Page Two

It's four in the morning, and the Hyatt towers behind me as I stand on the hike-and-bike trail. I've had a glass of wine, maybe two, and I've just finished checking in cashiers and settling SXSW accounts for the night. I've left the SXSW hotel headquarters room, where people were hanging out, comparing notes, telling stories, eating, drinking, and preparing for the next day. I needed a break, some time away from the big-top-and-circus life to just walk along the river, smelling the city, tasting its quiet, and not listening. The city still breathes. A long time ago, it used to fall into a heavy sleep at night, but now there are too many of us and too much going on and the city never really sleeps. I didn't walk far, there was still a little work to be done. It's fun hearing the stories, even over and over, and well worth being reminded what's coming up the next day. Still, I got to bed relatively early, just before 5am ...

It was several days into SXSW Music, and we were all being ripped along like a roller coaster toward the inevitable end. To be in the middle of it is to be in the middle of a twister, all action, all questions, all issues, all decisions, endless conversations and consultations. But we all knew that it would be over before we really had a chance to taste it. Imagine working on a meal for a year, serving it to guests, and being so busy making sure everything goes right that although you occasionally taste it, you mostly have no memory of the meal. The memories are of motion, of discussion, of more movement, of music, of crowds, of films, of panels, of a trade show in motion -- memories as hints of incidents and accents of moments rather than pieces of time.

This year there were more concrete memories: the Sterling Morrison Tribute featuring Alejandro Escovedo, Tosca, and John Cale at the Austin Music Awards (which was stunning); Tenacious D at the Speakeasy on Sunday night (and we don't have cable, so this was my introduction); and the crowds for documentaries at SXSW Film, where works like Paul Stekler and Daniel McCabe's George Wallace: Settin' the Woods on Fire, Ron Mann's Grass, the Hughes Brothers' American Pimp, Todd Phillips' Bittersweet Motel, Christopher Wilcha's The Target Shoots First , and Marc Singer's Dark Days played to packed houses. But mostly the memories are general -- the positive words and energies surrounding all three of the events, the buzz, the energy, the happiness of the registrants.

A few hours after I fell asleep, I woke up, took the elevator downstairs (during SXSW Music, I move into the hotel, as does much of the staff), and picked up The Daily Chronicle. What a remarkable job. I can brag about it because I had nothing to do with it. Publisher Nick Barbaro and I made the decision to do the three dailies (on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday mornings March 16-18), but the impact was on the staff, and they came through with some great writing, photography, and layout. Music editor Raoul Hernandez had to miss much of SXSW Music as he proved team leader, umpire, and father confessor on the project. Other crucial players were art director Taylor Holland, production manager Karen Rheudasil, and proofreading leader Cindy Widner. But I should really name every writer, photographer, editor, proofreader, production member, sales rep, classified rep, and house staff member, because the whole staff contributed, and they did a great job. The bad news is that our way of saying congratulations is to let them know we're definitely doing it next year. Which means another SXSW in which they get no sleep and don't get to see enough of the show. Such are the rewards reaped by valorous heroics.

Check our Web site at http://www. auschron.com. You will find our daily Web coverage of SXSW, the three dailies, and a slew of reviews that didn't make it into this issue. While you're at it, you should dip into http://www.sxsw.com, which also offers fantastic coverage.

This week, the dust from SXSW still blowing all around, we start running the Restaurant Poll. We need to hear from you, the readers, because we all know food is dear to all Austinites. Now is the time to hear from you about where you like to eat. Vote.