Through the wondrous power of the internet you can still watch performances from the BBC Introducing Showcase now on their special SXSW homepage.

So what did we discover from all this? (other that Austin throws a good party). Which bands caught the eye and who will look back at SXSW 2008 as a turning point?

Over at The Music Slut superlatives were reserved for SXSW veteran Billy Bragg and his duet with Kate Nash, the frequently mentioned Lightspeed Champion, N.E.R.D and M. Ward's collaboration with My Morning Jacket's Jim James.

Stereogum have already completed a five artist strong hall of fame, which counts Londoners F**K Buttons at number one, along with Montreal's Islands, Los Angeles noise rockers HEALTH, Southend's These New Puritans and war paint lovers Man Man.

Torr went one better with six favourites, including MGMT’s appearance at our own BBC Introducing Showcase, along with sets from Melbourne’s Cut Copy, Castledoor, former Ambulance LTD members The Red Romance, The Republic Tigers and Nada Surf.

Finally Donewaiting have turned everything on its head and asked you for your SXSW picks. Answers on a post card (or comment form) to this post.

So what does this all mean? More cds to buy, more magazines to read and more gigs to go to. Well that can’t be a bad thing now can it? Hope we’ve helped you along the way. Think of us in six months time when you’re in the front row at The Dodos, Florence And The Machine or Frightened Rabbit.

See you next March…

Florence And The Machine at The BBC Introducing Showcase

“That,” he says, jabbing a chopstick towards the bar, “Is Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top....”

“Bloody hell, that's Billy Gibbons.”

After ten minutes of us individually pretending to go to the toilet so we could walk past him and have a proper look, one member of our party summons up the courage to speak to the great man.

And lo and behold, he turns out to be utterly charming.

“I thought you were from England” he comments (What was it that gave us away? The weak bladders?) before chatting about his extensive collection of guitars and cars, and explaining that no, ZZ Top are not playing this year, but he’s around to “soak up the atmosphere and check out some bands”.

Then (and this is the best bit) he asks how many of us are in our group - we say five - as he reaches into his pocket and whips out five pictures of himself, signs all of them, and gives them to us.

What a dude (in a real Big Lebowski way).*

From now on I’m going to carry around pictures of myself, then sign and give them to everyone that speaks to me. Even if it’s just in the supermarket.

Just so you know.

Matt

*Sadly, I can’t confirm that he was driving the red 1933 Ford 3-window coupé ZZ Top Hot Rod car that featured in a the videos for Sharp Dressed Man, Gimme All Your Lovin’ and Legs, cos we were to excited when we left to check the car park.

But I bet he was.

In a good way (streets flooded with people from all over the world, music everywhere and an air of excitement and lawlessness in the air) and also a slightly worrying way (everyone's smashed by lunchtime, there’s crusties playing interminably bad psych-rock on street corners and there’s an air of hot dogs and vomit in the air).

Also checked out Santogold. Who, as far as I’m concerned is proper skill and ace, but she failed to set the world alight. Too many slow songs for a festival set methinks. But don’t let that put you off checking her music out.

We watched MGMT again (good, but not the revelatory prog rock epiphany they were at the BBC Introducing night) before witnessing The Cribs in full Cribs mode (shambolic playing with no regard for personal safety but ace nonetheless).

After those good - but slightly predictable - shows, things got a bit more random, in a 'lets-just-have-a-few-beers-and-wander-into-random-venues-kinda' way. And the results were thus:

Bon Iver - Lovely folky acoustic stuff - With a beard.

Fleet Foxes - Gorgeous Crosby Stills & Nash outfit featuring mandolins and all manner of vocal harmony loveliness - With beards.

Old Time Relijun - Incredible mix of psychopathically loud Talking Heads b-sides, uber-low fi Violent Femmes and a saxophonist who looked like someone from Spandau Ballet. No disernable tunes at all, incomprehensible lyrics, and all the better for it (thought I saw Danni Minogue in the audience. Probably not her). With beards.

Telepathy - Massively cool, massively hip, massively disappointing - like watching an American Apparel advert while listening to a bad Kraftwerk covers band on Mogadon - No beards.

In fact, now i mention Telepathy, in terms of ‘festival buzz’, on Wednesday they were unknown, on Thursday they were one of the hottest bands you had to see, but after they played on Friday no one cared anymore.

Which begs the question, will they make a massive comeback on Saturday night?

And more to the point, while at SXSW is it possible to have an entire career (form, practise, play, hype, disband) in the space of just one week?

Anyway, I was also told to check out Kelly Stoltz and Herman Dune - but simply didn’t get time.

But, one of the best things that’s ever happened to me, like, ever, happened last night. So I’ll tell you about that in the next blog entry (cos this one’s gone on a little long and I need a drink).

Loving your work.

Matt

Next day I headed to the SxSW headquarters at the Austin Convention Center to try and get Official Permission to use my little camcorder at Official Events. The response was an absolute and stone-cold "no". So my next stop - the Music Trade Fair immediately behind the press office - had to be recorded with still photos, using my mobile phone. But take a look - it struck me as a fascinating reminder of the infrastructure musicians have to deal with behind the scenes just to get their work heard in the first place. Music is much more central to US culture (and Texan culture in particular) than it is in Britain. As a result there's a huge sector of support services for bands and songwriters that musicians back home can only dream of...