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My time in Austin at South By Southwest is coming to a close, and I’m in the airport waiting for my plane. It’s been a absolutely wonderful experience, and I am very happy that I got to see so much great music and catch up with some friends. Partly to experiment with the medium and partly for fun, I kept a live blog of my four days in Austin. You can check it out here. Here are a few specific memorable moments off the top of my head:

-Interviewing Jon Langford and Rosie Flores. Jon talked about his art, his perspective on technology, and kissed me on the cheek.

-Caitlin Rose at Doc’s Motorworks. She said she had been out drinking until 5am the night before, but she sounded excellent.

-Being blown away by Max Tundra. After talking with him, it was a whole different experience to see him spazzing around the stage and whipping between instruments to play his prog-y electronic pop.

-Seeing Devo. I hadn’t planned on trying to check them out, but I was near the Austin Music Hall and the line didn’t seem too long, so I went for it. It was worth it. They are older nerds now, but they are still Devo. Mark Mothersbaugh as Booji Boy singing “Beautiful World” topped off the show, and he threw a bunch of bouncy balls into the audience, two of which I snagged.

-Hanging out with my friends in the Invisible Hand after seeing them play at the Peacock Lounge.

-Heading down to the Lamar Pedestrian Bridge (from which I took the above photo) last night , where each year some bands play in the middle of the Colorado River with the help of a generator. I didn’t stay too long, but it was cool to see the scene, and it seems Vivian Girls played there a bit later. A bit of proof that SXSW is about a lot more than official showcases.

It’s pretty hard to describe the full extent of SXSW. There’s a magical enthusiasm constantly in the air, and it manifests itself in the music that you hear blaring from every street corner. That atmosphere makes for something much more than just the list of bands you check out. It hits you in the gut and the heart, and it’s the reason I hope that I will get to come back to Austin each spring for years to come.