What a great week it’s been at SXSW! I find myself feeling sad that it’s all come to an end. During the festival, walking around downtown and seeing all those people, all there for the same reason you are, they almost feel like your family! Granted, most of them were hipsters wearing skinny jeans and Ray-Ban Wayfarers, but now that it’s over you miss the skinny-jean wearing hipsters. You want to start the week over and you want the Lego back on display in the Austin Convention Centre.
Happily, this week wasn’t just about the hipsters but about some great music. Some I had heard, some I had not, but most were just fantastic! Some of the biggest surprises for me included Mother Mother, among others. I had listened to them many times before but was shocked by how great it was to watch them on stage. Ryan, the lead singer, is so animated, and Molly and Jasmin have great voices – the three of them combine to give this incredible performance!
I also caught a short performance by The Oak Ridge Boys, leading with a song containing the line “the boys are back”. Claiming to have new life injected into the band by a 32 year old producer, it sounds like the Boys are looking to make a more mainstream comeback. Their new album also contains a cover of the White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army. Using Richard Sterban’s AWESOME bass voice as the rhythm section, this remake was a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to checking out the new record.
Dlugokecki was another great find (it’s pronounced Duh-lugo-keski). They performed in this small room at the Hilton, sponsored by The Bedford in London – the Bedford was there promoting UK artists. Dlugokecki was this great band with lots of energy (some softer moments too) with lots of great drums, piano, guitar and well written lyrics. After the show, I got to meet the band members and got myself an autographed CD. I’m looking forward to getting to spend some time with it when I get home.
I’ve already written about some of the great finds from the Day Stage – performers like, Mumford & Sons, Diane Birch and Emily Wells all wowed me with their music to the point where I either already bought their CD or have added them to some list. The Day Stage was a great way to sit down, recharge (physically and electronically) and have some food while enjoying some great music.
One of the other notable moments was meeting Bob Boilen from NPR’s All Songs Considered – I listen to Bob regularly for his insight into new and exciting music (a lot of what I went to see Bob and his team had recommended). Not because he directed us to where we could find tons of free NPR swag, but it was an absolute pleasure to meet him in person and listening to All Songs will be all that more enjoyable now. (I got a pin that says, “music that’s boilen hot”. How awesome is that?)
In addition to Bob, we met some other great people too. On the first day we met a couple from Manitoba that had originally planned to get married at SXSW (!!), but plans had changed and they were just there for the music. Imagine that, eloping to SXSW? I also met a guy from London, Ontario waiting in line for the Andrew Bird show to start. He had moved from Ontario to live in the south and was there for both the Interactive and Music festivals. It was really great meeting fellow Canadians who had also made the trip to discover new music!
There were some not-so-great moments as well. There’s a whole article over at NPR which cynically describes the need for credentials, badges and wristbands. Here’s an excerpt:
SXSW access is dictated by credentials. The options are, as far as I can ascertain: all access, which involves a series of laminated badges tied to a hugely ugly lanyard; artist: a hugely ugly green lenticular slap bracelet; volunteer: a fugly XXL baby blue tee-shirt and hugely ugly bracelet; and paid visitor: a hugely ugly lenticular bracelet dispensed by a volunteer with a side of bile. In order to obtain a bracelet, one must show up at the downtown convention center and queue accordingly. Like the DMV, only more depressing. Attending SXSW as a paid visitor will cost just shy of $700.
I paid the $700 and got the badge and expected I would be granted access to any and all events without question. This, most certainly, was not the case! For most larger events there were separate lines for badge holders, but there were some events where we were sent to the back of the line behind regular ticket holders and people with wristbands. Oh, and I didn’t mention the lines for “VIPs” – if $700 doesn’t qualify you as a VIP, I don’t know what does! I will certainly make my concerns known to SXSW and cross my fingers that next year will be different.
There have been times when I thought I was close to being a hipster myself, but after spending a week in Austin for SXSW I now know that I am nowhere close to being a hipster. I guess the one thing the hipsters and I have in common is the music! I am already thinking about next year’s trip and can’t wait to be back at SXSW for 2010.
Additional Resources
All Songs Considered recaps each day at SXSW