in which our man in Austin runs down the best ways to enjoy this week's South by Southwest festival without spending a dime

For your reference: I live about five miles north of 6th and Red River. That’s South by Southwest ground zero. Up here, it’s all peaceful—birds, parking, lack of vomit in the street. So, though my daily news publication insists that the long economic reach of the behemoth SXSW Festival “spread[s] far across the city,” from where I live, you’d almost kind of never know it.  Except that, though I haven’t yet experienced a South by from these particular digs, I’m pretty sure that some portion of the thing will creep its way into this neighborhood.

Officially, like for the badge-having types who get all-access to the whole festival for somewhere north of $1,000, this might happen at the Nomad—a cozy bar just down the street. Unofficially, it could happen at someone’s house—in their backyard, at like noon. Bonus? Those shows often come with a keg. And you rarely have to dish out any thing for the privilege.

This is what stands in for the underground at SXSW. And though even this portion of the festival has been co-opted—see: the Levi’s Fader Fort, for example—you can still get in to see most of it with little more than an RSVP.

Here’s a quick run-down of just some of what you Austin-bound lucktards can look forward to not paying for. This is, by no means, a complete list. For that, head on over to Show List Austin, which’ll give you the full scope of this totally ridiculous week.

* Last time around, those Fader Fort duders brought out Kanye West for a surprise set. This year’s confirmed performers include YACHT, N.E.R.D., David Banner, Lykke Li, and, uh, 2 Live Crew. Food’ll be provided (we’re unsure about the freeness of this) by the capital area’s most overrated barbecue joint and one of our many purveyors of fine cupcakes. Trouble is that, if this is the first time you’re hearing about it, you’re already too late for an RSVP. Sounds about right for something sponsored by The Fader. This’ll happen between Wednesday and Saturday.

* NYC’s Other Music is sponsoring a two-day affair called the Lawn Party. Performers include the xx, Austin-locals Yellow Fever, Real Estate, Thurston Moore, D Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 âm Funk, Dengue Fever, and Talk Normal. You can still RSVP for this sucker on Facebook, but as far as we can tell, there’s no real need. This’ll happen on Thursday and Friday.

* I’m not quite sure how a free show can also be a benefit show, but Eastbound and Found is apparently just that. Performers here include White Denim, Danielson, Kid Sister, and THE FUCKING GZA. Just in case you missed it, this’d be your chance to see THE FUCKING GZA for FUCKING FREE. RSVP here. This’ll happen on Thursday.

* Want to know just how un-weird SXSW daytime action has gotten? Look no further than Cheap Trick’s free festival performance at Waterloo Records. This’ll happen on Wednesday.

* OK, so apparently, the GZA is playing two free day shows. This one’s the Brooklyn Vegan party at Emos, where he’ll be joined by the likes of the NYT-hyped New Jersians Titus Andronicus and Japandroids. This’ll happen on Wednesday.

* The Big Parking Lot show will feature performances from Videohippos, Zs, and Acid Mothers Temple. (Full disclosure: I am also performing in a band that will grace this stage.) This’ll happen on Thursday.

* I’ve been trying to steer clear of any pay shows masquerading as day shows, but we figure this one should make the cut: Thanks to the folks at Insound, $3 gets you unlimited beer and performances from the Liars and Vivian Girls (among others). It’s at Club Deville and it’ll happen on Thursday.

* Lest you metal people think you were left out: Full Metal Texas 2010’ll have Darkest Hour, Fair to Midland, a whole lot of other heaviness, and a special guest. Oooooooooo! This will happen on Thursday.

* The IheartComix, Jelly, and Mad Decent Carniville will have Major Lazer, the Walkmen, Diplo, Kid Sister, YACHT, the GZA (again), Japanther, D Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 âm Funk, and about a billion other awesome bands. This’ll happen on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

This, really, honestly, is just a sampling. Indeed, I’ve spent so much time staring at Show List Austin that it’s starting to look like a wordsearch. So I’m gonna stop.

Electro-pop soul singer Lykki Li began her U.S. tour at the Sixth and I Historical Synagogue Saturday night. Her lascivious taunts and synth vibrations roused the crowd from pew-sitting to aisle-dancing.

Wildbirds & Peacedrums (below) opened the night with a minimal confluence of jazzy vocals and tribal drum beats, but the crowd was eager to see the headliner.

Equipped with a black cape and prima donna 'tude, Li (first name pronounced LICK-e) performed all the bangers from her debut LP, Youth Novels. She opened with "Dance, Dance, Dance" and chimed her mini bell with steady drumstick hits. As the energy picked up, so did the bodies, creating a makeshift dance floor in a space more conducive to Shabbat service than body grinding.

Li swayed on stage with a kind of staccato, robotic grace. She had a rock star presence that almost seemed too big to contain within the Synagogue's dome. When not breathily crooning into the mic, she was railing on a crash symbol or hyping the crowd with a back and forth hip-hop sensibility (she even managed to sample Lil Wayne midway through one song).

The sold-out crowd was enrapt with Li's charming Swedish eccentricity and adorable voice that sounds a decade younger than her 22 years. Her songs weren't straight studio cuts, either: "Complaint Department" had heavier kicks and deeper grooves than the album version and played out like a Euro house jam. "Window Blues" was more acoustically sophisticated, with Spanish guitar that sounded more distinguished and brooding live. Li led the audience in the song's French chorus, accentuating each word with a resonant drum thump.

The night was still young when the show ended, but Lykke Li gave the crowd some spirited dance pre-game and maybe even a few melodies that would be sung all the way to the next party.

More photos here.

Photos by Brandon Wu

...but do you know about the supporting band for her current tour, Wildbirds & Peacedrums?

If not, you should – combining minimalist folk, Bjork-like caterwauling vocals, unusual instrumentation (lots of kalimba and whatever that stringed contraption is in the photo above), and insanely propulsive percussion, this duo were a pleasant if slightly misplaced surprise at Nordic Jazz 08 last year. At that show atop the House of Sweden, Wilbirds & Peacedrums opened for folksy jazz group Kristian Blak & Yggdrasil. That was a odd pairing; the pairing with Lykke Li, on the other hand, is downright inspired. Both are kind of spastic and mostly high-energy indie pop, but in completely different ways that I expect will complement rather than conflict with each other.

Unfortunately the show tomorrow at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue is sold out, but if you're going, get there early enough to see the openers.