SXSW

Chances are most folks will never attend any sort of film festival. They’re under the mistaken impression that the only folks who can afford to go will fly in on private jets and be shuttled to and from screenings on a flowered dais trailed by an entourage of personal assistants on cell phones. And, yeah, you’ll see a few of those. But the Big Secret is film festivals are surprisingly accessible to the average Joe. Take South By SouthWest (SXSW) which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year in Austin, Texas. As film fests go it’s a relative newcomer, but the music component of the event is well-recognized as the premiere showcase for emerging bands around the world. So by choosing South By (as the locals call it) as opposed to Sundance or Toronto, you’ve got a unique opportunity to not only check out the latest in independent film, but in between you can catch exclusive gigs from the best up-and-coming bands you’ve never heard of (and a few big acts in the sort of intimate settings you won’t get anywhere else)! Although I was attending as a member of the press, apparently the WIOG call letters didn’t carry enough weight to earn me a “badge” which allows for immediate entry into most shows. So, like your average Joe, I stood in line with my purple wristband (around $500) for musical acts and my business-card size film pass (around $375) for screenings. Yes, the urge to throw things at badge holders sauntering into the theater is strong, especially when you’re standing outside in the rain (it’s Texas for God’s sake, it’s not supposed to rain!), but when all was said and done there wasn’t a single film or venue I was shut out of. And a few crafty tricks can even get you in ahead of those stinkin’ badges! One of the choice venues for film screenings is the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown, picked as Entertainment Weekly’s best place to catch a flick in the country. The screen’s not that big, the sound’s not that great, and the wait staff is constantly walking in front of the screen to deliver food and drinks. So what’s so damn great about the place?! Well, the programmers choose mostly cult classics, no first run flicks, and fill the joint with a fan friendly atmosphere that’s akin to watching a movie with hundreds of video-store employees (no joke, I actually sat next to one during the exclusive screening of James Gunn’s Slither). The music venues are an entirely different story, scattered from one side of town to the other, but mostly centered around the legendary 6th street. Like a Mardi Gras without the public nudity (although public intoxication is still alive and well), once the barricades go up the streets are overrun by music geeks, record reps and drunken band members bouncing from club to club, taking in everything from mellow singer-songwriters to British invasion 80’s pop to homegrown Austin thrash-punk. Each band plays for an average of 45-minutes then shuffles off stage to make room for the next act. SXSW crams an unbelievable 1500 bands into the 5-day musical component of the festival...and that’s not even counting all the corporate sponsored day-parties that showcase major acts and also serve as good source of free food and alcoholic beverages (you’re allowed, even encouraged, to imbibe sometimes as early as 10am). So what did I see that’s good? Well, that’s a pretty personal question. Half the fun of any festival is trying to discover the next Big Thing. But that also involves sitting through crap from time to time (namely Population 436, a Twilight Zone-esque midnight screening that wasn’t even up to Sci-Fi Channel standards). But when you stumble upon something great like Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, a slasher film mockumentary that chronicles one man’s ascent to serial killer stardom, you walk out with conspiratorial confidence that something truly unique will be unleashed upon the world and you saw it first! Ha! The music rushes by even quicker, but you’ll find songs stick in your head. There were certain acts I made appointments to see (Goldrush, Rhett Miller, and Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs packed set of 60’s covers) that didn’t disappoint. But the most telling experience came after listening to a few minutes of the closing night’s festivities featuring Austin locals What Made Milwaukee Famous. I was convinced I’d heard them before. And I had, wandering into a venue that first afternoon on a whim. But now, on a stage twice as big with an audience 10 times the size, you realize just how quickly success can happen and how lucky you are to be witness to it. And that’s exactly what makes the festival experience worthwhile.