SXSW: 2021 Digital version prompts more questions than it answers

When we realized we would be covering South By Southwest (SXSW) this year from the comfort of our living room, it became clear our coverage of the festival was going to change significantly in 2021. Instead of carefully plotting which official music events to cover amid a mind-blowing number of unofficial events we’re sifting through a more manageable slate of activity (less than 100 acts were invited when there are typically over 1500) taking place on SX’s new online platform which is surprisingly nimble.

We expected a slew of technical glitches given this is the first year SXSW has had a completely digital version of the festival to offer attendees. Sx’s web team done a remarkable job of pivoting to the new (ab)normal along with musicians and filmmakers during the pandemic.

That said, indicators of SXSW’s durability as a brand beyond this year has been cast into question. Despite the massive effort by the festival team to keep the national media engaged along with a portion of it’s normal audience, the value of SXSW’s brand has taken a huge hit. Case in point, a survey of Twitter trends (the preferred social media platform for Sx) in Austin today did not show #SXSW or related hash tags trending at all. In past live versions of the festival #SXSW would trend on Twitter nationally not just in Austin. We’re not sure what the 2022 version of SXSW will look like but one thing is certain, it won’t look much like 2019.

Armed with the ability to jump from session to session and showcase to showcase easily, we watched two films, a keynote and three different musical showcases on Tuesday when the event launched. Georgia voting rights activist, Stacey Abrams was the optimistic but realistic voice we needed to hear to kick off the festival. We also caught the fantastic music documentary, Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliche, mind-blowing feature documentary, Dear Mr. Brody along with showcases from KUTX, British Embassy and newly unveiled New York noise rock label, Dedstrange’s showcase featuring A Place to Bury Strangers to cap off a long but enjoyable first day of SXSW.

On Wednesday (day two) we began to realize perhaps our ambitions and estimations on how much screen content we could bear began to weigh in. It began with we hoped might be a discussion on  new social platforms being developed that would avoid the pratfalls and security vulnerabilities of the current dominate websites. It wasn’t what we thought. More on that later.

We also watched a heartwarming documentary, Soy Cubana about a quartet of vocalists from Santiago de Cuba who travel to Los Angeles to realize their dream of performing in the United States. Then we caught Willie Nelson’s sage-like interview with Andy Langer (Texas Monthly) followed by some pearls of wisdom from Queen Latifah and LL Cool J. That’s about when our screen stamina began to fade.

We led off the first day of activities by viewing the world premiere of the Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliche documentary. Poly was the moniker of British punks front woman and founder, the X-Ray Specs’ Marianne Elliot. The film was directed and narrated by her daughter, Celeste Bell. Paul Sng co-directed this engrossing rockumentary about a woman who was clearly ahead of her time. Inspired by the Sex Pistols and obsessed with their front man, Johnny Rotten, Elliot formed X-Ray Specs.

Described as an feminist activist, Elliot was actually ahead of her time, questioning consumerism, racial disparities, gender conventions and a slew of related topics. It was clear she was largely misunderstood and unfairly underestimated by her music industry peers. The strength of the film is its ability to embody the intelligent questioning of Western culture’s conventions of Poly Styrene while simultaneously stimulating viewers to question their own preconceptions about society.

Stacey Abrams selection by the festival to deliver the first Keynote in the form an of an interview with writer, N.K. Jemisin was spot on. The woman who represents the preservation of our democracy in helping Georgia flip their Senate seats in last year’s election makes Abrams the public servant most Americans are indebted to. She also had the grace and intelligence to gently remind the SXSW audience that the hard work isn’t done yet. Her modesty amid her many achievements (she’s also a published author and romance novelist with a new book out) set the perfect tone for a festival struggling to stay relevant amid the world-wide pandemic.

We watched Dear Mr. Brody as an exception to our rule that dictates valuable time spent during SXSW on films should be used to view music-related films. An exception after we realized Austin filmmakers Geoff Marslett and Frank Moseley both make appearances in the flick. The shocking story of young Michael Brody, heir to the Oleo Margarine fortune who in 1970 at the tender age of 21 announced his intention of giving away $25 million dollars to anyone who needed it. No one could have guessed what would happen after that. Let’s just say a lot of folks wrote to Mr. Brody. This wild, true story Directed by Keith Maitland who directed award-winning documentary Tower, is worth your time if you love great stories and excellent film making.

We finished off day one of SXSW much like any other year, with music. We led off at the British Embassy showcase where we discovered Liverpool’s The Mysterines. The hard rock act is led by vocalist, Lia Metcalf who will appear on Paul Weller’s coming record. Metcalf comes off like a modern-day UK version of Joan Jett perhaps with a dash of Courtney Love-esque danger. She is striking in appearance wearing mostly black clothing, has an exceptional voice and the energy to translate a prerecorded live stream into a damn good rock show with a solid alt rock band behind her.

Following the Brit bands showcase was New York noise rock label, Dedstrange‘s lineup with spot-on performances from Holy Fuck (super cool, home studio vibes with visual effects), atmospheric guitarist, Randy Randall who mashed his L.A. freeway vibes with drone footage of the artist playing the piece on a Los Angeles freeway overpass. It sounds basic but the footage jelled with the music perfectly.  The track provided the perfect interlude before Oliver Ackermann and A Place to Bury Strangers delivered a mini-concert video that somehow conveyed the same bombastic energy and visual effects of the trio’s juggernaut of a live show.

The coolest shot was drummer Lia Braswell standing as she hit gong-like snares super-imposed over Ackermann and bassist, Dion Lunadon slaying the set.

Label head and co-owner, Steven Matrick let us know Ackermann had a hand in producing the entire Dedstrange production which was smartly edited with APTBS / Death by Audio-type segues and humorous footage.

While Reddit founder, Ohanian’s panel didn’t deliver the type of goods we hoped for the chat panel revealed viewers wanted the same conversation on how to foster meaningful conversations online amid the noise as we did. A telling sign the conversation has begun to mature as to what to do about bad actors and governments on our social channels.

While that panel wasn’t exactly what we wanted, music documentary, Soy Cubana provided a needed break from the whirlwind of information, films and music streams rattling around in our brains. The touching story of four, gifted singers from Cuba traveling to the United States to perform for the first time is fine story-telling that allows the audience to connect the importance of cultural exchange in fostering good relations with countries. It was truly inspiring to watch the Vocal Vidas realize their dream.

Pearls from Willie Nelson came often in his interview with Andy Langer along with a good dose of Texas humor. Nelson really is the Sage of Texas or at least everyone’s favorite Texan. Langer, for his part came prepared for brief answers and expanded on topics deftly to draw out the gold from Nelson’s answers.

Queen Latifah and LL Cool J’s interview with Dominc Patten (Deadline Hollywood) took place following Nelson’s felt less formal but no less fun interview. LL advised artists, actors and creatives to “never phone it in” in response to questions about his longevity in television and film.

Latifah was no less engaging, commenting, “You will never hit a grand slam if you don’t take a swing,” as advice to creatives who want to push themselves out of their comfort zone.

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