Jack Johnson
2026-03-13
SXSW 2026
Stubb's BBQ
Austin, TX
SOURCE:
SP-CMC-8 (w/Mods) > Sony PCM-A10 > Sandisk Mini-SD Card (32gb - Class 10)
TRANSFER:
.WAV (24 Bit) > Adobe Audition 2025 CC (normalize/amplify/tracking/dithering/downsampling) > .WAV (16 Bit) > Trader's Little Helper > FLAC (Level 6)
SETLIST:
01. (Show Intro) - Jack Johnson comes out to thank the crowd for showing up pre-show
02. Intro
03. Mudfootball
04. Taylor
05. Flake (with "In the Summertime" outro)
06. You and Your Heart
07. (talking)
08. Holes to Heaven
09. Bad Fish (Sublime cover)
10. Boss DJ (Sublime cover)
11. Inaudible Melodies
12. Middle Man
13. Upside Down
14. Tomorrow Morning
15. Bubble Toes
16. Wasting Time
17. (talking)
18. September Sessions (jam/improv session) *^
19. (talking)
20. Drink the Water *
21. Hold onto the Light *
22. (Unknown) (Hermanos Gutierrez cover) *
23. Sitting, Waiting, Wishing
24. Banana Pancakes
25. Good People
26. Home ~
27. Breakdown ~
28. Willie Got Me Stoned and Stole All My Money ~
29. Do You Remember ~
30. Better Together *^
* featuring Hermanos Gutierrez
^ featuring Rob Machado and friends
~ solo acoustic
NOTES:
I'm not the biggest Jack Johnson fan (I remember him headlining Friday night back at Coachella 2008, though I did not see that set of his), but when my friend told me he was playing at Stubb's during SXSW, and Hermanos Gutierrez was opening, I thought, well I have nothing better going on, so I may as well go (I do love the Stubb's venue) and record it. So I went down to Stubb's that afternoon and was the first person in line in the Wristband line (I did not have a SXSW badge this year, as I did not volunteer this year, so instead I purchased a Music Wristband (for 1/3 price of a badge, hoping that would get me into any "big" or "hard to get into" shows if I showed up early enough), and about 10 minutes after doors opened, I was in. Easy peasy.
Jack was in town promoting his new surf film/documentary "Surfilmusic", which I think he had shown (and talked about) earlier in the day at one of the theatres, so the night had a lot of surf vibes going on (maybe every Jack Johnson gig is like that?). To start, it was advertised that "Blood in the Water" was going to be the first opener. Blood in the Water? Never heard of them. I looked them up online and on the SXSW schedule/site, but couldn't find anything. Well it turns out they showed the "Thicker than Water" (not "Blood in the Water", stupid SXSW website) surf film (by Jack Johnson) on the stage. They were projecting it onto that giant whale's mouth section of the Stubb's stage, so you had to look up to watch it, but it was pretty cool and trippy to see it projected on that giant stage. It was like being at a mini "Sphere" show. Pretty unique and cool to be honest. I like surf videos (just as much as I like skate videos).
Anyway, after that film (which was about 45 minutes long), Hermanos Gutierrez came out and played (who I also recorded) and then finally Jack himself (and his band). They were scheduled to play from 10:00pm to 11:30pm (ah an early night's end!), but instead ended up playing until after midnight (so I missed the buses home and instead walked 3 miles back to the house I was staying at - a common theme for the week; I must have walked 50+ miles on this trip alone, probably more). At one point, they also projected/showed another one of Jack's surf films, "The September Sessions" onto the stage, and he and his band (and friends/guests, including fellow surfer Rob Machado and Hermanos Gutierrez) jammed and did an improv soundtrack to the film, for about 20 or so minutes.
Then he played a few more songs with Hermanos, from the new soundtrack/film they were premiering, and eventually he played some solo acoustic stuff and took requests, including playing a cool rendition of "Willie Got Me Stoned and Took All My Money". And then for the finale, he invited everyone back out on stage and they jammed/played on "Better Together" before signing off. It was a long, cool, chill vibe of music, and Jack looked pretty stoked and was having fun the entire time.
This set really just gave me a lot of chill surfer vibes. Watching those surf films of his, and all of his excellent cinematography, really made me wish I was part of the free surfing life. Just traveling from exotic locale to exotic locale chasing waves and hanging with friends. I was born in Oregon but grew up and was raised and lived in California all my life and people always tell me I give them total chill California surfer vibes, except I don't surf (never have). I always wish I had learned to pick it up as it seems like such a cool and chill sport and a great way to spend life. Oh well, add another regret onto the pile.
This set also reminded me and brought back memories of the old PS2 game, "Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer", which Jack Johnson was on the soundtrack for (and Rob Machado was a playable character/surfer). It's actually one of the most underrated games of all time in my humble opinion, and this night's vibes just brought back so many memories of playing that game in my bedroom 20+ years ago. I think I've been inspired to dust my old PS2 off and get it booted back up to play another session of that game.
Anyway, I was around a few annoying/loud talkers here and there (almost unavoidable at big SXSW shows), but it's not too bad. I think the recording came out pretty good all things considered. Hope ya'll enjoy.
Shoots den (peace).
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