SXSW 2013: A Diary Of A “Crafty Veteran”

Some band playing some where in Texas...
Some band playing some where in Texas…

Having been dubbed a “crafty veteran” by one local bystander, there are a few certain truths that I have discovered seven years deep into South By South West culture. 1) Always carry your phone charger because the battery will die; the ABC’s (Always Be Chargin’) as we here at Spinning Platters like to call it. 2) Delicious food is only a food truck away when you need to take a break and refuel in-between day parties and evening showcases. And 3) there will be both bad, and good bands at aforementioned showcases. The payout for waiting through a not-so-awesome band, however, can be an amazing, week-altering experience that leads to months of fan-girl-ing out, post-South By. However, this is all contingent on actually being granted admission to that one thing one wanted to see the most. There are still things to be learned and sometimes learned the hard way.

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 3/28/13-4/3/13

Appearing this April Fool's Day at Bottom Of The Hill!
Appearing this April Fool’s Day at Bottom Of The Hill!

Hello there, Bay Area live music lover. As we reach April, we know that the next 30 days will be quite busy. We haven’t even started with the Coachella bands coming to town, and, well, I’m already exhausted just looking at this thing!

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SXSW Review: The Best & Worst of SXSW 2013

All photos by Michelle Viray
All photos by Michelle Viray

Now that we’ve all had time to recover from a week’s worth of sun damage, get our voices back, and forget about the hours spent driving through the lonely west Texas desert, it’s time to reflect upon another year of SXSW. While everyone’s experience is different under the Austin sun, these are my recollections as to the best and worst of SXSW 2013.

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 11/4/2010-11/10/2010

Great Scotts! Delorean are playing Great American Music Hall on Wednesday!

I’d like to thank Jason LeRoy for taking over the list for the last couple of weeks. I hope that you listened to him, because if you didn’t, we’re just going to have to turn this website around and go back home…

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Dakin Hardwick’s SXSW Journal Day 1

Basia Bulat at noon. Things started getting fuzzy after that, like the picture taken with an iPhone.

I’m sitting in a hotel room as my colleagues are getting ready for the day. As for yesterday, well, I saw a lot of great music, and a few bits of really boring music. I won’t talk about the boring stuff much, because I don’t remember it. Here was a few words about the great things I enjoyed yesterday, not including the wonderful BBQ chicken from the amazingly polite people at the Canadian Blast BBQ. (Seriously need to give respect to those folks: not only do they book a great bill and are insanely polite, just like the stereotype)

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Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival Journal, 10/04/09

The masses huddled together for warmth, because miss Neko Case is gonna send chills down your spine
The masses huddled together for warmth, because miss Neko Case is gonna send chills down your spine

I have come to the second and final day of my adventure in the lovely Golden Gate Park. I have refilled my water bottle, stocked up on trail mix, and am ready for music.

This day already feels a bit different from the previous day. It’s still very crowded, but it’s noticeably easier to navigate. I can’t quite tell if fewer people came, or if people are spread out better. It might just be that people have the bearings down, because the crowd is moving a bit better.

Anyways, on with the show:

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