Thur afternoon @ 3:30 p.m. 6th street.

SXSW is that one event every year that never fails to bring a sense of excitement as well as an extreme feeling of being overwhelmed. Every year when the dust settles, I always seem to feel like I missed something great, possibly to not utilizing my time properly. In past years, to try and utilize my options, I’ve invested in the badge (move to the front of the line please) and put together intense schedules, in hopes of avoiding that sense of missing out. It just doesn’t work. This year I took a differnet approach, for several different reasons.

Now, we all know that SXSW has grown into an event that takes over the city and has spawned a whole non-official festival as well. Free day parties and shows have grown to a number that surely has the official SXSW livid beyond belief yet limited on what they can do to restrict. The Fader Fort is a prime example of how big the non-official events have become. In all my years of attending, this year seemed to be the year that SXSW flexed it’s muscle as much as it could to try and prevent bands from playing non-sanctioned events. I heard of several situations where bands were asked to not play events, resulting in bands dropping off of parties, or representing themselves a bit differently to avoid detection. Even Gomez’s Tom Gray mentioned that he was surprised that SXSW hadn’t pulled them off stage during their IFC Crossroads performance on Tuesday night. Quite honestly, I’m not exactly how I feel about this. On one hand, it comes across as petty, but I do understand to a certain extent. What’s the compromise though?

So after years of buying into the SXSW, purchasing the badge, checking out the trade show, attending panel discussions, etc., I decided to take a different approach. No badge and no schedule. I did happen into a wristband, but it really served more as an accessory than a way to access any show that I wanted to see. It sure as hell wouldn’t have gotten me into 3 different shows on Wed night that I wanted to see, as the lines were long well before the performances, and even the badges were waiting in lines that stretched for 1/2 a block or more. Is this the future of SXSW? Long lines beyond belief with the elite few and extremely patient getting to see the shows that they really want. I thought it was the present, but a couple of huge shows that I thought wouldn’t be accessible for many, surprised me. Wristbands getting into Metallica? The Austin Music Hall selling tickets for Devo to the general public? Not what I expected at all.

Maybe Wednesday’s crowds were a result of an overlap of Interactive and Music badge holders? I heard from several people who work the week in several different capacities that this year didn’t feel as busy as years past. It’s hard for me to gauge, but makes sense being the economy is in the dumps. I do know that the Fader Fort had no shortage of lines each day in it’s operation.

Where am I going with this? I love SXSW, and think it’s the greatest week of music anywhere in the world, and I look forward to each year like a young child looks forward to Christmas. I want to support the business that is SXSW, but is it necessary for someone in my position, in order for me to have the best experience during the week. Not necessarily.  People complain about the locals or non-wristband/badge folks who take advantage of all of the parties, clogging up lines, and making it more difficult for the “official” attendees to enjoy this events, but what is the solution? I don’t know, but I do know that this year I didn’t throw down hundreds of dollars in hopes of gaining better access to shows, had the best SXSW in years, and saw almost every band I set out to see. And I saw some good stuff. I hope that you did as well.

Standout bands from this year..coming soon.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at 2:41 pm and is filed under SXSW.