SXSW 2016: So Long, Farewell

Being over a month separated from all the events in Austin, I feel now's as good a time as ever to finish my story (see, I said I'd be detailed...).

Read Part 1

Read Part 2

Thursday 3/17

I woke up with three plans for the day: to check out Flatstock, the annual poster convention hosted by SXSW, catch a couple of international acts and get my face melted at a punk show. So I donned the backpack I acquired the night before and headed to downtown. As I was wandering the streets in the early afternoon, I was handed a flyer by a representative of Café Bustelo with directions to a site serving free Cuban coffee to festival attendees! I was simultaneously excited and dismayed at the prospect, as I was foregoing coffee (specifically espresso) for Lent. My temperance was quickly rewarded, however, as I turned a few corners and found myself at a booth giving away free Chick-fil-A sandwiches! God is good! After downing a pair of lightly breaded deliciousness, I would later visit the cafecito just to have a peek. I may not have been able to enjoy any at the time, but at least I could bring back some souvenirs for the other members of the office coffee break crew.

Outside the cafecito

SXSW 2016: Let the Music Play

Happy Easter (it's 50 days long, you know)! Here I continue describing the events that transpired in Austin.

Read Part 1

Tuesday 3/15

SXSW Music has finally begun! At the start of the day I had only two things on my agenda: attend a live podcast recording in the afternoon and catch a free music showcase in the evening. To kill time in the early afternoon, and since I had a hankering for some Tex-Mex, I headed to a food court that housed Burrito Factory. Feeling sufficiently carbed-up, I walked through the grounds of UT at Austin, which was on spring break that week. I had seen advertisements on banners and the sides of buses about a special 90's-themed exhibition at the school's art gallery and thought I'd take a look. I entered the Blanton Museum of Art and spent some time looking at pieces not only from the 90's but also from ancient Greek, medieval, Renaissance and modern periods. I could have spent all day surrounded by awesome paintings and crisp A/C, but I needed to get to the Lustre Pearl at 3:30pm and I was cutting it close with my departure time.

Chain of mail

SXSW 2016: Intro to Austin

When I retell the story of a significant experience I typically lean more towards TMI than FYI because I see details as really important to setting the tale apart from others and to giving the listener more aspects to identify with. So what I'm going to try to do is recount my experiences from this year's SXSW (South by Southwest) with the dual goal of giving my circle of friends due respect in letting them know what I was up to for a week and of hopefully inspiring music lovers who happen to be reading to attempt a trek to Austin, Texas for a future SX.

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.

SXSW x 100 x 5

In just 8 days I'll be hopping onto a plane heading to Texas with the goal of encountering as many new sounds as my ears can handle at SXSW! I've heard the name of this music festival thrown around for a couple of years but it wasn't until I listened to the NPR Music coverage last March that I was sold on the experience. Apart from the updates during the week of the event, one of the most helpful tools that NPR provided listeners for discovering new artists was a playlist titled the Austin 100, where 100 of the best promotional recordings are hand-picked for the downloading pleasure of eager fans.

Technically, there is a stipulation that the ZIP file of songs can only be downloaded within a month of distribution, but things on the Internet have a tendency to linger for a while. So with some intense Googling and crafty URL text swaps I was able to find links to several Austin 100's from yesteryear. So below I've shared links to these locations and showcased some songs that stood out to me while listening to the mix.

2016 Austin 100
Song List
Download ZIP [832MB]

I'm beyond eager for the opportunity of seeing at SXSW bands that I've gotten to know over the past couple of months like Beach Slang ("Bad Art and Weirdo Ideas") and the past couple of days like Wagakki Band ("Akatsukino Ito"), but most of all I'm excited for the chance at seeing firsthand the performances of international musicians like Ninet Tayeb from Tel Aviv whose fifth album is slated to be released this year.

"Child" by Ninet Tayeb