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As for the stars-come-out appearances that dotted more than two hours of Velvet Underground tunes (and the occasional Reed jam), My Morning Jacket blew through "Head Held High" but had to leave before they could attempt "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'" because of a headlining gig elsewhere; Thurston Moore and his "New Wave Bandits" (including the psych-steeped violinist Samara Lubelski) laid waste to "I'm Not a Young Man Anymore" as the Sonic Youth frontman dove into the crowd, tested his amp's patience, and threw his mic stand like a harpoon; Dr. Dog brought out the literal rays in "Who Loves the Sun" and "Ride Into the Sun"; and Moby backed his longtime guest vocalist (Laura Dawn) on a Nico-lite run-through of "Femme Fatale."

By that point in the evening, the inevitable had set in: HE has to be coming onstage now, right? After all, the guy's been waiting in the wings the whole time. Sure enough, Mr. Lou Reed croaked his way through "Walk on the Wild Side" with Moby to his left and "do do do" singers to his right. The moment was sublime for sure, albeit a little anticlimactic aside from Reed's final statement: "I love punk rock! And I was the first [punk rocker]."

You sure were, Lou; you sure were.


Moby straps on a guitar and channels his inner-punk rocker | by Andrew Parks


Lou shows us how it's done | by Andrew Parks


Thurston attempts to be as punk rock as Lou | by Andrew Parks

As for that long-awaited N.E.R.D. set (a battalion of synths and two drum kits made their sound check take an hour), it wasn't quite as flashy as Saul Williams' earlier on—dude's taking his Ziggy Stardust fascination quite seriously (thanks to tunes from his latest album, The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust)—but it was most certainly a crowd pleaser. Especially when the Neptunes' airtight band guided the duo (Hugo on the Moog, Williams up front alongside fellow vocalist Shay Haley) through ramshackle rap-rock cuts like "Rock Star," "Lapdance," and "Backseat Love."


N.E.R.D. finally hit the stage| by Andrew Parks


Pharrell twin Shay Hayley keeps the crowd guessing | by Andrew Parks

The important thing to remember here is this: Williams may not be the first rock star, ala Reed's comment, but he certainly takes the stage like he's out to reclaim an R&B throne or something. And those diamond-studded N.E.R.D. belt buckles more than a few members were wearing? Priceless.

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| SXSW Recap: Day One |

—Andrew Parks
03.14.08