SXSW Do's and Don'ts

Your cheat sheet to South by Southwest: Do walk, don't make fun of the hipsters

Austin will be overflowing with people during SXSW. You don't want to bring yourcar anywhere near downtown.
You do want to find a way to hang around with the band after the games.

So what exactly is South by Southwest? Here’s a brief overview if you haven’t been, followed by some simple DOs and DON'Ts.

When people ask if you’re going to “South by” or “SX,” they probably mean the music portion of the festival. However, South by Southwest includes separate film, interactive and music conferences that take place every March in Austin. The “week” of SXSW is actually 10 days long, spanning from March 11-20 this year

Interactive: March 11-15

Film: March 11-19

Music: March 15-20

We’ll focus on the music portion. SXSW is one of the largest music festivals in the nation, with over 2,000 performers playing in more than 90 venues around Austin. Although it’s officially centered around the Austin Convention Center downtown, most of the bands play in bars and clubs downtown and around the University of Texas campus.

Anyone can go to SXSW, but some enjoy a more elite status: badge or wristband holders.

Badges:
Badges — which get you into the most things — run from $595 (if you bought early) to $1250. Badges provide free entrance and first dibs to any showcase and also allow access to really boring but really important conferences about the music industry and what not.

Wristbands:
Fans can also purchase wristbands, which run from $150-300. A wristband grants entrance to any showcase (which cost $8-25 for individual tickets depending on the venue), but you have to wait in line behind badge holders if the show is especially crowded.

A few aspects set SXSW apart from other indie music festivals like Bonnaroo, Coachella and Austin City Limits:

1. Shows at small venues
Bands perform in bars and clubs rather than giant stages in open fields.

2. Up-and-coming bands
You won’t find the Eagles playing here, but you may discover the next Sleigh Bells before your friends do. (Tell me you’ve heard of them?)

If you’re not obnoxious about it, you might be able to party with your favorite band. Most of them are crashing at hospitable Austinites’ homes or cheap hotels and don't have any airs about sharing a pitcher with strangers.

3. International acts

4. All day and all night
Outdoor music festivals often shut it down early (9 or 10) due to city noise ordinances. SXSW’s day parties span from around noon till 5 or 6, and the official showcases last until 2 a.m., followed by after-parties.

5. Free stuff
You're not trapped on festival grounds with watery $8 beer. In fact, during the day a lot of the beer and food is free. More on that later.

DOs and DON’Ts for SXSW beginners:

DON’T buy a badge.
They average $700 and simply aren’t worth it unless you're interested in attending the lectures and workshops. If you can obtain a badge for free because your cousin owns Sub Pop! records or something, then, by all means, get one.

DO consider a wristband.
Depending on how many and which showcases you attend, you may end up dishing out around $200 on admission anyway. Also, you won’t have to wait in line and almost always get in (unless the venue is full). If you’re paying cash you’ll need to get in line at least 20 minutes before a showcase starts.

DO RSVP to the unofficial day shows.
The day shows and parties, though not officially part of SXSW, are just as good as the night showcases. Admission is free, and there’s often free food and booze.

Although it’s tedious, most of these parties require that you RSVP with an e-mail address. It gets tricky to keep track of them, as there are 15-20 parties per day. As the music part of SXSW nears on March 15, CultureMap promises keep you posted on the best day parties and how to send your RSVP.

DO have a game plan.
Scribble down the names and addresses of a few of your favorite day parties and official showcases.

DON’T set your plans in stone.
If they run out of free Flying Dog beer or it rains at Cedar Street Courtyard, you’ve got to have a backup plan. (This is where sending RSVPs to multiple day parties comes in handy.)

DON’T drive anywhere near downtown.
If you must drive, park at 8th just east of I-35 and walk downtown from there. You're unlikely to get much closer.

DO walk, ride a bike or take a bus.

DO bring comfortable shoes and a warm coat.
Even the cutest flats will kill your feet when you’re walking five miles a day. And although Austin is usually as hot as Houston, last year a cold front blew in, sending temperatures down to 32 degrees with wind chill.

Bassists played from sleeping bags, girls wrapped blankets around their heads. It was madness.

DON'T complain about hipsters.
When you go to a golf tournament you don't complain about the preps in polos and golf shoes. So when attending SXSW refrain from rolling your eyes at the tattoos and unkempt hair.

You're in hipster turf now, and when in Rome bring your skinny jeans.

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Movie Review

28 Years Later revives zombie franchise for new generation

Photo by Miya Mizuno

Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams in 28 Years Later.

The 2000s brought two of the best zombie movies ever made in 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. Both films, despite being made by different filmmakers, featured intense action with fast-moving zombies, harrowing sequences, and real emotional connections with their main characters. Now the original director and writer — Danny Boyle and Alex Garland — have returned with the first of a possible three sequels, 28 Years Later.

The rage virus from the first two films that turns humans into insatiable monsters has successfully been contained to the United Kingdom, and one group of survivors has managed to band together on a small island off the coast of England. We’re introduced to the group through Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), his wife, Isla (Jodie Comer), and his son, Spike (Alfie Williams).

Isla is sick with an unknown illness, while Jamie is set to take the 12-year-old Spike on his first trip to the mainland to hunt zombies. That trip not only gives Spike an education as to the different types of feral zombies that now populate England, but also a clue that other people have survived there. When he discovers that one of them may be a doctor, he makes plans to take his mother there in hopes of finding a cure for whatever ails her.

While the first two films were notable for their brisk pace that kept the potency of the stories high, Boyle and Garland almost go in the opposite direction for much of this film. The first 90 minutes are relatively slow, with only a couple of sequences that raise the blood pressure. The final half hour or so go a long way toward filling that void, so it’s clear that the filmmakers were biding their time for the story to come in the sequel. A bit more balance in this film would have served them well, though.

What they do show involves some weird, wild stuff that is objectively upsetting, even for fans of the genre. The zombies have evolved in strange ways, giving them a variety of body shapes and abilities to suit the environment in which they live. These storytelling choices may thrill some and have others scratching their heads. Another human character living on his own (played by Ralph Fiennes), appears to have gone the way of Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, with a revelation that is bone-chilling.

Boyle, who’s directed everything from Trainspotting to Slumdog Millionaire, doesn’t have a signature style, and he makes some choices in this film that test your patience. He occasionally employs an odd technique in which the film stutters, for a lack of better term. It’s a bit jarring, especially since it doesn’t seem to improve the storytelling. He also inserts scenes from older films involving medieval warfare that emulate the bow-and-arrow weaponry used by characters in this film, but the exact connection he’s trying to make is unclear.

The young Williams has a lot put on his shoulders in the film, and he proves to be up to the task of carrying the story. He isn’t precocious or annoying, instead reacting almost exactly like you’d expect a boy of his age to do when faced with extreme situations. Taylor-Johnson and Comer are good complements for him, drawing him out with their polar opposite characters. Fiennes makes a huge impression in the final act of the film, while Jack O’Connell makes a very brief appearance, teasing a bigger role to come.

It’s difficult to fully judge 28 Years Later because it’s designed to only give you part of the story; part 2, The Bone Temple, is due in 2026, while a third film will follow if the first two do well. This film has its moments and winds up on the positive side of the ledger, but it’s also a frustrating experience that could have used a more stand-alone story.

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28 Years Later is now playing in theaters.

movies film