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AUSTIN -- As it celebrates
its 20th anniversary, the South by Southwest Music Conference -- the music
industry's version of the Sundance and Cannes film festivals combined -- is
experiencing its biggest year ever, with more than 10,000 artists,
journalists and industry insiders and 1,300 musical acts descending on this
Texas capital.
Plenty of people are grousing that SXSW has finally grown too big. But I
started hearing that complaint when I first attended the festival in 1992.
Then as now, the people
who whine about the size of the festival tend to be the ones waiting on line
to see the most-hyped acts -- topping this year's list: the Arctic Monkeys
-- instead of sampling any of the thousands of immensely talented but
yet-to-be-discovered unknowns.
Four nights of showcase
gigs started Wednesday at 50 venues throughout the city, while the
conference itself kicked off in earnest at 10:30 a.m. Thursday with keynote
speaker Neil Young, the legendary maverick who has been phenomenally
successful while stubbornly maintaining his individualism and independence
-- just like SXSW itself.
Young echoed Bob Dylan
when he said he has no idea how he writes his best songs, they just arrive.
"I try not to think
about it; the more you think about it, the worse you get. Coming up on the
essence of creativity is like approaching a caged animal and trying not to
scare it -- if I get too close, this thing is going to run away from me."
The keynote was set up
as a joint interview, with journalist Jaan Uhelszki questioning Young and
filmmaker Jonathan Demme, who directed the recent concert movie "Heart of
Gold." But the overflowing crowd -- the largest I've seen at any of the
dozen SXSW keynotes I've covered -- clearly were most enthusiastic about
hearing from Young and Young alone.
The singer and
songwriter was at his frankest and most passionate while musing upon the
critical drubbing he received during his "Greendale" tour, when he was
attacked for concentrating on that 2003 concept album and ignoring his most
famous hits.
"When I read in USA
Today that I was ripping off the audience because I wasn't doing the songs I
was expected to do, I felt, 'Great, I'm on to something,' " Young said with
a wry smile.
Whenever a promoter
calls to suggest that he do a "Neil Young's Greatest Hits Tour," the artist
said he hangs up. "I only feel validated and like I can do old songs because
I'm still moving forward."
Young hinted at where
he'll be going next, after the quiet beauty of last year's "Prairie Wind,"
when he said he's been yearning for the "transcendence through noise"
provided by Crazy Horse. "But if I played like Crazy Horse every tour, I'd
be dead," he cracked.
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