I was eager to hear music in my first full day at
SXSW, but as it turned out, it was nearly 8 PM before I devoted my full attention to a full set.That's one of the problems, of course, with SXSW -- there's so much going on, that you're constantly being bombarded with sensory overload.The crowds wandering the streets of downtown Austin, the noises coming out of every building, the knowledge that right now somewhere some other band you wanted to see plus 14 other bands you'd probably love if only you knew they existed are playing.This isn't some
Austin City Limits Music Festival problem where it's 2 or 3 folks maybe playing simultaneously with staggered set times and within a 4-minute walk.No, this is everything. happening. at. once.No matter what you're doing, there's something else cooler happening someplace else.That may not actually be true, but it's hard not to feel that way.
My sole real barbecue experience of the weekend came courtesy of the suggestion of
Austin Chronicle writer Melanie Haupt, who suggested
Franklin Barbecue, which is a trailer in the shadow of I-35 just north of downtown.I joined Melanie, her husband, and a friend for some excellent early in the morning.It was a reminder amidst the tons of free food and stuff and music on offer at SXSW -- sometimes it's worth paying for something.I recommend it highly.
Anyway, at this point, it was nearly noon, and since the pre-meet for my SXSW panel was at 1 PM, I had to abandon any (unrealistic) plans for sliding into a day party prior to the pre-meet.So after finding some parking, I scooted on down to the convention center where I spent most of that free hour or so wandering the aisles of
Flatstock 24, a poster convention held (annually) in conjunction with SXSW.Very, very cool.It's like going to a museum - A MUSEUM OF AWESOME ROCK POSTERS.Made of awesome and win, y'all.I never did find the perfect show poster for me -- for me, it had to be a perfect combination of art and artist, and I never really did find it.(Plus, I'm trying to get rid of wall art, not add it.)But gorgeous stuff to look at.
Then it was off to the pre-meet for
Jumping into the Kiddie Pool: Diving for Dollars.
Tor Hyams was our moderator, and he led those of us on the panel through a spirited discussion of the business of kids music -- in many ways, this was as much fun for me as the panel itself that followed, because there was a lot of give-and-take.The regular panel (squeezed into a room that was probably a bit small for the 40+ folks crowded into it) was useful, I think, for the folks that attended who wanted more basic info.But there wasn't as much time for the interplay.There was time for me, however, to curse.Sorry, guys.
After the panel (the hour went by quickly, they shooed us out of there at 3:15) we continued to shoot the breeze with folks outside the panel room, then a couple of us went across the street to have a beer at the Hilton Hotel's sunken outdoor patio restaurant.While we there, a couple guys from
GWAR walked by.Those guys are normally pretty tall, walking around in elevated boots and headpieces.When your head is at about street level, they look gi-normous...
-- Shoot breeze: Gwar
