SXSW 2008

[unitedwestand]

It's March 7-16 in Austin, TX
I've never been to this but hear its suppose to be one of the best Music Festival Gigs in the Country,
if anyone knows about it, do you have to be pretty much be 21 or have an ID to go?
And is their a line up announcement, or do bands just randomly show up at all these bars across the city, and is there any way to know whos going to be there before the festival?

[J~$$$]

http://2008.sxsw.com/music/

[worldwide2020]

i hate that sxsw website, total clusterfuck

[Courtney]

I hate that I can't afford SXSW.

[disgustipated]

this is why I might not make it to Coachella.

[J~$$$]

i hate that sxsw website, total clusterfuck

So true, then when they try to release the schedule of the 3,750,963 bands playing it gets even more heinous.

[djoz187]

I'll be there

[J~$$$]

If AEG mile high music and arts fest goes off along with this I may not make it to coachella either. I really want to make it to Noise pop too.

It all depends on artists.

[disgustipated]

I am thinking of splurging for a badge for all three parts of the conference.

[J~$$$]

ooooooh you live near local ticket sales right?.........


no. I may have to ask my cousin to pick me up one.

[disgustipated]

yeah, just moved back into town

[J~$$$]

Did you go last year?

I know nothingman00 lives there and goes every year. He had a lot of info about the fest.

[captncrzy]

I'm not going to even bother; too much work for me.

[disgustipated]

no, I was in San Diego last year and was more worried about Coachella.

[disgustipated]

between the day parties, "fest" and night parties, you could seriously go without silence for the entire five days.

[unitedwestand]

so, so far Spain’s Mala Rodriguez, London Based Avant-Dubbists Dokkebi Q to Appear at SXSW ‘08, and some Argintina Underground DJ thing are playing this year, but many more will be announced?
Didn't last year Stooges, Amy Winehouse and a bunch of other bands play?
And theirs tickets for this, or no?

[orbit]

The Breeders are playing, and Thurston Moore will be there for an interview; maybe he is playing some shows too.

You might want to get a wristband, they usually go on sale for $130. You don't need to, though. If you just want to see the big acts, get early to the venue and pay the cover. There are free shows too.

If I'm not busy with school and work by then, I will be going.

[Boourns]

Isn't it a pain in the ass to get into the bigger shows? How should one go about doing that?

[disgustipated]

yeah, the bigger shows are full of indie hipsters waiting in line for a few hours to see a band that comes through town a few times a year.

For me sxsw is about up and coming bands, you can see a band two to three years before they "make it big"

[Boourns]

And to be fair, you can also see a lot of bands you won't remember or care about six months later.

I hope everyone at SXSW this year saw Kiiiiiii. Sucks they didn't do any LA shows afterwards.

[orbit]

Isn't it a pain in the ass to get into the bigger shows? How should one go about doing that?

Well, you can get a badge for ~$500, and you will have priority entry to almost every show, unless you get late and if the show is at capacity, you can't get in. Wristbands get less priority entry than badges, but you have access to pretty much the same shows. That if the show isn't sold out by the time you get there.

[disgustipated]

A badge will also get you into the conference for the workshops.

[disgustipated]

And to be fair, you can also see a lot of bands you won't remember or care about six months later.

well sure, not all 500+ can be Tiny Tim.

[TomAz]

i've been to sxsw a few times. not in a while though. one year i was walking down the street and here comes john paul jones walking towards me. freaky. that beats danny devito any day. well. not really.

basics: 30-40 venues scattered around the city. most are concentrated downtown, from Stubbs to La Zona Rosa, but others are farther afield, like UT or the Broken Spoke. each night there are 6 bands or so at each site, playing one hour slots. no more, no less, pretty much. You can't always hop from club to club like you can move from stage to stage at Coachella because each club has its capacity restrictions. Plan on no more than 1-2 switches a night if you must, and make them early. You're not gonna be able to get in to see the Wacos at 1 am. Better strategy is just to pick a club and stick to it all night, though that can get boring if the bands suck.

lineup announcements should be soon. timeslots won't be announced til week of show.

get a hotel room now, if you really want to go.

to get a wristband you have to do it locally so it helps to have a friend in Austin. wristband waves bar cover charge but does not guarantee entry if club filled to capacity. you can do the "just pay the cover thing" but then you probably ought to plan on just spending each night at one place and not even going outside for a smoke.

unsurprisingly sxsw is a hit-or-miss proposition. I've seen some real shit. been disappointed by bands i loved. but also (as I've told the story several times, apologies to those who have heard it) I stumbled across Okkervil River in 2000 when they were selling a self-produced CD from the stage (I bought mine off Will S himself). so if you're lucky you can catch a real unknown that might turn into an indie media darling.

[disgustipated]

Tom, It saddens me to say that the land that The Broken Spoke sits on has been sold to another California investor to put up yet another complex of unnecessary condos.

[TomAz]

oh man not the Broken Spoke. I hung out there with the Dixie Chicks once. sort of.

[disgustipated]

I had a beer there with Willie Nelson.

I think there are more than a few pissed off people getting a petition together to keep the Spoke where it is and make the investors build around it.

They (money-hungry california investors) are changing the face of this city and I hate them for it.

[orbit]

A Place to Bury Strangers and The Cribs are confirmed too. Lou Reed will be giving a speech; maybe he is doing a solo show as well?

[Alchemy]

this is why I might not make it to Coachella.

You could see better bands and some of the sxsw highlight bands at Coachella in just 3 days without having to worry about not getting into bars and that business. Coachella is so much more worth it.

[summerkid]

yeah, SXSW has always seemed like too much of a hassle to me.