BREAKING SXSW NEWS: Death From Above 1979 Reunion Show Mayhem

Craig Hlavaty

​It was a music nerd's dream, one of your favorite bands of the past ten years reuniting. Even though the titanic-sounding Canadian bass and drums duo Death From Above 1979 only released one LP, one EP, and a remix album, they managed to cultivate a following of rabid punks, indie-rockers, and metal freaks. Their announcement earlier this year that they would be coming back for the Coachella Festival was met with rapturous social media applause.

Craig Hlavaty

​They picked SXSW as their return to the scene at Austin's Beauty Bar, the same day that the world starting bombing Libya, and a "super" moon was looming overhead. Somehow we knew that it had to happen like this.

A mini-riot complete with a shoddy, downed fence, beer cans flying through the air, Austin police officers on horses, tasers going off, mace being expelled, and cops using extreme force to quell the crowd who couldn't get inside the tiny patio venue.

Craig Hlavaty

​It was a chaotic hour. The band did stop playing momentarily to get a sense of what was going on. Rocks Off took as many pictures as possible when we weren't dodging mace and tasers in the ruckus. The fence was eventually brought back up, with most of the security and staff at the bar holding it in place. A few cops were inside the venue with us to watch for anyone looking to jump the fence again.

Craig Hlavaty

​How did the band sound? Great, amazing, just like the past six years didn't go by with silence. They played all of their biggest fan-favorites from You're A Woman And I'm A Machine and the Heads Up and Romantic Rights EP's. They played "Blood On Our Hands" as the crowd outside raged and moshed on the concrete in the back alley with cops looking on.

No word yet on touring plans outside of the Coachella appearance and a few other festival shows, but we will keep you posted.