield or no - that, I seriously doubt since Duffy seems to lack the shadowy complexity and underlying grit - but the UK hitmaker will likely provide a wholesome, every-girl respite from Amy Winehouse's Britney-esque drama. A welcome, likeable alternative to the American Idol pack dominating short-attention-span pop, Duffy, at least, knows how to pick good songs - which are ensconced in happily subtle, non-grandstanding pop-soul arrangements - and at SXSW, she was backed by a smoothly able band. Yo, the lady is uptight about showing a little tummy - praise Texas barbecue!

Soul-pop upstart Duffy.

Up the street at Todd P's showcase at the Mohawk, Deer Tick from Providence, RI, was doing a noisy rendition of "Tequila" - in honor of Austin's finest spirits, no doubt. Too bad I couldn't stick around for These Are Powers and Knyfe Hyts. Awesome at the Upset the Rhythm show earlier, High Places crowned a bill, right before Matt and Kim.

Deer Tick'd off.

At Emo's, the little girls understood - nay, they totally got - the pin-thin, pouty-mouthed, mop-topped appeal of Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong. These guys are skinny - no such thing as false advertising here! I do believe there's a mod-fob boy band revolution going on here - ruled by the Brit school and not-so-quietly broiling beneath the surface of SXSW. That said, it's hard to take such a wholesale appropriation of high-energy Brit Invasion rock, ala the Kinks et al, seriously - but maybe those sounds are public domain at this point?

Jang-a-lang-a-ding-dong! Ding dong! It's Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong.

The omnipresent Liam Finn gives back...I mean, feeds back to the community.

Rolled down the hill back to ye olde Convention Center to check out the DirecTV taping of Carbon Silicon and caught a little of Lemonheads sub Liam Finn's surprising feedback-climax. Love the VIP lounge but the real view of Mick Jones, Tony James, and company was up front. I confess, at this late date, toned-down Clash rewrites are not my bag - but I got a soft spot for Jones (my guilty-favorite of a Clasher!). Jones and the band seemed so gratified by the crowd response that you had to cheer 'em on.

A TV eye on Carbon Silicon.

Cute, talented, and fun - who can ask for anything more: Ra Ra Riot.

Up, up, up, high in the Austin hills (huh?!) to the Saguerrende Hall, where the Diesel-U-Music party was dispensing the generous cocktails and bidding viewers to enjoy the neu-rock. Sorry I missed SF stalwarts Port O'Brien, but I did catch She and Him under rosy lights (wish the trebly, piercing sound was better from where I was standing), standing beside lovestruck indie boys. Him, who's Him? I preferred S&H's maiden show at Great American Music Hall, which was tense yet ultimately more exhilerating when it all came together.

The real revelation was Syracuse, NY, combo Ra Ra Riot - wow, those kids have so much energy (even after who knows how many shows in so many days). Enamored with Arcade Fire, the Decemberists, and other indie orchestrators, the group ain't afraid to let their very ironic, bald-faced emotions show. I'm kind of crushed out on every one of 'em.

Me and my cocktail checked out She and Him.

Barbie uber alles at Saguerrende Hall.

More cheers for Ra Ra Riot.

How I ended up at the front of the line, then shoveled into Black Moth Super Rainbow at the Thirsty Nickel - I don't know. The Pittsburgh band was smilingly serious yet eager to party down with their fans - balloons were tossed into the crowd as a some sort of glitter-spewer showered us with confetti. At that moment, I was too bushed to go all the way across to way cross town to see David Banner and Rob G - or A-Trak and Chromeo for that matter. Sitting seemed like a good idea - as the CPC Gangbangs demonstrated over at Beauty Bar Backyard. Whew.

Sass and ass: CPC Gangbangs.

Your Austin art car awaits.