I’ll admit that my decision to stay for NERD was mostly motivated by the fact that I had a pretty good spot for the show. I wasn’t that familiar with the band, but I was looking forward to it anyway. Unfortunately the hour they took to set up felt like an eternity after the speed at which the Lou Reed tribute went down. But my patience was rewarded with one of the best shows I caught at SXSW.

All I can really say about NERD sounds kind of cliche, but that doesn’t make it any less true. They really do combine all the best parts of rock and hip hop in an angry, sweaty mess. It was like watching Rage Against the Machine play with the Roots.