Fourth anniversary day three w/ ¿LA PREGUNTA?, Ces Cadáveres, the Mall, IRS, Open Carry

Trawling Red River during SXSW, I stopped in front of Chess Club at the corner of Seventh Street, surveying the riot. Through the door, the basement bar-sized room looked like a scene out of Animal House, that junction where Fifties constriction becomes modern liberation. Outside: desperation to sidle up to that same bar. Three straight nights, four or five acts each, including headliners Threat Modeling (Thu.), Flags (Fri.), and La Pregunta (Sat.), mark the milestone of a legit venue settling into that hallowed music space. An illo on the Saturday show flyer sits a couple alt kids at a chess table, her asking mohawk, “Has it been four years?” Believe it. – Raoul Hernandez