Day three!

Already I was beginning to suffer a bit from a lack of sleep, and my shoulders and back were killing me from having to lug heavy camera gear around everywhere (curse you, telephoto lens!). But that didn't matter, for today The Magnetic Fields were playing.

I've been a big, big fan of The Magnetic Fields for many years now, but this was the first time I was going to get to see them live, headlining the NPR Day Party at the Parish. The Magnetic Fields have never really achieved mainstream success, but they have a huge cult following, and I would say that they were a pretty big deal for SXSW. The massive line outside the venue only confirmed this.

This was the lineup:

• La Vida Boheme
• Sugar Tongue Slim
• Polica
• Lower Dens
• The Magnetic Fields

It was certainly an eclectic mix of bands, and it made for an interesting show. The Magnetic Fields themselves were excellent. Visually, they weren't perhaps the most dynamic band I've ever shot (they eschewed the dramatic lighting that accompanied all of the previous bands, and frontman Stephen Merritt looks like he could be giving a lecture in most of my photos), but musically you'd be hard-pressed to find any complaints. Apparently there were even members of the audience moved to tears by the performance.