beauty in a wicked world.

South by Southwest: the land of blaring live music, open bars, hipsters screaming for attention, cigarette butts, and waiting in line. 2011 marked the 25th anniversary of the internationally known music, film, and interactive festival and "conference". Compared to the magnitude of the event now, I cannot even imagine what it was like during the inaugural year. I'm guessing the conference aspect of it actually meant something. I read somewhere that SXSW was "40% larger" than it was last year. I'm not sure what parameters they used to make such an estimate, but it is undeniable that the festival has grown immensely in size. My hypothesis for this growth is simple: accessibility. Five years ago, the general music audience would never have even heard of half these music groups, but times are a-changin'. With the use of the plethora of social media outlets available to everyone, it is much easier for people to make themselves believe they are "indie". In effect, more people are likely to be turned into concert goers, whether they truly appreciate the music or not. There has been a quite a surge of, excuse my French,  douchebags attending concerts that would never have seen their faces five or more years ago. Can you tell that I'm not pleased with this evolution? This has also made me deal with more waiting for shit, but I digress....

SXSW is known for it's surprise guests and secret performances as well. This year, Kanye West performed on the last night at an abandoned power plant with array of special guests. Did I even attempt to make my way into that event? Hell no. Apparently, he didn't take the stage until 4:00 am, and let's be real; I'm getting too old for that shit, and I don't do drugs to stay awake that long for five nights in a row. Besides, I saw Kanye perform at SXSW two years. 

This was my fourth time braving the streets of Austin, TX for this magical week, and I was not disappointed by any means (and this was my first year without a music badge). I witnessed some great shows, ate from a variety of food trucks, raged with a gang of great people, drank enough booze to kill a good amount of liver cells, and was more often than not covered in body glitter. 

One of the most memorable moments...scratch that, THE most memorable moment was conversing with Justin Vernon (lead singer of Bon Iver, but you should know that by now). I walked into Side Bar to meet up with a few friends, when someone nonchalantly informed me, "Hey, Justin Vernon is sitting right over there." That statement literally stopped me in my Am Appy tracks. I've been in love with this man's music for years now. The two times I've had the pleasure of seeing him in concert (including my first year at SXSW), I shed several tears. Anyways....as he stood up to make his way to the bar and/or bathroom, our group might have had the balls to accost him. Luckily, he is sweetheart and chatted with us for about thirty minutes. He took the time to listen to us, learn our names, etc. It's special when people you idolize are as genuine in person as the appear in the media. PS: I knew he was coming out with a new Bon Iver album before Pitchfork posted it. Suck it P4K.

This year, I kept note of every band I stumbled upon because I maintained a steady buzz my entire stay in Austin. Some of the highlights were:

Twin Tigers, Ponderosa, Violens, Jonquil, The Generationals, Theophilus London (If you think you're special, you probably aren't), Solid Gold, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., The Dodos, Baths, !!!, James Blake (Yes, I'm on Team Blake), Har Mar Superstar (fat man in a thong...mmmm), Chikita Violenta, Nervo, Surfer Blood, Big Freedia, The Oh Sees, La Sera, Das Racist, The Authors, Mr. Heavenly, and Esben and the Witch.

Sadly, I did not make it on stage this time for Big Freedia. As consolation, my friend frightened the shit out of straight boy with his dance moves. Along with everyone around us, I was dying with laugher. I was also double fisting a beer and a Red Bull/vodka.

Luckily, I only vomited one night out of the five. Those are good odds, right? [nod your head]. Also, it was St. Patrick's Day, which made for a double whammy. South by Southwest AND St. Patty's Day? Of course I puked. I can't say no to Irish Car Bombs and unlimited drinks/tequila shots. I ended the week on Sunday afternoon with Gay by Gay Gay. Yes, you read that correctly. It turned out to be a gay hippie fest out in the middle of nowhere. The music was subpar, but we enjoyed ourselves.

"SXSW Karma" reared it's ugly head the following week though. The pollen and dust was terrible throughout the week which led to allergy issues, which in turn led to a sinus infection, which also ended with a case of pink eye. Despite my "disco sickness", it was all worth it. 

The lead singer from The Dodos