Monday, February 25, 2008

Did You Win a Music Wristband? Only 3500 Sold; Rest Will Be Sold During SXSW

Reports are starting to come in from happy readers who won the Music Festival Wristband lottery. Check your inboxes for an email from wristbands@sxsw.com.

Says Austin Music Source:

The good news: everyone who entered the SXSW wristband lottery, which closed today at 9 a.m., got one. SXSW director Roland Swenson estimated that 3,500 of the 4,000 allotment were sold. The other 500 will go into the pool of wristbands which will go on sale a couple days before the music fest starts March 12. The price then will be $180 each, up from the advance price of $139.

Pickup instructions:

You will be able to pick up your wristband at the Austin Convention Center in Exhibit Hall 4 located at 4th Street and Neches beginning Sunday, March 9th at Noon. You may pick up your wristband any time during the following operating hours:

Sunday, March 9 (12pm-8pm)
Monday, March 10 (9:30am-6pm)
Tuesday, March 11 (10am-8pm)
Wednesday, March 12 (10am-12 midnight)
Thursday, March 13 (9am-10pm)
Friday, March 14th (10 am to 9 pm)
Saturday, March 15th (11 am to 4 pm)

To pick up your wristband, you must present a government-issued photo ID matching the recipient name provided in your entry. Each individual must pick up his or her own wristband. You may not pick up a wristband for another person.  All wristbands are assigned by name, and are non-transferable.

The wristband will be attached to your arm at time of pick up, and must not be removed until the festival is over.

Please print this receipt and bring it with you when you pick up your wristband.

Looks like at least 500 wristbands will be available. Interactive, Music, and Film badgeholders can start purchasing wristbands on Friday, March 7, via the SXSW Facebook page.

SXSW will probably sell some to the general public, in addition. Don’t forget to sign up for SXSW SMS alerts! Simply text “join” to 47979.  They may announce future wristband sales via SMS, as well as posting information in the Austin Chronicle. 

Brolin Brings His Short Film to SXSW

Some interesting news from SXSW Film honcho Matt Dentler. Josh Brolin (star of freshly-crowned Best Picture winner No Country for Old Men) will be coming to SXSW to screen his short film X. The 16-minute short has received critical praise, and will screen before feature doc Tulia, Texas. Brolin and his daughter Eden (who appears in the film) will be in attendance at the first screening, which is taking place at 2:00pm on Saturday March 8 at the Dobie Theater.

Here’s the synopsis from the SXSW site: “An inmate escapes prison to reunite with his daughter and searches for her murdered mother in order to ultimately exhume her body and give her a proper burial.”

I wonder if he shot this while working on No Country. It seems to share the Texas desert vibe.

Wristband Lottery Now Closed/How Else to Get a Wristband

The SXSW Wristbands Lottery is now closed. Good luck to everyone who entered!

Update: some readers have reported getting victory emails already! Check your inboxes (and spam folders) people!

Wondering what to do if you don’t win? Says SXSW:

Wristbands will be available for badge holders to purchase Friday, March 7th and Tuesday, March 12 while supplies last. If you aren’t able to purchase one with your badge, a small number will be available to the general public during music. The details concerning the public sale will be made available in the Austin Chronicle.

It’s looking like all badgeholders (Interactive, Film, and Music) will be able to purchase Music Festival wristbands while supplies last; and if you’re buying for someone else who isn’t there, you can leave it in their name. They must present a valid ID when they pick it up. The wristband will be attached to wrist at time of pick up. 

How to Buy A Single Admission Ticket during SXSW Music

Still wondering about how to buy tickets to just one show during SXSW music? An answer from the SXSW Festival page on Facebook:

Single admission tickets are sold at the door of the venue the night of the showcase. Single admission tickets can range anywhere from $5-$65. Tickets will be sold third in priority only if capacity allows. (Badges have first priority and wristbands have second priority.) There’s no way to know in advance if tickets will be sold or how much they will be sold for since it depends on attendance. Due to popularity, some shows may end up being badges-only.

Your best chance for any showcase you want to attend with a single admission ticket is to show up early and stay in the venue the entire night. If you’re patient and flexible, you’ll have a great time.

It should also be noted that Austin is now a smoke-free city and in-and-out privileges are not always possible due to capacity requirements. So it may not be possible to get back into the venue after taking a smoke break.

Friday, February 22, 2008

A little advice

Greg Storey won’t be making the trip to Austin for SXSW Interactive this year, but he’s still got a few tips for newbies and vets alike. We enthusiastically second the first one and frankly can’t wait to see a demonstration of the last.

Psst…hey, kid, want a music .torrent?

So we broke the bad news a couple days ago that there’d be no official SXSW Music .torrent file this year. But there’s an unofficial one (ads on that site may be not safe for work).

(Update: A faithful correspondent points out a different, also unofficial .torrent.)

Thursday, February 21, 2008

But we still can’t pronounce vlog…

Video-sharing site Viddler has launched SXSW Videos, a site aggregating South by Southwest-related videos and providing the capability to record or upload your own.

There’s not much there now, but with categories for interviews, shows, panels and more, there seems little doubt this’ll fill up with all sorts of video goodness as the conferences and festivals get underway. (We’ve added a widdle widget to the sidebar of this page, which updates with the last few videos uploaded to SXSW Videos.)

MeFi, YouFiToo?

Do you MeFi? Members and fans of MetaFilter, the community weblog and an honored ancestor of SXSW Baby!, are in the process of planning a SXSW meetup.

A couple of vegetarian SXSW survival guides

For non-carnivores heading to SXSW, the mania around finding the bestest BBQ during the conferences and festivals has to be a bit disheartening. Fortunately, some veggie-minded folks have put together VegSXSW, a wiki project devoted to guiding you to the best meatless alternatives in Austin.

See also: Veg Out Austin, a comprehensive guide to vegetarian-friendly dining in Austin and environs, edited by ovo-lacto vegetarian Ben Combee.

Music Festival Schedule Now Up

Check out the just released Music Festival Schedule and add artists to your calendar. 

SXSW Calendaring Is Live

SXSW.COM has links to add individual events to your personal calendar. Pick what bands, films and panels you wish to attend. Simply use the “Add this to your SXSW Calendar” link for the event you are interested in.

Sync your calendar up with Google Calendar, iCal, or your mobile device. (The SXSW Calendar is intended for use with personal calendar software like Mozilla Sunbird or Apple’s iCal for OS X. For best results you should use any ical/ics compatible calendar software that supports calendar subscriptions. This will give you the most flexibility for viewing, printing and syncing your calendar to other devices.)

If you do not have a calendar application yet, a simplified version of your calendar can be viewed online at calendar.sxsw.com/myevents.

SXSW Music Festival Wristband Lottery Open

Enter now and good luck.

Got questions? Check the wristband FAQ for answers!

Most common questions:

Q: Why was the random drawing system implemented?
A: This random drawing system is being implemented to ensure that the majority of wristbands go to Austin’s music fans (rather than re-sellers), and to save them the inconvenience of standing for hours in long lines at possibly inconvenient times in order to purchase them.

Q: I do appreciate the effort, but why can’t you just do things the old way?
A: Under the old system there was never a guarantee of getting a wristband. If you were out of town, couldn’t get off work, or were at home sick on the day they went on sale, you were out of luck. In addition this method prevents a rush to random location and is safer than forcing people to stand out in the cold or heat.

Q: So me and my friend should both enter and list each other as the second person, right?
A: No. If you do that and you are both selected you will be charged $556 for 2 usable wristbands. In addition SXSW reserves the right to remove duplicate entries.

Q: Is this the only time wristbands will be sold?
A: Wristbands are usually sold in limited numbers during the event.

Q: Do both people have to show up at the same time to pick up their wristbands?
A: No, each person must pick up their wristband individually. You cannot pick up a wristband for anyone else. The wristband will be placed on your wrist at time of pickup. All you need is a valid government issued photo ID that matches the name on the entry.

Where’s the party?

Adactio Austin’s nifty SXSW Interactive parties Google map mash-up has been updated for 2008. Click to see the party places on a map, add events to iCal or download location info in vCard format.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Fray Cafe 8 returns to Red Eyed Fly

Good things come to those who wait, in this case the confirmation that Fray Café will go on. It’s back for the eighth SXSW edition, returning to the patio at Red Eyed Fly on Sunday, March 9 from 8–midnight. Stop by for personal storytelling at its finest, with featured guests and an open mic with only three restrictions: It’s gotta be true, it’s gotta be personal and it’s gotta be under five minutes. Host Baratunde “No nickname” Thurston, a vastly entertaining storyteller in his own right, presides over the festivities.

No SXSW Music Torrent This Year

I have been informed that SXSW is officially not providing a torrent file this year of mp3s from the showcasing acts. However, you can still get your fill of free music on the official site (look for artists who have a green cassette icon) as well as by using the SXSW music player.

Update: Here’s an unofficial SXSW 2008 Musical Artists torrent. Warning: ads on that site are potentially NSFW.