I'm going to have to start a support group for Austinites -- I'm talking real Austinites -- who don't like these pseudo-festivals coming through town. Hell, next year I might even host an AASX (Austinites Against South By) party.

I'll go ahead and fill in those of you who just happened to waltz into the city within the last five years or so. SXSW was originally a spin-off of the Austin Battle of the Bands and eventually morphed into what was supposed to be an industry gathering. Read that again: industry gathering.

A handful of showcase artists -- again, emphasis on showcase -- would come to our city, gain exposure, play their shows, and then, as I like to say, GTFO. Perhaps a few record labels would send their reps down here to check them out and maybe even some serious music fans would travel for the event, but at the end of the day, SXSW was a quiet affair that up until three or four years ago, really didn't seem to affect the day-to-day lives of Austinites.

What SXSW was not supposed to be was a bunch of guitar-strumming jam bands being crammed into the back rooms of restaurants and hotels, charging cover or asking for the elusive wristbands/badges (who the hell keeps up with the wristband/badge hierarchy anyway?). When you have over 1400 artists vying for attention over the span of four days and several hundred venues, you kind of lose the meaning and weight of the word "showcase." The only show I actually wanted to go to (Ingrid Michaelson & Sara Bareilles, two fantastic female piano player/singer-songwriters who played at The Parish on Thursday night) didn't even let you buy tickets -- you had to have a wristband or badge. Why? I have no idea. And frankly, once I realized that, I didn't care to go anymore.

SXSW may be a huge economy booster but it has lost its roots. The industry feel of the festival went by the way of thousands of tourists coming to town for the sole purpose of buying cowboy boots and strolling the streets, throwing their hot dog wrappers on the ground, drinking to excess, monopolizing restaurants, bars and cabs, and generally crippling the already stymied flow of pedestrian & vehicle traffic.

I don't like the people it brings to town and I don't like the all-encompassing, love-thy-fellow-smelly-beer-stained-neighbor, asshole to elbow faux-quality scene it begs to create. Quality music can be found any night in Austin -- and most of the time, for free and with more accessibility than the shows at SXSW. Good films roll through here so often I hardly pay attention anymore. Industry parties are a dime a dozen if you know where to look.

And if you're just there for the free booze, trying to pick up a warm Miller High Life where you can because you RSVPed a week in advance, then you've got the very essence of what SXSW was supposed to be completely wrong.

Jesus, if you want a free drink just stand around J. Black's long enough looking bored. I guarantee you'll get your money's worth -- and you don't need a wristband.