SXSW 2014: The Essentials

As another edition of South By South West descends upon Austin, Texas we welcome you back to our yearly practical guide to the essentials. From the gear you’ll need to keep you on top of your game, to where to find the best eats, what to do in-between parties, how to get around, the coolest apps to download on your smartphone and more we’ve got everything to help maximise your experience in downtown Austin this coming week. Of course we’ve also got a few words of wisdom to keep in mind as you head into one crazy week of music and partying, you lucky things.

Be sure to follow @BestFitMusic on Twitter for live coverage and photo galleries recapping all of the glory of SXSW from the previous days. So without further ado, we bring you our 2014 SXSW Essentials Guide.

The Gear

Photograph by Sébastien Dehesdin

Reserve External Battery
We promise you will need this no matter how few snapchats you send

Earplugs
Your ears will thank you.

Coconut Water
Whatever hangover remedy you think works, you’re wrong. Staying hydrated is the best way to avoid hangovers, headaches, hunger, and not dying. Coconut water actually hydrates better than any other fluid on the planet due to it’s massive amounts of potassium and electrolytes, your body will thank you.

Mini Emergency Kits for Him & Mini Emergency Kits for Her
Includes travel must-haves in a case the size of a deck of cards to toss in your bag: lip balm, dental floss, breath freshener, hairspray, nail polish remover, emery board, stain remover, mending kit, safety pin, extra buttons, earring backs, clear elastics, deodorant towelette, pain reliever, tampon, and an adhesive bandage.

B100 Vitamins
This complex vitamin made up of mostly B6, B12, Thiamin and Folic Acid is what celebrities get shots of when they have to perform but are feeling like shit. It’s great for sluggish mornings, sobering you up if you got drunk too quickly, and just feeling on top of your game. These are our lifeline.

Face and Body Spray Sunscreen:
Liquid makes a mess + you already put makeup and clothes on. Sunscreen wears off after a few hours in most cases, use this handy spray on your face and exposed body parts after a few hours in the sun. You don’t even have to rub that shit in!

Lara Bars:
Partied too hard last night and missed all the free breakfast tacos this morning? Good thing you packed a snack! Available at just about every grocery and drugstore in America, vegan and gluten free, come in flavors like Cherry Pie and Peanut Butter & Jelly, and they surprisingly don’t taste like bark.

Streetwise Austin Map:
Austin isn’t that big, but when filled with thousands of festival goers, pop-up tents set up everywhere, spotty wifi, and events spread out all over the city, it’s easy to get lost and miss your party/show entirely. No matter how direction savvy you are/gps apps you have on your phone, a map is always a good thing to carry during a festival of this size. Plus this guy is laminated and in 3-D!

Flask:
As much as they say all the booze at SX is free, well that’s only half true. Plus how many Sweet Tea Vodka’s can you drink before you feeling like you might barf? Save yourself the energy and your lunch and get saucy on your 20 minute walk to the venue. There are liquor stores conveniently located just about everywhere to ensure you can refuel throughout the day.

Comfortable Shoes
We’re not going to tell you what shoes to wear but just know Austin is mostly dirt, not to mention the thousands of people littering (yeah we’re sad too) in the streets, and just the sheer amount of walking you end up doing. Don’t be that asshole in heels/flip flops that has to buy shoes there.

Sunglasses
Unless you like walking around all day scowling at the sun and working on your frown lines.

Water
It is surrounded by desert.

Layers
It can get pretty cold at night.

I.D
Just about every venue will ID you, regardless of badge, wristband or wrinkles.

Cash
A lot of places don’t accept plastic.

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The Food

The Trailers

For the best SouthBites has to offer, head to Zagat for some choice picks.

The Eats Pinterest also offers some salivating tips

Freebies

For up to the minute free food tips follow South By Free Noms on twitter.

The Restaurants

Austin Eater has you covered.

The Booze

Photograph by Sébastien Dehesdin

Favourite Watering Holes

Bill Murray showed up at Shangri-La (1016 E 6th St) last year unannounced to play guest bartender at the indoor/outdoor eastside space. Stubb’s BBQ (801 Red River) offers great texas bbq at a cool and somewhat intimate music venue. Club De Ville (900 Red River St) is a two story indoor/outdoor space with lots of sitting areas, plus you can watch shows from the roof! Lustre Pearl (97 Rainey Street) has a permanent food truck parked out back and a great outdoor space with hula hoops and ping pong tables. The Side Bar (602 E 7th St) is a favorite among Austin locals, play foosball or pool, or chill out on the back patio while sipping cheap drinks. ND @ 501 Studios (501 N IH-35) the mid-sized music venue space and bar also includes a second smaller bar within the venue, where your favorite artists like to hang after their set. There’s also a shower in the women’s restroom.

Free Booze

The Fader Fort at 1101 E. 5th Street. RSVP here.

The Hype Hotel at 505 East 7th St. RSVP here.

Spotify House at 901 E 6th St. RSVP here.

The Austin Chronicle at The Liberty 1618 1/2 East 6th St. RSVP here.

Follow RSVP For Your Life on Twitter

Follow Free SXSW on Twitter

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Transport

Hail A Cab App: The app available for all smartphones finds cabs for you in real time and track your cab’s location to give you an accurate ETA.
Chevy at SXSW: Cute girls will pick you up and take you wherever you like, including one of their Recharge Lounges to ensure your gadgets are ready for action + scan for a chance to win VIP Upgrades and access to private SXSW events, all courtesy of Chevrolet.
Tito’s Vodka: Tito’s Handmade Vodka is providing free rides all week. The trolley will run along a set Downtown route from March 9-18. Drinks featuring Tito’s award-winning vodka will not be served on the rides, but each trolley stop will have recognizable signs at select Downtown destinations. Follow the trolley’s progress using the hashtag #titosbus
Uber Cab: The mobile app allows you to request transportation (at SXSW pedicabs and taxis) at the touch of a button. If you’re a first time users lots of parties are offering discount codes off your first ride.
Shuttle Buses: If your hotel is on a shuttle bus route outside of downtown, make sure you get outside the convention centre at least half an hour before the last one runs, which this year will be 3am. The last one is always packed and if you miss it, you can pretty much guarantee your walking back or staying out till the next one runs at 9am because this late at night, finding a taxi is nigh on impossible.

For information about Austin’s Public Transport system, head here.

In Between Events

Waterloo Records: Austin’s legendary record shop (600 N Lamar Blvd) sits right in the center of it all, with a huge selection of rare vinyl, plus during SXSW they host free and open to the public shows with the hottest acts every day, it’s an essential stop when you’re in Austin.
Find New Roads Lounge: Located in the Austin Convention Center, the FNR Lounge provides consumers a chance to recharge their devices and imagination, as well as opportunities to meet and mingle with their peers.

There’s also all those bars, restaurants and food trucks we’ve been talking about.

Queues

From Stubbs to The Beauty Bar there will be queues, they’re unavoidable, particularly after around 9pm. If you want to keep them to a minimum find a showcase or two that you like and maybe stick them out for the night. If it’s an act you really want to see, and they are not playing in your city anytime soon, waiting a substantial amout of time to get into the showcase/party they are playing is worth it, but you will have to get down there early. If you can’t get into see the headline act or buzz band you want to – suck it up, go see something you haven’t even heard of, most bands play more than once over the course of the week. If you’re going for free food and/or booze but the lineup isn’t that enticing, skip it. There are a million better ways to spend your very precious time and most bands play at least five showcases so you can go see them tomorrow.

SXXpress: Perhaps the festivals best kept secret is that EVERY single day music badge holders can go and get a SXXpress (skip the queue) pass from the top floor of the Conference Centre. These aren’t exactly advertised but they’re not hidden either. These are one use, one venue only. So if there is a headline band you just absolutely have to see, it is well worth grabbing one of these in the morning so you will be given priority entrance later in the day. They are limited, so the earlier you can get hold of one the better. Obviously when venues are one-in, one-out you still have to wait but they can be the difference between getting in or not. There are queues for people who have skip the queue passes.

Parties known for having long queues: Under The Radar, Paste, Fader Fort, Filter Magazine, Hype Hotel – you have been warned.

To ensure you’re sanity and FOMO (fear of missing out) are in check, we suggest picking eight to ten acts you feel you must absolutely see, and beyond that, kind of just go with the flow. No matter how organized and scheduled your days are, you will 100% miss shows and events you had planned on attending. IT’S OKAY. Music discovery at SXSW is a magical thing if you allow yourself to let it happen. And most importantly, have a blast!

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Apps

Instagram: We love to overshare. Why not do it with #hashtags and photoshop.
Avoid Humans: Tells you how to avoid the crowds. It’s powered by a Foursquare engine, so it gathers check-ins from places in your proximity—specifically bars, restaurants, coffee shops and then gives you a handy red, yellow, or green light.
Snapchat: Show your friends at home how much fun you’re having without them.
GroupMe App: (Available for all Smartphones)
Lost your room key? Can’t find your friends? Just made out with Twin Shadow in a hotel bathroom? There’s free Jameson and BBQ at the Paste party? Stay connected with your entire group of friends with this smartphone app. Making memories and staying connected in real time has never been more fun.
Sched: A handy unofficial schedule of SXSW panels, parties and events, including where to find free booze, free food and free swag, that is categorized and can be imported from google docs.
Scan App: Scan all those cool QR codes posted around Austin, you can even take pictures and scan the QR codes later for registration check ins, confirmations and more.
Uber Cab
Hail A Cab App
Austin Food Carts

Twitter Feeds and Hashtags

People that have nothing better to do than keep you up to the minute on surprise performances, free food and booze, celebrity sightings and secret parties in super secret locations (a la Myspace).
@sxswpartyzzzzz: The Huffington Post’s associate blog editor hosts this Twitter. The ultimate insider with a hilarious sense of humor
@CameronAtSXSW: He posts unofficial SXSW parties, showcases, news, rumors + more
@RSVPster: They RSVP you to unofficial SXSW parties & events + party updates
@SXSWParty: Updated by Journalist turned coder for Spotify, Andrew Mager, they track all of the parties at SXSW
@SXSWPartyList: SXSW party updates like long lines, free booze + more
#Southbites: Follow for delicious updates from the best food carts, SXSW specials + more

Be sure to follow @BestFitMusic on Twitter for live coverage and daily diaries recapping all of the glory of SXSW from the previous days.