This past week, I went to Austin for SXSW with Houses. We played three shows in a 24-hour period, and I took in quite a few more. I also finally met and saw perform Quiet Company, for whom I’ve been doing occasional web work, which was great.

The SXSW process seems a little hollow to me. There are “well-established” bands playing well-attended showcases, and then then there are “nobody” bands playing whatever they can find. There’s no “middle-class.” It seems to be more of a business-oriented event where label and band representatives have meetings all week without having to travel all over the country, with a music festival built around it. Bands don’t go there to be discovered; discovered bands go there to be showcased.

Though that’s a cynical view of the festival, I’m not saying I didn’t have a good time. We played well, we were well received, and I saw some great performances from bands I would have never had a chance to see otherwise.

Here are a select few photos summarizing the trip.