I am all about music and concerts. Let me introduce you to my world.



Tuesday, March 20, 2012

South By So What 2012

     South By So What is an annual music festival hosted by Third String Productions with several stages and several different bands. This year there were three stages and over 60 bands. It was certainly a day that everyone can remember.

     The main stage was sponsored by Southwest Kia with the opening band being Indirection, a local Dallas band, and the headlining act being Asking Alexandria. The Southwest Kia stage was the biggest and most active stage. Several bands performed and a good portion of the audience stayed glued to the hardcore metal bands that resonated body surfing, circle pit music through out the crowd. There were several moments that people will never forget, the front man of Blessthefall climbing singing upside down from one of the towers, Motionless in White's circle pit that was the largest mosh pit of the evening, Blessthefall's body surfing high fives, Asking Alexandria's get your ass on the stage moment, and all the incredible performances that each and every single band put on. I personally spent a good portion of the day at this stage.

     The Aquarius stage probably has the most memorable moment of this event. The sound at this stage by the end of the evening was terrible, but despite the technical difficulties, the bands on this stage put on one hell of a show. No one can forget the drummer in hot pink speedos or how each and every band still tried their hardest to put on the best performance they could under the circumstances. The headlining act was Sleeping With Sirens who performed a partial acoustic set due to the sound issues. These bands did an amazing job and my respect goes out to them for not giving up. My only real complaint was how long it was taking to get each band set up.

     The third stage was the Plug Your Holes stage, these bands also performed amazingly and the crowd enjoyed this punk/pop stage that was different from the metal core music that other two stages were offering. Two metal core stages with a ton of bands that the crowd loved, kudos to Third String Productions. Offering something different to the audience who may not be into that kind of music by providing a punk/pop stage... well that is just priceless.

     This festival was one of the hottest events going down on St. Patrick's Day and it welcomed over 5,000 people. South By So What also used this event as a way to get food donations and to raise money for hungry children, and I don't mean those starving kids in Africa we see pm the television all the time. Thirds String Productions offered a meet and greet for six of the bands if your brought non perishables and donated twenty dollars to feed hungry children and families right here in Dallas Texas. This one tiny charity fund raiser earned Third String Productions the respect of many people.

     Another shout out goes out to Third String Productions for the prices they offered for food and drinks. It may not have been a dollar menu but it certainly wasn't a baseball game either. The prices were fairly decent for this being hosted in a baseball park. The vendors and sponsors also offered a wide variety of merchandise ranging from body jewelery all the way down to how to become a vegan and why.

     South By So What is a growing event, there are several ways I personally think it could have been better. The Aquarius Stage should have had a back up plan along with all the other stages, if the cost is too much find a local company who can sponsor or donate extra equipment for small little incidents as the one that occurred. The stage was already running behind, so stopping to fix the problem instead of continuing with the complaints would have been worth it. That or already have a second set up and on standby as a "just in case" measure. Merchandise issues, offering just t-shirts from a majority of the vendors was rather depressing. I spent some time looking at band merchandise and vendor merchandise.

     When it came to the apparel there was a horrible selection and event shirts were not even offered unless you purchased them prior to the event. Remember people, girl like shorts and most of all, they also like panties! Investing in panties, especially the bands, would raise profits significantly. Another apparel complaint, offer something other than a bracelet. Necklaces with band names and logos are a great way to increase profit, a guitar pick on a chain with the bands logo, this would offer a wider variety and as I have attended almost 500 concerts I have seen what giving a wider selection of merchandise can do for profits.

     The band selection was phenomenal, no complaints there. I certainly did hear a lot of people discussing more bands that would make this festival even bigger and better. Greeley Estates, Darkside of Daylight, The Used, The Acacia Strain, Testament, HIM (Yes someone said HIM don't bash, all time favorite band), Sevendust, Serosia, Deception of a Ghost, and several other bands ranging from underground hardcore, a genre I call electrocore (Electronic Hardcore), all the way to mainstream.

     All together this festival is one you should never consider missing. If you like metal music or just to go out and have a good time this is an event to look forward to year after year. Who can beat twelve full hours of non-stop music and moshing if that's your thing.