SF - you know you read that entire TR to see if I was with "our' boy Adam - as in Levine - who btw, is turning 33 today ;-) I am actually like you and highly uncomfortable - a good example of this is that I did not know how "famous" the Parlotones were in SA when I was hanging out with them.

CD - tell me more!!!

Suki... yes, BADGES - purchased in Sept of 2013! :) And I say let's do it!! Maybe we can still get in on some of the "rogue" activity ;-)

Interesting time for sure. It's all about picking the right venue and band. Sounds like you had to attend some that most of us would not pick. Anything at the Four Seasons is good. KUT broadcast from there every morning and KGSR from the W starting at 6AM daily, which is why 7:30 was "late"!

I avoid much of 6th/7th and downtown on weekends, let alone SXSW! To me the best parts are the freebies on South Congress on the Friday afternoon. Older, well behaved crowd. My kind of peeps. Remember that for next time. :)

My son is from Houston and presented at SXSW Interactive. He loves Austin and when he visits spends his time on South Congress on the strip by Continental Club...

He spoke on Transforming Social Media for the Senior Community - http://schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_IAP9748

Very cool cd. I will listen more later. Watching the 25th Anniversary show of Les Mis...(And no pause or DVR)

Loved it, MomDD! Thanks for doing a trip report.

Lee Ann

Great report! Hey, can I come with you and Suki in 2014?

Thanks everyone!

Triveck - I dunno if you can come - think you can keep up :-? Hahahhah just kidding of course :) I am the biggest dork ever - and SO not a party animal. But do love good live music!

<<<But do love good live music!>>>

Next time you come to SF, get in touch first :-)

Trivbeck would be an excellent travel companion for a musical adventure. Its a date!

Oh, MomDD- you made me laugh. You made me cry. You reminded me of why it's so fun to do something so unexpected and crazy! ahaha

I remember a night when I wasn't much younger than you.. a friend and I ended up with a "hot" band member from a little band called, "Nazareth". And we could only understand every 3rd word because of his thick Scottish brogue.

I and a girlfriend and this "hot" band member are driving in my car, into Chicago to go to his hotel so we can drink at the bar.. and I say, "What hotel are you staying at?"

He says, "I have no idea." !!!!!!!!OMG!!!!!!!!!! I've got a hot band member who barely speaks English and he has no idea where he belongs! hahahahah

What a night... If they'd had trip reports back then... Oh my, it would have been a real TRIP trip report. :))

MomDD:

Haven't seen your posts in a long time..not since you left for Dallas. Sounds like you did Austin beautifully...my grandson-in-law has his own band and they're constantly traveling the country. If he comes to Dallas, I'll let you know. About a dozen Fodorites have gone to his gigs around the country.
Band is Hotels and Highways. Go to his web page and listen to some music. My granddaughter joins him frequently on these tours. I lived and worked in South Texas for a year back in '73...on the border in Brownsville, no less.

Happy to see you're adjusting to Texas living!Best wishes for happiness.

Stu Tower

I was also in Austin for SxSW, but had a completely different experience, as I only went to non-official events, and I was staying with someone in South Austin. If I can somehow get a comp admission, I will try all these official things for sure, though. At any rate, I love Austin.

Willtravel - I would say my experience was pretty wild :)

Stu- I think of you, your lovely bride and family often ((F))

Oh my gosh, thank you for your report, MomDD! I have secretly wanted to go the SXSW the last 2 years, even though I am old enough to be the mother of most of the attendees. And I love that you told your story from the point of view of "a total dork," which is exactly how I'd feel if I ever got there.
Because I hear a lot of my teenager's music, I have gotten to really like much of it (somewhat to my surprise), and I knew (and like) the band FUN, but didn't know how big they are. What a chaotic & fun experience you had. And what a great memory. Love the reminder to get out of our comfort zones once in a while.
I was also interested in hearing about cd's son. Many of my middle aged friends don't know anything about social media beyond Facebook, or are actually afraid to use even FB. I have actually thought about offering basic classes to the 50+ crowd to explain the how-to's and the appeal of various media such as twitter, etc. Really thought that the tech companies were missing the boat by not trying to reach such a large segment of the population.

Thanks Travel for the feedback on our son's work. It is so worthwhile and we continue to pray for his and it's success.

Wow, you did the equivalent of going to New Orleans during Mardi Gras and only staying on Bourbon Street.

There's a whole lot more to SxSW than the $500-$800 wristband events. I went this year and saw multiple concerts for free, as well as a slew of films.

Some tips: Avoid everything north of the river during SxSW. Stick to SoCo and Auditorium Shores and the experience is a bit more laid back and nicer - more akin to watching parades on St. Charles versus Canal Street to give a New Orleans analogy.

It's amazing watching SxSW grow exponentially each year. They are building two 1000 room hotels in Austin as I type to accommodate the increased tourism from SxSW, ACL, and soon to be F1.

When I moved to Austin, it was simply a great place to live, but not really a tourist destination. Now it's becoming both and SxSW is really putting Austin on the map the way Mardi Gras did New Orleans.

Now that being said, it is so nice the week after SxSW when the crowds leave.