AUSTIN, Texas — It wasn’t just the legions of concertgoers wandering the streets who were twittering at South By Southwest Many of the acts were posting tweets throughout the music conference and festival, sometimes even on stage or during interviews.
Microblogging by performers shed a new light on their SXSW experience, revealing the fun, fatigue and frenzy of the annual Austin music event – which concluded early Sunday.
Dave Navarro the guitarist for Jane’s Addiction took a photo of this reporter in the middle of an interview of the band, later explaining a negative story would mean the wrath of his Twitter followers. Later, after playing ” Three Days” he tweeted from the stage: “We just played 3 days!!!! Yeah!”
Tweets must be 140 characters or less and can be posted directly from mobile phones to twitter.com
Colin Meloy the frontman for the Decemberists perfectly reflected typical pre-show and post-show emotions. Shortly before performing the band’s new folk opera “The Hazards of Love” for the first time, he wrote: “Krikes! Nervous as all get up. Think good thoughts.”
The morning after the show, at 6:52 a.m., he posted: “Wow. Now I’m hungover as all get out.”
Edward Droste, singer for Grizzly Bear, thoroughly enjoyed a show performed by his bandmate, Daniel Rossen, in his side project, Department of Eagles: “Department of Eagles with Victoria Legrand covering the dead. So hilarious and awesome.”
Amanda Palmer half of the duo Dresden Dolls also tweeted as a spectator: “very happy moment. DEVO just walked by and they were WEARING THE WEIRD ANGULAR FLOWERPOT HATS.”
With some 1,900 bands playing at SXSW, it’s impossible to see everything you want – which is especially true if you’re one of the bands playing. The Portland band Blitzen Trapper led by Eric Early, posted on this common tragedy: “Despite the warm rays of the sun, sadness reigns as i learn that Drink Up Buttercup is playing when we are. cruelly fated. wanna see em.”
R&B singer Solange Knowles also expressed a frustration often felt by SXSW-goers as they await the next act to hit the stage. At Saturday night ‘s Perez Hilton party, things ran a little behind. From backstage, Knowles, eager to perform, wrote: “Let’s gooooooooooo! Ready to rock!”