SXSW Open Discussion

Post questions, comments, food advice, travel tips and any other thoughts in the comment section regarding this year’s SXSW festival.

34 responses to “SXSW Open Discussion

  1. I am SUPER SUPER STOKED!!! who are everyone’s MUST SEE BANDS?????

    cant wait to see dum dum girls and best coast!!

  2. How do I RSVP to parties via internet? I’ve asked around and all I’ve heard is something about an i-phone app that allows you to rsvp via telephone? I’m confused.

    -Lorena

  3. If you can rsvp over the internet, there should be a link to do that on the ‘party’ website. Or they’ll provide an email address like Berklee.

  4. Shearwater – haven’t seen them since last year at SXSW and they’ve become one of my favorite bands in the meantime.

    Midlake – old friends who are getting a bigger following.

    Sharon Jones – Thank goodness she’s doing some day parties as I don’t want to stand in line for her Stubb’s show. Her Houston show in 2008 was one of the tops that year.

    Miles Kurosky – Interested in seeing what he’s been up to.

    Athlete – been a fan for a long time but never have seen them.

    The Boxer Rebellion – another Britpop fave.

    Efterklang – seems really interesting, but just getting to know them.

    Camper Van Beethoven – would love to see them if I have time. “Take the Skinheads Bowling” is a classic.

    Autolux – a friend of mine says this is his top show to see.

    Band of Skulls, Quasi, Dear and the Headlights, Morning Benders, a lot more – a long list to try to get to in 5 days!

  5. Bands I Must See:
    Suplecs
    BRMC
    True Widow
    Megaphonic Thrift
    Torche

  6. Seems like the good+free day parties are migrating earlier in the week this year, no? Not good for those of us coming in from out of town.

    And where can I see a good+free night show without Todd P? I may actually be forced to pay a cover charge this year.

  7. Jason,

    When/Where is Autolux?

  8. Hey all !!

    I am READY !! Is donewaiting.com going to be doing a scheduler again? I cant stand the SXSW one ! If so when will it be available ?

    • Someone replied to me on SXSWbaby.com that the sched.org scheduler will be ready next week! That was pretty awesome last year.

  9. How is the Austin Arboretum area? Last year, I stayed in Round Rock and this area seems geographically much closer. I’m at an Extended Stay, which isn’t great, but tough to beat the $30 nightly rate.

  10. Autolux, Butterfly Explosion and BRMC. Oh yeah.

  11. Humbert: Austin Arboretum area pretty far North, but not as far as Round Rock.
    I, too, would love to know when Autolux are playing. Didn’t see them in SXSW schedule. They’re great.

    Bands I’m excited for:

    The Antlers.
    Surfer Blood
    Efterklang
    Cymbals Eat Guitars
    Japandroids
    Midlake
    Here We Go Magic
    Broken Bells
    Warpaint

    ….and a bunch more!

  12. Sorry, I don’t know about Autolux. A friend of mine mentioned them and then I saw them on Do512 but it doesn’t have a show listed. Then I looked and found them on this list…

    http://www.last.fm/event/1195554+SXSW+Music+2010#lineup

    I’ve emailed said friend to see what he knows.

  13. Sorry, my friend said they were on the original list but have dropped off… Doesn’t seem to be any evidence of them playing.

    The same thing happened to me with Big Star. I thought I saw them playing and got my hopes up. Then they dropped off the list. I know someone who knows them and he confirmed they’re not playing.

  14. Band of Horses
    Surfer Blood
    Dum Dum Girls
    The xx
    Past Lives
    Jaguar Love
    Japandroids
    Miike Snow
    The Walkmen
    Cymbals Eat Guitars
    Uffie
    The Coathangers
    Avi Buffalo

  15. Do you think you could make a list specifically of all ages parties/shows? It’s always difficult to pick them out of the vast majority of 21+ shows. Also, many don’t even make it clear what ages they are allowing in.

  16. bong hit willie

    can anyone recommend any psychedelic, garage type bands? it is all a blur to me. thank you in advance

    • Frankie Rose & the Outs, The Woven Bones, The Entrance Band, Vivian Girls, Best Coast, Roky Erickson with Okkervill River, The Black Angels, and Gringo Starr are all bands I’m gonna try to catch. They’re the only ones I recognize, but Austin’s own scene is predominantly psych/garage rock.

  17. Big Star were added to the official schedule tonight. At Antone’s on Saturday night at 12:30 AM.

    I’m dying to see:

    The Besnard Lakes
    Surfer Blood
    Local Natives
    The Rural Alberta Advantage
    The Veils
    Delta Spirit
    The Very Best
    Broken Records

  18. My list:

    Andrew WK
    Banner Pilot
    Liars
    Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
    Smoke or Fire
    Local Natives
    Delta Spirit
    Les Savy Fav
    Band of Horses

    If I show up REALLY early, what are my chances of getting into Buffalo Billiards without a wristband (for Andrew WK)?

  19. Jimmy from Do512.com here. We are working around the clock to keep the most comprehensive list of official and unofficial parties and bands anywhere. You can browse through artists by popularity, check out audio/video/reviews, RSVP for all the free parties, build a custom schedule, and share it on FB or twitter. Its all well organized and easy to do, and events are ranked by popularity, by day, by artist, etc. This is definitely a plug for Do512 but a lot of you were asking questions and looking for recommendations, so this should help a lot of of you to get a handle on SXSW. Check it our SXSW special edition site here: http://do512.com/c/sx2010/events/all-parties/

    For straight listings of unofficial stuff w/o all the bells and whistles, ShowListAustin.com does a great job as well. And of course Duffy always does a great job of keeping people in the know as well…Happy SXSW planning!

  20. Thank you for your work on Do512! That is comprehensive and professional looking. I will be using it for sure! Especially appreciated are the youtube links you guys provide – very cool!

  21. Our pleasure Jason…glad you found Do512 useful. Have a great SXSW!

  22. Anyone know if Midlake is playing any day shows?

  23. whatever happened to Ray Davies??? I don’t see him anywhere on the SXSW page??? I am really worried!!!

    • I just asked this on Ray’s Facebook page! The date was removed from his official website. The 88 are touring with him and while they’re still listed as of today on the sxsw site as playing at La Zona Rosa on 3/18, The 88’s website shows a different venue that night. I forget which venue they’re playing, but it is way too small for Ray Davies to still be playing with them. Ray was supposed to play at Austin Music Hall in 2006 and cancelled that too.

  24. Hey all,
    Something I noticed last year… It seemed like few if any of the bands I saw play at SXSW were advertising merch. Is that the general rule at SXSW? I’m sure you could buy something from them if you talked to them and asked, but it wasn’t like merch tables were set up at the back of the clubs like regular shows. Is there a backstory to that?

    • most of the bigger bands have merch for sale. Bands at Stubbs and Austin Music Hall usually have merch. I’ve seen merch for sale at Emo’s too. Don’t recall seeing much merch at the other venues though. Don’t even recall seeing merch for Grizzly Bear at the church show. I’ve played SXSW twice and I don’t think we sold merch. I don’t remember if we were told not to. I really don’t remember at all.

  25. for day/night parties…. still waiting for

    Pitchfork
    Mess with Texas (2 days I heard)
    Fader Fort
    Vice
    Rhapsody
    Austin City Limits
    KEXP
    Scion
    Rolling Stone
    blog coalition?
    Waterloo instore
    Lamar Pedestrian bridge shows

    • i totally forgot about Waterloo instores! thanks. can’t wait to see what Mess with Texas is going to be like this year. That thing is getting huge.

  26. 3/18/10 insound at devilles with viv girls,liars+surfer blood and more.

  27. http://sxsw2010.sched.org

    It’s not complete yet, but it’s there!!!

  28. Hi just came across your blog and been browsing around some of your posts and just wondering why you chose a WordPress site dont you find it difficult to do anything with? Been thinking about starting one.