SXSW-to matador or other knowledgeable persons

[blah]

haven't been to southXsouthwest in years for reasons that are most likely obvious to most who've attended in recent years- i won't get into it. however, the matador thing at stubb's looks like it'd be great to see (friday 3-14). i can only imagine how ridiculous the situation is down there these days but i was wondering if it'd be possible to attend the event without it costing me several hundred dollars or some sort of industry connection?

[Sara]

I'm not sure if you'll have seen these already, but they might be of some use -

SXSW homepage (http://sxsw.com)

SXSW forum (http://2002.sxsw.com/forum/viewforum.php?forum=1&330)

[blah]

i've been to the sxsw main site, but not the forums. unfortunately they want $300+ dollars for a badge that will let you into the venues. they used to do a wristband thing that was 'only' $90 but that was maybe four years ago (so is probably well over $100 now) and the wristband doesn't even guarantee that you get in on top of that. perhaps i'll put a message on the forums there, as the venue itself (stubb's) has no posted info on their website either. i just figured that as it seems to be a matador extravaganza, they would know the particulars. thank you for your reply.

[blanca]

They still do the wristband thing and if you know somebody in Austin - they can get you one early and that way it wont cost over $100. Although you could just show up SUPER early to Stubb's and get in and then stay there all night.

[blah]

thanks for the info blanca. unfortunately all my austin friends have relocated to denton. however, if enough of us are willing to spend the day at stubb's, perhaps we will make the trip. on the other hand, as cat power (and some other good bands) will play a little closer to us in the DFW area that week, maybe that will do.

[blanca]

i have to say that i think the wristband is worth it. some of the best shows are the ones that not a lot of people show up to anyway. most people make the mistake of trying to get in to see the better known bands and its a madhouse. the key to having a good time is going to see all the little known bands.

[Gerard]

I'm pretty sure there will be some tickets available to the public (ie. those without badges or wristbands) though I can't say for sure how many.

But also to clarify, this is not a Matador promoted event. We have 3 of our bands playing Stubbs during SXSW, but we're not the promoters of this gig, nor is it a "Matador" showcase. There's one very prominent Merge band on this bill (Spoon) and there's a good chance another will be added as well.

In the past we have organized entire Matador-related events at SXSW but this is not one of those times.