So Sunday was our last day here in Austin as we are heading back to Kansas City on Monday. Compared to the rest of the time here, it was pretty tame. The only official SXSW thing we did out here was a softball tournament my lovely girlfriend participated in. Bookending the tournament was a couple of walks around South Congress shopping and getting some eats. It was a vacation from the vacation. We even had some time to hot tub and relax the sore muslces from the whole SXSW experience.
That’s what SXSW is: an experience. You know when someone says you gotta try something once or go someplace once? Well, take all of those combined and come down to SXSW. From the Interactive techno fest to the long nights rocking out at the Music fest, you will take part in a get together unbeknownst anywere else on this planet. I’m trying to pick my brain and remember what all I did on this trip and I still can’t remember all of the good times I had. They say if you take out your intestines and roll them out, it will measure about 40 feet. Like that, except SXSW times.
Even more so, I have this massive schwag bucket to go through when I get back. Not for the goofy trade show trinkets, but for the contests and follow ups on all things tech and music. The vacation is almost over and the real work is about to begin. The mental schwag I picked up here as well will keep my motivation going for at least the next 6 months. The flood gates have opened and it’s time to ride it back to Kansas City. Look out, I’m not even close to the high water mark.
So Friday down on 6th street, I marvelled at the mass amount of culture floating around the bricks and shops. Well, overnight, a nothern storm blew through and dropped the tempature about 20 degrees for the day. The wind also made if feel like back home in Kansas City. The thing is, though, Kansas City was going through their own version with an additional 8 to 10 inches of snow on top. So at least we missed out on that.
We were guessing that the crowd would thin down to the badge holders for SXSW because of the weather. As the evening came Saturday, there were tons of people out, but nowhere near Friday night’s crowd. That said, the concert going faithful still made the venues respectable. Through the cold, we made our shows and ended the Music portion of SXSW a memorable one. Today, it’s the softball tournament and battery recharge before the one day drive back home.
No day panels today. We tossed that out the window after the mis-managed scheduling of the of the songwriter panel. So with gig bag in hand, I headed out to the parties on 6th street with my lovely girlfriend. The day parties went great and we got our fill of drinks and schwag. We opted for the super secret Muse show at Stubb’s and enjoyed every second of it. But the biggest thing I took away from SXSW today was somehing special.
I remember a cab driver tell me that we didn’t even know what would hit us when the weekend showed up. After we got out of Stubb’s, I now know. The streets were spilling over with people constantly moving. We’re talking jam packed with all different types of people, not just the badge holders. What was on those streets was pure humanity. Every culture of every type represented. It was like the Olympics. Except instead of competing, the world’s best in music got together to celebrate. And it will only get more crowded tomorrow.
Alrighty today saw me hit up more of the music parties than some of the panels. I wanted to go to a songwriting panel but they A) moved it on me and B) ended up cancelling it. Oh well. What I’ve learned down here more than anything else is that you just need to keep moving.
The one event I did make was the Ableton Live demo. Basically, the product guy from Ableton Live showed off some of the cool features of the program. What I learned was not only does Ableton do a great job of layering live elements, but it can also switch to a linear view to edit in a more traditional DAW style. I also got some info about the APC40 and will be doing some research on it when I get back. That’s about it for the panels today. Check my music blog for the show run downs.
Alrighty, the Interactive portion is done, but I’m still going strong. Please head on over to Helping Zero Knives Enter You, my music blog, for a roundup of what music I’m checking out for SXSW. In the meantime, I’ll be blasting the panels I will attend during the day before rocking out at night.
The only panel I made yesterday talked about how people will listen to music in 2020. Some representatives from SoundCloud and Last.fm were there as well as some other music industry types. They talked about how streaming is the big uptake now. They were quick to point out that it will fall in line with a preference rather than a dominating choice. The question of money came up not only for streaming but also for terrestial radio and it provided for some heated discussion. I can know see the point of of view for charging radio stations to pay for per play licensing like interent radio.
So that’s about it. The music yesterday was awesome and I encourage you to check out this blog as well as my music blog to follow along. Peace!
