SXSW Part I

I was in Austin, TX last week, performing at South by Southwest. SXSW is the biggest music festival in the U.S. It reminded me a little of Disney World, and a lot of the church youth conventions I went to when I was in high school. We stayed at a hotel outside downtown and had to take a shuttle back and forth.

I gave up trying to look cool after the first day--I ended up carrying a large backpack filled with an odd assortment of items--Benadryl, Water Babies brand SPF 50 sunscreen, and a sports bra that I'd put on after seven hours of wearing a regular bra. I brought a collection of impractical shoes to go with my dressier shirts but after the first two days my feet were covered in bright white blisters. Then I discovered an Asics booth in which they were giving away free tennis shoes to showcasing artists. So, I got some and proceeded to wear them with my fancy shirts. I felt silly but much more comfortable.

My boyfriend Erik is also my guitar player. We are both a little awkward, emotional and damaged. Erik wears torn up jeans and old shirts from bands he's been in. He recently cut off his beard, but never got around to actually shaving. It's an odd length--sort of a 7 o'clock shadow. We both dress a like grunge is still in fashion. We looked like Eddie Vedder and My So Called Life era Claire Danes as we walked down the streets of Austin.

The rest of our band went to show after show, even the big ones--Erykah Badu, PJ Harvey, Echo and the Bunnymen. Erik and I are terrified of crowds and went instead to a series of post-rock classical shows that were not crowded at all. Most of the shows were at the same venue, the one we'd played at the night before.

We went back to our hotel early most nights, provided that we could find a cab. We are both terrible at hailing cabs. We would take turns holding our hands up feebly in the direction of passing yellow cabs and it would take at least three tries to get one to stop.

Erik and I often feel like a pair of misfits. We're both a bit damaged but we always figure things out, and we're supportive of each other as we do. Erik is stable in his own way. His is also loyal and kind and loves me fiercely. But on the way home it was another of our band members who got into a terrible fight with his wife over the phone. A fight so awful that we stopped in Memphis and rented our own car while he drove the rest of the way home in a panic. And he was the one who seemed most stable. He is stunningly capable, has three children, and a wife who is also an artist.

When we got home from the trip Erik and I laid together on the couch and I said, "It's funny--we're such misfits, but in the end we have the most stable relationship." And he agreed and we snuggled in to watch an episode of Paranormal State in which undergrads from Penn State investigate ghost sightings. We speculated as to which "paranormal investigators" were sleeping with each other and laughed while our little black cat crawled onto Erik's chest and promptly fell asleep.

(I will write many more posts on this trip...I have much to say).