I decided to stay in and write for a bit.  I checked in with my mom (to let her know that I didn’t get hit by a car on St. Patty’s day).  I looked at the schedule and decided that there was nothing worth biking into town for until about 2.

Movie time.  #17 was A Matter of Taste: Serving up Paul Liebrandt.  If you are into food and art, check it out.  After the film I explored the convention center.  I was curious about Style X and I was tempted to go to the 70s house of porn American Apparel Garage Sale.  It was Style X’s first year so I didn’t have high expectations.  I had also surveyed some of my artist friends and it turns out that many locals were rejected (there was also a pricey booth fee).  I am curious how Style X was curated,  I may have to interview the man behind it at some point.  I’ve been to his store and this was not what I expected.  There was a mix of corporate (Keds), out of town vendors, and one or two locals. [BTW.  I know that it is really hard to spend a whole day in your booth vendors.  I've been there, but please, please find reps that know your products.  Yesterday some guy tried to sell me glasses and he said that they had a deal going one price for all prescriptions.  I told him that my eyesight was bad (not eligible for lasik bad) and he said that it didn't matter.  I double checked with the owner and he said that I would probably have to pay extra.]

After a disappointing stroll, I left the convention center in search of free beer.  I headed to  Fader because I was curious about Smith and Westerns and I wanted to see Matt and Kim.  I found a place to lock the bike and stood in line for about 5 minutes before someone came up to us and said the line was closed and that no one would be allowed in the rest of the night.  I decided to stick around.  They say that every year. Crowd turnover happens after every band.

…30 minutes later, I am in.  Fiat Fader was ok.  I still miss the Levi’s Fader though.  Specifically, the one that was at Youthworks (aka The Honeycomb Hideout).  After last nights trampling, I decided to steer clear of the front.  Matt+Kim= Mosh Pit (You would think that they would be more careful after Matt messed up his back a few years ago.  Nope)  Great Show.  I look forward to seeing them play this summer with the Thermals.

I biked to the ACC after the show to charge my phone and check in with a few people.  I was on the other side of tired.  I decided to go home early.  I was in bed by 10:30.

Free stuff: 2 beers and 2 bottles of water

Money Spent: $3 on tips

My tolerance for “special” people is tanking.  I don’t know if it is related to the string of violent films I have seen or what,.  My field notes from TV on the Radio at Stubb’s say the following: To the girl with the “serenity” tattoo on the back of her neck,  I have all I can do not go go Rainn Wilson on your ass with my bike wrench. [For those of you who don't know, that is a reference to Super.  Watch the trailer.  I am glad a wrote that down.   In reality, I would turn her in to security.  I would tell them that she was a danger to herself and that she was probably on drugs.  Why the passive aggressive approach?  Umm, APD doesn't like brown people.] I think that my surrounding concert mates would have liked to have a go at all the drunkards who felt the need to mosh around to a band that deserves more respect.

Let’s rewind to the start of my day. (more…)

I started the day by going to the grocery store.  I have done really well living off of the contents of my fridge and free items since last Tuesday. Sadly, the cupboard was bare and I needed to buy food or do a better job of foraging.

My legs were tired  (I hate that hill on Bouldin) so I decided to unpack the groceries and drive to the Drafthouse South. I was hoping to hop the film shuttle to the State Theatre, but I found out that the number of film shuttles has been reduced from three to one now.  Lucky for me Catch a Chevy Volt was in the area [BTW.  I told them our current shuttle situation and they plan to make themselves available to the awesome film people vs. the hipsters downtown].

My first film screening was Fambul Tok.  (more…)

I started the day with Yenta at the Vimeo Theater.  Her friends were in town to promote their film Something Ventured.  Another winner for me. I like documentaries and it was cool to see the evolution of the VC field.    After the show we grabbed lunch and walked over to the Fader Fort to wait in line for a wristband.  It took over an hour.  We have yet to figure out if it will be worth the wait,  but really, we didn’t have anything else to do and it was an excuse to spend some time out in the sun.

After Fader, we hit the Trade Show.  I found some useful products (sliderocket.com, stuffpal, endurancediary, triviatize, and minus) to check out post SXSW. The most useful booth, so far, was the WordPress one.  They had some new features that I should implement on the blog (I have been reluctant to move to the newest release).

I met a few of my peeps at the tradeshow and we moved on to the Go Local happy hour for food to counteract the number of free beers consumed.   Then I wandered around with @jakerella and ended up at the HP Mobile park (more beer and a slightly overwhelmed Michael Cera.  He looked like he was wishing for the power of invisibility).  I took advantage of the phone charging station.  I also had a conversation with another volunteer about the merits of volunteering and was it worth it.  He was a bit of a dick about it.  My advice to him, make this your first and last year for volunteering.

After more roaming and a final goodbye to @jakerella, I biked to the Long Center for El Bulli: Cooking in Progress).   Before the movie I made some friends in line.  [Tired me also recalls asking the guy from Foursquare what he would offer me to switch over from Gowalla.  Apparently the social networking world does not work like the cell phone or cable company.  All he could offer was some stickers.  I guess I will stick with Gowalla for now] The film was good, but a little slow for an evening flick.  I nodded off somewhere in the middle.

Note to self:  Do not watch subtitled movies when you are sleepy.

Free stuff: 2 beers, one shot of tequilla, and sunglasses.

Money Spent: $2 for tips

I was in a foul mood. 1) Because I did not have a Gowalla wristband, and 2) because I was going to miss a bunch of things because of the fashion show at Plutopia (Once again, this is the last time I will agree to an unpaid gig during SXSW).

I spent the morning in the movie theater watching mediocre shorts at the Drafthouse South. Out of  2 sets of shorts, Narrative 2 and Medium Cool,  the following stood out: Animal Control, Flow, and Clear Blue.   I really wanted to love Scenes from the Suburbs, but I didn’t (it had nothing to do with my foul mood either).

I went home after the movie and chilled out for an hour before taking the film shuttle back to ACC to grab my bike.  Then I decided that I should procure a beer at the PepsiCo Playground before heading over to MACC (where I had a sneaking suspicion that NOTHING would be free).  One of the best decisions EVER!

As expected Plutopia was a bit of a cluster.  At this point in time I will yield to the old saying, “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”  I will say, that I wished I was dancing it out to Matt and Kim.  @jakerella, Yenta, and CollectiveSelection were nice enough to come out to lametopia to watch my show.  @jakerella bought me a $4 beer.   For those of you who were having way more fun elsewhere you can view the video of my friend Shawna on the runway here.

After the show we took a quick look around and decided to go on a free beer run. @jakerella and I finished out the night at Mashable House at  Buffalo Billiards drinking Golden Monkey [umm, the Monkey is dangerous. Weighing in at 9.5% it will knock you on your butt].There would be no bike ride home.  I stumbled to the film shuttle and walked home from the Drafthouse.

Free stuff: 4 beers and 1 shirt.

Money Spent: 0 (thank @jakerella)

Today I slept in, made breakfast, and biked in. The plan was to catch Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop at the Paramount Theatre.  I am a fan so I laughed the whole time (I needed that after a string of emotional films).   I ducked out early (and managed to trip and fall on the way out of the theater) so I could hop back in line for the Greatest Movie Ever Sold.  [Dear SXSW execs, can we have queue cards at Paramount?I know that there are 1200 seats, but sometimes, after all that free beer, you need to go to the restroom or get food and can't stand in line for the WHOLE hour].

The line wasn’t super long so I decided to dart across the street to the IFC House to use the restroom.  I ran into 2.0 on the way out and he joined me in line.    At some point he needed to use the restroom as well.  Lucky me,  I saved his seat while he went to the restroom and he came back with BEER.  Sweet.  The 1st free beer of the day is always the best one.

I was supposed to meet @jakerella after the film but I decided to swing by the Gowalla Trailer to turn in my passport and get my wristband for the party with Matt & Kim.  Sadly, they just ran out.  They said to try again, and in the meantime I could pick out a shirt because I had 15 stamps.  I told them that I REALLY needed a wristband because I couldn’t get to the party early.   I had to be at Plutopia (PS.  I wish I hadn’t signed up for that runway show.  There are other things I would rather be doing instead of camping out at Plutopia for 3 hours.  Like parties with Matt and Kim and Flosstradamus) .

I found @jakerella and proceeded to find some free beer to drown my sorrows in.  We ended up at the Meebo party at Six Lounge.   We stayed long enough for free beer and a game of twister.  Sadly we found no food.  The next stop was ACC to lock up my bike for the night.

We headed to Emo’s for  BeerCamp (the backup for the evening was the Onion Party at DeVille). I met some interesting peeps while I was there.  M and 2.0 stopped by as well.  M attempted to broker a deal for the use of my cell phone charger.  I have yet to figure out what I am getting.  I wanted a sandwich from Austin Daily Press but that didn’t happen.

By this point in time I was tired and hungry.  There were no parties with food in the vicinity so I decided to head home via the film shuttle (Thank you SXSW for the film shuttle to Alamo Lamar).

Free stuff: 3 beers and 1 shirt.

Money spent: I can’t remember.  I think @jakerella tipped for most of my beers.

I started the day with Documentary Shorts at  the Drafthouse South.  Some shorts were slow, but others were great.  Check out 100 Bands, 100 Days (the reason I attended the shorts to begin with), Library of Dust (How they saved the Oregon State Hospital), and Tugs (I am a New Yorker. I am glad someone acknowledged the stewards of the harbor).

I skipped out on the Q&A in the hopes of catching the film shuttle to the ACC.  After 30 minutes, one of my line-mates decided to phone Catch a Chevy Volt [umm, they usually don't give out their number].  We made it to ACC in no time.  I managed to sneak into Being Elmo: A Puppeteers Journey.  (Yes, I know that Elmo can be annoying little creature, but the man behind him is an amazing human being).  If you are a Muppet/Sesame Street fan, you need to watch this film.

After yet another emotional movie, I decided to get some fresh air and sunshine. [I also thought it was a good idea to stay out of the Convention Center.  People, please walk faster or move aside. SXSW staff, if you are listening, please create a lane for the fast walkers.  I am envisioning something like the check in area at the Chicago Airport.]  I stopped at the Gowalla Airstream and made the rounds to fill my passport.  I made good time once I knew where I was supposed to go [Thanks Major Thom].  One perk of racing around town was finding where free food and booze were.  @jakerella made fun of my quest, but when the line for Diggnation at Stubb’s was wrapped around the building, I dragged him to Club de Ville (The Good , the Bad, and the Thirsty) where he got to pet a llama and get a decent meal [Dear Event Organizers,  I had to hunt around the internet to figure out who the party sponsor was.  Maybe you should put a banner or something by the food area or llamas next time].

Once we were fed and had two drinks, we headed to the Interactive Opening Party.  As we expected, there was a line.  I decided that I should roll to the  Paramount Theatre to get in line for Super.  I know I had originally said that I would be in line around 9pm, but US Premier means, “wait in line for an hour and a half to insure you will get good seats.”  [Dear Readers, The Paramount seats 1200. Most of the seats are good.  The key is to get in line before it wraps around the theater to the 7th street side and the alley.   Another tip is that the event volunteers are monitoring the line so that no one cuts.  You can save seats just not spaces in line (or they will take you out of the line).]

In my opinion, Super was worth the wait. I love Rainn Wilson and Ellen Paige.  I am not a comic book reader, but the film did a good job of explaining the evolution of a comic book hero.  It started off pretty similar to Kickass but it was based a little closer to reality.

Free stuff:  2 beers, 1 shirt, 1 pr of boxers

$ spent:0

Technically my 1st day of SXSW was on Tuesday  (pre-conference volunteering and cat herding).  After a few days of making the internet, registration, and the connection centers happen, I set off at 5 pm to find myself a free beer.  I met up with @jakerella at the  Chevy Volt Recharge Lounge [My phone was dead and I did not have the charger with me.]

Here is the part where I admit that I haven’t spent much time coming up with my SXSW game plan.  My days have been busy with vol-tech stuff and when I get home I want to crash (but I don’t because I have a million things to do). For those of you who read our Twitter feed (check the sidebar), you know we have been RSVPing for EVERYTHING, but really, we haven’t done much in the way of deciding where we need/want to be.  I think this year is all about keeping our options open.

Post beer, we made our way to The Mix at Six presented by SapientNitro.  On the way there we realized there was an opportunity for scotch so we made a pit stop at the The Macallan Registrants Lounge.   Wise choices all around.  I needed to wind down and catch up with @jakerella and I needed to get food.  Done, and done.

Yenta met us at the party and we snacked and planned out the rest of the evening [Dear Event organizers, Thank you for the healthy snacks.].  I was torn between a movie at the Ritz and cupcakes+ burlesque [I was later informed that there were no cupcakes at this party].  The movie won out, I was tired.  We caught the Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye. (Yenta met the director of the film the night before.)  A very emotional and moving start to the film portion of SXSW.  You should check it out if you get the chance.

The next stop was the SXSW Film Opening Party.  I wasn’t really feeling it though.  There were TOO many people there.  I voted to bail early and relocate the bikes.  The plan was to use the film shuttle as transport to Drafthouse South and we would take the shuttle into town in the morning.

We didn’t catch the shuttle,  a friend was on her way south and gave us a ride.  We got there just in time to see the midnight screening of Little Deaths (and Tim League launching SXFantastic Fest in a dog costume and a beef stroganoff chugging contest).  I had picked the film based on the blurb in the Austinist.   Umm, I was prepared for psychological thrillers, not a mix of horror and porn/fetish.  Whoa! I know the midnight shorts are usually rated R and beyond but OMG!  Yenta and I walked home and hoped that we could sleep free of nightmares.

Note to self: Do a better job researching movies to avoid being traumatized.

SXSWisms
Dorksplosion- coined by@adamholz
Ellis Island- term coined by one of my vols when referring to the registrant badge pick up area in ACC

Free stuff: 1 scotch (no bourbon) and 2 beers.

$ spent: tips for free drinks

“You can’t carry it with you if you want to survive. ” Florence and the Machine

This year, was definitely a year. Yenta said it would be my best year,  definitely a transitional one.  Moments were good, moments were bad, and some moments were down right craptastical.  Other than my family and friends, my only other survival tactic was too keep moving and not look back.  I probably lost some stuff along the way.  There were probably a few people that I didn’t keep in touch with.  I was probably less thoughtful than usual.

Last night I sat in bed thinking about what I was going to write as a recap of my year.  I had to mentally recap the stuff that I have chosen not to discuss on the interwebs.  That’s when the tears started.  I am not sure I am ready to write about the dog days of summer (some good, some really bad, all of it extremely emotional).

For those of you who have been reading along, you know I had a plan:

1) Sell my house before the end of summer. 2) Live irresponsibly in someone else’s property (aka apartment) somewhere in the numbered streets. 3) Leave the country.

Well, that didn’t quite happen as I planned. This is what happened as I flew by the seat of my pants.  1)There are people living in my house but I didn’t sell it.  2)I moved (twice).  I live near some numbered streets in the ’04. 3) My friends’ took me to Mexico for their wedding.

Ok, that’s as far as I am going to go now.  Here’s my year in lists.

This year in live music: SXSW 2010 ( 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.) Miike Snow, Middle East, Mumford and Sons, Passion Pit, Tokyo Police Club, Hood Internet, Flosstradamus, Pixies, Ratatat, Amanda Blank, Sleigh Bells, Interpol, Fun^3 Fest 2010 (Royal Forest (Formerly Loxsly), League of Extraordinary Gz, Butcher Bear and Charlie, Invincible, Devin the Dude, Slick Rick, Dominique Young Unique, Big Freedia, Man Man, Dirty Projectors, RJD2, Magic Kids, Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos, Black Nasty, Toro Y Moi, Nortec Collective Presents: Bostich and Fussible,Jean Grae, Pharoahe Monch, P.O.S., Washed Out, Deerhunter, The Hold Steady, and The Descendants)

This year in non-live music: Here’s to this year’s new albums: Forgiveness Rock Record-Broken Social Scene Miike Snow-Miike Snow, Broken Bells, Wake Up!-John Legend and the Roots, The Suburbs-Arcade Fire, Sidewalks-Matt and Kim, All Day-Girl Talk, Halcyon Digest-Deerhunter, Rubber Factory-Black Keys, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Entanglements-Parenthetical Girls, Mixtape vol 4 and Anatomy Magazine x The Hood Internet- Hood Internet, LP4-Ratatat, Treats-Sleigh Bells, xx-The xx, The Satanic Satanist [Deluxe Edition]-Portugal the Man, The Mountain-Heartless Bastards, Together-New Pornographers.

This year in Sewing: Treasure City Thrift Fashion Show

This year on the interwebs: I got a smart phone.  Here’s to more Twitter updates and Gowalla check-ins.

This year in Movies: This year I watched a lot on Hulu and other peoples Netflix.  I meant to go out but that requires $$. (theater) SXSW (The Runaways, Tiny Furniture, Canal Street Madam, Barry Munday, the Freebie, Kick Ass) the Social Network, Exit Through the Gift Shop.

This year in Books: Sadly not much time for reading this year… Goodreads Tropic of Capricorn, The Tipping Point, Middlesex, Kafka on the Shore.

This year in kicking ass- (New category because I realized I rocked it out this year): SXSW Crew Chief, Volunteer Coordinator for BluesShout!, Natural Disaster Planner, Refashionista, Fun^3 Fest Blogger, and Wedding Stylist.

Plans for 2011 (in no particular order):

1. Leave the continent
2. Quit my job (10 years of state employment is more than a person should endure)
3. Take on a massive design project
4. Read more
5. Spend less money/time on home repair
6. Master Indian Cuisine

Here’s to 2011 and the hopes that the Dog Days really in fact are over.

Pixies- Austin Music Hall 9/22/10 photo by Emily Lim

M and I saw the Pixies this Wednesday.  Once again the universe proves that social media and online credit card payments make things happen.

Sometime in May, I got an email from the Pixies mailing list saying that pre-presale tickets would be available in limited amounts for mailing list subscribers.  I checked in with M and decided to go for it.  I had never seen them live, and the last time that M saw them was at ACL several years ago.  Would it be worth $50 to see them play Doolittle in its entirety?  Hell YES!  You know M and I love the Pixies and would pay to see them inches from the house (unless it involved selling a kidney).

Three days later I can still say the show was amazing (I’ve watched loudQuietloud more times than I would like to admit and I had high levels of expectations.).  Granted, there are a few things I am a little miffed about.  But, having a decent spot just left of the stage, the Pixies’ stage presence and talent outweighed the negatives.

Now for the show… They started with B-sides from Doolittle, then they played the full album.  [Little Readers, I have a confession.  There are several songs that I skip over when I play Doolittle, but hearing them live made me feel a little guilty for doing that.]  They finished out the show with the best of Surfer Rosa.   They gave it 100+% . The crowd was mesmerized and after all these years, we still know all the words to the songs.

For those of you who missed the show (or for those of you who want to relive the end of the show, I have a little clip I found on YouTube.

Now for the complaints:

1) Dear Music Hall, why can’t we bring in descent camera’s to photograph once-ish in a lifetime experiences?  M had to leave the BAC at home and shoot on my tiny camera.  Click here to see them on Flickr.

2) Dear Hipsters, why can’t you bath once and awhile.

3) Dear dudes in front of us.  M is only 3 apples high, yet you feel the need to stand in front of her, and prevent her from seeing the show.

4) Dear Chicks with giant shoulder bags, please pack a smaller bag when you are going to shows.  You are not Mary Poppins, you will not need all of that crap.

5) Dear People responsible for the redesign of the Music Hall, the sound still sucks and the overhangs prevent air circulation.