Yeah, SXSW is a cooked goose. I was there this year, for a night, though—it did feel toned down, so maybe the pirates have plundered enough to move on and let it feel cool again.
Portland and Austin have been those sister cities, tied by a highway of people going back and forth trying to catch that little piece of gold that really was the actual dream of the 90s: an untouched oasis. Like Athens, Georgia probably still is. No one ever says 'Keep Athens Weird'. At least that I know.
You should visit Austin, though. No one has a bad time there. And you can replay that Glorium song, full volume with your wife again, as you head this time o one of the great Austin dive bars; some still exist!
One day I'll hit Portland and maybe you can show me where they are, I love a good dive.
I always wanted to go to SXSW, but when I returned to the States in 2007 with no family in Portland, our kids were too young for us to split town to enjoy a festival. When we became empty-nesters in 2018, we started to look into it. My wife now has an ex-colleague who has since moved there, but my god, the costs are disgusting (for SXSW), and it seems to have succumbed to the predatory profiteers and corporations.
There are striking similarities between Portland and Austin. We used to have the Northwest Music Fest (NWMF) which was so cool, I saw so many great bands in various tiny bars throughout the city. But once people realized there was money to make, it all fell apart.
We had very groovy Art events in the city that were so unhinged they reminded me of the parking lot at a Grateful Dead show. But our lame mayor at the time stopped it and then reintroduced it, and now it is a watered-down, blah-blah-blah, no-fun, and shallow version of what it once was.
And, the whole "Keep Austin Weird" is a slogan here in Portland too (Keep Portland Weird), it is emblazoned on the exterior back wall of a dive bar and venue in a grimy part of downtown. Stickers and t-shirts sold in record stores with the slogan. It's been here since we moved here, but Portland's weirdness really changed when 'Portlandia' marketed the idea of a city where artsy, indie, weirdness lives. People who were not creative wanted to live near creatives moved here in en-masse, driving prices up, bringing the exact problems they had left their old cities for to Portland. Ironically it forced many creatives out as Portland is now significantly more expensive to rent or buy than it was back in 2007, let alone the 1990s.
Once a city believes its own hype that is always the sign of the remora becoming the shark (I love that analogy, btw!). That said, I still like it, and it has been home for 17 years. In 45 minutes to an hour's drive, I can literally be in geographical paradise. But I sometimes yearn for that unhinged, creative, and weird old Portland we originally moved to.
And, one day, I will make it to Austin. It's definitely on the radar.
Cheers also for the tune, which for its 3'30 minutes at top volume, sandblasted the 2024 gentrified Portland's remora from my brain. My wife and I are now ready to grab a couple drinks at one of our favorite old-school Portland dive bars! 😎
Yeah, SXSW is a cooked goose. I was there this year, for a night, though—it did feel toned down, so maybe the pirates have plundered enough to move on and let it feel cool again.
Portland and Austin have been those sister cities, tied by a highway of people going back and forth trying to catch that little piece of gold that really was the actual dream of the 90s: an untouched oasis. Like Athens, Georgia probably still is. No one ever says 'Keep Athens Weird'. At least that I know.
You should visit Austin, though. No one has a bad time there. And you can replay that Glorium song, full volume with your wife again, as you head this time o one of the great Austin dive bars; some still exist!
One day I'll hit Portland and maybe you can show me where they are, I love a good dive.
I always wanted to go to SXSW, but when I returned to the States in 2007 with no family in Portland, our kids were too young for us to split town to enjoy a festival. When we became empty-nesters in 2018, we started to look into it. My wife now has an ex-colleague who has since moved there, but my god, the costs are disgusting (for SXSW), and it seems to have succumbed to the predatory profiteers and corporations.
There are striking similarities between Portland and Austin. We used to have the Northwest Music Fest (NWMF) which was so cool, I saw so many great bands in various tiny bars throughout the city. But once people realized there was money to make, it all fell apart.
We had very groovy Art events in the city that were so unhinged they reminded me of the parking lot at a Grateful Dead show. But our lame mayor at the time stopped it and then reintroduced it, and now it is a watered-down, blah-blah-blah, no-fun, and shallow version of what it once was.
And, the whole "Keep Austin Weird" is a slogan here in Portland too (Keep Portland Weird), it is emblazoned on the exterior back wall of a dive bar and venue in a grimy part of downtown. Stickers and t-shirts sold in record stores with the slogan. It's been here since we moved here, but Portland's weirdness really changed when 'Portlandia' marketed the idea of a city where artsy, indie, weirdness lives. People who were not creative wanted to live near creatives moved here in en-masse, driving prices up, bringing the exact problems they had left their old cities for to Portland. Ironically it forced many creatives out as Portland is now significantly more expensive to rent or buy than it was back in 2007, let alone the 1990s.
Once a city believes its own hype that is always the sign of the remora becoming the shark (I love that analogy, btw!). That said, I still like it, and it has been home for 17 years. In 45 minutes to an hour's drive, I can literally be in geographical paradise. But I sometimes yearn for that unhinged, creative, and weird old Portland we originally moved to.
And, one day, I will make it to Austin. It's definitely on the radar.
Cheers also for the tune, which for its 3'30 minutes at top volume, sandblasted the 2024 gentrified Portland's remora from my brain. My wife and I are now ready to grab a couple drinks at one of our favorite old-school Portland dive bars! 😎