My SXSW Day 8 began with Keith Urban and ended with Keith Urban. No complaints there. In-between, I visited the Gaming Expo, saw a movie premiere at the Paramount Theater, and heard lots of good music.
Continue reading
Today was a SXSW Music day. This morning Bill and I went to the Four Seasons Hotel and tried to get into the KUTX morning concerts. Alas, we arrived too late and the room was already at capacity. After a quick breakfast, Bill went off to see some movies, and I mostly hung out at the Austin Convention Center. I especially like the Radio Day Stage there. That huge room is never crowded, the sound system is clear, and the lineups are stellar.
SXSW Interactive has now switched over to Music. Bill and I started out the day with a highly-recommended documentary at the Alamo Lamar. Bill continued with SXSW Films while I hung out at the Austin Convention Center in the afternoon. We the met back up for music in the evening. The weather was perfect. It was a delightful day.
This was the last full day of SXSW Interactive. People were starting to leave, so most sessions weren’t crowded. I tried a variety of non-tech subjects today: faith, space, food, and comedy. Oh, and I finally found some free snacks. Note to 2019 self: Hang out more near the Food sessions.
During the first half of SXSW, I typically just see movies in the evenings and focus on Interactive sessions during the daytime. However, I couldn’t resist seeing The Director and the Jedi on Monday morning, even though it messed up the rest of the day.
Today was a mostly good SXSW day. I attended a nice variety of Interactive sessions and enjoyed a movie at the Paramount in the evening. My only complaint is food-related: once again I missed lunch. My mid-afternoon search for free food was a waste of time. I finally gave up and paid for a meal.
Saturday was a hot day in Austin—the high was around 90—but most of my time was spent indoors at Interactive sessions or Film screenings. I had no time to search for free food, but I did get to eat both lunch and dinner while watching movies at the Alamo Ritz.
SXSW has begun! On this first day, I attended SXSW Interactive sessions and then finished with a movie. In-between I searched for free food. Just a typical first SXSW day.
The craziness known as South by Southwest begins tomorrow. Bill and I picked up our SXSW badges at the Austin Convention Center when Registration opened at 9 AM this morning. We each received a tote bag with Interactive and Film pocket guides plus a map (as in previous years, the Music pocket guide will be available soon). There are no more large booklets with details about every session and a gazillion advertisements. All that information (including ads) is available on the SXSW GO app now.
Explore UT is a day-long open house at the campus of the University of Texas. Thousands of children, parents, and teachers attend this free annual event held on the first Saturday in March. School districts from around the state send busloads of students.