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Pitchfork's Guide to SXSW 2008

Hundreds of millions of bands playing hundreds of millions of venues* in Austin, Texas over four nights-- you didn't think we were going to send you into that mess without a little guidance, now did you?

So here we are again with a primer/handbook/tipsheet/what you will for the 2008 South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival, which begins today (Wednesday, March 12, yo) and runs through Saturday, March 15.

We're ignoring the innumerable day parties here (Pitchfork does not condone partying, after all) and focusing exclusively on highlights from the official nightly music showcases and daily panels.

Naturally, we can't cram every last deserving act into this thing, so consider the SXSW Music website your friend as well. Festival organizers have assembled a thorough and fairly straightforward list of showcases here (try sorting by day), and many performing artists have bios, photos, and free mp3s available for download. Poke around a bit; you never know what you might find.

The Pitchfork news staff is headed down to Austin early this morning, so regular news updates will be suspended until Monday, March 17. We'll be posting daily SXSW diaries though, so watch this space.

With that out of the way, we now take you to Pitchfork's SXSW guide:

* not actually hundreds of millions bands or venues, but it sure feels like it

Wednesday, March 12:

Day Stage

Planningtorock, A Place to Bury Strangers, Akron/Family, Ra Ra Riot, Saul Williams

Showcases

** Domino Records: Simian Mobile Disco, These New Puritans, Lightspeed Champion, Sons & Daughters, the Kills, White Williams - Antone's
** Austin Music Awards: Okkervil River featuring Roky Erickson - Austin Music Hall
** Ola Podrida, Bowerbirds, David Karsten Daniels, Peter and the Wolf - Central Presbyterian Church
** Shearwater - Club de Ville
** The Slits - Elysium
** The Lemonheads performing It's a Shame About Ray - Emo's Annex
** K Records: The Blow, Kimya Dawson, Saturday Looks Good to Me, Mahjongg, Jeremy Jay, Karl Blau - Emo's IV Lounge
** Knitting Factory: Dan Deacon + Jimmy Joe Roche's Ultimate Reality, Japanther, Free Blood, Wizardzz, Meneguar - Emo's Jr.
** The Black Keys, Autolux, Be Your Own Pet - Emo's Main Room
** Bun B - Fuze
** Stones Throw / Duck Down: Percee P, Kidz in the Hall, Guilty Simpson - Habana Annex Backyard
** Cardboard Records: Parts & Labor, Gowns, Ecstatic Sunshine, Pterodactyl, Shooting Spires, These Are Powers - Habana Calle 6
** Paper Bag/Upper Class/XLR8R: Cadence Weapon, the Acorn, the Russian Futurists, the Cansecos - Habana Calle 6 Patio
** Modular: The Tough Alliance, Cut Copy - Karma Lounge
** Van Morrison - La Zona Rosa
** Free Yr Radio: Simian Mobile Disco, Yeasayer, Times New Viking - La Zona Rosa
** eMusic: Bon Iver, Frightened Rabbit - Maggie Mae's Rooftop
** Frenchkiss: The Dodos, the Big Sleep, the Plastic Constellations, Fatal Flying Guilloteens - Mohawk Patio
** Almost Gold / Fenway Sessions: Peter Morén - The Parish
** Naked Raygun - Red Eyed Fly
** Orange Twin: Dark Meat, Elf Power - Spiro's
** Steve Reich showcase, hosted by Steve Reich - St. David's Church
** R.E.M. - Stubb's
** Smalltown Supersound: Lindstrøm, Kim Hiorthøy, DiskJokke, Bjørn Torske, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Arp - The Thirsty Nickel
** Afro Punk/Matrix Saul Williams - Vice

Thursday, March 13:

Panels

Keynote: Lou Reed - Austin Convention Center
Interview: Seymour Stein (Sire Records founder) - Austin Convention Center
Interview: Steve Reich/Thurston Moore - Austin Convention Center
Panel: "Through the Lens: Photographers on Musicians" with Michael Azerrad, Autumn de Wilde, etc.
Panel: "The Moment of Truth" with Superchunk/Portastatic's Mac McCaughan, Nada Surf's Matthew Caws, Hanson's Taylor Hanson, etc.
Panel: "Widening Hip Hop's Global Reach" with Sway, etc.

Day Stage

The Hood Internet, Cadence Weapon, Murs, White Williams, the Cool Kids, the Blow

Showcases

** Spoon, Del the Funky Homosapien - Auditorium Shores Stage
** NPR: My Morning Jacket, Yo La Tengo - Austin Music Hall
** AM Only/IHeartcomix/Deaf Dumb and Blind: Beauty Bar Backyard: Working for a Nuclear Free City, Boyz Noize, Thieves Like Us
** Anti/Utne Reader: Man Man, Islands, DeVotchKa - Cedar Street Courtyard
** Caldo Verde/Proxy Media: Mark Kozelek, Retribution Gospel Choir - Central Presbyterian Church
** Ninja Tune/Counter: Ghislain Poirier, TheDeathSet - Elysium
** Relapse: High on Fire, Genghis Tron, Vverevvolf Grehv - Emo's Annex
** We Are Free: Yeasayer, Indian Jewelry, Ponytail, Pit Er Pat, Le Loup - Emo's IV Lounge
** Swami: The Night Marchers, Dan Sartain - Emo's Jr.
** Kork Agency: Jens Lekman, Islands, Howlin Rain, the Octopus Project - Emo's Main Room
** Upset the Rhythm: No Age, High Places, Gowns - Habana Annex Backyard
** Table of the Elements: Northampton Wools (Thurston Moore) - Hideout
** Secretly Canadian/Jagjaguwar/Dead Oceans: Black Mountain, Jens Lekman, Bon Iver, Evangelicals, Bodies of Water, Phosphorescent, Parts & Labor, Citay, the Explorers Club, Throw Me the Statue, White Hinterland - Mohawk and Mohawk Patio
** El Guincho, Fuck Buttons - Red Eyed Fly
** The Social Registry: Blood on the Wall, Sian Alice Group, Psychic Ills, Samara Lubelski - Room 710
** Def Jux/Dirtee Stank: Dizzee Rascal, El-P, Devin the Dude & the Coughee Brothaz, Jammer, Newham Generals - Scoot Inn
** Siltbreeze: Times New Viking, Psychedelic Horseshit, Blues Control, Pink Reason - Soho Lounge
** Jay Reatard, Fucked Up, the Raveonettes, Dark Meat - Vice
** NME: YACHT, Holy Fuck, Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip - Wave Rooftop

Friday, March 14:

Panels

Interview: Mick Jones (The Clash) and Tony James present Carbon/Silicon
Panel: "Resolving Webcast Fees"
Panel: "The Blog Factor" with Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein, Matador Records' Gerard Cosloy, etc.

Day Stage

Showcases

** Constantines, Vampire Weekend, DeVotchKa - Antone's
** Sub Pop: No Age, Blitzen Trapper, Fleet Foxes, Handsome Furs, the Helio Sequence, Pissed Jeans, the Ruby Suns, Grand Archives, Kelley Stoltz, Sera Cahoone, Love as Laughter - Bourbon Rocks and Bourbon Rocks Patio
** Bowery Presents: Tapes 'n Tapes, Rogue Wave, the Little Ones - Cedar Door
** Bug Music: Lyrics Born - Cedar Street Courtyard
** Asthmatic Kitty and friends: Castanets, My Brightest Diamond, Cryptacize - Central Presbyterian Church
** Big Shot Touring: White Rabbits - Club de Ville
** Kill Rock Stars: Mika Miko, Panther, Telepathe - Emo's IV Lounge
** Leafy Green Booking: Akron/Family, the Dodos - Emo's Jr.
** Biz3 Publicity: Clipse, Kid Sister, A-Trak, the Cool Kids, Flosstradamus, Crystal Castles - Emo's Main Room
** Super Deluxe: Human Giant, Eugene Mirman, Todd Barry, Janeane Garofalo, Brian Posehn - Esther's Follies
** Panache/Lovepump United: The Mae Shi, HEALTH, Old Time Relijun, Apes, RTX, Mika Miko - Flamingo Cantina
** Ernest Jenning: Dälek, O'Death - Friends
** Polyvinyl/Team Love: List Christee (Kevin Barnes of Of Montreal), Tilly and the Wall, Headlights, Aloha, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Habana Calle 6 and patio
** FM3 - Hideout
** M for Montreal: Krief, Nadja, Plants and Animals - Maggie Mae's
** The Great Escape Festival: Lykke Li - Maggie Mae's Rooftop
** Ecstatic Peace: Thurston Moore (with band and with Northampton Wools), J. Mascis, Be Your Own Pet, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Sightings, Samara Lubelski, Leslie Keffer - Mohawk and Mohawk Patio
** Sway - Molotov Lounge
** Rob da Bank and Friends: Lykke Li, Born Ruffians, Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip - Ninety Proof Lounge
** Billboard: Robyn - Pangea
** Merge: Destroyer, She & Him, Shout Out Louds, Radar Bros., Wye Oak, Portastatic - The Parish
** Atlas Sound, White Rainbow, Valet, Fuck Buttons, Jana Hunter, Knyfe Hyts - Prague
** It's GRIM Up North: Enslaved - Red 7 Patio
** Solid PR/Sailor Jerry: Man Man, Fucked Up, Paint It Black - Scoot Inn
** WFMU: Half Japanese, Citay, Evangelista, the Homosexuals, Lexie Mountain Boys, Psychedelic Horseshit, Gary Higgins - Spiro's and Spiro's Amphitheater
** N.E.R.D., Santogold - Stubb's
** X, Daniel Lanois, Dizzee Rascal - The Bat Bar
** Super Deluxe: Human Giant, Janeane Garofalo, Todd Barry, Eugene Mirman, Brian Posehn - The Velveeta Room
** A Place to Bury Strangers - Wave Rooftop

Saturday, March 15:

Panels

Interview: Ice Cube and DJ Pooh
Interview: Daryl Hall
Panel: "It's Not Easy Being Green" (environmental issues in music)
Panel: "Vinyl Revival"
Panel: "'16' Magazine and the Birth of Music Journalism" with Taylor Hanson, etc.

Day Stage

Showcases

** Jarboe, Nadja - The Ale House
** Ice Cube, Jean Grae, Pete Rock, Talib Kweli, Lyrics Born - Auditorium Shores Stage
** David Banner, Murs - Austin Music Hall
** Summer Lovers Unlimited: The Tough Alliance, the Homosexuals - Beauty Bar
** Indie 103.1: A Place to Bury Strangers, Neon Neon - Cedar Street Courtyard
** Jandek, Christina Carter (Charalambides) & Shawn David McMillen, the Weird Weeds - Central Presbyterian Church
** Saddle Creek: Tokyo Police Club, Two Gallants, Georgie James, Neva Dinova - Dirty Dog Bar
** Oya Festival / Oh My Rockness: Shining, Hanne Hukkelberg, Videohippos - Emo's Jr.
** X, the Raveonettes - Emo's Main Room
** Tomlab/Anticon: Why?, Hey Willpower, Thee Oh Sees, Son Lux, Misha - Lamberts
World's Fair: Maggie Mae's Rooftop - British Sea Power
** Free Agency / Todd P: High Places, Ecstatic Sunshine, Matt & Kim, These Are Powers, Ponytail - Mohawk and Mohawk Patio
** DFA/Metromix.com/GBH: Still Going, Holy Ghost!, Digitalism, Planningtorock - Pangaea
** Arts & Crafts: Los Campesinos!, Constantines, Jason Collett - The Parish
** Load: Clockcleaner, Sightings - Scoot Inn
** Cock Rock Disco/Deathbomb Arc: Jason Forrest - Scoot Inn Inside Stage
** Jim James, M. Ward - St. David's Church
** Soundexchange/Mojo: Roky Erickson, Okkervil River - Stubb's
** URB/Squeak E. Clean/Vans/Soundexchange: GZA, Wale, NASA - Stubb's
** Graveface: Black Moth Super Rainbow, Laura Gibson - The Thirsty Nickel
** Fool's Gold/Matrix: Chromeo, A-Trak, Kid Sister, Flosstradamus - Volume
** NME: Crystal Castles - Wave Rooftop

The Wrens' Charles Bissell Joins Okkervil River
Okkervil River backing Roky Erickson tonight in Austin

Wrens photo by Matthew Solarski, Okkervil River photo by Akmal Naim

Big doings in camp Okkervil River. Tonight at the Austin Music Awards, taking place at the Austin Music Hall, they'll play backing band for the legendary Roky Erickson. That will kick off a series of four SXSW appearances, which will be bittersweet for the band: they're the last shows Okkervil River will play with guitarist Brian Cassidy as a full-time touring member.

See, Cassidy and his wife Megan are expecting their first child, and Cassidy has chosen being a dad over being a rock'n'roller. (Probably a wise decision). Okkervil frontman Will Sheff said in a press release, "All the sadness we're feeling about Brian's not being able to tour with us for the foreseeable future is outweighed by our happiness for him and his family."

Cassidy's replacement? None other than Charles Bissell of the Wrens! Well, for now at least. Bissell will accompany Okkervil River on the road throughout the spring and summer, including on their spring trek with the New Pornographers.

In the fall, Okkervil River will look for a permanent replacement. Which means the Wrens can finally get back to work on their new album. Right guys? Right?

(P.S. If you tune in to WNYC today around 2 p.m. Eastern, you just might hear Will Sheff on "Soundcheck", chatting about SXSW with some dork from Pitchfork News, provided her plane arrives on time.) [MORE...]

Video: Okkervil River: Big Black Car (Big Star cover) [live on Black Cab Sessions]
MP3: Okkervil River: Golden Opportunities Mixtape
MP3: The Wrens: Everyone Choose Sides [from The Meadowlands LP]

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