Can a group just be be too fun?

It may be a problem that plagues Brisbane, Australia-based trio the Grates. Playing a pair of shows over the next three days in Los Angeles, the Grates will hit the Southland without an U.S. label. The band's 2008 release, "Teeth Lost, Hearts Won," can be had only on import, and will run fans upward of $30 on Amazon.com. It followed the act's 2006 debut "Gravity Won't Get You High," which was distributed in America via Cherrytree/Interscope.

Their lack of a label isn't due to a lack of fans. USA Today's Whitney Matheson witnessed the Grates at South by Southwest, and called one of their shows one of her faves. As joyful as The Go! Team, possessing the dynamics of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and expressing the youthful freshness of the Ting Tings, the Grates own an upbeat sound that wouldn't be out of place in a commercial for an MP3 player.

"I didn't know much about this Australian group until I caught Saturday's set, but lead singer Patience Hodgson blew me away with her enthusiasm," Matheson wrote. "At one point, she jumped off the stage and onto the floor, told everyone to clear a space and began twirling a ribbon, gymnastics-style. A hardcore fan suddenly appeared, dressed in a leotard, and joined her for a spontaneous dance. These are the SXSW moments you dream of."

Marketers and labels should appreciate the fact that singer Patience Hodgson, guitarist John Patterson and drummer Alana Skyring update their tour blog regularly, are Twitter fiends and take advantage of YouTube (The Grates documented the recording of their latest effort "Teeth Lost, Hearts Won" with behind-the-scene videos whenever they could).

Read more and watch the Grates talking about SXSW and their quest to find a U.S. label in the video interview after the jump.

Best laid SXSW plans are as laughable as the conversations you had with your high school career counselor -- and just as useful. You might think having a blueprint is a good idea, but once you get caught up in the whirlpool of life (or, in this case, the riptide of rock), even the most detailed cheat sheats, maps and lists get thrown to the wind as the spirit grabs you when you least expect it.

For example, while waiting in line Wednesday night to hear the playfully innocent, joyous pop stylings of the Grates (pictured above), I noticed something dark emanating from around the corner. Yes, Evil, much like the sonic frequencies of bass, can bend around walls, it can seep through cracks, and like Milton's antihero, it can crawl beneath one's radar and enter the unsuspecting and lure them and tempt them, and in the case of Valient Thorr, satisfy them completely.

Now that South by Southwest's music maelstrom has entered its second full day, the unofficial "parties" are so plentiful that they deserve their own post. Most of the unofficial bashes are free; however, they may require you to RSVP so don't be offended if they don't let you in right away. Today's picks include the incomparable Daniel Johnston at the Radio Room, Juliette Lewis at the Dirty Dog, Wallpaper at the Beauty Bar, the Grates (with Patience, pictured above from last night's Radio Room performance) at Peckerheads and Tricky at the Fader Fort.

Army Navy -- 12:30 p.m.: French Legation Museum
Vivian Girls -- 12:30 p.m.: Mohawk
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart -- 12:45 p.m.: Radio Room
Dios Malos -- 12:50 p.m.: Red 7
Hockey -- 1 p.m.: Cedar Street Courtyard
Natalie Portman's Shaved Head -- 1:30 p.m.: Fader Fort
Here We Go Magic -- 1:45 p.m.: the Peacock
The Tallest Man on Earth -- 1:50 p.m.: Red 7
Eli "Paperboy" Reed -- 2 p.m.: Room 710
Daniel Johnston -- 2:15 p.m.: Radio Room
Parenthetical Girls -- 2:30 p.m.: Scholz Garten
Marching Band -- 3 p.m.: Home Slice Pizza
Those Darlins -- 3:30 p.m.: Peckerheads
DD/MM/YYYY -- 4 p.m.: Ms Bea's
Juliette and the New Romantiques -- 4 p.m.: Dirty Dog Bar
Blitzen Trapper -- 4:15 p.m.: Radio Room
Hot Panda -- 4:30 p.m.: Headhunters
Wallpaper -- 5 p.m.: Beauty Bar
The Hold Steady -- 5:05 p.m.: Red 7
No Age -- 5:30 p.m.: Red 7
The Grates -- 5:30 p.m.: Peckerheads
Hank IV -- 6 p.m.: Ms Bea's
Little Boots -- 7 p.m.: Malverde
Tricky -- 7:30 p.m.: Fader Fort
Mexicans With Guns -- 9:45 p.m.: Beso Cantina

For tonight's picks of official SXSW performances, come back later today.

-- Tony Pierce

Photo by Tony Pierce

What with the loads of free shows in the day and the endless selection of officially sanctioned South by Southwest concerts at night, it's usually a good idea to write down a short list of bands that you'd like to see. Without a list, one can head out onto 6th street in downtown Austin and get overwhelmed by the  unreal stimulation of sights, sounds, smells and tastes. More than 1,900 bands will rock out this week at SXSW, in condensed 45-minutes sets.

Most performers will play several times during the week, so if you're here and you miss the band, just type in their name at sxsw.com/music and you might be pleasantly surprised. For free day shows, Austin360.com seems to have the most complete list. However, "the buzz" is sometimes more accurate than any music critic. If you hear that some band went wild the night before and they're playing again, you might want to test out the grapevine -- it's often accurate.

Among my short-list picks, I'm most eager to hear Juliette Lewis' new band and new sound. It appears that she has dumped her hard-rocking Licks and has ventured in to something lighter with the New Romantiques. If it's interesting, expect her show Thursday at the Dirty Dog to be packed.

I'm also very excited to see the Grates, who always put on a sweet live show, full of energy and downright joy.

Girl in a Coma -- 1 p.m.: Day Stage Cafe
Tokyo Sex Destruction -- 1 p.m.: The Parish
Whispertown2000 - 1:20 p.m.: Red Eye Fly
DD/MM/YYYY -- 2 p.m.: Day Stage Cafe
Yelle -- 2:50 p.m.: Maggie Mae's
Quiet Company -- 3 p.m.: Taylor Acoustic
We Were Promised Jetpacks -- 3:30 p.m.: Emo's Annex
Black Joe Lewis -- 3:30 p.m.: Radio Room
We Should Be Dead -- 3:45 p.m.: The Parish

Rest of the list after the jump

A list of upcoming shows across the Southland, with on-sale dates in parentheses.

Hollywood Bowl
Depeche Mode, Aug. 16-17 (Sunday)

Gibson Amphitheatre
No Doubt, July 27-28; Emmanuel, June 26 (now).

Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
No Doubt, Aug. 2 (now); Dave Matthews Band, Sept. 13 (Friday).

Santa Barbara Bowl
Depeche Mode, Aug. 20 (Saturday).