RACHEL RAY @ SXSW w/ Pics & Sound

Saturday was Rachel Ray’s day party was at Beauty Bar. The line was enormous! Once you get in you can see why -

The food spread, which was right within eyesight of the people waiting, was mouth watering.

It tasted even better than it looked. Or maybe it was just the first real food I have had in what.. oh 7 days.

The best were the 7-layers sliders, a woman asked if she could have something taken off and the man behind the table said, “No. Per Rachel’s orders.” Austin Catering brought and served the food, but they were all Rachel’s recipes. The guy told me the only change allowed was no meat for vegetarians.

It should tell you something that these are the first and only pictures of food I took at SXSW.

Here some people eating… amazingly diverse crowd.

A DJ was spinning inside the first room where the seating included hair dryers.

This room had free t-shirts and Cd’s from The Cringe. A line led into the back tented area where a stage was setup.

Rachel came out to introduce her husband, John Cusimano’s band - The Cringe.

“When I was ready to marry him,”she told the crowd, “I said he can’t be a picky eater and since he is a musician, his band can’t suck!”

The crowd laughed and Ray went on, “because one thing a woman can’t fake it liking good music.”

She yelled out, “Here is the CRINGE!”, and her husband appeared. They kissed as she left the stage.

Here’s a sample of the Cringe :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT4XV3SEpf4

Now I have to tell you much of the audience did not look like they have spent too much time at Alternative Rock concerts. During two songs, Cusimano jumped into the crowd and walked around singing with his guitar. I imagine he is used to being pawed all the way out and back, but this crowd just politely watched and smiled. About mid-way through the set most people were dancing to the music.

Cusimano sang a song he says was written about his wife. “It’s called Burn,” he told the crowd. “But it is not about her cooking it is about another kind of burn if you know what I mean.”

The BIG surprise came when Houston native, Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top came out and added his infamous sound to the mix. He, also, took time to show Cusimano lots of love with pats on the back.