A journey to the music lover’s paradise that is South By Southwest

By Logan Broyles | SDUN Reporter

Where to begin with South By Southwest?

Children at Disneyland have less fun than I did at South by Southwest, Austin’s annual citywide celebration of music, film, and the latest in technology and innovation held from March 8 to 17.

For most people that attend the 27-year-old festival, the highlight is the music, with mainly free shows taking over nearly every venue in the city.

The acts range from established stars to up-and-coming musicians that aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty, playing five or six shows in a single week. L.A. based roots-rock band Dawes may have taken home the record, with an astounding 14 shows at this year’s SXSW.

The variety of big name bands that played was amazing, with nearly every style and genre represented in some form. The Stooges played a set at The Mohawk, the Flaming Lips put on multiple shows to promote their new album “The Terror,” and the Smashing Pumpkins rang in lead singer Billy Corrigan’s birthday with a free show at Red Bull’s Sound Select.

Prince played a free show in front of over a thousand screaming fans at the La Zona Rosa, and rapper Ghostface Killer even made an appearance. Justin Timberlake was the big name everyone was buzzing about who wrapped up the week with a secret show hosted by MySpace at the 800-person Coppertank Events Center.

While the lucky few were able to make it into these shows after hours spent in line or forking over a sizeable amount of money for a full festival pass, most were content to gather outside these venues and relish in the freedom of dancing in the streets with strangers.

SXSW is like dropping a Bonnaroo-sized music festival right in the middle of the French Quarter during Mardi Gras. There was an odd feeling that came from spending several hours in a single venue watching multiple bands play a killer line up, and then suddenly stepping foot outside into a mass of humanity as thousands filled the streets.

This sea of people moved like a herd, with impromptu pockets of dance circles springing up around the many street DJs, bands and occasional group of guys using nothing but buckets for drums.

While the main drag along Sixth Street in the heart of downtown Austin is where most of the action happened, the highlight may have been the quant “house-bars” that line Ceasar Chavez Avenue along the outskirts of town. There, former Victorian-style homes were converted into bars with backyard stages set up for smaller, lesser-known bands that really put their heart and soul into every show.

While it’s hard to chose a favorite, the highlight of all the bands had to be You Me & Apollo, a soulful young rock group based out of Colorado. Look up their live performance of the song “Rob the Cheat” and you’ll see why this random band I’d never heard about easily goes down as the best show I’ve seen in the last three years.

Another highlight was The Outfit, a four-piece indie rock band also from Colorado, and The Weeks, a rough around the edges rock band based out of Mississippi fronted by two longhaired twins who really know how to jam and get the crowd going. You can see what I mean as The Weeks come to San Diego’s The Griffin, located at 1310 Morena Blvd., April 6 at 8:30 p.m.

The festival can be overwhelming at times; no shocker considering it encompasses a celebration of the best the music industry has to offer, plus movie previews and actor panels from the national film industry, seminars and product demos from some of the world’s biggest technology brands, and even some comedy thrown in for good measure.

Numerous companies were promoting their latest products and hosting parties, where they gave away free samples, free drinks and free food. While a person can’t live solely off of free bags of Doritos and granola bars, I certainly tried my best to do just that.

Austin is a foodie’s paradise year round, with some of the world’s best and most innovative restaurants, along with so many food trucks that your only regret will be that you didn’t get to try them all.

Overall, the festival may have begun in 1987 as an annual conference to help put a spotlight on the best emerging talent in the region, but over the last three decades it has grown into the greatest music festival in the world.