AUSTIN--While most other SXSW 2000 attendees have filed dutifully onto big
airplanes home by Monday, it's both a comfort and a pleasure to sit here in
South Austin and look back at a very entertaining week's worth of activity.
Although my own departure is 24 hours away, I'm already seduced by the
post-festival serenity that is settling in all over this fair city.
SXSW is a huge distraction for many of the people who live in Austin and
their sense of relief at its ending is more than palpable. After hosting
thousands of industry warriors and providing the festival with every kind of
service imaginable, Monday morning is a time for Austinites to shake off one
final hangover, regroup emotionally, and get back to their day-to-day lives.
When planning next year's SXSW, Austin will have to address the fact that
the city's shrinking number of performance venues combined with
the ever-increasing size of the festival is putting a huge strain
on the pragmatic coordination of live concerts. Indeed, the past
year's sad closing of several dependable rock clubs (like the Liberty
Lunch) was felt more acutely than anyone in city government could
have imagined. The use of alternate sites like the beautiful Scottish
Rite Theater was a classic bit of inspiration, but the facility's
antiquated electrical system necessitated the use of two external
generators just to get through the week.
It's also sad to note the changing of one grand tradition at the end of this
year's SXSW. While Alejandro Escovedo could always be counted on to close out
the festival with a mammoth concert at La Zona Rosa, last year's
closing-night skirmish between some overly aggressive bouncers and a pair of
the band's family members has led to Escovedo's complete and total boycott of
the club. Still, with every ending there's a new beginning and Sunday night
found Escovedo at the Continental Club as part of a benefit for the Sims
Foundation, an organization devoted to providing social services for the many
financially disadvantaged musicians living here in Austin town.
So as the lines for restaurants, movies and concerts shrink back down to
their normal size and SXSW 2000 becomes just another Austin memory, the
burgeoning plans for SXSW 2001 (a performance space oddity?) are already
taking shape. More space is obviously needed and plans to enlarge the Austin
Convention Center are in the works. New hotels are being built and all manner
of local merchants have figured out that live music is a big draw. Indeed, a
small amplified bandstand can improve one's antique or clothing store
business quite easily during SXSW. Next year, many more informal (non-SXSW)
gigs will be popping up to service the residents who don't have access to the
festival's many activities. Also, watch for the SXSW Interactive Conference
to take an even greater role in bringing the film and music factions
together, as well as luring more tech business down to Austin.
While SXSW 2000 bears little resemblance to the first SXSW of 1986, music is
still message and more people are jumping on this lucrative entertainment
bandwagon than ever before. See you next year?
AUSTIN
IN THE REARVIEW