Art Review: March Mustache Madness / Larryville Bands at SXSW

Last night's March Mustache Madness art opening at Teller's may have been billed as a "reverent" approach to the subject matter, but the scenesters on hand for the event were decidedly irreverent, donning fake mustaches and taking pictures of each other next to the art.

They annoyed us, especially after we'd gone to the trouble of growing real mustaches especially for this event.

But how was the art itself? We especially enjoyed the following:

--BARRR's Golden Parachute, a colorful piece involving a parachuting mustache (symbolic of the resiliency of scenesters' favorite facial hair?).

--a collage of mustaches throughout history, including such favorites as Wilfred Brimley and Magnum PI but (sadly) leaving out a contemporary favorite (unless we overlooked it): Parks and Rec's Ron Swanson!

--Wayne Propst's Mustache Baby Doll, in which Propst had added a mustache to one of his patented Baby Doll Heads (as seen recently at Invisible Hand and the Pig). As we walked by, Propst himself was staring into the eyes of his own work, a mystical communion between artist and baby doll head: it will haunt our dreams. Mustache Baby Doll can be yours for $300.

Verdict:

Chip: "A powerful exhibit which really made me think...about mustaches...and how silly they look on scenesters."

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As mentioned last week, we weren't hip enough to trek down to Austin for SXSW (or maybe we were TOO hip?). Luckily, our Twitter-buddy @chewyfally was on hand and made a point of rocking with many of the Larryville bands at official showcases and otherwise. Make sure to read her piece, complete with videos and photo galleries, at this address(or via direct link in our "Important Local Resources" section):

http://6lawrence.com/entertainment/entertainment-stories/dont-mess-with-kansas-lawrence-bands-shine-bright-at-sxsw-music/

What we like about @chewyfally's music reporting is that she loves everything (as opposed to those fickle sons-a-bitches over at Pitchfork). Here's an excerpt from her piece:

"Lawrence bands have dedication. They live and breathe their music and work hard to bring it to the masses. I talked to a photographer from a London publication at the Graveface showcase. Upon learning that two of the bands there that night were from Lawrence, he said "Oh, I hear there's quite a scene out there."

And here's a picture of one of the "Noise boys" from The Noise FM showing the Brits our devotion to Pabst: