Here are some photos from SXSW. I spent most of my time at Jakarta Jack’s hanging out with Christine and Nicole, Ben and Lisa, Tim, Danny, etc. and the rest of the folks from the Austin Indie Alliance. It was HOT up there on the second floor, but they managed to put on some great shows, including Nooner (of course), Bag 100 and Anything But Prettier. Oh - and a great acoustic find named Chip-something-or-other. I have to remember to get more info on him.

Saturday was probably my best day. After a much needed long night’s sleep, I woke to find out Carbon Leaf was playing a 30-minute set at Yard Dog art gallery on South Congress at 4:00. Nice! My second favorite VA / DC band (second only to Eddie From Ohio) in Austin! It was a short set, they were on borrowed equipment, and you could tell they were a little uncomfortable not being able to jump around on the wobbly stage. But considering I had nothing to compare it to (it was my first time seeing them live), I thought they were great. I was also one of only a handful of people who knew who they were, and that made for some easy post-show chatting, picture taking and CD signing. Even though going to the show by myself was a bit of a bummer, it was totally worth it. Follow that by an evening of Bowling for Soup with some good friends and you have a near perfect Saturday.

Austin is feeling very quite now that SXSW is over. I know people are going through post-festival blues, and I can totally relate. While I personally don’t feel much this time around, I get sad every year after WFFC and I empathize. Such a huge high, followed by such a sudden, quiet, depressing low. I missed out on a lot this year, but next year, you can bet I’ll be better prepared.