Sensory overload. That’s how I’d describe my first day-and-a-half in Austin. Indeed, mere minutes after landing, I receive a call from an old Toronto pal, Eric Warner — of We Are Busy Bodies fame — who’s at a slip ‘n’ slide house party. Who am I to say no?

ZORCH
Here, we catch Neon Windbreaker, a once-joke misfit act who've managed to legitimize themselves via their newly refined Level-Plane-histrionics-meets-‘90s-Canadiana approach (And that’s no joke. They cover “The Good in Everyone” and “Tinfoil”). A just-established Friendster account doesn’t hurt, either. This, from a recent performance in Toronto, via the killer Untold City:

NEON WINDBREAKER @ RAINBOW PALACE from untold city on Vimeo.

The real shock? Their set is followed by Austin locals Zorch, the first real holy-fuck moment of the fest. A two-man Austin dance machine, this is all overblown synth, Macbook madness and pounding drums. Editorializing doesn’t do it justice. Download their demo here, or for the more risqué, pick the stems of their songs. Sadly, it’s time to pick up my press badge and check into the hotel.

MALAJUBE
Next, after picking up my press badge and checking into my Craigslist-score sublet, I scoop up an old pal, Charlotte and we head to the tail of M for Montreal showcase (filled with travelling Canadians, no less). The Dears perform excellently, as Fast Forward Weekly guest blogger Dave Jaffer notes, with the energetic Malajube stepping on stage next.

You know ‘em, even if you don’t — beyond excellent 2009 release Labyrinthes, they’ve scored The Trotksy, had music featured on Radio Shack and Zellers commercials, and, aside from Karkwa and Coueur de Pirate, are one of the few Francophone acts that les tete-carrees can stomach. It’s not hard to see why:

CASIOKIDS
To end the night, we catch Norwegian electro-pop act Casiokids at Beauty Bar — a venue we’ve already since visited twice. Here, the first true serotonin dump: Playing tracks from Topp Stemning På Lokal Bar, its singles collection, each member rotates between drums, snyth, guitar, bass and bongos; Benny Benassi-bass provided cheap, gut-rumbling thrills, but Jonsi-esque welps and their natural, blissful chemistry kept things both interesting and, quite frankly, memorable. We're danced out for the evening, but there's still four more days.