Sxsw

[antirabbit]

Originally Posted by heavy D

I went with one of my bands, played two shows in two days, came back. I'm not knocking it, I know some guys love it and I understand why, but I couldn't stand it there. Most of my off time was spent as far away from the SXSW scene as I could be.

Basically, to me, it's like any other summer music festival I've been to, just with tighter jeans and hipper haircuts. Not saying it's "sold out" or anything like that, just that with the internet a lot of the reasons it was necessary a decade a go are now moot. So the festival continues to exist, just with a slightly different purpose. But I will admit, people were generally very nice and pleasant, which is saying a lot when you have these situations where folks are basically drunk since noon.

How were your shows? Flying in and out of there is hell on earth!

Where'd you play?

 

[heavy D]

Shows were good, thanks. That group is more of a dancey/disco/funk outfit, so it's not the usual SXSW fare, but we still had good turnouts and got people dancing. As for the flights we flew in and out of San Antonio, so that helped. Main problem is the freeway signs in Texas are absolutely ridiculous- they make no sense at all. Sometimes the sign for an off ramp will be 150 ft after the ramp. We got into Austin and spent 45 minutes looking for our hotel- we could see it from the freeway but couldn't figure out how to get there as everything we tried just put us in a big ass loop. And I had directions printed out and everything. The have built in turnarounds on most exits that bypass the traffic lights which helps, but if they had decent signage they wouldn't be needed...

 

[Bhowie]

South by South Who Cares

Most Austinites blow their loads on themselves thinking about this festival. The locals over rate it.

 

[Mazda]

Originally Posted by heavy D

Shows were good, thanks. That group is more of a dancey/disco/funk outfit, so it's not the usual SXSW fare, but we still had good turnouts and got people dancing. As for the flights we flew in and out of San Antonio, so that helped. Main problem is the freeway signs in Texas are absolutely ridiculous- they make no sense at all. Sometimes the sign for an off ramp will be 150 ft after the ramp. We got into Austin and spent 45 minutes looking for our hotel- we could see it from the freeway but couldn't figure out how to get there as everything we tried just put us in a big ass loop. And I had directions printed out and everything. The have built in turnarounds on most exits that bypass the traffic lights which helps, but if they had decent signage they wouldn't be needed...

Yeah no idea why Central Austin signage along I-35 is so ******. It reminds me of D.C. Not THAT bad, but close. It has been like that for like 5 years too.

Texas normally has great highway and infastructure. Aside from the clusterfuck of 7 different freeways crossing in the area around DFW airport and Grapevine I have never seen anything really bad until Austin started tearing up I-35. Mopac and 360 in Austin can be a bit confusing since they cross multiple major highways in close proximity, but I'll trade the confusion for the fact they have minimal signage encroaching on the beautiful landscape.

 

[shoreman1782]

Friend recently moved to Austin and I'm thinking of visiting during SXSW next spring. Is it possible to get into shows during the thing without a SXSW badge? Would be down for some rock and beer and food etc but not sure if I want to commit to a $700 concert ticket if I'm not "industry."

 

[grundletaint]

yeah, there are a lot of free shows around and you can also get a wristband for around 150 (i think) that will get you into the venues. badges get priority entrance, then wristbands, then hoi polloi.

it's kind of a PITA for the bigger acts but if you don't give a crap who you're seeing, you can walk right into most places. i go to a lot of stuff and have never had a badge or wristband.

when it gets closer, a lot of places have free parties (sposored by bigger companies like levi's, etc.) where you RSVP to them and you're on the guest list for entry. once inside, there's music, free booze, free schwag, and ***** galore. you can also come and go as you like.