Nothing can be more enlightening than realizing at 5:15pm, Wednesday afternoon, that you have the next two days off for vacation, and a torrential downpour of music is only a few hours away. A quick dash over to Waterloo Brewing Company starts SXSW off perfectly, with the REAL Zodiac Killer himself, Harvey Sid Fisher, delivering his own form of musical manslaughter. Playing a few tracks ("Aries", "Pisces" and "Taurus") from his Astrology Songs LP along with new stuff from his duets album of couples fighting, Harvey Sid Fisher was amazingly corny, yet sported some fantastic lyrical skill. Harvey Sid Fisher & Co. at Waterloo Brewing Co. Hear a sample of Harvey Sid Fisher's "Taurus" I quickly speed off to the Austin airport to pick up my friend Margot from Boston and we race back to Waterloo. Margot is sorely disappointed that Delta Airlines has kept her from seeing Harvey, so I seek him out, introduce myself to him, and get a picture of Margot with Harvey. One word: nutso. He thinks my name is Jamey (Andrew, Jamey, yeah, they sound alike...right?) and reveals that he really is a bit scatterbrained! Los Angeles' Negro Problem hits the stage to a very large crowd, delivering a pop-inflected set, Los Angeles style. The in-between song banter from our leopard skin-clothed singer is quite the amusement. The Negro Problem at Waterloo Brewing Co. Part of SXSW’s thrill is the adrenalin that’s constantly racing through your system. You’ve got 20 minutes between sets to make it to the next showcase. We hustle across downtown to Emo's, which typically houses most of the bands that I like to see in town. Grimy, crusty and a bit shoddy, Emo’s has both an outside as well as an inside stage. The reunited God Bullies, with three original members, plod through their set. Grinding, brooding rock, that borders on metal from time to time, coupled with a psychotic singer whose eyes bulge out a lot.

Phylr at Emo's Jr. Inside, I also check out Phylr, the keyboardist from Cop Shoot Cop, who along with a drummer produces some interesting sonicscapes. Combining an interesting progressive combination of keyboards, drum machine and real drums, Phylr ranks as one of the more entertaining acts of the week. Hear a sample of Phylr's "In a Hole" Phoenix, Arizona may not be known for a lot, especially in the musical department, but we check out The Beat Angels, who do their own form of flamboyant glam/glitter rock. A very authentic rendition of those 70’s glam bands you’ve gotta love. They even cover T. Rex’s "Celebrate Summer"! I enjoy 'em, especially the guy in the audience, wandering around with the Union Jack flag suit. No shit. Fashionable, man, fasionable. Hear a sample of The Beat Angels' "Glitter Girl" The bummer of Wednesday night arrives at 1am, as we desperately scour the music listings for one last band. We come across Tommy Tutone. "THE Tommy Tutone?" I ask? Indeed, it is THE Tutoner himself. He's released a new album. We don't care. Where's "867-5309, Jenny"? I continually mutter. We make it through two "new" Tutone songs that are so similar to latter day Steve Miller and so embarassingly bad that we leave, relegating Tutone to our innocent and joyful memories of the 80's.