SXSW 2008

[kitt kat]

i've always wanted to go, but it always comes a shittatic time of the year for me

[disgustipated]

Originally Posted by Alchemy

Coachella is so much more worth it.

totally different monster

[Alchemy]

Originally Posted by disgustipated

totally different monster

Yes that's true, but in this case were talking about choosing one or the other.

[disgustipated]

right, and the fact that I can ride my bike to sxsw is a huge selling point. I am still trying to do both, will have to see how much uncle sam gives me.

[Alchemy]

Oh. Good luck with all that.

[Ardentbiscuit]

Lou Reed To Keynote South By Southwest

December 20, 2007, 11:15 AM ET

Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

Lou Reed will serve as the keynote speaker for the 2008 South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, Texas. The artist will discuss his career March 13 as part of the kick-off of the event, which will also feature a screening of the Julian Schnabel film "Lou Reed's 'Berlin.'"

Also confirmed to speak at SXSW are composer Steve Reich and Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore, Hall & Oates principal Daryl Hall and Sire Records founder Seymour Stein.

Among the artists due to perform during the March 12-16 bash are My Morning Jacket, Daniel Lanois, Mala Rodriguez and Dokkebi Q.


Last year's SXSW was keynoted by the Who's Pete Townshend, who also made several on-stage appearances during the event.

Daryl Hall?????????????????????!!!???

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/..._id=1003687836

[munkeybrains]

Originally Posted by 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?

yes you need to be 21. yes, in addition to the 1500 or so regularly scheduled shows, there are unannounced bands and musicians randomly showing up. there are "secret" shows, industry only shows, surprise shows, huge lines, copious drinking, lots of pissing and vomiting in the street, and general madness 24/7. good to do once or twice in your life.

[duderanch]

I interviewed Montreal band, The Stills last night. They will be at SXSW this year.

[Boourns]

Will they also be at Coachella?

[kitt kat]

lou reed

[duderanch]

They said it was possible, but I doubt it.

[hangthedj112]

Originally Posted by summerkid

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

Yeah, if you were just going to see bands, it is way more of a hassle than just going to a music festival

but to me SXSW has seemed like it's more about a week long party.

[duderanch]

SXSW Music is pleased to announce a special showcase by R.E.M. at the SXSW 2008 festival. Athens' finest have recently completed recording of their album "Accelerate," due April 1 on Warner Brothers Records. Details on the date and venue are forthcoming, check 2008.sxsw.com and remhq.com for updates.

[rage patton]

If REM are playing Langerado and SXSW... I think that officialy counts them out for Coachella.

Originally Posted by duderanch

I interviewed Montreal band, The Stills last night. They will be at SXSW this year.

I saw the Stills opening for Broken Social Scene once. They were good, they weren't amazing.

[menikmati]

I think you're right....they obviously weren't booked to play Coachella to debut the new material, so they chose langerado and SXSW instead.

[idrive1life]

Originally Posted by duderanch

SXSW Music is pleased to announce a special showcase by R.E.M. at the SXSW 2008 festival. Athens' finest have recently completed recording of their album "Accelerate," due April 1 on Warner Brothers Records. Details on the date and venue are forthcoming, check 2008.sxsw.com and remhq.com for updates.

Originally Posted by rage patton

If REM are playing Langerado and SXSW... I think that officialy counts them out for Coachella.

Originally Posted by menikmati

I think you're right....they obviously weren't booked to play Coachella to debut the new material, so they chose langerado and SXSW instead.

I want to experience my first SXSW but I'm saving money and vacation time for other things. Anyway, I can't wait now to be among the first ones who will hear R.E.M.'s new materials live at Langerado.

[orbit]

My Morning Jacket and the Black Keys are confirmed too.

[Boourns]

Originally Posted by menikmati

I think you're right....they obviously weren't booked to play Coachella to debut the new material, so they chose langerado and SXSW instead.

Ugh, I hope that's not the case, but it sounds about right. But if Radiohead, Bowie, and R.E.M. are out, what's left that's available and actually worth seeing?

Nevermind, we have enough topics dedicated to this.

[Ardentbiscuit]

SXSW has announced the first round of bands confirmed to perform at the 2008 event set to take place in Austin, March 12-16. Some major names set to appear include: R.E.M., My Morning Jacket, Daniel Lanois, The Black Keys, The Kills, My Brightest Diamond, Kaki King, Pato Banton, Vampire Weekend and JamBase faves Rotary Downs.

This list below reflects bands that have claimed their own intentions of coming to Texas in March, as well as those with official confirmations (list courtesy of austinist.com). Stay tuned for further announcements.

AA Bondy
Alina Simone
A Place to Bury Strangers
Awkward Stage Band
Bella
Birthday Suits
Black and White Years
Black Joe Lewis
The Black Keys
Bon Iver
Breeders
Carlis Star
Carolyn Mark
Car Stereo (Wars)
the Choir Practice
The Cribs
Daniel Lanois
Daryl Hall
Dead Confederate
Die! Die! Die!
The DoDos
Dokkebi Q
Doug Walker
El Jesus de Magico
The Feral Children
Firewater
Frightened Rabbit
Gallows
Goes Cube
The Gusto
Hanne Hukkelberg
Health
Hey Willpower
Holy Fuck
Jens Lekman
Joe Lean + The Jing Jang Jong
Justin Townes Earle
Kaki King
The Kills
Lightspeed Champion
Mala Rodriguez
Minmae
My Brightest Diamond
My Morning Jacket
Necropolis
Ouija Radio
the Pack A.D.
Pato Banton
Peelander-Z
Pinstripe
Plants & Animals
Popup
The Raveonettes
R.E.M.
Rotary Downs
Screamin' Cyn Cyn & the Pons
Secret Shine
Sia
$olal
Sons & Daughters
The Soundtrack of Our Lives
Southeast Engine
Tech N9ne
The Kills
These New Puritans
Times New Viking
Unholy 2
Vampire Weekend
Vancougar
The Voom Blooms
White Shoes & the Couples Company
White Williams
Wussy


http://www.jambase.com/Articles/Stor...?StoryID=12513

[TeamCoachellaHellYeah]

crap? Coachella would have to share the Breeders AND REM? I am going to go with Rage on this and write off REM...looks like they are the festival whores of 2008...bet they will be at Sasquatch or Bonnaroo though.

[kreutz2112]

Originally Posted by Ardentbiscuit

AA Bondy
Alina Simone
A Place to Bury Strangers
Awkward Stage Band
Bella
Birthday Suits
Black and White Years
Black Joe Lewis
The Black Keys
Bon Iver
Breeders
Carlis Star
Carolyn Mark
Car Stereo (Wars)
the Choir Practice
The Cribs
Daniel Lanois
Daryl Hall
Dead Confederate
Die! Die! Die!
The DoDos
Dokkebi Q
Doug Walker
El Jesus de Magico
The Feral Children
Firewater
Frightened Rabbit
Gallows
Goes Cube
The Gusto
Hanne Hukkelberg
Health
Hey Willpower
Holy Fuck
Jens Lekman
Joe Lean + The Jing Jang Jong
Justin Townes Earle
Kaki King
The Kills
Lightspeed Champion
Mala Rodriguez
Minmae
My Brightest Diamond
My Morning Jacket
Necropolis
Ouija Radio
the Pack A.D.
Pato Banton
Peelander-Z
Pinstripe
Plants & Animals
Popup
The Raveonettes
R.E.M.
Rotary Downs
Screamin' Cyn Cyn & the Pons
Secret Shine
Sia
$olal
Sons & Daughters
The Soundtrack of Our Lives
Southeast Engine
Tech N9ne
The Kills
These New Puritans
Times New Viking
Unholy 2
Vampire Weekend
Vancougar
The Voom Blooms
White Shoes & the Couples Company
White Williams
Wussy

The bolded artists are who I have actually heard of. I dont think it's anything spectacular...........yet.

[bballarl]

The fact that Daryl Hall is involved makes it awesome.

[Boourns]

Wow, lots of mediocrity there.

[disgustipated]

Originally Posted by kreutz2112

The bolded artists are who I have actually heard of. I dont think it's anything spectacular...........yet.

the point is to get familiar with those you havent heard of...yet.

[nothingman00]

I'm just skipping all the posts after the initial one and saying this: If you haven't been to SXSW and you can afford it, then it should not be missed. I've been fortunate enough to attend 5 of the last 8 years. It's a pretty novel experience as you're just bar-hopping up 4th-7th streets,, the warehouse district, Red River, etc. just catching act after act. If you're a really structured person, it may not be for you. The lines are ridiculously long for the major shows and chances are that you will not get in without a VIP wristband (at least to the really hyped smaller venue shows). The larger venues (mainly Stubbs) will have lines but you'll be able to get in.

I know the arguments against going to SXSW and they are, sadly, viable reasons for not attending: The long lines, the preferential treatment for VIP bands at some shows, the overall expenditure (if you don't have a hotel by now, you're probably not going to be too happy with your choices of hotels and you're going to be paying mad cash)...

I think the biggest detraction from SXSW is that it is just impossible to even see 50% of the acts you want to catch... I'm sure this has already been brought up by someone but there's a vast difference between the lineup as you see it now and the actual schedule that you'll compile. factoring in walk-times between bars, time waiting in line, etc., it almost makes it imperative for you to catch a break or two and get a really good lineup at one location (probably Stubbs or emo's) so you can just catch the entire sets of quite a few bands you really like. Of course, this means you'll have to completely skip bands that would normally be labeled "Can't Miss" but if you're trying to catch a band at Stubb's then try to walk to say, The Parish, then to Emo's... I mean, you'll just be fucked. You'll catch 20 minutes of each set if you're lucky. So, there are really two plans of attack for this thing: 1) try to hit up venues with complete cards that you want to see so you don't waste too much time walking and standing in line 2) hit up the smaller, less hyped shows and bounce around to your hearts delight. Either way, the positives outweigh the negatives (again, if you're not too structured and can afford the trip, hotel, wristband, etc.).

[nothingman00]

Originally Posted by munkeybrains

yes you need to be 21. yes, in addition to the 1500 or so regularly scheduled shows, there are unannounced bands and musicians randomly showing up. there are "secret" shows, industry only shows, surprise shows, huge lines, copious drinking, lots of pissing and vomiting in the street, and general madness 24/7. good to do once or twice in your life.

OK, I'm going back through all of these now. first off the "vomiting and pissing in the street" line makes me think of Mardi Gras. SXSW is vastly different than Mardi Gras. If anything, the fact that SXSW generally coincides with UT's Spring Break ensures that there are fewer drunk frat-boy types than usual during SXSW. I would say any given weekend in Austin has more "vomiting and pissing in the street" than SXSW. 6th street is remarkably tame during SXSW as opposed to normal weekends.

[nothingman00]

Originally Posted by hangthedj112

Yeah, if you were just going to see bands, it is way more of a hassle than just going to a music festival

but to me SXSW has seemed like it's more about a week long party.

Again, maybe if traveling from out-of-town. I guess I have a different perspective on this whole shebang. I guess you could make the argument that it's a 4 day party (Wed-Sat), but I think that's missing the point a little. Depends on the person, but normally I'd be looking for any excuse to have a 4-day (or 8-day, if you count the film fest portion) party in my hometown and for whatever reason, SXSW isn't one of them...

That said, I agree with the basic sentiment that if you are just going because you see the lineup and think "I can't miss this shit" then you'll be disappointed.

[disgustipated]

Originally Posted by nothingman00

That said, I agree with the basic sentiment that if you are just going because you see the lineup and think "I can't miss this shit" then you'll be disappointed.

this is what I have been trying to say...you convey my thoughts better than I do.

[nothingman00]

Originally Posted by J~$$$

Did you go last year?

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

Probably should have started by reading the first page, I guess. I'd be happy to answer any questions any of you may have, though it seems as though the board has done a good job of going over the major topics. Again, the only thing I disagree with is the whole "SXSW is like Mardi Gras" thing... It's one of the more tame, mature times of the year on 6th (which isn't saying a lot, but still). Red River is busier than usual, but the overall clusterfuck that is 6th street is kept in check for the most part. I don't know how my wife and I are going to make it this year, since our daughter will be 13 months, but considering it coincides with my 30th birthday (it's within a week) I'm sure we'll find a way to make it happen.

[nothingman00]

Originally Posted by disgustipated

this is what I have been trying to say...you convey my thoughts better than I do.

No, you said it perfectly. I just regurgitated it because I saw the thread and skipped to the end. If you live in Austin and can afford it, then I can't imagine missing it for any reason. But for the people who would have to fly in, get hotel reservations, worry about daily expenditures on food and drinks, I can see where there's a cause for worry.