South by Southwest... where to begin? My four days in Austin surpassed almost all of my expectations. So many great bands and surprisingly few crowd problems made for a really fantastic time, and an incredibly addictive experience - I'm already looking forward to going back! I'd never had so many options for shows before, all in such close proximity, all at once, and all (essentially) free, so I tried to take full advantage. Since I tried to focus on bands I hadn't seen before, that called for some ADD - if an unfamiliar artist didn't grab my attention within a few songs and something else interesting was going on close by, I was off. It added up in the end - over 50 bands - so let's cut to the chase.

The winners:

- Lavender Diamond. In a word, wow. The LA band's Thursday night set at Habana Calle 6 was easily the 40 best minutes of the four days of shows I saw (and their Saturday set at the Arthur Magazine party was up there too). Though I was already a big fan of their EP The Cavalry of Light, it only hints at the magic of their live show. Balanced wonderfully by guitar, piano, and simple percussion, Becky Stark's vocals literally gave me chills. I thought the band's set might be a little slow in spots, far from it though - not only they did they liven up the songs, but the EP is just scratching the surface. The band has over a dozen more songs already written, and here's hoping they get released soon. In the meantime, see them live if you get the chance - they will not disappoint. I'm on a crusade to spread the word. If you didn't grab it when I plugged it once before, check out "You Broke My Heart" (MP3).

- The Happy Flowers. Their Saturday night set was their first time playing in a couple years, and second time with the current drummer. That includes rehearsals. My favorite moment? Probably when they started throwing bags of shower poofs at the crowd. (We, of course, started throwing them back.) Or maybe it was when the drummer's crash cymbal got knocked over during an epic "Mom, I Gave The Cat Some Acid" and a fan jumped on stage to hold it up till the end. Or possibly the 30-second Hall and Oates "cover" that started the set. I could keep going, and I caught a free commemorative T-shirt - done in crayon, naturally - to prove it. The band could've played it straight but that wouldn't been nearly as much fun and wouldn't have rocked my world quite as hard. It'll probably be a couple years before they do this again, but don't miss them if you get the chance.

- The Evangelicals. Hailing from Norman, OK, these guys have just a Myspace page to their name at the moment - but look for their first record in June. Their jumpy psychedelic pop was fantastic live - thrashing, melodic, and lots of fun, a bit like a noisy marriage of new Belle and Sebastian and old Sea and Cake. Had I enjoyed the Ponys more, I may have never even heard them - but instead they were my Wednesday standout. (And they played a great set on Friday as well.)

- Afrirampo. As my friend put it, Afrirampo made a very strong case for being the two coolest chicks on the planet during their Friday night set. They're from Japan, they play noisy psych rock, and Pikacyu is an absolute beast of a drummer. I haven't really heard much of them on album, and I'm not sure I want to - I can't see a recording capturing their energy on stage and I don't want to risk ruining the image.

- Helmet. I've wanted to see Helmet live for almost 12 years now, so this Thursday afternoon set was a real treat. No "Unsung" and no "In the Meantime," but Page Hamilton's guitar parts still hit like a truck and the drummer plays some wickedly tight grooves.

- Tunng. As with any 'folktronica' outfit, I was a little worried Tunng's live show might be a little too laptop-dependent - but with live guitars, clarinet, melodica, and more, Tunng's set had computers and samplers being just part of the puzzle instead of the whole story and it made for a lively, textured set. MP3's available here.

- The Double. The Double's relatively uninspiring set at South Street Seaport last summer didn't have me too excited for them at SXSW, but their Thursday night show crushed my first time. Squelchier, noisier, and weirder, yet tighter, it took my favorite moments on Loose in the Air to new heights. Try the excellent "Idiocy" (MP3).

- Rhys Chatham. 1 drummer, 1 bassist, and 6-7 guitarists (the "Guitar Army") pounding away in a cavernous old church. This set pretty much set the standard for my future use of the term "wall of sound." And Thurston Moore was a surprise guest!

- Asobi Seksu. Drawing mostly from their upcoming album Citrus (out on 5/30), Asobi totally killed it on Wednesday night. The new songs add depth and subtlety to their shoegaze-pop and though the sound was a little muddy, I actually liked how it made the guitar parts even denser and noisier.

- Art Brut. What, did you not expect to see them here? Loved the new Kinks tease during "Good Weekend," but it's shame the SXSW crowds didn't get to see Mikey B playing the drums standing up. (He even rehearses standing up but forgot some equipment and had to take a seat in Austin.)

- The Spinto Band. So much energy, so much fun ... the guy next to me had no luck with his "Oh Mandy" requests but we all got free kazoos in the front, so it's hard to complain.

Other highlights: Camera Obscura, Brightblack Morning Light, The Gossip (they get down live), Tilly and the Wall (I thought a tap dancer instead of a drummer would be too gimmicky but they pulled it off well), The Whigs (a random discovery from Athens, GA), the Octopus Project (theremin melodies!), Parts and Labor, the Archie Bronson Outfit, and a bunch more.

Disappointments:

- Howard Hello. They started their Friday night set by letting the crowd know that they rarely play live. Perhaps it was a warning. Even with five people on stage, they didn't come close to doing their sound justice.
- Saturday Looks Good To Me. More a case of overly high expectations - with none of their guest vocalists at the show, I was bound to be disappointed.
- Missing the Hidden Cameras, the Duke Spirit, and Baby Teeth due to inconvenient locations and tight schedules.
- Missing the Fiery Furnaces at Red's Scoot Inn by not realizing it was closer than I thought. I managed to catch a glorious "Chris Michaels" from the back at Stubb's, but not much more. (It's OK - I'm sure I still have a few Furnaces gigs in me this year.)
- Missing Hot Chip and Tapes n' Tapes due to long lines. But those were the only gigs I missed due to lines, thankfully.
- Forgetting I was on the list for Gang of Four's secret rooftop show until I checked my email on Sunday.
- Seeing the "special secret guest" at Saturday night's Vice party - a ZZ Top cover band. Lame.
- Missing so much else because they pack the schedule into four days instead of eight ... but I guess that's what next year is for!

So there you have it - if you're still reading, congrats to making to the end! And if you're interested, here's the blow-by-blow of everyone I saw:

Wednesday: The Sound Team, the Ponys, the Evangelicals, Dengue Fever, I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness, Asobi Seksu, the Yuppie Pricks, Ghostland Observatory, Secretary Bird, 1986, Aloha, Of Montreal, the Octopus Project, Saturday Looks Good To Me

Thursday: Art Brut, Brightblack Morning Light, Afrirampo, Black Heart Procession, Helmet, Lavender Diamond, the Fiery Furnaces, Tunng, Calla, the Double, Rhys Chatham Guitar Army

Friday: Bobby Bare Jr., Bobby Bare, the Bottle Rockets, the Essex Green, Britt Daniel of Spoon, Camera Obscura, Bob Pollard, Parts and Labor, the Bats, Au Revoir Simone, Howard Hello, Afrirampo, the Evangelicals, the Spinto Band, Electric Soft Parade

Saturday: Lavender Diamond, the Archie Bronson Outfit, Witch, Wooden Wand, The Mendoza Line, Tilly and the Wall, the Gossip, the Whigs, Apollo Sunshine, the Magic Numbers (acoustic), a very drunk Tralala, Boyskout, the Happy Flowers, the Stills, Tres Hombres