Two weeks ago, I didn’t even think seeing Echo and the Bunnymen was an option in my life. I didn’t know they were touring regularly and had I known, I wouldn’t have though I’d ever get that opportunity. That’s a band that plays the Reading Festival and then calls it quits, right? Apparently not. Apparently they’re a band that’s more than happy to play a free show at an outdoor Texas venue to almost two thousand appreciative fans.

The first thing I have to impart to you is that Ian McCulloch is the most commanding frontman who doesn’t really move. The guy never left a two foot diameter spot on stage, but he gripped the microphone so well that I don’t think anyone really cared. Hell, the band had such a full and powerful sound to compliment the half-dozen classic songs they played, he and the rest of the band could have sat down for all I cared. They might not have been as energetic as, say, U2, but they had a presence that said they didn’t have to be.

The set was just about as perfect as could be. They started out with a twin set of their best songs, “Seven Seas” and “Bring on the Dancing Horses,” before moving on to a new song that’s presumably off their upcoming record The Fountain. From there they did a great job of turning “Nothing Lasts Forever” into a great cover of Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side.” I thought it was just going to be a tease at first, but they did pretty much the whole song, including a sly lyric change for the locals: “A hustle here and a bustle there, Austin city’s the place where…” Love love loved it.

And because they’re a seminal band with a wide-reaching influence, they did something that only maybe two other bands in Austin that week could do: they closed with three songs everyone in attendance should have known. OK, it could be argued that pretty much the whole set was comprised of songs we all should have known, minus the new one, but these were just three really solid, classic rockers that allowed the rock genre to progress in new directions. And I love me some Indie Rock 2009, but these bands have a lot of work to go before they can claim that. But right, the songs. Echo and the Bunnymen closed out their Stubbs set by leading into the first E&TB song I ever heard, “The Killing Moon,” — which featured prominently in Donnie Darko — and then “The Cutter” and the set-closing “Lips Like Sugar.”

It was one of the most powerful sets I saw at SXSW and one that I consider myself lucky to have attended. It’s just another example of how fantastic Austin, Texas is for one week. How often do you get to see a classic band like Echo and the Bunnymen for free? If you’re at SXSW it’s at least once.

More photos after the break.