The SXSW Festival prides itself on being at the leading edge of culture. Famously, apps like Twitter and Foursquare made their big splash at the SXSW Interactive conference, and artists like the White Stripes, Katy Perry, Foster the People, Feist, Bon Iver and more have launched whole careers at the dingy dive bars on Red River Street during SXSW Music. Not to mention all of the celebrity sightings, like Bill Murray slinging drinks or Kanye West's many surprise appearances.
During SXSW, Austin is a beehive of incredible happenings, so saying that you were there as cultural history was being made can carry some serious social clout. But just because you weren't able to attend this year doesn't mean you can't still impress your friends and have them believe that you were down south for all of the action.
Study these few lines below and you, too, can sound like a SXSW 2013 expert at your next social gathering.
Music
When asked: "So who were the breakout bands this year?"
You say: "Willy Moon, Haim, Twenty One Pilots (this year's Fun.), and Montreal's Half Moon Run. HMR just inked a deal to open for Mumford & Sons across Europe and I got to see them in a tiny bar called Red 7. Don't think I'll ever see them in a place that small again."
When asked: "I heard Prince played a secret show, did you go?"
You say: "I don't have a Samsung Galaxy phone, so I thought my chances of getting in were pretty slim. Instead I opted to catch Justin Timberlake's secret show for 800 people. JT had a 16-piece band, played guitar and keys, and Questlove DJed beforehand — what a night!"
When asked: "So where did you hang out? I hear 6th Street is pretty cool."
You say: "6th is lame! East Austin is where it is at, it's full of little dive bars like The White Horse and Cheer Up Charlie's. Plus, there are food carts everywhere over on that side."
Interactive
When asked: "OK, anyone can name bands. If you really went to SXSW, what are the next big trends in tech?"
You say: "Reusable rockets. We may not use them in our daily lives, but Elon Musk of Tesla Motors and Space X talked about it extensively in his keynote. He even made a video to prove his point."
When asked: "Did you catch Deadmau5 being interviewed onstage by Richie Hawtin?"
You say: "Nah, I blew that off to check out Bruce Sterling. He's a science fiction writer who famously does a rant at the end of every SXSW Interactive that sums up that year's conference. A couple of years ago he predicted that 'blogging' will be a thing of the past by 2017 and this year he called for the death of the personal computer!"
When asked: "I hear SXSW had a pretty cool schedule app this year, did you use it?"
You say: "No, it kept crashing. The hardcore attendees stopped using it and switched to Sched.org— it had all the listings for showcases and unofficial parties."
Film
When asked: "Did you see any celebrities down there?"
You say: "Grumpy Cat."
When asked: "Seriously, did you see any real celebrities?"
You say: "Jim Carrey, Portlandia's Fred Armisen and Tony Danza. Tony was there with Joseph Gordon-Levitt to premiere their new movie, Don Jon."
When asked: "I heard some guy asked a sort of awkward question at a comedy panel with Marc Maron, was that you?"
You say: "No, that was Chris Kelly."