There are two types of bands in this world: the Wrens, and everybody else.

After the jump, more highlights from another sunny day in Austin.

Today was all about seeing bands that I've already seen somehow. The day started with Vivian Girls and Wavves. I feel like I've already said my deal about Vivian Girls, and anybody who knows me knows what a big gigantic man crush I have on their shambling, Shop Assistants-esque punk rock. And, despite Cary's somewhat negative comment on my previous post, I still hold up that Wavves live is much better than Wavves on record.

Next up was Micachu and the Shapes. I hadn't really heard anything about this band, other than running into a friend at the airport who told me that I had to check them out. So I did, and it was well worth it. I can't really put my finger on what was fun about their sound, though. (Apparently the record was produced by Herbert, but that makes absolutely no sense with the style of music they play.) The music was kind of spastic—herky jerky starts and stops, all held together by some totally twee vocals. Hell, the whole thing was kind of twee, and if wasn't for songs about STDs and whatnot, it probably would have been too cute for most.

After that was the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, again. And if I had my way, I would probably see about six of their other eight shows for the rest of the week. "Come Saturday" and "Young Adult Friction" sound freaking fantastic live, and they fact that they end their set with "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart" makes me smile. Hopefully, when they sing "we will never die" at the end of that song, they mean it. I want this band to be around forever.

Richard Swift was good. I'm always surprised how poppy he is—with his record covers and his giant stature, I always picture him doing some sort of noisy kraut-rock or something, but then he comes out with this high falsetto and piano, and it throws me off. And I always tell myself, whenever I hear his music, that I need to listen to it more. Live was no exception.

I really love Bishop Allen. They were after Richard Swift at the Jagjaguwar showcase, and even though the showcase was littered with new songs—some of which I don't love quite at the same level as those off of The Broken String—it was still basically what you would expect from them at this point: solidly constructed indie rock songs. I don't really like to use "indie rock" too much, but in the case of Bishop Allen, that's exactly what they are—an indie rock band. And a good one, to boot.

Next up was Hello Seahorse!, one of the bands that I was actually most excited for. Being from Mexico City, this was the first time they had come to the States and probably the last time in awhile that I'll be able to see them. And wow, they were awesome! While the record is very indie pop—twee songs in a kind of Los Campesinos!-light fashion—they brought the dance to their showcase, with every song being backed by a bouncy synth-line and soaring, diva-esque vocals. Even a bad idea like covering "Rapper's Delight" kind of ending working in their favor, as the song transitioned into what might have been their best song of the night.

Next, I just wanted to make sure that I saw the Wrens, so I headed to the Absolutely Kosher showcase to camp out. Sybris was good—honestly, I had kind of forgotten this band existed, and was pleasantly surprised to catch their set. And +/- played, too. All I can tell you is that my whiskey and cokes were tasting good, the dudes from Cursive were close by, and they played a cover of Leonard Cohen's "So Long, Marianne." Other than that, it was all about waiting for the Wrens.

And holy hell was the wait worth it. I love the Wrens—The Meadowlands is probably one of my favorite records of the decade—and seeing them live?! It was everything and more that I hoped it would be—loud, violent, raucous, cathartic, and downright badass. Crazy guitar fury, loud shouting, jumping around being ridiculous—the Wrens most definitely put on the best live show that I've seen thus far, and I really doubt anything is going to top it. You know, the Wrens are by no means my favorite band—or even one of my favorite bands—but live at one AM in the basement of some small bar? Yeah, they owned it, and my love for them has easily doubled after finally catching them live.