[road to sxsw] Boston to Austin with Quilt: an introduction

After going broke at SXSW last year, I made a deal with myself to not go back unless I found a ride and presented a show. In my two years of attending the festival, my only major investment has been flying. (I don’t buy a badge, and go to mostly DIY shows in parking lots, backyards, kitchens, bridges, glass blowing shops...)  Plus, it just seemed more fun.

Lucky for me, my quest to cut corners led to an even more awesome experience: I get to go on tour with one of my favorite Boston bands: psych-folk trio Quilt. They offered me a spot in their van, which Quilt are taking on the road for five dates before five shows in Austin. (Including one epic house show that I helped book with my friends at WNYU -- check.)

I'm writing from Philly, where Quilt played a show at a gallery basement last night. (More on that later.)  Tonight, we'll stop at a house show in Fredericksburg, VA, and then we're heading to Asheville, NC; Memphis, TN; and Denton, TX. On the way back, they’re playing in Pensacola, FL.

I’ve never done the “touring with a band” thing, but this seems like a fitting introduction: Quilt’s first cassette was one of my favorite recordings of 2009, and their Agents of Play EP was one of my favorites of 2010. (I am a “superfan.”) On this mini-tour they’re playing mostly new songs, which I am psyched to hear live, and document.

Speaking of documentation, I will be doing that on this blog every day from now through SXSW, posting photos and videos of each show, and generally chronicling our route from Boston to Austin.

Get psyched, y’all.