SXSW love

South by Southwest is a series of interactive, music, and film festivals lasting about a week and a half in Austin every Spring. I had no idea what to expect as SXSW conveniently coincides with UT Spring Break. The last two years I went out of town thinking paying for a $700+ wristband was too much money. Silly me. We are in Austin and there are ALWAYS free things. I should have known better. I decided to rectify my mistakes of years past and attempt to attend as any free events as my work schedule would allow. My intentions far exceeded my ability and have now ended up sick from all the festivities.

The downside of SXSW is that Austin is overrun with tourists from all over the world who have come to steal my secret parking, cause horrendous traffic, and create ridiculous lines at the most average places. Boo. On the other hand, with the sudden population increase there were innumerable sponsors providing free drinks, movies, food, and music throughout Austin. Yeah! I traded in some of my good karma I have with the world and consistently avoided compromising my standards of paying for parking, waiting in line or paying for cover throughout the weekend.

Highlights began when I forced myself on a Sunday night to push through my tiredness of a long weekend to go to an independent movie premier at the Alamo Drafthouse. The Alamo Drafthouse is an entity to love all on it's own and as it is always always an ideal location to watch movies and have dinner or drinks. Walking up to the beloved theater there were lines wrapping all around. Not to worry, I went with Emily who is a Sundance Film Festival veteran and friend of the producer for the movie Putty Hill. We simply walk right past the lines to the front and choose the best seats in the house. While the movie critic we met before the movie and the movie itself left us underwhelmed we respected the uniqueness of the experience. Obvi we were invited to the after party; but being a Sunday night with work early in the morning we only stayed long enough to find out movie industry people are not quite the conversationalists we had hoped.

St. Paddy's Day had to fall in the middle of all of this and of course that is basically like my birthday splashed in Technicolor green. I did my duty as the former Rose of Tralee but also avoided that dang $15 cover at Fado. I made friends with the Guinness girls and whoever else wanted to buy drinks that night. I think I am still recovering.

On the second Friday of SXSW I went downtown  in the afternoon with my new friend and neighbor, Tiffany. We found perfect sunny seats atop the roof deck at Molotov where great bands were playing and free drinks and food were a coming till about 7. This guy (pictured above) had quite the style and I had to ask... he stores harmonicas in that vest! Throughout the rest of the night we ventured to several other random parties, shows and bars with a variety of friends throughout downtown. We probably walked a few miles, but with our week we probably needed the exercise!

The last official day of SXSW was filled with musical guests and highly anticipated parties. The weather took a turn for the freezing and discouraged me from attending any outdoor shows on Auditorium Shores. Fortunately, I had the (indoor) Perez Hilton "One night in Austin" party to look forward to. While Perez might be of questionable fame, his party was not. Walking up to the location with the freezing cold at our backs Jessica, Casi and I worked our way to the front of the mob to figure out how we were to utilize our VIP status to get in. Although they couldn't locate our names somehow we were given wristbands and walked directly in the door while several thousand people awaited entry outside. How that happened is still under review, but I'm not complaining.

It seemed that every random or local liquor company had come to advertise and offer free drinks. The lines for the bathroom were absurd and the entire thing was horribly planned (see: how I got in), but we rocked out to the music all night with acts like Macy Gray and Snoop Dogg! Later Harlan, our hook up for the tickets, was able to get off work to make it in time for his teenage idol, Snoop Dog. I made it my personal mission to annoy/flirt with the security guards until I could make this happen. Ultimately, it came down to the Fire Marshall letting people in but at least I was able to keep Harlan's thirst to a minimum by providing him line drinks. That's all the security guards were at liberty to turn a blind eye to. We had a blast but ended up bailing on the after party for lack of energy and sleep. I guess age isn't just a number.

Clearly the week/weekend was a success from all angles.There are certainly downsides to SXSW but I figure the worst part is for everyone else who has to go back to their city and leave Austin after the fun is over! I get to stay here and bask in the afterglow for as long as I want. Thanks to everyone for making it a great weekend!!!

http://sxsw.com/
http://perezhilton.com/tv/A_Recap_One_Night_In_Austin_2010/?ptvid=a9b5941e0e953