
Fanfarlo @ SXSW 2012
This year though the last day of SXSW found me in an especially wistful state, one where I gained some tangible truths about our staff, guests in our house, the humanity that is the SXSW attendee, and of course myself. The amount of self-inflicted excess and indulgence one endures at SXSW serves as fine steel slicing away at layers of ego and bluster until only some deformed sense of self remains. Seeing the transformation over the period of the week can only be cataloged as a transcendental experience. Some genuinely start to think they are part of the music glitterati, some become keenly aware of their age, some start to act like it’s their last week in the college dorms, and some resemble the walking dead. Yet by the end of SXSW you’ve forged the type of bond with people that can only be achieved through a battle you’ve seen through to the end. As our Editor Ryan pointed out the vast majority of our friends couldn’t, or wouldn’t, have the mettle to make it through the woods that is SXSW. That’s not a judgment on people who choose to skip SXSW, but rather an indictment of insanity for those of us who choose to attend.
Wherever the finish line is I think the most important part is the journey there. Beyond the music, the booze, and free swag, somewhere in a SXSW experience that features more corporate sponsorships per inch then Disneyworld, there are some grand truths to be found.
A special thanks to Morgen Schuler photos.morgenschuler.com for her photos throughout!
Fanfarlo
photos by Ben Irwin
Hi Ho Silver Oh (late in Day 3)
photos by Ben Irwin
Dan Deacon (late in Day 3)
photos by Ben Irwin
PAPA (late in Day 3)
photos by Ben Irwin
Snake Rattle Rattle Snake
photos by Morgen Schuler
Oh Look Out
photos by Morgen Schuler
KB Jones
photos by Morgen Schuler
Dan Mangan
photos by Morgen Schuler
Chet Faker
photos by Morgen Schuler
Chains of Love
photos by Morgen Schuler
Goddamn right, my man.