Snapshots: Wristband Mania!

"This means you stand in line at whatever venue this years "buzz band" is at and watch all the Badges waltz by you and maybe, just maybe, there might be room. (This goes on all night as when anyone leaves the venue a badge will fill it if there is a line.)"

This isn't always the case. I was trying to catch End of Fashion at 8pm one year, and when I walked up to the at capacity venue, Louis was there. He had separate lines, but he would alternate between letting in 3-5 badges of badges and then a couple of wristbands.

Who cares about the wristbands? My only comment is that the bands don't get paid anything. C'mon, we still have to pay for the hotel rooms, meals, gas, and in some cases, our drinks! You folks need to realize not that you're paying too much, but that the bands aren't getting squat! I understand that all these bands come to SXSW to be seen and to (hopefully) get signed. Most of the bands suck, but some are top shelf. The last time I played SXSW, we had to find 4 shows outside of Austin just to make the money we needed to BE in SXSW. The festival is great, so don't get your panties in a wad, it is well run and the folks we met at the bars, staff included, we're exceptional hosts. Even Mr. Black was kind, albeit aloof when we met, though he was extremely busy. Although Austin is a great city, it's a shame that regional acts can't make enough to bring home anything when all is said and done. I try to play Austin when I can, but always have to find supporting shows to justify it. SXSW will probably go the way of Woodstock or the myriad of other festivals over the years, but the bands will still come. The music will still be there, and the drinks will flow. Hopefully, the clubs will start paying better and you won't have to listen to so many crappy bands all year while they "audition" for the festival. Don't shoot the messenger, though, it's not Louis Black's fault that everyone wants money, but maybe the bands could be "weeded" out a little better so the wristbands will be more worthwhile...

....ummmmm butterballzzz...aaaarrrrrrrgggggghhh...

to all the sxsw haters- plz shut it UP! and stop going to the free chronicle x-mas parties, stop going to all the other free, beer filled events they host yearly and please stay the hell off the streets of Austin during the festival. it is too crowded for your non-wristband, non-badge having idiots who only want to complain that there are too many people in town. VOLUNTEER- dumbass, and spend time getting to know the people that work on making Austin the live music capital of the world. not only do you get to go to stuff, you actually get to see what a HUGE, highly organized undertaking it is to pull this festival off. So instead of trying to mooch off the free parties, shows and flatstock that, YES, SXSW does directely host- put out or get out!

Well Duh...at least I know how to TANGO! Let's DANCE! (Perhaps one day you will be so kind as to teach me the TENGO! Is that some forbidden dance that marketing retards know how to do?)

"I believe all that food is free in exchange for some Chronicle ad for various food establishments. Throw in a karaoke machine and some cheap wine and "voila" a "generous" Chronicle party!"

Ummm duh. A. It takes two to tengo. B. This is one way small local businesses operate. Both the Chronicle and whatever food service they use reap benefits. It's called marketing and you're a fucking retard.

To the holier-than-thou post about people from the other big Texas cities, as I am one, lets make something perfectly clear. As this is my 6th SXSW in a row, 7th overall. I know how to do SXSW without a wristband, about the free day shows, about Auditorium shores, about the free beer, this is only my 2nd year with one.

Its just when your more music fan and critic than alcoholic, its about seeing as many bands as you can. And in order to do that, its best to have a wristband.

Dear Louis Black -

Maybe you should consider a music festival in Baghdad where the situation is ripe for exploitation or you could realize that there may be some truth to these comments regarding your person and do some serious soul searching because if there is a hell, you are well on your way.

Enjoy.

Dear Louis Black -

Maybe you should consider a music festival in Baghdad where the situation is ripe for exploitation or you could realize that there may be some truth to these comments regarding your person and do some serious soul searching because if there is a hell, you are well on your way.

Enjoy.

Dear Louis Black -

Maybe you should consider a music festival in Baghdad where the situation is ripe for exploitation or you could realize that there may be some truth to these comments regarding your person and do some serious soul searching because if there is a hell, you are well on your way.

Enjoy.

Two things Lee:

1. How much did Louis pay you to kiss his ass?

2. When will your fellow employees start bitch slapping you for making more money than them?!

Just asking as I too know some people working at both SXSW and the Chronicle and if you can afford a house on a Chronicle salary then you MUST be a financial wiz! And as far as those generous parties he throws..one word brother...COMPED! I believe all that food is free in exchange for some Chronicle ad for various food establishments. Throw in a karaoke machine and some cheap wine and "voila" a "generous" Chronicle party!

I'm one of the associate news editors at the Chronicle, and I'll just address a single issue, because it pisses me off every time I see it come up: the lie that the Chronicle pays us "slave wages." I can't speak for my co-workers or people that have worked here in the past because I haven't seen their pay stubs, but the pay that Louis Black provides me is quite decent, especially considering the flexibility I am granted in work hours and other issues. No, I'm not getting rich off of the Chronicle, and sure I'd like to be paid even more (wouldn't everybody?), but a big reason I've stayed with the Chron for 11 years now is that the paper keeps giving me nice raises. And while I won't give a dollar figure, let me say that the first Christmas bonus I received here made my jaw drop -- quite a bit more generous than the $100 or so I got on some previous jobs. And he's thrown us some very generous employee parties. With my money I've bought a nice little house and a car and am now raising a family rather comfortably and building up a 401k. Say whatever else you will about Louis -- I'm not writing this to kiss his ass; believe me, he and I have seriously butted heads on occasion -- but pay is not one of my complaints.

Being somewhat familiar with the Chronicle community and having (unfortunately) had the chance to meet Mr Black I feel comfortable saying that the man is in fact a fairly intolerable person. He can't look you in the eyes and mouths off with his wanker political and "arts" commentary whether you want to hear it or not.

He has incredibly thin skin (see his post above - it certainly sounds like him!) especially when you broach the subject of what a fat-cat he's become while his employees suffer from sub-market wages. (He and Barbaro will quickly counter with payroll figures for their full-time employees but they don't mention the stringers they keep on practically full-time but pay shit wages and NO benefits.)

I've obtained a wristband for the past 7 years - this year I will not. Costs too much, does too little. Oh, and Fuck Louis Black!

Well kids, that WAS Louis Black snipping at our heels! The Chronicle has now acknowledge this in the Chronic Blog entitled "South by Oh Snap!" How about we leave the poor Austinist alone and take our grief over to the man's home and fuck with his head over there! I'm afraid the Austinist is going to get innocently pulled into this and SXSW will revoke their comped SXSW Badges out of spite. Hey, they have been known to do just that...you piss them off and YANK...NO BADGE FOR YOU!!!(Soup Nazi voice can be applied) This is great! You can all pat yourselves on the back...you have finally made those pricks at SXSW scratch at your itch! The cracks are starting to show in their facade. God save the Scene!!

Dude! I am totally going to start a new band for next years SXSW. We are going to call ourselves "The Abacus Balls! I bet we get into SXSW! Although we probably will only play on Sunday of SXSW where all the crap bands go to die! Oh well...long live Abacus Balls! We won't stop rockin' til we hear your balls knockin'!

I vill be coming to ze Festival of ze South Western of Austin und vill be very excited to see ze wonderbar land of capital live musik. Zis wristband zat your Louis Black hast made for such an entrance, can it be bought from him at his castle on ze lake of Austin or must you insult him a few more times until he released ze more of them? I am also confused as to how a man can run ze newspaper chronicle of Austin and be zuch an, how you zay...snicklegruber...or as Louis vould say "Abacas Balls!

Let me preface this diatribe by relating how, in San Francisco, it's very easy to spot the tourists - they're always the ones who, on August mornings when the temperature nears 80 degrees, are spotted walking around North Beach in shorts, tank tops, and flip flops. By five o' clock in the afternoon, they're also the ones shivering in the cold, and running to buy a "SF" hoodie or sweater, when the temperature suddenly plummets 30 degrees and the bitter Pacific winds start blowing in. The fog envelops them, and they can be heard all along the Embarcadero, bawling "it's freezing...nobody told me!"

If you've lived in Austin for more than, say, five years, and you still buy a wristband, you are a complete dumbass, and should immediately be forcibly removed back to Houston/Dallas/Los Angeles (it's all the same to us), because you have a) apparently learned nothing, b) you never will, and c) I don't want you here polluting the gene pool and voting rolls.

Knowing that you'll probably stay anyway, I offer the following advice, in the fine spirit of altruism:

1. all good bands play day shows. and after hours shows. for free. there's sometimes even free beer and food. what part of free do you not understand? google "free austin day parties free" and pull your head out of your ass, already.

2. as has been stated above by others, you can go to any venue and pay cover (never more than $20, usually $5 - $10) for that evening's show, if you're willing to wait in line for a while...which, by the way, IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING ALL NIGHT, EVEN WITH YOUR $130 / $160 / $250 PRECIOUS WRISTBAND. WAITING IN LINE. I pay a nominal cover practically every night during SXSW, for those rare, headlining acts I can't catch in Austin, like, every other week, and really want to see badly. and it always adds up to way, way less than $130, genius. and I didn't stand like an idiot in the Waterloo parking lot for five hours for the privilege.

3. the best band you will see at SXSW is the one you have never heard of, from a place you've never heard of, playing music in a way you've never heard before. for free, probably in someone's back yard, or at a day party somewhere on the eastside, or at 4:00 a.m., blitzed out in a warehouse. none of which, of course, requires a wristband, and which is why locals like me laugh snidely and quietly at all the morons who work themselves up into a lather every year about "wristbands! wristbands!"...you're a sideshow to the real action.

so, thanks for that. your ignorance helps fund the whole shebang, and for that, I am sincerely grateful...

4. oh, and no, i'm not Louis Black, nor a friend of his - but I've drank plenty of his free booze over the years. everyone in Austin does, year after year - it's practically in the City Charter.

(and yeah, you knew it wasn't him...because I can actually write...)

If SXSW sucks, why do so many bands apply, deals get made and wristbands get sold significantly above asking price hours after they are bought -- in other words SXSW could sell them for more? And they don't make them available easily for out-of-towners so Austinites can buy em. Remember spring break before SXSW?

You poor blissfully ignorant souls.

Most of you only know of Mr. Louis Black and his seemingly incoherant ramblings on Page 2. Few of you know, like I do, the utter evil that is this man.

I have been in his "mansion" and not simply the facade that is above the surface. I've been in the basement and the subbasements. I've run, screaming, through the corridors that lead off to the New World Order bunker in Teaneck, the NSA hardened site in Roswell and the KFC in McColl, S.C. I was lucky to escape with my life.

Mr. Black "jokes" about how he and Nick drown the poor in their swimming pools. You don't understand the truth behind the statement. Wouldn't that just be the kind of thing someone trained by the CIA in waterboarding would say as some kind of hideous, inside joke?

Wristbands? That's your major indictment of Black? It's comparable to criticizing Hitler for not paying his parking tickets. You all have been warned. May God have pity on your souls.

Gabriella,

Sweetheart, calm down now. I wouldn't say that the scalpers don't like the music, without it they would be out of business. I would just say that the people who go to the scalpers love the music enough to pay an inflated price.



Here's the deal. SXSW charges $160 for one wristband, which I see as excessive. Therefore I buy an additional (which I am allowed to do) and sell it for $300 dollars on craigslist which in turn drops the net cost of my wristband to $20, a much more reasonable fee.

Maybe SXSW should drop the maximum per customer to 1 wristband, but that could result in potentially increasing the already large line at Waterloo two-fold because more people would show up because their friends can't pick them up a ticket.

It's perfectly acceptable to buy stocks low and sell later at higher prices, or to buy a '64 Impala in '64 and sell it later at higher prices...what's the difference with wristbands.

Has any ever thought about WHY there is such secrecy and skullduggery surrounding the SXSW wristband sales? And why it is so much trouble to get one?

Blame the scalpers. Yes, those fun people who care ZERO about the music. While others embrace SXSW as a way to hear new music, the scalpers see SXSW as a way to make money.

It is not SXSW or Lewis Black that is ruining this thing. It is the scalpers. Next time a scalper offers someone a wristband, that person should physically beat him.

SXSW is a great thing. The scalpers all deserve to depart this earth.

"FUCKING DELUSIONAL MIND!!!!"





You don't have to believe me, oh arrogant one.

I'm confident in my own ability to assess my own experience. I've had a blast at SXSW for the last ten years, and I'm sure I'll have a blast at the next ten, provided you whiners make good on your promises not to attend and interrupt everyone else's good time.

Not everyone's glass is eternally empty, SARS.

I heard a rumor that if you volunteer for SXSW for 40 hours, you can get a wristband of your very own. And if you volunteer 60 hours, you can get a Music Badge. Crazy talk, I'm sure, but it might be worth checking into... you know, next year.

As a 14 year attendee I have to agree that it is a very well run festival. I've been to many large music festivals and conferences all over the country and SXSW is sucessful because it is so well run and organized.

SARS, I'm guessing you haven't really been to any other large multiday festivals or you have no concept of what goes into creating and managing something of this size?

SARS, just because you don't like the way wristbands are sold, doesn't mean SXSW isn't well run. It's AMAZINGLY well run.

Go to CMJ and get back to us.

Seriously Bob Dobbs...what drugs are you and Patrick on? I really want to know so that I can enjoy whatever festival you are seeing in your FUCKING DELUSIONAL MIND!!!!

""...it's (SXSW) been so competently and intelligently put together for so many years...""

I second that comment. I've been to every SXSW for the last 10 years, and aside from one or two glitches a year, they do an amazing job of running this festival.

It's amazing how little consideration of the size and scope of SXSW is given by the whiners.

After looking at all the post I've decided to throw my two cents in...

In regards to poster Patrick (post #23) quote:

"...it's (SXSW) been so competently and intelligently put together for so many years..."

ARE YOU FUCKING HIGH!!!...cause I wanna smoke whatever your are on cause clearly you are not on this planet!

Austinist should just make a forum for all there commenters to get the bs out so the rest of us dont have too look at it here.

will another set go on sale today?

This is the most retarded comment thread ever.

Another round of tissues for everyone!

I can't believe people think Louis Black would bother responding on the Austinist and then get worked up over something that is clearly a joke.

yeah. well i am pissed because while i signed up for text alerts to let me know that wristbands were on sale, it didn't work. booray for technology.

The only thing wrong with Louis Black's statement, albeit his smartass way of saying it, his so-called "free" SXSW outdoor shows have really sucked in the past and don't make any musical sense and his analogy of the "many" $5.00 shows is bullshit! I believe Beerland is the ONLY place that has one or two of the those cover charges and the so-called "40-50 clubs" you can seemingly walk right in are filled with complete dredge! Please there is a little overkill going on at SXSW. HOW MANY FUCKIN" LAME BANDS NOT TO MENTION CLUBS DO YOU NEED TO GET TO THE CENTER OF A SXSW FESTIVAL?!! Well let's see...one million and one dollars...one million and two dollars...

If that is you LB, touché, sir. It would have been far too easy to just get all worked up and spout off some smartass, juvenile, smug, egocentric, asshole rant along the lines of:

“Hey all, we understand we’re never going to make everyone happy, but we’re going to continue to do our best because we love this town and appreciate the opportunity it’s given us to become successful.”

But not you, sir! You have truly used this forum to rise above the fray and win over your would be detractors with your mature thoughtful and dare I say, gracious, response. No surprise here, though, as it is completely consistent with the high caliber of the balanced and well-formed opinions that the public has come to expect you to humbly express on a weekly basis in your fine publication. Well done!

great. I can never again look Louis black in the face without picturing his balls being used as an abacus. *shudder* THANKS A LOT, you juvenile smug egocentric asshole. :-p

So Louis is evil and stupid, but if he comments he's evil and stupid? No matter if it was him or not it was a decent reply. If you don't like it, don't go. If you do like it, go. Otherwise just shut the hell up. Well, don't shut up, keep yapping. But seriously. Wow.

If that really was him, he pwned you muthafukahs.

Ha! If that was Louis Black I have to say the line: "I wasn't rubbing my hands with glee, I was rubbing my balls which I use like an abacus to count that money" stands as the best thing he has ever written!! Wow, 20 some odd years the Chronicle has existed and countless years of journalism training, Louis, this statement will stand the sands of time! Ha! Louis you are a god with words! Now if only his Page 2 next week starts off with that line I will never miss an edition! This SXSW Smackdown gets better every year!!!

Oh Louis, you cad. I don't know whether to respect you for standing up for yourself or laugh at you for being as unfunny here as you can be in your own column. Or to just get pleasure at the fact that you have had to admit that austinist is a more dynamic and fun publication than yours and that you finally had to 'come down to their level,' even though their web presence must make you slightly nervous. Or, whatever. good on ya for stepping into the cyber world...does the Chronic still exist? See ya at the shows. kisses.

i really don't think that comment was from louis black. he can't be that thin-skinned about anti-sxsw comments as this sort of shit happens every year. if he is that thinned skin then i suggest a vacation or a job change as his position at the chronicle and sxsw put him in the line of fire every day (hell, if it is him then he should be a sight by the time sxsw opens...red faced and steam spewing from his ears! ha!). i also don't think that was louis black as this just the sort of comment he loves to spew on his page 2 of the chronicle (which by the way, always seems like an episode of "family guy" as he starts off on one subject and the next thing you know he's fighting some giant chicken with jim jarmusch or whatever actor/director he can name-drop at the hole in the wall in the mid 1970's) and this is too good to waste on the blog. if it is him then next week's page 2 will be priceless! if it really is him then we should feel sorry for louis and maybe buy a sxsw wristband or two so that all the money they do make at least some of it will go to therapy!

This is officially my favorite comment thread ever!

I love Louis Black. I do. I would even work for free to be one of his slaves.

You guys really do nail me. Every ugly word is true. Nick Barbaro and I live in a multi-million dollar Westlake mansion where we wander around all day in our slippers thinking how we can screw Austinites out of even more money. The house is all white -- white walls, white furniture, white art but our slippers are red. There is no music because we hate music!

Sometimes we sit by the pool drowning locals who passed out while waiting on line for wristbands. I wish I was as tough and smart as you guys but you are all so right, I'm just a juvenile smug egocentric asshole paying slave wages -- fat and happy, smug and stupid, neurotic and narcissistic. In fact Nick's only complaint about our quite perfect life together, outside of our lack of house servants (only a couple of dozen) and his routine but unfair accusation that hogging the bodies of the poor and passed out I'm drowning more than my share, is that I read him my column each week over and over and over again, using different voices as well as parts of my body to make sound effects.

And we do SXSW all alone. Just the two of us (of course the slaves help) so that those truck loads of money don't have to be split with anyone. SXSW Managing Director Roland Swenson is too busy helping establish the New World Order and working for international bankers to care. I was surprised that so many of us saw through the ruse of the free Auditorium Shores Shows and the many, many doors that are at $5 to realize we make even more money that way.

SXSW happened when one day Roland woke us to point out that there were suddenly 1600 bands in town and tons of shows and parties. He suggested we invent a character named Brent Grulke (though i still think that name is so obviously made up) and take over everything and steal money. It's worked like a charm.

But damn you folks caught us. I am a bad guy and calling me an egotistical close minded jackass doesn't begin to describe what a pig I am. I'm only in it for the money, money, money! I wasn't rubbing my hands with glee, I was rubbing my balls which I use like an abacus to count that money.

That's right, 2000 wristbands at 130 and 2000 at 160 is a million dollars and it's mine. One big problem is that at any time during any SXSW night there are at least 40 - 50 clubs you can walk right into but we're working on closing that loophole.

Now wristbands have been on sale on the web for weeks even though not one had been distributed. And now there aren't hundreds being sold on-line but THOUSANDS!

Wristbands sold out at around noon on Tuesday.

But as smart as you all are none of you has yet figured out how it is that we make even more money by keeping the price the same as last year (for the $130) and limiting each person to two wristbands you fools!!!

Stan,

Guess what can also give you cancer:

Acetaldehyde, acrylamide, acrylonitril, abortion, agent orange, alar, alcohol, air pollution, aldrin, alfatoxin, arsenic, arsine, asbestos, asphalt fumes, atrazine, AZT, baby food, barbequed meat, benzene, benzidine, benzopyrene, beryllium, beta-carotene, betel nuts, birth control pills, bottled water, bracken, bread, breasts, bus stations, calcium channel blockers, cadmium, captan, carbon black, carbon tetrachloride, careers for women, casual sex, car fumes, celery, charred foods, chewing gum, Chinese food, Chinese herbal supplements, chips, chloramphenicol, chlordane, chlorinated camphene, chlorinated water, chlorodiphenyl, chloroform, cholesterol, low cholesterol, chromium, coal tar, coffee, coke ovens, crackers, creosote, cyclamates, dairy products, deodorants, depleted uranium, depression, dichloryacetylene, DDT, dieldrin, diesel exhaust, diet soda, dimethyl sulphate, dinitrotouluene, dioxin, dioxane, epichlorhydrin, ethyle acrilate, ethylene, ethilene dibromide, ethnic beliefs,ethylene dichloride, Ex-Lax, fat, fluoridation, flying, formaldehyde, free radicals, french fries, fruit, gasoline, genes, gingerbread, global warming, gluteraldehyde, granite, grilled meat, Gulf war, hair dyes, hamburgers, heliobacter pylori, hepatitis B virus, hexachlorbutadiene, hexachlorethane, high bone mass, HPMA, HRT, hydrazine, hydrogen peroxide, incense, infertility, jewellery, Kepone, kissing, lack of exercise, laxatives, lead, left handedness, Lindane, Listerine, low fibre diet, magnetic fields, malonaldehyde, mammograms, manganese, marijuana, methyl bromide, methylene chloride, menopause, microwave ovens, milk hormones, mixed spices, mobile phones, MTBE, nickel, night lighting, night shifts, nitrates, not breast feeding, not having a twin, nuclear power plants, Nutrasweet, obesity, oestrogen, olestra, olive oil, orange juice, oxygenated gasoline, oyster sauce, ozone, ozone depletion, passive smoking, PCBs, peanuts, pesticides, pet birds, plastic IV bags, polio vaccine, potato crisps (chips), power lines, proteins, Prozac, PVC, radio masts, radon, railway sleepers, red meat, Roundup, saccharin, salt, selenium, semiconductor plants, shellfish, sick buildings, soy sauce, stress, strontium, styrene, sulphuric acid, sun beds, sunlight, sunscreen, talc, tetrachloroethylene, testosterone, tight bras, toast, toasters, tobacco, tooth fillings, toothpaste (with fluoride or bleach), train stations, trichloroethylene, under-arm shaving, unvented stoves, uranium, vegetables, vinyl bromide, vinyl chloride, vinyl fluoride, vinyl toys, vitamins, vitreous fibres, wallpaper, weedkiller (2-4 D), welding fumes, well water, weight gain, winter, wood dust, work, x-rays.

SUCK IT!

SXSW-more like Screamo Xanax-poppers Sucking Wiener.

Let's go to Cancun, bros!

Go get your awesome SXSW package on ebay. Just head to item 230097909543.

sxsw is like playing in front of penguins.

QUOTE OF THE YEAR MOTHERFUCKERS

Stew,

You're right. SXSW gives people cancer.

y'all are a bunch of super sissies. i have lived in austin and attended sxsw for the past 8 years, only had a wristband ONE of those years. its kind of a no-brainer--if its a show you REALLY want to see, you dish out the door cash and stand in line for it pretty much from 7:00. i've never had any problem going this route. and if you're SO CONCERNED that you won't get into a show simply because you're wristband-less, then buy a wristband for the exorborant amount of money sxsw and louis black is asking for and shut your damn traps.

Smartcookie,

If it keeps people like you out of Austin, then go ahead and take SXSW to another city Mr. Black.

I know several former Chronicle editors who've worked with Louis on a daily basis. They all agree he's an egocentric asshole, and they know he makes shitloads of money off of SXSW while paying both his salaried employees and his freelancers veritable slave wages. The Statesman (not that I'm a fan of it) even did an expose a few years back about the multimillion-dollar Westlake houses he and Nick Barbaro purchased with their SXSW proceeds (since God knows the Chronicle doesn't pull in that kind of bread).

That said, I don't have a big problem with how the wristband-sale thing is set up. If you're frenzied enough to wait four hours in 85-degree heat to try to get one of the first batch of $130 wristbands, that's your prerogative, just as it's mine to wait until 6:45pm and get one for thirty bucks more with no line at all, as I did tonight.

As for wristband entry vs. badges: Yes, it sucks that I didn't see the Beasties or Flaming Lips last year (didn't even bother trying to get in) and will miss some good shit this year as well, but the fest's primary raison d'etre is fomenting industry-centered hype, not giving us locals a four-day roster of really cool shit to see. (Note that I do not that argue the purpose of South By is fomenting the signing of cool bands, since most of the hyped ones are not only already signed but here to promote their new albums, many conveniently dropping in the month of March, e.g. Bloc Party. I also know of precious few bands, at least in recent years, who've gotten signed as a direct result of the fest.)

Someone call the waaaaahhhmbulance for Mick and Stew. How unfortunate for them that they live in a town where once a year 1500 bands from all over the world play over 5 nights in clubs and bars in their backyard. It has got to royally suck that for a mere $160 they can see at least 7 bands a night for those 5 nights and they have 1500 to choose from. You know what's even worse? God, I am tearing up... There are hundreds of FREE day shows during the entire 5 days, and the majority of headlining acts and buzz bands play at least 2 of them. And to add insult to injury; there's free beer at most of these parties. Man, how can they stand it? It sounds like a miserable existence. Maybe they should off themselves. I know I would if I were subjected to such horror where I live.

Guest, no I don't know Louis personally, but I have read plenty of his page twos's and, yes, they often are self-denigrating but not intentionally. Especially during the whole McMansion fiasco, and often before and since then as well, Mr. Black has come off as a juvenile smug jackass who has to have the last word and doesn't respect any opinions other than his own. Prove me wrong, please! With all the people lining up in this town to either directly or indirectly make a living sucking at his teet, I'd much rather believe that he *isn't* the egotistical close minded jackass that he comes off to be in print.

Someone call the waaaaahhhmbulance for Mick and Stew. How unfortunate for them that they live in a town where once a year 1500 bands from all over the world play over 5 nights in clubs and bars in their backyard. It has got to royally suck that for a mere $160 they can see at least 7 bands a night for those 5 nights and they have 1500 to choose from. You know what's even worse? God, I am tearing up... There are hundreds of FREE day shows during the entire 5 days, and the majority of headlining acts and buzz bands play at least 2 of them. And to add insult to injury: there's free beer at most of these parties. Man, how can they stand it? It sounds like a miserable existence. Maybe they should off themselves. I know I would if I were subjected to such horror where I live.

If you can't find someone you want to see at SXSW, you don't know your music. Period. And you don't know how to "do" the festival. Its also a good point that if you don't understand what the wristbands really are, don't buy one. Save them for the REAL music fans. In fact, there will be numerous quality acts that I want to see that I won't be able to, because I can't split in half.

Saying that, the new rules were an utter joke. They were thwarted at every turn. Go to craigslist and see the hundreds of wristbands for sale. Bad news, SXSW, Austin is no longer a small town. You've got big city problems that can't be overcome by your control issues.

And the Houstonians will be there in force with our wristbands!

Huzzah!

I do believe "mick" is the same as the "sxswsux" bloke on donewaiting that's acting like a total buzzkill for sxsw this year. word has it he's a disgruntled ex-sxsw "worker" who's trying to turn folks to the dark side. if you invested in a badge or a wristband this year, do what you can to max it out and enjoy as much music as possible. and also go to as many free day shows as possible. sxsw is not an either-or experience. do whatever you can to do as much as you can.

Mick,

I absolutely understand how wristbands work. I'm not in it for the big shows. I like going and seeing people who don't get the opportunity to come to Texas ofter or see people who are pretty unheard of. I know that in order to get people to come, South By needs to book some popular acts as attention-getters. If there are people I absolutely have to see before I die, I'll buy single admission tickets and see them next time they hit somewhere nearby.

So if I want to go see some acts completely foreign to me, 160 dollars for nights of music doesn't seem like that big of a deal. Especially since the cheap tickets for Iggy in NYC are 35 plus service fees, multiply that by four nights and we're talking about the price of a wristband.

Badges don't guarantee admission either. SXSW is organized to give you multiple options at once. And really, while the festival has grown and gets most of the attention, the panels run into capacity issues too.

I'm sorry you feel so combative about the issue. I'm not going into this blindly, I've done my research on SXSW over the years. I think most people understand exactly what wristbands are and what they get you. It's idiotic to purchase something that costs that much without looking into it. I'm just happy that SXSW pumps money into our economy and gives me the chance to hear new stuff.

I laugh at all of y'all that say Louis Black and the club and bar owners are just making a business decision which doesn't need to include public opinion, but then bitch & moan when the club and bar owners want to make their own business decisions by allowing smoking in their establishments regardless of public opinion.

Hey thatwasawkward...heads up...the SXSW Wristband does NOT guarantee you entrance the venues. As a matter of fact as far as I know the system goes like this: SXSW Badges have first priority, then the SXSW Wristbands if there is any room, and then some cover charges allowed if absolutely no one is in line. This means you stand in line at whatever venue this years "buzz band" is at and watch all the Badges waltz by you and maybe, just maybe, there might be room. (This goes on all night as when anyone leaves the venue a badge will fill it if there is a line.) Also, don't be surprised if shows like Iggy and the Stooges, et al, do not allow wristbands as SXSW will make the most popular shows "BADGE ONLY" events. This is so the guy from New York who paid $600 bucks for his badge gets in, you, not so much. You will not be gliding in and out of venues at will. My suggestion...get at the venue by 6:00pm and wait!! (and STAY if you want to see a particular act!) Good luck! Me, I'll stick to the free day shows with ALL the SXSW bands playing and FREE BEER! Hope you get you $140 bucks worth out of that SXSW Wristband! Ha!

The capacity for people to be bitter and denigrating on this -ist never ceases to amaze me.

Louis Black doesn't owe you anything, people. Neither does SXSW. There was a time when it was relatively cheap and easy to get into. Now it's not, because it's been so competently and intelligently put together for so many years that it's become an important industry event.

Even so, it still pumps millions into the local economy and always results in plenty of free and easy-to-get-into fun, from the film screenings (hardly ever difficult to get into, even for non-badge/pass/wristband holders) to the big shows on Auditorium Shores.

I mean, I've never had the opportunity to get a wristband, both for cost reasons and because, as an under-21er until very recently, I wouldn't be able to get into half the venues anyway. But there's never been any shortage of great in-store appearances, free day parties, cool movies, and other cool stuff (like Flatstock) to keep me occupied the entire week.

So, y'know, quit the whining. Let's see some love.

it's 7:30 and there are still wristbands available.

Really, as an industry event, SXSW could give the finger to Austin locals and not sell wristbands or single admission tickets at all. And while wristbands aren't super cheap, their price is realistic considering how many shows they can get you into.

seriously kids, pop some midol.

Stew,

Not disagreeing, but every single festival, conference, and system is flawed. Nothing is perfect. If the festival was booking bands no one ever heard of, it would be boring and no one would come. It would be the North Texas New Music Festival or the festival in Indianapolis, if not worse.

It's been better, it's been worse, and if people don't want to go, don't go.

I don't recall SXSW advertising itself as a nonprofit, philanthropy event, or charity case. There's no "we're out for the common man and the future of humanity bullshit" -- they're just a business like every other business, except people are generally more passionate about music than the stamp collecting convention.

I'll echo the kind sentiments towards Mr. Black - it's always obvious to me when the haters start piling on how few of them have ever actually encountered him.

Also, as of 6:15 there was no one in line at Waterloo, and wristbands were still available.

I'll echo the kind sentiments towards Mr. Black - it's always obvious to me when the haters start piling on how few of them have ever actually encountered him.

Also, as of 6:15 there was no one in line at Waterloo, and wristbands were still available.

I guess it is my turn,

There has got to be a better way to distribute the first 4,000 wristbands other than by herding people in the heat for 3-4 hours like the sheeple they are. Hey SXSW have you ever heard of email, and secret one-time use passwords?

SXSW is not about the unrecognized bands, the fans, or Austin. It's about making money (which is okay with me, but don't act like it isn't about that).

SXSW books already popular bands forcing the unknown acts to play at odd hours in lame boutiques and art galleries far away from the center of town. All the while letting the big name acts, who do not need any more recognition, take up the majority of the suitable venues in town. The reason there are huge names on the SXSW bill is obviously not for stardom or fame, it's so Louis B & Co. can justify charging $160 for a ticket which supposedly gives you access to a gateway of unknown bands.

I guess it is my turn,

There has got to be a better way to distribute the first 4,000 wristbands other than by herding people in the heat for 3-4 hours like the sheeple they are. Hey SXSW have you ever heard of email, and secret one-time use passwords?

SXSW is not about the unrecognized bands, the fans, or Austin. It's about making money (which is okay with me, but don't act like it isn't about that).

SXSW books already popular bands forcing the unknown acts to play at odd hours in lame boutiques and art galleries far away from the center of town. All the while letting the big name acts, who do not need any more recognition, take up the majority of the suitable venues in town. The reason there are huge names on the SXSW bill is obviously not for stardom or fame, it's so Louis B & Co. can justify charging $160 for a ticket which supposedly gives you access to a gateway of unknown bands.

He is probably making sure they dont short change him. Please do not tell me sxsw is not about money. These guys send out more cease and desist letters than you can count....and for what because someone wants to use sxsw in a flyer!!

Please what are they protecting? Most of these bands end up being let down anyway,sxsw is like playing in front of penguins.

Bruno,

Yeah, it's SXSW's fault. It couldn't be your phone and/or service provider's fault right?

Is there some sort of vindication process of saying "No, I won't spend my money on your wristband (or ACL fest ticket) and I want to spout about it on a blog" that goes on? This isn't limited to Austinist -- the same thing happens yearly on Donewaiting.com.

People on that site seem to make up fictious bullshit too, like that the wristbands sell out in 15 minutes, etc. And then they complain that SXSW released too few and they sold out for $900 a piece (when clearly this isn't the case).

If you want to go to SXSW, go. If you want to go to free shows only, go. But until someone can rationally explain how a music industry event owes you a cheap and easy ticket, I'll continue to be bewildered.

It's not cheap to get into Winter CES out in Vegas and that's also an industry event that focuses on consumer products. I'd rather hear Bill Gates make his keynote than hear Pete Townshend, but I don't hear people bitching that Vegas residents can't attend that shindig for $130 and an hour on a line.

I just don't get it.

What was the last show you went to where the promoter met you at the ticket booth to say enjoy the event Edward?

At least he's there. What is the last show you went to where the promoter was greeting people at the ticket booth?

Hey Edward...you can almost see him rubbing his hands in anticipation of grabbing that cash out o' Waterloo's register all while calling Roland Swenson to check on the money coming into their Visa account! Ha! Daddy needs a new house on the lake!!!!

Never got the text so thanks sxsw. Saw the crazy ass line and thought this is a preview of the line waiting I'll be doing as all the other badge holders etc. are let in the shows. No thanks you can have my place in line.

Chuck, a word to the wise - any time you spend trying to figure out the irrational hatreds and personal vendettas of Austinist posters is an exercise in futility.

As for smug and narcissistic, you really don't know Louis or read his Page Two's, do you? He's got to be one of the most self-effacing, self-denigrating people on the planet. So really, why all the sourpuss comments? It was Brent Grulke that said that SXSW was first and foremost an industry event. That didn't mean that they don't want the community or music lovers to attend. If they didn't, they wouldn't bother selling wristbands. What he was trying to say was that they wanted to make sure the industry would be best served. Think about it, if they're well served, then they might sign your favorite band. Also, limiting ticket sales makes everyone's experience more pleasant. So, who's the real music lover here?

You can almost see the thought bubble over Louis's head alternating between "Ca-ching, ca-ching" and "Suckers!".

f the band. go see the free stuff!!!!

Clue me in here, what is the huge beef with Louis Black/SXSW that the three of you seem to have?

im not buying that wristband this year. im gonna hit up all the FREE stuff I can. but,,,,geez....gonna miss kings of leon. ill probably be too drunk to go anyways by that point.

revolt!

Here's an idea. Don't go. I for one enjoy only having to pay $130 to see several hundred great bands over a few days and eat free BBQ and ejoy free beer. SXSW is what you make of it.

BTW - while people have put their wristbands out for sale already, there is no lack of posters willing to pay $200 for on either. Its all about supply and demand.

Do you guys compain this much when a show gets sold out at Emo's or Stubb's?

I guess Louis Black found some time to take a break from writing another one of his boring as ballz Chronicle editorials.

Everybody knows the Chronicle and SXSW are the same thing, right?

I agree! What a putz! Where's that Brent guy who made all smart ass comments about how SXSW is not for the "joe consumer". He should be standing there! Yep, money is the great equalizer. They just can't get enough can they? Hey SXSW...gee, thanks for including us in your elitist event!! Thanks for the favor and I hope you choke on our money! Fuckers!

The epitome of "fat & happy," no?

Oh, and smug, neurotic and narcissistic.

I thought this festival wasn't for the consumers, Louis. Why even sell wristbands? Oh, yea, to make close to $1,000,000 from people for whom the festival is not.