SXSW | The Round-Up

Trying to collect our thoughts on our first experience at SX is like trying to put together a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle; it takes a long-ass time and requires an exorbitant amount of perseverance. There are so many moving parts in the festival, so many things that make your first time at the event somewhat similar to a chinese fire-drill. There is a constant sense of urgency in the air - everyone running from panel to panel, food truck to food truck, show to show - all in hopes of being the first in line. News flash: if you ain’t first, you may as well be last because you aren’t going to get in. Yes, we realize the negativity here but this is what partially makes SX such an incredible and unique event, truly unlike any other festival we have attended.

We were told early on by a seasoned SX veteran that making a plan is entirely redundant. He said that the chances that you would be able to achieve what you set out to at the beginning of the day would be interrupted by myriad things, and that we should save ourselves the disappointment. We thought, “screw that, we have 15 bands we want to see tomorrow, you have no idea what we’re capable of!” Zoom forward to the next day, it’s 11:30pm, we’ve seen two bands and have attended zero panels. You learn very quickly learn that SX takes no prisoners. Lesson of day one: don’t make a plan, take everything in stride.

When it comes to getting into a show there is something very important to ensure you are successful: get to the venue early. No matter the number of- or colour of-wristband you might be wearing, the credentials on your lanyard or the entourage you’re traveling with, it will not guarantee you a spot inside. These people run a tight ship operation, and they simply do not care who you are or what you do. Initially this was frustrating. We thought, “What do you mean we have to wait for two hours? SIR, DO YOU SEE THIS BADGE?” We thought we were the hottest shit since sliced bread, walking around with our press passes on thinking we could skip lines and that we walked on water. No. We had our perks, but at the end of the day there were about 72,000 other people there hoping to achieve the same thing as us, just without the post-concert write up requirement. Lesson of days to follow: Arrive early or be prepared realize the true meaning of “patience is a virtue”.

We never saw a bad show at SX, with the exception of Big Sean, be we don’t need to dive back into that. The talent that came into that city, both old and new, was incredible and ultimately made for one of the greatest musical experiences of our lives. The intimacy of most of the venues completely changed the listening game, and justified the sometimes year-long line ups. Seeing talents like Vic Mensa, Mick Jenkins, James Bay, Future Islands and most others play to a crowd of no more than 300 is pretty personal. This exclusivity is what made SX not just a blogger’s heaven but entirely worthwhile. Lesson number three: suck it up and wait in the line, it is always worth it, just remember to wear comfortable shoes.

We’ve been asked a couple of times who our favourite act was as SX and our answer every single time is, “That’s too hard to answer”. My friends, this is the honest truth. We heard so much amazing music from so many different genres that answering that question is just. Too. Tough. There is so much more to the festival than just music. We met so many knowledgeable, creative, incredible people from both the music industry and not. We learned how to eat for free just about every day, and as a result learned that just because the food is free does not mean you have to eat it all (McDonald’s tent we’re looking at you).

Next year will be entirely different now that we have braved our first SX. The ins and outs of the festival are forever in our back pockets, ready for use next year. Although the Internet and the majority of the ‘biz may scour at SXSW for becoming watered-down, you still have to enjoy it for what it is: a platform for music around the world to be exposed. And isn’t that why we all joined up in the first place?

*Edit: Video added May 12, 2015.