NOw that the 2010 preliminary list is out, who are you most excited to see? What bands are hot? Who’s awesome from where you’re from? Let’s get it started…
I’m excited for:
Kosha Dillz
Neon Indian
Fanfarlo
The Brunettes
The Chevelles
Mariachi el Bronx
and of course
Cheap Trick and Los Lonely Boys
Elk City (Sean Eden from Luna - so excited to see this!)
Ezra Furman
Gordon Gano
She & Him
Metric
Loxsley
The Mighty Stef
Titus Andronicus (missed them last year)
I didn’t dee Metric or Titus on the list. Did they take them off already or have they just not been announced yet? The list sounds cool, I have to check some of them out. It’s so hard to find a starting point with the research, that’s why I like to ask what bands people are excited for…
Metric was announced a few weeks ago (with Cheap Trick, I think). Titus Andronicus was just announced as part of the Fucked Up show. I’m not sure why neither of them are on the official list yet.
Yes, it is overwhelming finding a starting point. I find these lists helpful, too. I’m definitely going to check out the Chevelles.
The first rule of SxSW is to keep quiet in public forums and not divulge too much info. The daytime parties have limited guest lists. In the evenings, bands with a buzz will draw the “laminate” people, who have priority over the rest of us. I was second in line to see M.Ward, Camera Obscura and other great bands at the Presbyterian church last year and after an unusually long sound check, the laminate folks who follow the crowds and the newspaper picks, showed up and not one of us made it inside. Happens over and over each year. There will be 2000 bands in Austin again. Not to sound too harsh, but in my experience listening through each bands downloads for the last 15 years, 1900 of those bands I give no more than a 1-star rating to. I will be lucky to find 3-5 bands I would rate as 5-star must see bands. I focus on finding the next great act. Last year it was Mumford & Sons. I remember seeing Glen Hansard and the Frames at Tower Records on Guadalupe. There were nine of us to watch what was one of the best sets of that year. Compare that sort of experience to one where you’re standing outside Waterloo Records waiting for people to leave so the fire marshall will let you inside before your favorite band starts playing.
The huge increase in daytime parties has been helpful. In the “old days” there was one party on Wednesday afternoon in someones front yard. I could sit with 50 people and watch Old 97’s or Calexico playing with Neko Case or watch Polyphonic Spree making their first appearance, etc. Now you fight your way into daytime events to see a a great band while a group of youngsters stand in front of you texting and taking pictures of themselves with the band in the back drop. As I waited to get into Rachael Rays party last year, I walked around the corner to see how long the line was. It stretched for four city blocks. I was 12th in line and after all the great music and great food, was leaving at 5pm and the line was still a block long, despite the fact the party was over.
Don’t hurt your own chances by trying to hype a band or party, or you will find yourself wandering up and down 6th street trying to find a last minute back-up show.
That’s a very cynical approach. I saw one of my favorite bands last year (The Moaners) with nine people in attendance, and I felt terrible for them. I wished the place were packed because they’re hardworking artists and deserve some recognition. So, I’m here to help promote my favorites. Go see Elk City and Ezra Furman and the Mighty Stef! I HOPE I have to wait in line for a bit because it’ll mean they’re getting some attention. But then again, I’m one of the “laminates.”
I don’t go to Austin to discover the next big thing and feel superior to the crowds. I go because I love music. And I’m here on this board to meet other music lovers and to talk about music and find out what other people recommend, since it IS daunting to sort through 2,000 bands. So please, keep the recommendations coming!
I’m here to help promote my favorites. Go see Elk City and Ezra Furman and the Mighty Stef! I HOPE I have to wait in line for a bit because it’ll mean they’re getting some attention.
But then again, I’m one of the “laminates.”
I don’t go to Austin to discover the next big thing and feel superior to the crowds. I go because I love music.
And I’m here on this board to meet other music lovers and to talk about music and find out what other people recommend, since it IS daunting to sort through 2,000 bands.
The quintessential post of a lazy “laminate” holding lemming. Oh, I go to SxSW because I love music...but I can’t be bothered to do any actual research in the bands scheduled to perform. Laminate holders are a cancer to all of us who really do have a passion for music and actually pay our own hard earned cash to drive 1000 miles to Austin and then pay for our own rooms and pay to get into the shows. You have the nerve to say you don’t feel superior to the crowds while you waltz right past people standing for hours hoping to see one of their favorite bands, after you only heard about the band an hour ago from some suit at the convention center. You “HOPE” you have to wait in line? What does that mean? The people paying covers are waiting for hours, “hoping” to get into a venue. The people with wristbands are “hoping” the laminate crowd is too busy slamming free drinks at their private parties to show up to see the great acts. You, however, just walk up to the front door and tell both of those groups of passionate music lovers to step aside (laminates always have priority) while you go in to check out some band you never heard of until you read they were a writers pick in the morning paper. Christ, you probably have an expense account while you are in Austin and write off dinners at The Salt Lick as a business expense. My only hope is that I’m in some great daytime party enjoying the bands when you try to cut in line and flash your laminate, only to be told they are useless at that event. I saw dozens trying to get into Rachael Rays party last year by flashing their laminate and explaining how important they were, only to be told to get in line. Priceless.
I don’t quite understand your attitude here mate?I’ve crossed the Atlantic for the past five years to attend the greatest festival of music in the world..forget Glastonbury which is ten minutes down the road from me..and I have nothing to do with the music industry.Do I invest in a laminate....to damn right I do!What I don’t understand is,why don’t you buy one?SXSW has gone WAY beyond being an industry thing and most of the people turning up from the UK are,like me,just music fans.Unfortunately in your eyes we seem to be total pariahs.I’d get somebody to lift that very heavy chip off your shoulder....you might do yourself an injury!
I seem to have touched a nerve. I thought your “first rule of SXSW is don’t talk about SXSW” was kind of lame and against the spirit of the thread, but you’re entitled to your opinion, and I should’ve left it alone. Having said that, I do want to clarify a few things.
I pay for my badge, travel, food and lodging all on my own. I started saving the second I got home last March so I could go again this year. I don’t have an expense account, but even if I did, I wouldn’t be ashamed for using it.
Yes, my “hope I have to wait in line” statement was a bit hyperbolic, but I stand by the underlying point. It might be great for you to be able to brag about being one of nine people to see a band, but I guarantee it sucked for the band. I’ve had the experience of traveling great distances to play to nine people. It’s not fun. So, if you really like the band, do them a favor and try to get people to go to their show.
I also don’t feel bad about not having time to research 2,000 bands between now and March. I have a wife, a kid, a dog, a full-time job, a part-time band and graduate school. So, I appreciate the recommendations in threads like these. If that makes me a lazy follower in your eyes, I guess I can live with that.
If you knew me at all, you’d probably laugh at how far off base your assessment was.
I’ve had a badge every year. Most of the years, I shelled out the cash for it (and travel expenses) myself. I usually go with a couple of friends and every year, I turn more friends onto the experience. One year in particular I had a badge, one of my friends had a wristband, and the other had absolutely nothing. Guess who got into everything I got into (and most of the time never even had to pay a cover)? The friend with absolutely nothing. It’s all the luck of the draw, how determined you are to see your favorite bands, and how you schedule it really. The whole keeping things to yourself approach seems kind of off seeing as how SXSW is meant for discovering all different kinds of music. FYI, this year I’m ditching the badge and going the wristband route. Though I was tempted to not do either just from the experience of my friend mentioned above.
As for bands I recommend seeing: Steel Train. One of my favorites.
Hello, “Wayfaring Stranger” and welcome to the SXSW Baby! Boards. I’m going against my better judgement and jumping in here. This board has been active for a quite a few years now. It has been a priceless resource. I have been able to connect with and share experiences with people literally from all over the world (thank you so much, Brad, R.I.P.). You have used your first posts with this identity to attack people you don’t know who are genuinely excited about what they’re gonna do this year. It’s a common mistake users of the internets make. You assume you are a mind-reader who knows everything there is to know about fellow posters from just a few words they have shared. I have been guilty of this myself. I try to get better and take a deep breath and question my first impressions. From your posts, I feel it fair to surmise that you have been attending SXSW for at least 15 years. Good for you on that one. You’ve seen this shebang evolve mightily. I have been attending since 1999 and the changes have been astoounding. I have attended with laminate (SXSW prefers “badge"), wristband and just showing up. I have never failed to have an absolute blast. I have been aware the entire time that SXSW has been explicit in stating that it is a music industry conference (now an entertainment and internet industry conference). I have always known what the rules were. And SXSW has never failed to be the highlight of my year. As to badges, if you think about what you spend for live music in the ordinary year, local club shows, theater venues and arenas, I assure you that it adds up to much more than what a SXSW badge costs. I figured this out a few years ago. My badge is the greatest bang for my musical buck I am going to get all year. In the space of 6 days, I hear more fantastic live music than I will in the rest of the 359 put together. You should consider that. Also consider that after 15 years of attendance, you seem to just be getting more angry and bitter. That can’t be good for you. It may be time for you to (a) explore different ways of doing this thing, or, (b) realize those damn rich kids have ruined this for you and maybe you need to find something else. Oh, and I have always paid for myself out of my own shallow pocket every year, even when I was “working” for a band. I have a favor to ask you. No matter what happens to you this year, please take a moment to notice one of those people scanning the hated badges at the clubs, watching the doors, or schleping things (they’ll be wearing brightly colored vests and their own special laminates) around. They are all volunteers. Please say “thank you” to one or more of them. They are truly the ones who make this thing work. And they do it just for the chance of standing in lines to see one or two bands they want to hear. Hope I’m not mind-reading here. You may well have been one of those volunteers over the last 15 years.
P.S. Rachael Ray is cute as hell and I appreciate her and her husband’s sincere devotion to indie music, but her day party for the last two years is not an official SXSW event and the posters on this board know that. If any of us were in that line, our badges were out of sight.
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