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.

Life has been way less organized these last few months little readers. I feel bad because M and I are growing our little ticket farm and we have neglected to remind you of the following:

• Rodrigo y Gabriela: that was last week and it was sold out (Sadly no pictures, Stubbs wouldn’t let M and 2.0 take the BAC in).
• Pixies: umm, that would be in a week and it is sold out.
• Ratatat- umm, that would be in two weeks and it is sold out
• Interpol- that is in late October and it will be sold out, so move fast.

And now it’s time to get to business…

M and I are early birds once again.  But due to an odd shift in the cosmos, we did not win the lottery to purchase said early bird tickets.  The Jew and 2.0 were some how chosen instead of us.  WTF?!   How did this happen?  We told them about the lottery. I suppose we can’t complain.  We weren’t exactly rolling in dough at the time.  I suppose we should commend ourselves for selling the festival to two dudes based on previous experiences.

Now that the full line up and schedule have been completed, it is GOOGLE SPREADSHEET TIME!  You know that M and I are huge nerds when it comes to cramming as much festival goodness in as possible.

Stay tuned for more updates as we get closer to the show.  My plan for the weekend is to catch up on writing and sleep.

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

With the bikes downtown, and bad weather for walking around (cold and windy), M and I decided to take the bus ($1). We headed to the Brooklyn Vegan/M for Montreal Showcase at Galaxy but left when we couldn’t find a posted schedule.  The next stop was Maggie Mae’s for the Aussie BBQ.  Plenty of food for opportunivores but not vegetarians.  I had a beer and we stayed for City Riots and Best Coast.

M and I braved the cold and headed to LoveJoys for the DC does TX showcase.  They were supposed to have free beer and Le Loup was on at 3.  By the time we got there, the beer was gone.   We decided to stick around anyway.  The music was good and we were out of the cold.   Yenta showed up at the end of the set by the band we don’t have a name for [edit 3/22: The name of the band is Typefighter.  They were a last minute sub for Title Tracks.].  We stayed for Le Loup and weren’t that impressed (it was Saturday, maybe they were tired)

After the show, Yenta headed to a movie and M and I made an attempt to see Thurston Moore at the Mog Show.  The line was wrapped around the building so we opted to hit the Under the Radar/Jansport Party. No beer but it was warm.  I stayed for Sondre Lerche [singer/songwriter, did the Dan in Real Life Soundtrack] and Vivian Girls [imagine what it would sound like if Au Revoir Simone rocked out]  M left to meet up with the Jew at the Hypemachine party.  My the time I got there Death Set still hadn’t hit the stage.   Once they got started, I wasn’t impressed.  I decided to bail and head over to PureVolume to see who the Special Guest was.

We aren’t sure if the random girl from OK was the Special Guest.  We hoped it wasn’t.  But at the same time, we couldn’t stand there to find out.   M, the Jew, and I decided to grab fancy dinner at Annie’s around the corner.  The food was ok.  A bit overpriced (I think we were paying for location). I had Arugula and Lemon Chevre with a glass of Prosecco.  We ordered 2 carafes of the house red (they were out so they gave us the Cabernet).  They have one veggie entree listed.  I probably could have asked them to make me something off menu but since it was SXSW, I decided on the Vegetable Risotto (they made it with caramelized onions, asparagus and a balsamic reduction.  The three of us split the ginger creme brulee for dessert.

After dinner, M and I decided that our wine drunk selves should go to Prague to check out :papercutz.  Sadly, the soundguy didn’t do them justice.   We left 5 minutes into the set and headed for Karma Lounge to dance it out to  The Hood Internet.  We got there early and caught Oh Snap! They made our SXSW 2010 highlight reel with their performances of “Rich Kids” and “I’m too fat to be a hipster”

After the shows, we decided it was too cold to walk/bike and decided to hail a cab.  We tried for over 30 minutes and had no luck.  We were close to the Stephen F. Austin Hotel, so we asked the valet to hail us a cab.  They worked their magic and we were in a cab home in about 5 minutes.

M decided to ask the cabbie if he had any tips on nights like this for hailing a cab.

1. Taxis don’t like picking up large groups.  They will pick up one or two people over a group of 5.
2. Do not try and hail a cab when you are smoking or have food/drinks.  Cabbies don’t want to deal with that.
3. If possible, hold up cash.  Cabbies like paper, not plastic.

Cost for the day: $10 for cab,$1 for the bus, $4 for M’s beer, $50 for fancy dinner.

Free: 1 beer

For some strange reason (well not strange, the sun was out and the people from the City were destroying the sidewalk outside the house) I woke up early.  I ended up going back to my house to check on things and mow the lawn.

I made it back to the house by noon and M and I rode downtown with empty stomachs (we were hoping to find free breakfast).  We were running a little late so we went directly to the Spin Party.  UV Vodka was a sponsor.  The beverage of choice for the day was UV Pink Lemonade with a splash of soda water and lime.

We got to the party in time to see Rogue Wave.  We found a good spot up front (near the VIP food that we weren’t supposed to touch).  After Rogue Wave we grabbed another beverage and M managed to procure food.    After our snack we moved back to the front to get a spot front and center for Miike Snow. They played a good set,  for those of you who don’t know the band, think about what the Cut Copy remixes sound like, but better.

By this time M and a were feeling good.  We grabbed more drinks and found a safe spot to watch Fucked Up (we did not want to end up in the mud wallow/mosh pit).  We debated leaving to check out another show and decided to keep drinking vodka and stay for Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings.  I was impressed (and it was not the vodka).  Sharon was on fire and put on a “James Brown cape-worthy” performance [this lady does not need autotune].

This is where things get a little fuzzy (we were going the route of an LA housewife minus the prescription drugs).  I remember Twittering the following, ” Vodka. Thank you for making me impaired but not hungry.” It was around this time that M and I headed to the restroom and managed to get some free shirts and give  someone some whiskey from the flask.  We grabbed more booze and went back to the “safe area” to watch Hole.  By this time I think M and I were 7 to 5 on drinks.  As the day wore on, the drinks got stronger (this is what happens when you tip your bartenders).  We made some friends, took some photos, and rocked out to the hot mess that is Courtney Love [BTW. She introduced a new phrase, Shitfuckers].

After the show, we went to Sidebar to use their clean bathrooms.  M ordered another drink and we stuck around and listened to some random punk band.  By this time I was starving.  I had 2 pieces of white bread, some coleslaw so far.  I snacked on some sesame crackers that were stashed at the bottom of my bag (we always have snacks).

M and I decided it was time to head to Jackalope for a mountain of fries (and burgers). We were half finished when the Jew showed up. We finished our food and made the executive decision to call it a night and cab it home (we left the bikes downtown).

Cost for the day: ??? tips for bartender, ~$15 at Jackalope (per person), $8 cab

Free: I think I had at least 5 vodka sodas (it was vodka and orange juice towards the end.

Thursday means “Trick-or-Treating” with Lori.  I realize that we are in a recession, but seriously, we were in a recession last year and I came home with  more loot.  What have people been spending their stimulus money on?

We started the day at the Paste party and grabbed a few izzes.  We hit Clermont (they usually have good shirts), Maggie Maes (Gibson Guitar and Minnesota Music), and came up empty handed.  Lori had some BBQ but the veggie options were few and far between. After that, I stopped by the Spin/Myspace Music loft to pick up pick up the party passes that M won.  Four parties in we finally scored some loot at the GHS Unwound party (beer, bag, and shirt) .   Since it was a nice day out, we decided to go to Cedar Street to see what the line looked like for the Filter party.  It wasn’t good.

I had never been to the IFC house so we decided to stop by to see if there was any breakfast or free swag left (No breakfast, but there was still swag.  Apparently they serve coffee all day and snacks pop up periodically).  Lori was still hungry so we headed back to Maggie Mae’s.

Our next stop was the Day Stage (BTW.  The Day Stage area is a nice place to hang out/nap.  There are bean bag chairs all over) at the Convention Center to see Frightened Rabbit.  Then went through the Trade Show to see if there was anything of interest.  We were also looking for more of the “skip to the front of the American Apparel Party line cards.”  M sent a text reminding me to check out the Banyan Branch party at the wine bar (free wine and snacks!).  we headed back to the Convention Center to use the restrooms and meet up with friends in the Trade Show.  We ended up making friends with a vendor and gave them advice on how to get into the shows at Stubb’s (FYI get in line early and bring a snack).   Pleasant surprise of the day: running into  the Minor Mishap Marching Band outside the Trade Show.

On the way to the Spain party Lori and I managed to score free cupcakes from Mad Cakes (all natural cuppy cakes, no HFCS).  We camped out at the Spain part for an hour or so (they had wine and food).  The plan was to hit the IFC house (for booze, snacks, loot, and cell phone charging stations) and then head to the Paramount for The Runaways (I wanted to see what they hype was all about). [The Runaways movie was not quite worth the hype.  I suggest netflix.  It was also a little weird seeing Dakota Fanning do drugs and get naked.]

I closed out the evening at the Converse Party. I met up with M and the Jew in time to see  Mayer Hawthorn & the Country, Passion Pit (DJ set) and a little bit of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.  Before I got there the Jew informed me that M was drunk and talking to Passion Pit in the DJ booth.  When we got home, I found out that the Jew was the drunk one and M had promised to make dinner for Passion Pit when they came to town in June.

Cost for the day: tips for bartender

Free: 1 beer, 3 glasses of wine, 1 mixed whiskey drink, iphone case, 3 shirts, and a shot glass..