Saturday 3/12
I'm glad I never felt the pull towards a profession in sales because as I was telling friends of my intent to go to this music festival in the months leading up to it I simply got a bunch of "I've heard of that" and "That sounds interesting". So knowing I would go about it solo I went ahead and booked a flight (~$500) and an Airbnb room (~$500) roughly two months before the event. Although things were getting pretty pricey pretty quick, I wasn't deathly concerned because I felt comfortable with the times and locations of the above reservations. Moreover, I had convinced myself by reading testimonies from people who had gone to previous SXSW festivals without the official wristband (~$200) or badge (~$800-1800) that I can still attain a memorable experience by foregoing the same.
Packed and ready for adventure, I was chauffered to the airport by a generous friend and made it to Austin in the midafternoon without a hitch. I then took a half-hour Uber ride from AUS to the Airbnb residence, and since I had a promo code for $20 off my first ride it came out to be an incredible $0.35 charge! The homeowner Sam greeted me at the door and as he showed me my private room and other amenities he also informed me that he was slow-cooking pulled pork outside that would be ready that evening! Content with the bed-and-BBQ I had landed upon, I retired for a 2-hour nap followed by dinner and socializing by the backyard firepit with the other guests followed by a 8.5-hour dormition.
Sunday 3/13
Refreshed by a good night's rest and fueled by some complementary bagels in the common kitchen, I got into my Sunday best and headed to nearby St. Paul for morning Mass. The mode of transport would be walking and the distance was more than I'd like, but I knew this would be a common motif for this trip so with backpack on hand I ponied up and went for it. The air was warm and stagnant but at least I didn't bring the Florida humidity along with me. After Mass I donated to a cook-out in support of teens going to World Youth Day and was handed a German sausage wrapped in a tortilla in thanksgiving. With the energy from this simple brunch I reversed my journey towards a bus stop that Google Maps was purporting would take me to downtown Austin, where all the action happens. Putting my trust in God and technology, I stood by the #3 stop and about 5 minutes later a bus pulled up. The fare for a 24-hour ticket was $2.50, but I only had two singles and some twentys. Thankfully a generous passenger spotted me for the remaining balance and I was able to take my seat.
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| Crossing the Colorado River into downtown Austin |
I periodically checked the GPS from my phone throughout the bus ride and signaled to stop at the first moment when I believed we had entered the "city". I disembarked onto Cesar Chaves Street and as the bus continued north I zig-zaged in the same direction towards the marker Google designated as Downtown Austin, leading me to the Capitol Building and its quiet surroundings. Since SXSW Music wouldn't start till Tuesday, I wanted to just take some time and familiarize myself with the look and feel of the metropolitan area.
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| Region of downtown Austin |
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| Capitol Building of the State of Texas |
I continued north and made a mental note of the history museum, art museum and campus of the University of Texas at Austin. Curious as to what Catholic landmarks were around, I visited the Office of the Diocese and the University Catholic Center only to find them closed at the time. By the time I spotted St. Austin I realized I had gone up over 20 blocks and was reasonably fatigued! I purchased a Gatorade from a nearby 7-Eleven searched on my phone for food. I slowly made my way down 15 blocks to Eureka! on 6th Street for a burger and Belgian-style beer. Finding myself in a livelier section of the city, I would later realize that this would be the main street for music venues.
I was hoping to catch a keynote speech on IBM Watson so that I could experience some of the Interactive portion of SXSW. Unfortunately, I was stopped at the door for not having the coveted badge / wristband. Fortunately, the hotel where the speech was held had free maps for the festival which helped to ground me in the city. My last stop would be at St. Mary's Cathedral and after briefly browsing the contents of the gift shop I saw parishoners leaving after the weekly Latin Mass (no, not that kind of Latin Mass). Sneaking in without any fear of interruption, I snagged a bulletin and saw that they were the only parish in town offering daily Confessions! I knew where I was going to get my soul cleaned!
From there it was a quick walk to the bus stop. Though it was getting late in the day, I wanted to see just how far north the bus continues to go and if there's anything noteworthy to check out for another time. The northbound bus off of Lavaca Street arrived roughly 20 minutes later and as I boarded I was dismayed to find out that I had lost my day pass! I got off the bus and put away any idea of further sightseeing. I frantically worked my low-battery phone to download the CapMetro app and purchase an e-ticket, all the while running a block over to the southbound route on Guadalupe Street so I could catch the next ride to where I was staying, fortunately making it with 5 minutes to spare. After arriving at my stop, I walked to a nearby grocery store to get breakfast supplies before heading to my room and an early night's rest.
Monday 3/14
After waking up from my 10-hour sleep and checking my Fitbit stats, I was amazed to see that I had survived walking 26,000+ steps! Little did I know that that would not be too far off from my daily average for the week. That day I would form a routine that maintained itself for most of the week: wake up around 9am, have breakfast with a Chobani yogurt and Quaker Oats protein bar, shower, leave the house to walk a mile to the bus stop at quarter after 10, take the bus and pray Morning Prayer, make it to the Cathedral for Rosary and noon Mass, find lunch, do touristy things, find dinner, catch some shows, take the bus back before midnight and pray Evening Prayer, walk back to my room, pray Night Prayer and go to sleep.
Trading my slacks and button-up shirt for cargo shorts and a tee, I made my way to downtown with enough time to receive two Sacraments! I then visited the St. Mary's gift shop to purchase some literature and have a plastic bag on hand to store the free stuff people would eventually hand me. My first order of business was to find a barber because the manes on both my head and my face needed taming. I stumbled upon Kirby's and soon realized that the demand for this barber is pretty high. Fortunately, there was a rare opening later that afternoon and I quickly booked my spot online (the only way to do it).
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| Interior of St. Mary's Cathedral |
That scheduling turned out great because I was aware that the producer of one of my favorite podcasts, Song Exploder, was one of many on a panel being hosted by Dropbox Podcast Studio and the gap between events was exactly when my haircut would be. I made my way to Lustre Pearl with plenty of time to catch Hrishikesh Hirway and other podcasters talk about the business and creativity behind this still fledgling industry. After snagging a free cloth tote bag, I made my way back to Kirby's for a very stylish (and pretty pricey) head and beard grooming, and keeping with the old-fashioned aesthetic he only accepted cash. With a boost of self-confidence, I jetted back to Lustre Pearl to shake hands with Hirway and catch a live presentation of a podcast I've never heard of, Radio Ambulante, a Spanish show on Spanish topics. Host Daniel Alarcón presented a prerecorded episode titled "Contra la gastronomía peruana / Against Peruvian Cuisine". An entertaining take on a heated topic (pun intended), the experience was made more interesting by the fact the Alarcón is Peruvian and enjoys his native dishes! I was doublely satisfied in realizing that not only was Dropbox hosting an open bar at this venue but that complementary samples of Peruvian cuisine would also be offered. So after downing a Lone Star (my favorite of the trip) and a Ziegen Bock I preceded to consume some ceviche and empanadas.
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| Daniel Alarcón (left) and Hrishikesh Hirway (center) at a panel discussion |
Having some time to kill, I wandered into the south side of the Austin Convention Center where independent movies were being played. Wanting to experience some of SXSW Film I bought a ticket for a random movie that was about to show, Before the Sun Explodes. The story of a washed-up comedian trying to catch a second wind for his career and life, I gave the movie a 3/5 for being something I'd check out on Netflix if I was bored. I walked back to Lustre Pearl since there would be a free Latin night with drinks and a live DJ, but after seeing the long line at the door I remembered that I didn't like dancing and so I continued down Rainey Street. I made a pit stop at Craft Pride for some Irish red ale which I sipped as I was making plans for the first day of SXSW Music. Then I walked out and passed a couple of venues until I heard some hard live music. I stepped into Javelina to catch the last two songs from The Continuums, a local band. After their set I meandered onto 6th Street until some gritty rock caught my ear. I entered Old School Bar & Grill listened to another local band who I didn't catch the name of. Midway through their set, I realized that walking aimlessly was the only thing on the agenda for the night so I decided to walk directly to the bus stop and call it quits for the day.
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| The Continuums |
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| (Random Austin band) |
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| (Random Austin band's setlist) |
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That's it for Part 1. I promise that the rest of these posts will feature music in abundance (I did see 20+ performances, after all...).
The ocean's no place for a squirrel,
Kelvin
Read Part 2
Read Part 3
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