And so it is over with SXSW for another year. The biggest music showcase and trade show in the world proved to be a phenomenal one for all involved. This year compared to last, we had more acts that you can poke a stick at. Emergenza was well represented on both practical and business fronts. Showcases, trade show, meetings with music business people… that was all part of the fun for the 4 days where attention is focused in Austin. But let’s start with the showcases: there was the most famous bands from around the world showcasing in different times in Austin. Just to give you an idea, Tom Morello of Audioslave and Rage Against The Machine fame, was playing in a small club with Slash from GnR, Les Claypool from Primus, the guitarist of punk legends MC5 all fronted by Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction… this is just to give you an idea of what SXSW really is and how important it was to have Emergenza bands on it. First of all I would like to say that there were more bands that took part in Emergenza in the past few years there in Austin showcasing and rocking to capacity crowds. These bands have demonstrated that persistence, hard work and good work ethics is what it takes to get to the biggest showcase on the planet. IDE, THE SILENT YEARS and THE DIRTY NOVELS are just some of the bands that were on our past compilations that made the trip out to Texas… well done boys. Hard work always pays off. Our 2 bands we physically brought down from Boston and NYC were KID:NAP:KIN & JULIUS C. They played on Friday and Saturday respectively. KID:NAP:KIN rocked Friday night with their blend of power-guitar-rock with intricate arrangements and sweet melodies. This cross between At the drive in & Jeff Buckley was all energy. Their gig at Darwin’s pub at 8 o’clock was the highlight of Friday on 6th street. This trio literally ripped the crowd’s face off with a set that had more power than a nuclear plant. People were congratulating the trio at the end of the gig and the band scored a few free drinks in the process. Truly amazing… bring a Boston band to Texas and that’s what happens; they turn the place upside down. A real success for the Bostonites, we’ll see what develops from there. They got the contacts so there’s interest. JULIUS C were there on the Saturday, right smack bang on St Patrick’s day on the hottest day of the week where beer consumption hit the high peak at the most important showcase in the world. At 9pm the go on stage and start their rock-funk blend of NY attitude with warm Texas style thrown in there. This was the only band that got an encore over the whole week-end. This alone should tell you how their show was. A full on set by a group with amazing technical players, great arrangements, sickly sweet melodies fronted by a charismatic singer that got every single person in the club involved. Is that enough? Don’t think so. This band got everybody so pumped that in the end (as said earlier) everyone in the club wanted more more more! An encore quickly followed and their choice was the classic “Ghostbusters”… yes, that one. A “comedy” number that left everybody fulfilled and happy… more drinking and congratulating followed. A great success. Emergenza showed the world what bands we have. Let’s have some more coming please… get your running shoes and start promoting so that we can do the same to you… you have to be brilliant though!