SXSW 2012 – Day 4

Review by Ben in Features, SXSW 2012 on 03 22nd, 2012 | one response

Fanfarlo @ SXSW 2012

Rather than talk about the music of the last day of SXSW I wanted to take a chance and try to articulate what the final day is like. 2012 marks the 3rd consecutive year that Pinpoint has covered SXSW, and Day 4 (the last day) of SXSW is always one filled with pensive reflection for me. By the final day the physical, mental, and spiritual exhaustion caused by a week worth of loud music, prodigious alcohol and BBQ consumption, along with a few marathons worth of walking compels even the most bravado laden amongst us to ruminate on all that has happened.

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