The SXSW Roundup

Well, after much anticipation, the SXSW music festival has wrapped for the year. It was such a whirlwind, I still can't believe it's over. The best part about the experience was being amongst that energy and knowing, no matter what, a good time was always around the corner. I had more margaritas at the Iron Cactus than I could count - which, if you're familiar with my hedonistic ways, was a good thing. Of course the Tape Op party was a highlight. Seeing Quasi play in an intimate setting always fits the bill. The Kill Rock Stars event was also a blast. We tried to see Admiral Radley (a mash-up of Grandaddy and Earlimart) at the Press Here bash - unfortunately the show was outside and that happened to be the day the weather turned against us. It was painfully cold and we were woefully unprepared for the turn in fortunes. The plus side was that we got to chat with Grandaddy's lead singer (Jason Lytle) and I was able to apologize to him for a little incident last year that involved too much absinthe and inappropriate teasing about Alan Parsons. I'll let your imagination run wild on that one. We ducked into the Beauty Bar to escape the freezing wind and landed in the middle of a hip-hop showcase at the Seattle Music party. Dark Sunshine and Thee Satisfaction were both outstanding. We saw a singer/songwriter at Beer Land later that day. I never found out his name, but I did grab a bar stool and a penny with the image of stripper mashed on it so I was really happy. We did briefly brave another outdoor bash (The 40 Watt Club), just in time to catch Camper Van Beethoven. They churned out an amazing set, despite their frozen fingers. We totally lucked out Saturday evening and nabbed some great seats at Esther's Follies for the comedy roundup. Margaret Cho, Kristen Schaal (Flight of the Conchords) and everyone in between were incredible. It was too cold to roam around much, (sadly that meant skipping the lakeside She & Him set) but we were more than happy to stay put regardless of the weather. This year's SXSW stats = 0 cabs (!!), 1 Porta-Potty stop, 8 private parties and countless margaritas. I'd say it was an outstanding experience all the way around. I'm already counting the days to our next Austin visit...