music is my boyfriend

5 best and 5 worst of SXSW 2008

in the grand tradition of sharing my opinion, i have compiled my top 5 best and worst things about this year’s big dance in austin… i started this list at stubb’s when the first annoying thing annoyed me.

ever the glass half full — first the worst

1. there’s nowhere to sit, EVER — i found myself walking a lot which doesn’t bother me, but when i arrived at the venue of my choosing, the best bet i had for a seat was either the gross curb (featuring trash, gum, cigarette butts, etc), a random bar stool from which the stage could not be enjoyed, or a stone window ledge or pool table which would work until a bored bar employee would wander over and tell me to get down — bleh
2. there’s nothing to eat — well that’s not ENTIRELY true, I mean there’s BEER and something made of cardboard that’s masquerading as pizza. for the pescetarian in me who refuses to eat anything that’s more than 30% oil, it was slim pickens. this began the moment i crossed the tx state line. i rode into town with division day and we had one hell of a time finding something made of natural causes or even edible at the greyhound truck stop in van horn. we’re all mostly veggies or at least healthy eaters. i had to make a trip out to magnolia cafe with a fellow healthful person one night, and despite my objections i eventually found one pizza spot that wasn’t making their dough from bath water (let’s not even talk about how it came from a truck). so I spent most of the week having luna and drinking massive cups of coffee (thank god texas hasn’t ruined starbucks). it’s important to mention that there IS a whole foods, however it’s WAY on the end of the strip.
3. two stages, one venue — while i understand the need to maximize the space for a venue when you’re throwing a party at sxsw (especially with INSANE beer minimums and bullshit texas liquor sponsor laws) is it REALLY necessary to aim two stages in the same building AT each other? and furthermore, if you’re going to do that, at least have the decency to stagger the performances! or if you have an indoor stage and an outdoor one, let’s try to come up with a way to keep from having to squeeze through a crowd during a band’s set just to stand around outside waiting for the band you came to see to set up… hmmm like maybe NOT staggering the sets. the wave set-up was rather annoying since we were trying to watch yacht (although can’t say i missed much) when a bar-band type act was playing their set at the same time down one flight of stairs and facing our backs. it was an unusual remix to say the least for both groups. red eyed fly had the indoor/outdoor problem and i got to feel extra awkward pushing my way through the indoor band’s set just to stand around outside and wait on the outdoor band’s sound-check.
4. free shit nobody wants — i managed to walk away from this year’s festival with one of the new sandisk sansa mp3 players (more on this later, since it’s still new and i want to make sure he’s the one before i introduce him to my friends) which is clearly the gifting of the year so far. i got it at the sansa playground which was easily the most fun part of my saturday. there were fortune tellers, photogs, djs, elks AND free technology. in true sxsw fashion, i left a few square feet in my bag for freebies but unfortunately this year, i was brutally rebuffed. i managed to successfully avoid the levi’s fader fort thingy again this year, but diesel, where you at bro? i missed the rocket dog gifting by a hair at the Sansa Playground and when i saw the device sock (seriously?) i didn’t even bother with the myspace/spin party (although i heard they gave out hard to use video devices?) i got a few cds (way to keep it green folks) but not the usual non-matching coaster set of over-priced recorded shite, and i did manage to score a sweet jansport beanie (in the middle of spring). i had a lot less to throw out or give to the folks back home and i did get the one useful thing i wanted, but i coulda done without 200 or so 80-calorie zone bars.
5. unlisted parties — it WAY sucks that sxsw won’t just suck it up and include a list of day parties in their booklet or at least make a schedule of them. c’mon guys, SELL the damn thing. i would’ve paid $3 for a black and white xeroxed copy of the parties and bands broken out like the showcase schedule was. i found myself running back and forth from this venue to that one trying to find out where a band was playing at 2:30 because my original plan changed. turned out, i walked by the venue twice and nearly gave up because it wasn’t listed somewhere as a quick reference. you’re probably wondering why my internet-techie-savvy self didn’t just dial it up on my phone… well i tried that, but all the searching and texting i was doing was eating my battery and i didn’t have enough time to charge it between things. uggh sxsw — don’t be corporate, just make the list already.

and now for the things i loved about this year — best of the fest

1. the variety — in the past sxsw has meant that there were a bunch of decent bands no one knows about that had a chance to play the same place where 15-20 amazing bands would be playing. and if the right people got shut out of the sought-after shows, they might wander into the venue where xyz band is playing and discover the next big thing. this year, i saw some stellar bands and had no problem getting in. i had a wristband, like always, but no badge and tho the wristband line moved faster in most places, i almost never found myself even waiting in line. i managed to catch sets by joseph arthur, the ting tings, the duke spirit, the henry clay people, the mae shi, yacht, times new vikings, darker my love, film school, sea wolf, the evangelicals, laura marling, 1349, enslaved, no age, health, junkie xl, roky erickson, the deadly syndrome, the airborne toxic event, a place to bury strangers, and of course, division day. i could easily walk from one place to the next to check out band after band with little trouble and not feel like i was missing out. mgmt would’ve been nice to catch, and only getting to see the mae shi once was a bummer since they played 18 times. but all in all, i’m glad i got to see what i saw.
2. the new friends — dang. this was the year of musicians taking the time to bro down hard. this was the year when members of several l.a. bands could be seen showing up at each others’ shows and just doing it up. it’s the one place where l.a. rules don’t apply — when you say you’re going to their show, you do. why not? there’s nothing else to do but shows. at the indie 103.1 showcase — members of the deadly syndrome, airbourne toxic event, the henry clay people, division day, and a few more were seen hanging out and at bourbon rocks i saw a place to bury strangers, film school and foreign born listening side by side to a bar rock band. i met a ton of new people and i remembered all their names without having to refer to their business cards or managers. nice.
3. helpful text messaging — even when i was checking out a show alone, i wasn’t really alone thanks to the promise of regular updates from my pals around the streets heading to the next thing and letting me know what their plans were. it was also super easy to keep track of things i shouldn’t bother rushing over for like: “dude, mgmt is mobbed… don’t bother - meet me at man man” or “no problems getting in for yo la tengo, hurry over!” last year texting was an important part, but the object was more to play keep away. this year it was spread the love.
4. ear plugs are sexy — i have long been a fan of wearing ear plugs at shows. for goodness sakes, this is how i make my living! more than twice this year, i had the occassion to hear musicians talk to other musicians about how important it is to protect their ears. at one point, at the black metal show, i was with someone who lost an earplug in the pit (so glad i’m not making this up) and i was able to get him a replacement because a thoughtful soundman happened to have a spare set of the cheap guys. nice move sound man. it was great to see that so many gifted musicians were taking care of their ears and it’s great to know that the venues were conscious of it too, even selling them for $1 behind the bar. the added bonus? with your plugs in, you can stand right in front of the speakers and enjoy the show unobstructed.
5. cash bars — with the shitty economy, a lot of promoters and party planners were unable to do the usual “free beer” at sxsw parties this year. this meant that it severely limited the fall-down drunken behaviour that sometimes gives the music fest a bad name. if you can get into the show, back in the day, it meant that you can drink for free. now, you can get into the show no problem, but you’re going to have to buy your drinks. i think it keeps a lot of the locals who are just looking to drink on myspace’s dime out of the events unless they’re really there to see the bands. it made for a much more enjoyable experience from where i stood (mostly because there was nowhere to sit).