Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at South by Southwest 2012 (Original photo Getty Images/Michael Buckner)
By Matt Cohen, Benjamin R. Freed, and Valerie Paschall
Mayor Vince Gray is taking a little trip down to Texas this weekend to join all the cool kids at South by Southwest. Who knew the mayor was such an avid watcher of what’s about to break in music and film?
Actually, Gray is headed to Austin for SXSW’s Interactive conference, where he plans to stump for D.C.’s growing technology sector. Gray first mentioned the trip during his State of the District address last month, saying he plans to meet with tech entrepreneurs and journalists flocking to the annual industry conclave.
Of course, South by Southwest isn’t just about the newest trends in technology and media. It’s also the place to see the next potential breakout bands and advance screenings of some of the year’s most anticipated movies. Yes, SXSW Interactive runs a week before the music and film conferences, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still offer Gray some travel tips for Austin, including some advice that, if followed, will make it feel as though D.C. is not that far away.
FOOD TRUCKS: It’s no secret that the District continues to grapple with what to do with the growing number of mobile restaurants. Where should they be allowed to conduct business? How closely should they be regulated? But, the most important questions about any city’s food truck scene are: How many truck are there? And are they any good? Well, if Gray is up for some food trucking, he’ll find that Austin has even more options than D.C. constantly swelling industry. He should go to the taco trucks with the intent on judging them. (Although those taco trucks are probably better than D.C.’s.) We’d win on pizza options though. Death Metal Pizza, while awesome in name, delivers pies that rival the worst jumbo slices.
MUSIC: Just because you’re 1,500 miles away from home, one can still enjoy the best of D.C.’s music scene. DCist music editor Valerie Paschall and local concert promoter Sasha Lord are challenging some of their Texan counterparts to a D.C. vs. Austin showcase at Side Bar next Friday. Among the bands representing D.C. are Dance for the Dying, Shark Week, America Hearts, and Kid Congo Powers and the Pink Monkey Birds. Also, did we mention it’s being programmed by the music editor of the Gray administration’s favorite hyperlocal news website?
BLUEBRAIN: Bluebrain, the experimental pop project of Ryan and Hays Holladay, is well known for its location-aware albums for the National Mall and Central Park, but they also have one for downtown Austin. If the tech-savvy mayor wants to enjoy some of D.C.’s most cutting-edge art, he would do well to download The Violet Crown, Bluebrain’s 2012 iPhone app that plays the band’s signature distorted symphonies as the user strolls around the Texas capital.
GROHL: OK, so Dave Grohl grew up in Springfield, Va., but that’s still reasonably close. The Foo Fighters frontman is giving the keynote address at South by Southwest this year, and Gray could represent the Capital Region proudly by showing up to Grohl’s speech. And besides, even for a suburban kid, Grohl’s District bona fides are well-earned for his four-year stint as the drummer in Scream.
FILM: Even if it’s impossible to get a movie filmed in D.C., the mayor occasionally likes to pepper his speeches and interviews with Hollywood references. Well, there’s a lot to be discussed at this year’s film conference, especially by way of classic films being remade and the much-buzzed titles that didn’t get in. A revamped take on Evil Dead is set to make its world premiere this weekend, and even though Sam Raimi, director of the original, has given the remake his blessing, a lot of die-hard fans are strapping the metaphorical boomstick to their forearms in agony. Meanwhile, the most important film of 2013—Paul Schrader’s The Canyons—didn’t even make it in. Do these films have anything to do with Washington? Well, no. But it’s important to keep up with the zeitgeist.
