Temperatures were cooler on Friday, so I tried to stay indoors as much as possible. In the morning, I saw an excellent documentary, The River and the Wall, at The Paramount. I stayed at the Austin Convention Center in the afternoon, visiting the Day Stages and SXSW Gaming. My low-key evening was spent listening to featured Yamaha guitarists at Central Presbyterian.

The River and the Wall

In the documentary The River and the Wall, five people travel 1200 miles along the Rio Grande on the Texas-Mexico border. They make the journey by bike, horse, canoe, and sometimes on foot from El Paso to the Gulf of Mexico. Their purpose was two-fold: to document the beauty and diversity of this terrain and to demonstrate that a physical wall along the river is neither practical nor necessary. Democrat Beto O’Rourke and Republican Will Hurd were also interviewed. The film’s producer, Hillary Pierce, and three of the five travelers attended this screening. They said that all five were used to taking long adventure trips and got along quite well.

SXSW Gaming

SXSW moved their Gaming component to the second weekend this year. I think this was a good idea. More room space was freed up in the Austin Convention Center during the week and more gamers could attend on the weekend. SXSW Gaming covered all types of games: computer, video, pinball, board, etc. Lots of tie-in merchandise was for sale. Some router vendors even had demonstrations since connection speed is important for online games.

Broken Social Scene

Joshua Burnside

Jealous of the Birds

Yellow Fang

Trupa Trupa

Black Pumas

Gia Margaret

Steady Holiday

Laura Jane Grace (Against Me)

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