Headphones On

Notes From the Plane Home:

• Magically, I only saw one band (The Changes) more than once¹. I actually had the intention of doing so a few times but it never quite worked out that way. All the better because I think I ended up with a greater overview.

• The day parties are quickly becoming as crowded as the night shows. I am beginning to wonder if anyone actually attends the "conference" part of all this anymore. It seems like everything is at capacity pretty early in the afternoon now.

• We really never hit the big venues or big showcases this time. The closest we came was popping in to The Pipettes early Wednesday show at a still empty La Zona Rosa. No Stubb's for me this year. We also avoided all the big reunion and hype shows... no Buzzcocks, Stooges, Lily Allen, Pete Townsend. I'd say we ran under the radar for the most point but if that was really true why was everything so damn packed this year?

• The mayhem seems to start at an earlier point every year now. It was really shocking to see the police closing down the streets Wednesday afternoon to never seem them opened again until Sunday morning. It was a good call on the part of the city to shut down Red River to walking traffic now.

• Next year it's going to have to expand further from the main downtown. It has to. It would be good to see some of the out-of-the-way destinations on the East side utilized for more parties. The Moshi Moshi party at Ms. Bea's was one the best experiences of the whole week.

• The itinerary was never set in stone and I think that worked out really well for us. A lot of what we saw tended to be based upon energy level. I still leaned towards those international acts that wouldn't necessarily make it to Chicago/Brooklyn over the next few months.
  

Most Surprising Show:
The Rosebuds! I did not expect to love them as much as I did. I am now completely hooked and singing their praises to everyone around me.
Over-Hyped to the point of Ridiculous:
Lily Allen
Most Off Their Game:
Field Music. So sorry guys. At least you made up for it at the Chicago show yesterday.
Most On Their Game:
Loney, Dear - Wednesday Night @ Emo's IV.
Most Surprising Artist To Find Onstage With Another Band:
It'd be Pete Townsend taking the stage with The Fratellis if I'd had any intention of seeing The Fratellis this week but my answer has to be the bass player from Georgie James dancing onstage with Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings at the Emo's Annex on Saturday night during "Genuine".
Best Party/Dayshow/Showcase:
Moshi Moshi again! Although unofficial it was the one place we stayed at for longer than two acts in a row. I want to see every show at Ms. Bea's next year.
Band with the Longest Lines:
Peter Bjorn and John... everywhere they went! Seeing a gigantic line at a little venue for no reason... Peter Bjorn and John are on in the next few hours. Fantastico!
Best End To A Day:
Junior Senior. I never expected to get Skippy to come with me to this show but low and behold he was even dancing along!
Best Local Band I Flew 800 Miles To See:
Headlights! Something must be wrong with me for not having seen them before. I know January was freezing and snowbound but I could have made it to Schubas at least once on a Monday night.
Band we ran into everywhere we went:
Hot Club de Paris on Friday & Saturday!
Regrets:
None serious really. The only band I really wanted to see but couldn't find a time slot that worked was "Tacks, The Boy Disaster" but I'm sure they'll travel north at some point this year. Real Ones would have been nice but they were never on my necessity list.
The only other regret isn't mine but should be on the part of the organizers. Putting the Memphis Industries/Saddle Creek showcase at the "Beauty Bar Patio" was a serious f#ck up. Firstly, the "patio" is really a six-car crumbly (inclined) parking lot in a disgustingly smelly alley, next to the dumpsters for Emos. The stage is even set up wrong to direct the sound at only half of the tiny tent. To have Field Music, The Pipettes, Cursive, Tilly and The Wall, Tokyo Police Club playing this tent with a capacity of about 200 people was a SERIOUS mistake. They should have switched venues with the HEEB party at Habana Calle Annex. The spaces would have been better suited to the size of the crowds. Badly done. I do have to say that that was one of the only serious f#ckups on the part of the organization. (The Sharon Jones fiasco was Antone's fault, not SxSW).
Overview:
All in all, a very successful year. I think everytime Skippy and I ran into downtime we made the best of it and scampered off to another show/part of town. I am genuinely pleased with the # and quality of the bands I managed to take in. I feel like I have a new music recommendation for everyone I know (which is good since I now have about seven mix discs to make for various friends & co-workers).

¹ I am not counting the 2 minutes I had stuck my head into the Apples In Stereo day party on Saturday cos 2 minutes eh?