After surviving another bout of infant rage (Thanks, Scout) I think Fun^3 Fest will be a breeze. Bring on the inconsiderate hipsters who dare to mosh to shoegaze.

They launched a mobile app.  Sadly it is not for Android users. I will be using my grid schedule on Google docs.

Apparently the  app features:

• Complete band listing for festival and aftershows along with custom user schedules
• Users able to filter by day, stage, and time
• Mobile ticket purchasing
• Complete band bios and links
• A custom Taco Locator [I would like a good beer locator or a clean port-o-potty locator]
• Fully integrated Instagram functionality.  Please tag your photos from FFF with #funfunfunfesttag photos to be featured in app feed
• Transportation maps for parking, shuttles, bike valets, bus routes
• Fest maps with directions to mechanical bulls, wrestling rings, comedy tents, food, first-aid, and rock and roll
• Complete information area with FAQs, directions, hotels, contact info, and more

The fest is 9 days away and I am still figuring out my game plan.This weekend I will load the little backpack up with the usual survival gear.

Useful Festival Gear:
Very few people are prepared for an all day outdoor festival. Granted, there are a few unallowables. But still, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t pack a few things.

• A medium size bag to carry all your stuff and free swag (your friend may or not be willing to be your sherpa). M and I usually carry small backpacks.  Ladies, please avoid the oversize handbags and go with something low profile that will not bang into other people while you are dancing it out.
• Tissues – also useful when the port-o-potty is out of TP
• Hand Sanitizer, moist towlettes, wet wipes and/or face wipes.  The dust made me feel dirty, like Pig Pen.
• Visine/Eyedrops-  Sooo much dust.
• Sunscreen- There will be less shade at Auditorium shores.
• Sunglasses- for sun and dust.
• Earplugs – who wants to lose their hearing?  They are especially useful if you want to get up close to the stage. I prefer the reusable swimmers earplugs. I bring disposable ones too, it is a good way to make friends.
• Camera – with extra memory and a charged battery (nothing professional unless it is your job).
• Cash – The ATM might run out of money.
• Empty water bottle – staff might prevent you from taking in water, but they can’t stop you from bringing an empty bottle. You can usually find a water fountain or restroom to fill it up.
• Coozie- Most of the time the beer chicks are somewhere in proximity distributing them. Never when you need them though.
• Chapstick
• Sweater/Sweatshirt- It’s good to dress in layers. By the end of the night you will be glad you packed it. I usually stick a hat in my bag for that reason.
• Bicycle-Good luck finding parking otherwise.
• Walking Shoes- Go practical before cute.  You will be standing long hours and you will have more ground to cover this year.
• Bandanna or kafiya to wear around your neck or to cover your face if it is dusty.
• Grid schedule: Seriously. If you want to make the most out of the fest, you need to block out your time

Transportation
Seriously kids, parking near the Fest is not going to happen.  South of the river around the fest and the parking garages that are close are being used by Palmer Center and Long Center’s events that weekend, so they will NOT be available. DO NOT PARK IN THE BOULDIN CREEK NEIGHBORHOOD UNLESS YOU LIKE BEING TOWED.

• Bikes – Organizers promise plenty of bicycle parking on site.  I will be biking to the Fest.
• Public Transit/Park and ride- If you can not walk from your parking area, or bike, or choose not to, please consider our FFF Fest shuttle service.  Details are on the web site

This was year 6 of volunteering my way to platinum. I have been on vacation for the past 2 weeks and living at M’s house.

(You should go back and read the daily recaps. I put this stuff out on the internet for you, little readers)

Total # of bands: ~24  ( City Riots, Best Coast, the DJs from the Hood Internet, Le Loup,  Typefighter, Sondre Lerche, Vivian Girls, Death Set,  :papercutz,  Oh Snap!, Rogue Wave, Miike Snow, Fucked Up, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings,  Hole,  Frightened Rabbit, Minor Mishap Marching Band , Mayer Hawthorn & the Country, Passion Pit (DJ set) , The Pains of Being Pure at Heart,  Broken Bells, Ezra Furman and the Harpoons ,Everybody was in the French Resistance…Now!, and  Diplo.)

Total # of movies: 6 (The Runaways, Tiny Furniture, Canal Street Madam, Barry Munday, the Freebie, Kick Ass)

Total $ spent: ~$115 In comparison to last year, I spent more money and came home with less loot (Recessioned!).

Things that vastly improved this year’s SXSW experience:

• Being a Crewchief: (Thanks to the Real Jew) I worked a ton of pre-conference hours and was done by Sunday afternoon of SXSWi
• New sidekicks
• Nap time

I posted some of this in my Fun^3 Fest 2008 wrap up.  I cannot stress the importance of having the right gear during SXSW.

Useful Festival Gear (for the whole Fest):
So I noticed that very few people are prepared for an all day outdoor festival. Granted, the door people search your bags for weapons, booze, and food. But still, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t pack a few things. This is what was in my bag (FYI: This year I am testing out the KEEN skyline.  It’s a kid’s bag but I looks like the right size for the job):

• Tissues – also useful when the port-o-potty is out of TP
• Hand Sanitizer or Moist Towlettes, wet wipes and/or face wipes.
• Visine/Eyedrops
• Extra Sunglasses
• Earplugs – I prefer the reusable swimmers earplugs. I bring disposable ones too, it is a good way to make friends.
• Camera – with extra memory (note that cameras are not always allowed at festivals but you can check ahead of time).
• A descent size bag to carry all your stuff and free swag (your friend may or not be willing to be your sherpa). I carry a messenger bag. M usually has her cycling backpack.
• Cash – not all events take credit or have an onsite ATM (It’s also nice to tip the bartender for those free drinks).
• Empty water bottle – staff might prevent you from taking in water, but they can’t stop you from bringing an empty bottle. You can usually find a water fountain or restroom to fill it up.
• Coozie- Most of the time the beer chicks are somewhere in proximity distributing them. Never when you need them though.
• Chapstick
• Sweater/Sweatshirt- It’s good to dress in layers. By the end of the night you will be glad you packed it. I usually stick a hat in my bag for that reason.
• Bicycle- It is the best way to get around town. Driving is not really an option.  Public transit isn’t reliable.
• Walking Shoes- Go practical before cute.  You will be standing long hours on concrete most likely.

Useful Festival Gear (for SXSWi):

• Laptop- Ever so important for blogging on the go.  You can attempt it on your smart phone, but really, a keyboard is your friend.

(edited on 11/9/9 after a good night’s sleep)

It is way past my bedtime.

I came home, showered (to remove mud and to get the smell of smoke and bad weed out of my hair) , tossed in a load of laundry,  made dinner, and now I am eating a vegan chocolate cupcake and writing to you.

First, let me thank the people that run this fest and make it magical every time.  You let me pick up my wristband early so I didn’t have to stand in line.   For the low price of $79.97 (Early Bird in the house)  I saw 20 acts in two days.  Many of which I hadn’t seen before.   Although I didn’t partake in food and beverages, there were a ton of choices for me, the vegetarian who also avoids HFCS).  Thank you!

Second, let me complain to the fest organizers about having to make my own grid schedule.  The website was nice and flashy but there is something to be said for low-tech (umm, it runs faster).  I had some issues making the scheduler work.  I have up and made myself an excel spreadsheet.

Lastly, Is there a person I can complain to about the people who got to the show late and tried to push their way tot the front?  Or can someone do something about the people smoking bad pot?  Better yet, can umbrellas be banished?

Here is the photo montage from my weekend,  you can get the details after the jump…

(more…)

This was year 5 of volunteering my way to platinum. I have been on vacation for the past week and a half.  I didn’t even think about the day job until today when I was trying to figure out if I had to go back tomorrow (sadly, I do.  It keeps the lights on.).

This year I blogged my way through the event, thanks to my MSI Wind Netbook (full review later), so I am just going to write up a quick summary (You should go back and read the daily recaps.  I put this stuff out on the internet for you, little readers)

Total # of bands: ~35 (Flosstradamus, Asobi Seksu, Titus Andronicus, Chairlift, the DJs from the Hood Internet, Kanye West, Big Sean, GLC Consequence, Really Do, Tony Williams, Mr. Hudson, Kid Cudi, Common, Erykah Badu, Buck65, B.Dolan, Sleep, Sage Francis, the Obits, Handsome Furs, American Analog Set, the Rosebuds, Bishop Allen, Au Revoir Simone, These Arms are Snakes, Cursive,  Passion Pit,  the Soft Pack, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Matt and Kim, Amplive, Franki Chan and Curt from Flosstradamus, and Echo and the Bunnymen.)

Total # of movies: 7 (RIP: A Remix Manifesto,  500 days of Summer,  Died Young, Stayed Pretty, The Time of Their Lives, Yes Men Fix the World,  Alexander the Last, and  I Love You, Man.)

Total $ spent: ~$21.25. In comparison to last year, I spent less money but came home with less loot.

Things that vastly improved the SXSW experience:

• Being a shiftleader: (Thanks to the Real Jew) You get time and a half for a little added responsibility.  I only had to volunteer from Thursday night – Tuesday evening. The downside was that I didn’t get to see as many panels as I had in the past.  I had many rooms to look after.
• Living in Mexico-  I could save on gas and cabs by riding my bike or walking.  M and I bought groceries to save $$.
• New bike- super light.  I didn’t have to walk any hills this year.  Everything is bolt on so I didn’t have to pop off a tire to lock it up. Thanks once again to the dudes at The Peddler.
• MSI Wind Netbook: just a good thing to have around as a blogger and it helps to stay on top of all the social networking business.  Mexico has wireless internet now so there were more reasons to have a computer.
• sched.org-  for all of my sxsw scheduling needs (and Showlist Austin for making the .pdf version of the day party schedule.)

…umm the weather is perfect for riding your bike

Today’s trek was 13 miles: from the house to the bank (to deposit money),  the library, then the new bike store where I bought a cool helmet (BTW. Nutcase helmets are on sale for $25), then back to the house.  The whole voyage took 2 hours.

This weekend’s weather is not looking to good.  If I wasn’t stuck in meetings all day tomorrow I would skip work all together so I could ride some more before it gets cold and gloomy.

After almost a year (and almost $600) my bike is done!
The frame was purchased on Craigslist.  I took it apart. I stripped it  and repainted it lavender.  I was able to salvage a lot of parts.  I did my best to get used parts before I got new ones ( Yellow Bike, Frankenbike, and CL). When I bought new stuff I went local (Thank you guys at the Peddler).

Before

After

Check out the flickr page for more pics…

and now for the specs

Frame:
1970? Niitaka Mixte
Handlebars and Brakes:
Mavi Bullhorns with Diacompe Brake handles, original diacompe brakes with new cables and housings
Fork and Headset:
original
Front wheel:
Sun  27×1 1/4 CR18
Rear wheel:
Sun 27×1 1/4 CR18 with flip/flop hub
Tires:
Panaracer Pasela
Crankset and Bottom bracket
Stronglight Track crank and bb  48t chainring. 170mm arms.
Saddle :
Terry Butterfly
Pedals:
BMX
Cog/Gearing et cetera:
17t freewheel/Singlespeed