Well DAMN that took a long time, but here you go – the best of my photos from SxSW 2006 and my final SxSW post for the year. I managed to shoot at least a bit of every show I saw, 50, if you’re keeping track. They’re divided into galleries for day and evening shows for each of the four days for ease of viewing and organization.

March 15, 2006 day shows
March 15, 2006 night shows
March 16, 2006 day shows
March 16, 2006 night shows
March 17, 2006 day shows
March 17, 2006 night shows
March 18, 2006 day shows
March 18, 2006 night shows

I had thought I was pretty well equipped, camera-wise, but man – after seeing some of the rigs the professional photographers were running with I feel like I’ve got a toy. But I think I still came out with some great shots, including the one above of Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater and Okkervil River. The stage lights in some of the clubs were beyond awful and to have gotten any results whatsoever should be considered a triumph. It was interesting working in so many different clubs and environments in such a short amount of time. Not really a lot of time to analyze and adjust for the new situation, just set to what seems most appropriate and go. I think I was the only one in Austin working with only ambient light – most others had an arsenal of flashes, gels, etc – but I’m pretty satisfied with the results and am happy to share them with you. And for more superb (professional) shots from the fest, go here.

Adam Radwanski kept a blog whilst in Austin as well as filing reports for The National Post.

The Grand Rapids Press discusses the difficulty of Googling The National with singer Matt Berninger and The Daily Northwestern profiles the band. I’ve selected my winners for my National contest in which I asked entrants to give their best interpretation of what the backing vocals in “Secret Meeting” are saying (hear the clip). The prize for funniest goes to Steve, who offered “Don’t chocolate ice it for us, No chocolate icing for it, don’t chocolate ice it, don’t chocolate ice it”. Most accurate guess (?) to Ron with “Don’t chalk an ace in for it,” and my random pick prize goes to Seth, who went with “don’t drop the dice (roll it)”, also entirely plausible. Congrats, guys. See you guys at the Horseshoe tomorrow night tonight.

The Radio Dept released their new single The Worst Taste In Music last week and while it’s great to have some new music from them, and the title track is superb, the fact that two of the three b-sides are remixes is more than a little disappointing. All their previous EPs had boasted terrific bonus tracks making them well worth owning on their own. This one? Not so much. Especially not since you can grab the title track from Labrador. Their new album Pet Grief is out April 12.

MP3: The Radio Dept – “The Worst Taste In Music”

The Boston Phoenix goes Q&A with Billy Bragg.

np – Film School / Film School