Record Store Day 2012: Grooving on Gary Clark Jr.

Record Store Day 2012 has come and gone, and while our experience this year was mixed, there are a few truths that seem to have been confirmed:

• If you want a copy of one of the most in-demand records, show up early.  Stuff sells out early.
• If you shop at Waterloo, bring a wad of cash!  The line on Record Store Day was daunting -- I almost turned around and left -- but instead I fought through the crowds, grabbed what I wanted and got in line, figuring I'd just be patient and wait.  Lucky for me, the nice man operating the cash-only register came around looking for those of us with enough cash to check out, and I was one of the few lucky souls, thereby avoiding the last half of the 100+ person checkout line.
• Gary Clark Jr. is going to be a big, big star.  Trust me.  If you haven't read one of the thousands of gushing recent reviews of one of his shows or his Bright Lights EP and jumped on this bandwagon, you're late now.

So while Gary was gaining racking up new fans while holding court in a big tent at Coachella, the best I could do was grab one of the last copies of his Record Store Release, Gary Clark Jr. Presents HWUL Raw Cuts Vol. 1.  After going home and listening to Clark Jr. rip his guitar (and flipping the record back and forth a few times in a row), I'm convinced that he's closer to the next Jack White than the next Robert Cray.  And not to knock Cray, but I mean that as a good thing.

If you couldn't make it to a store on Record Store Day, some of the releases are still available, so go check out your local record store (here's our list of Austin's participating retailers).  If that's too much trouble, here's Gary Clark Jr. from his Record Store Day release, flipping Jimi with "Third Stone From the Sun/If You Love Me Like You Say."