Flanfire

The Austin SXSW Experience is never officially over until the Queen of South Austin -- Miss Leeann Atherton -- has put the finishing touches on the best party of the year, the SXSW Barn Dance at Freedom Oaks. Once again, hats are off to Dave and Cindy Cassles, who own the gorgeous property (which backs up to one of those southside creeks full of water moccasins) and who have turned their backyard into a music lover's paradise -- and hats are also off to the Chi-Wa-Wa's for their great barbecue and to all of the barn dance community for their service in making these events about as perfect an experience as anyone could have.

We are talking about people who build the stages, set up the lights, take out the trash and clean up the yard after the party is over, those who bring the food and provide for their guests from out of town and around the world. And, yes, those who play the music that makes us dance. These community barn dances are chock full of little children having a blast while their parents visit, tell stories, or even get up on stage and put on a show.

Dave Cassles - the skinny guy on the Harley whose lovely wife Cindy is always at his side - is in his other persona a life saver and member of one of Austin's top heart surgery teams. Leeann Atherton, when not belting out her own songs and interpreting the greatest songs of our generation, is a full-time mom who also teaches developmentally disabled children. And, oh by the way, she has two brand-new CD's that she is especially proud of and which she (it now appears) will be taking with her on an upcoming tour of Europe (and maybe much of America as well). At very long last, her many friends who have traveled to Austin from around the world may be able to see her perform in their hometowns (starting with Amsterdam, perhaps).

Many of those friends, including Bergen's Real Ones, are from Norway -- and as noted here, Leeann's barn was the scene of a live SXSW broadcast aired by a Norwegian radio station just the day before Sunday's annual love fest. The Real Ones -- two brothers who are half-Canadian and three lifelong friends, all from Bergen -- have been together a dozen years, performing in northern Europe and all across Canada and untold other places, but this past year they were voted the best band at the music festival in Bergen. And after Sunday's performance, which closed with an awesome rendition of Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues," they may well be voted the best band ever to play the barn dance.

Real Ones is Ivar C. Vogt on vocals, guitar, and mandolin; Jørgen Sandvik on vocals, sitar, banjo, and guitar; David C. Vogt on vocals, violin, and guitar; Øystein Skjælaaen on bass; and Kåre Opheim on drums. Self-described as a Scandanavian Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, these guys provide "the hearty, autumnal nature of warm folk, interspersed with a swirling psychedelic brood," and perhaps the best three-part harmonies since the Beach Boys. And what songs -- "I've Been Old for So Long," "Every Dog Has Its Day," "Everybody Feels Like Laughing" (how true), and others just as memorable and singable (but whose titles escape me). Go find their current release if you can, and be onb the lookout for a brand-new recording due later this year. I could have listened to these guys all day long and never gotten tired -- their set brought me all the way back to P Street Beach in Washington, DC, and the First Human Be-In back in 1967.

Just as much fun, though, was Kansas City's It's Over, three young lads and a slightly older bass player who rocked the house and made us all dance. Lead singer Jamie Searle (who's 23) was voted "Best Sexy Musician" by the Kansas City Pitch (kinda like the Chronicle in Austin), which said of the blond Beatle-esque performer: All Bonnie and Clyde vests and slacks, full-waist bends, boyish yelps and grins, and not a sprig of facial hair to show for his 23 years, Searle is both chick magnet and rock demigod. In fact, we're pretty sure a contract between him and the devil is on file somewhere in the Jackson County Courthouse. [Plus, we have documented evidence that this lad, who drinks Wild Turkey with his grandmother, is a good dancer!]

Band mates include lead guitarist Ryan Donergan, co-founder and bassist Bill "Roach" Sundahl (who's the old man of the group), and recently added drummer Andrew Twenter were dancing all over the stage playing that poprock and singing songs like "Hallelujah" (whose signature line is "I'm gonna throw out all my cares today"), "My Dear Wife" (in which a serial killer wants to know how his kids are doing), and "Come Back Home." Word is these guys like to have a good time -- passing out kazoos at gigs and even putting on shows with a carnival theme.

To be sure, this year's barn dance had lots more music, including a smoking set by Leeann herself -- with her band and special guests Topaz and Rubin on sax and harmonica. I was called away before my favorite Austin reggae band, Mr. Brown, got to the stage, and there was even more music as the evening wore on (I am told). Plus, the weather was GREAT and the food delicious! Just writing about this magnificent good time has put me in a better mood! And with all the trials and tribulations ahead, the best way to gain the strength to live and triumph is the joy of great music, great food, and great friends .... and the peace of walking with the Creator!