“Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.”~ Plato
Wow, a week almost blew by without my final thoughts. I must be busy or something.
Thankfully, I did not spend as much money as I thought I would this year. Definitely not as much as LAST year. Good grief!!! However the swag and merchandise was nearly plentiful as the year before.
As with other SXSW Festivals in the past, there’s always that factor of learning and discovering new music.
Last year was the discovery of FEAR CONTROL and Nancy Silva Project. This year was no different.
Sadly, this year there was no performance by Nancy Silva Project, due to a family emergency. My heart and prayers still go out to them as they are dealing with a difficult situation.
I got a reprisal performance by BLACK FERATU as well. The boys from Lafayette, Louisiana came back and thrashed the stage and even brought up some new material to share with the rest of the world.
Of course BEAUTIFUL DISTURBANCE is no longer together. Brenda and Auggie are out in Los Angeles doing their own thing, and was not at SXSW Festival this year. Neither was there the presence of Poc Nation.
What the hell is going on people? 
Nonetheless, there was plenty of music to be had. Rock, Blues, Punk, Metal…… it was all there.
The one band that has my attention, but still I sit on the fence is called “J and the 9s” which is a punk rock band from Brooklyn, New York.
I got to see them play twice during the week. I’ve talked to J, and actually had a couple of things personally in common. 
Whether or not that’s good enough for me to start following this band remains to be seen. Their sound is fantastic, I just need a little more to push me off of the fence and join the party.
And because it is SXSW Festival, there were bands from all over the world. I saw and heard bands from Louisiana, North Carolina, New York, and all over Texas.
Another new band was Andromeda Theory. These guys came from El Paso, Texas and was actually making their way through the state until they reached the eastern side before heading back home. SXSW Festival had to have been one intentional stop on their way through traveling the state.
I honestly did not know what to think of them at first, until they started playing. Andromeda Theory was a band that I had eased into and before I knew it, I moved forward towards the edge of the stage and fired away with my camera taking all sorts of photographs. All of this while in the rain!!! 
Not even inclement weather can stop that which is enjoyable!
With each song that they played, it got better and better and better to my listening pleasure.
So I am anticipating their return back to the area again…. and again and again and again.
And so at last but definitely not least, we had a long, long period of time in which good and wholesome heavy metal music was totally absent from the stages.
Band after band after band after band … there was no heavy metal act. 
The past couple of years, metal was in plentiful supply. Why 2015?…………. WHY?????
Avenue Rage was the savior of the day.
A band from Waco, Texas actually. I was told about them through the company of Fresh Baked Tees.
Their set started out with an air raid siren. And I hoped that this was not going to be a lousy friggin’ gimmick.
I was wrong. And then I was way wrong!!!
Lead singer Russell Feight turned on some major metal heat and then ignited the fuse.
This is a band that does not mess around. Their music is serious as it is hard and fast. It was just what the doctor had ordered.
And then there was the day of unintentional rest. A day that I had decided not to go because of the rain. A mistake I still regret almost a week later. I had been under the impression and the tricky cover of darkness that the rainfall was pretty heavy and it would not be comfortable to be sitting in it all night. Giving the threat of illness to arise. So I bailed, but returned the final day and stayed the entire day until One-Eyed Doll ended it all with a massive BANG!!!!!
https://www.facebook.com/avenuerageband
https://www.facebook.com/andromedatheorymusic?fref=nf
https://www.facebook.com/jandthe9s
https://www.facebook.com/generationwastedband
https://www.facebook.com/oneeyeddollfans
https://www.facebook.com/FearControl
Dambreaker 