The Broken West hands-down get the You Aint No Picasso f’ing champ award for their show at SXSW. They played at 11AM — which, in South By terms might as well be sunrise — and put on a spectacular show. They didn’t play to a huge crowd (as most everyone was still waking up, or possibly even going to bed), but to watch them, you would have thought they were playing for Madison Square Garden.

MP3: The Broken West – On the Bubble

I can’t remember too much about their set — as I was running around trying to wolf down a breakfast taco and get myself mentally prepared for the second day of Hot Freaks! — but I do recall being positively blown away by “On the Bubble” and “Down in the Valley.” The new album is great, but it’s even better live.