The official first day of the music portion of ‘SX’ — that’s what all the locals call it by the way, it’s much cooler — was Tuesday. The first day of SXSW music also requires all photographers, journalists and the ‘I have a blog so I’m fully professional’ people to get their badges.
So far this badge has proved useless to me. It’s only exacerbated my pretentious wanker status when trying to push through lines in the vain hope to catch the dying seconds of a good band’s set. So, with badge in hand, I was free to wander the streets for what everyone really comes to SXSW to enjoy: the free stuff. One free breakfast curry later and it was almost 6 p.m. (it took a really long time to find that food).
This marked a battery recharge stopover back at the house then off again to wait in a ridiculously overcrowded line for a Microsoft party. After waiting in line for more than an hour we were refused entry on the base that we didn’t RSVP. Not even the pointless music badge could get me in. So I did what any self-respecting person would — I waited by the entrance until there was a crowd of people and pushed through the middle of them to avert all potential sightings from the security guards. The wait was definitely worth it, too. Strippers clad in skintight one-pieces, melodramatic ice sculptures with colored lighting and DJs galore filled the venue to the brim.
Microsoft also came through with a couple of DJs, notably R2DJ and Woody Allen (the singer not the actor). Sure enough, after a few hundred drinks it was off to another gig, although the previous tactic of pretentiously pushing my way through did not work with this line. After three tries I finally found success and managed to catch the last minutes of Mount Kimbie’s set and the full epic show that was Gold Panda. Surfer Blood was also there, although even with the backing of Pitchfork its show was lackluster. All in all, day one provided some amazing bands but also some home truth: if you want to get in, get there early.
Day two is up tomorrow.
Stayed tuned for more SXSW coverage right here w/ J.AM. all week!
