music

where is matthew mcconaughey when i actually need him?

Hey, pantsworld!  It’s guest blogger erin with the little e here again.  Our most excellent host, miz poshdeluxe, asked me to wax rhapsodic about sxsw, which is just!around!the!corner!

This is maybe the first year in the history of ever that I am approaching the 5 day magical time known as the music portion of south by without a plan of attack.  You guys know that movie The Wedding Planner, in which J. Lo plays a crazy, Type A wedding planner (natch) who has everything in her life cross-referenced, color-coded and backed up with several alternate plans of attack?  I’m totally that person, only about south by southwest instead of weddings.  (Okay, I’m also that person when it comes to weddings.  Just ask any of my friends who are currently engaged.)  I usually start planning my schedule around November, when the early buzz starts leaking, and I triple-check artists’ myspaces and websites, facebooks and blogs, in order to form a more perfect schedule with several options for every waking hour.

But not this year!  Because I have a job which makes me work pretty much all the time these days, I haven’t had a chance to even discover new bands this year, much less build an elaborate flowchart which carefully positions said new band in between catching an established act and breaking for a grilled mozzarella sandwich from Go Bites.

This year, all is fair game!  Instead of my careful planning and cross-planning, I went to sxsw sched and went down the list of parties and artists, checking off the ones I was interested in seeing. I came up with this, and it’s this that I’m going to use in the most laid-back style possible (which is, for me, admittedly not all that laid-back). When the 8 pm hour comes on Thursday evening, I’ll just have to decide who suits my mood most: Frank Turner, Airborne Toxic Event, M Ward or Gabriella Cilmi. Actually, I can already decide this one. I’ll have seen M Ward, with any luck, on Wednesday; I’ve seen Airborne Toxic Event before, and Gabriella Cilmi isn’t as hot as Frank Turner. See? That’s a pretty easy decision.

Of course, this doesn’t take into account the number one problem with scheduling: having a wristband and being denied access to a show you really want to see. That’s why it’s always good to have one or two venues as your own personal “Cheers,” i.e. a place where everyone knows your name, and you have at least a passing interest in most of the acts playing. That venue for me is Latitude 30, site of the British Embassy’s nightly showcase and most logical place to find people I know. And possibly Strongbow.

The simple truth of the matter is that, for music fans at south by, there’s really no reason to make a schedule or worry a bit. The glory of south by southwest is that there’s music every which way you turn: polished or rough or earnest or breathtaking or disappointing or insane. Last year, I passed a young man who turned to his companion and exclaimed with wide-eyed wonder, “There’s music EVERYWHERE.” Even as I laughed off his adorable naivete, I smiled and inwardly agreed with him. I love this week; I love the crush of bodies and the desperation of bands looking to make a mark, the hum of amps and the twang of guitars, all melting together to slick the streets and season the air with the rhythm, the chorus, of the most wonderful week of the year.

See you down the front, pantsworld!

© 2009 Poshdeluxe.