I remember joking about making a LOCAL badge in 2008. Finally someone really did it—good work, kids, good work. Click here to print the thing out, find out what the QR code says, and more.

Three more Local-y things this week for SXSW:

1. Local Band Achachay! Plays a Billion Venues

Thurs March 15th: Northeast by Southwest House Party @ 1180 Sol Wilson Ave (78702) 1-6 P (Free Beer and BBQ!)
Thurs March 15th: Townhouse, 10P
Fri March 16th: EchoCloud Unoffical SXSW Showcase, Hole in the Wall, 1A
Sat March 17th: Thirsty Planet Brewery St. Patty’s Day Party, 11A-2P
Sat March 17th: Betsy’s Bar, 10:30P

This is my baby bro’s band, go check them out amidst your busy SX music sched!

2. University of Texas’s student-run radio station showcases

3. Whole Foods Tunes

Friday, March 16:
O.N.E. Coconut Water Presents Live Music @ Whole Foods Market downtown (Lamar/6th) on a “O.N.E. of a KIND” stage, 3p–11p featuring The Cringe, Warner Drive, The Parlotones, Diane Birch, Imagine Dragons, The Chevin, The Silent Comedy, Standing Shadows and special guests—rumor has it Semi-Precious Weapons just confirmed.

Saturday, March 17:
Thrillcall Presents Live Music @ Whole Foods Market downtown (Lamar/6th) on a “O.N.E. of a KIND” stage, Noon–11p featuring Metro Station, Rachael Yamagata, Quiet Company, Graffiti6, Allen Stone, OK Sweetheart, Ume, Dead Sara, Retro Stefson, The Ettes, Loquat, Tommy Brunett, Native June, Brad Standley and the Foxflies and special guests.

Sponsors (free stuff): O.N.E. Coconut Water, KIND snack bars, Late July Organic Snacks, Duvel Belgian Beer, LaPan’s Food, Pirate’s Booty, House of Marley headphones, Logitech and UE earphones, Kala ukuleles, Propellerhead/Reason software, Seagate, TC Electronic

More: SouthwestInvasion.com

Bonus event: Not quite local but everyone still wants to go

Or will charging for his infamous party ruin demand for Perez Hilton’s ONE NIGHT IN AUSTIN?

Austin Music Hall / Saturday, March 17, 8p-2a.

“Music is the answer!” says Hilton. “For the first time ever, I am going to be selling tickets to my annual SXSW event! These tickets will GUARANTEE entrance to what is always the hottest party in all of Austin. This year, I have decided to donate all of the money raised through ticket sales to The VH1 Save The Music Foundation. It combines two things I am passionate about – music and inspiring youth. I can’t wait!”

Headliners will be revealed on PerezHilton.com day by day. The event will feature a Miami Oasis pop-up lounge from the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, as March marks their inaugural Miami Film Month. Official water sponsor FIJI Water will host a complimentary live screen printing bar where attendees can choose from one of four limited edition tee shirt designs. Guests will also be able to experience SOUL by Ludacris headphones in their dedicated onsite listening lounge.

So for the first time in FIVE years, I’m not going to SXSW. And much to my surprise, when I let the people and PR companies throwing the parties and events surrounding SXSW interactive, film, and music know that I won’t be in town for it this year, the vast majority have e-sighed and said something along the lines of wishing they weren’t going to be in town either.

We are so jaded, Austinites.

Rambling aside, many of you will be in town, and even if you aren’t going big (which I cannot even pretend to recommend anymore, it’s beyond exhausting), below are six things you should probably take a look at …

1. Daytime Party List

Since I won’t be compiling the massive spreadsheet I have in the past, you NEED the 2012 SXSW Daytime Party List from Sperry Media. This is the first draft, a final will be published next week. I cannot stress enough, if you might possibly maybe be thinking about possibly hitting up a party, RSVP RSVP RSVP. And RSVP again. Except not really, just make sure you RSVP once.

Alternatively, Do512 has a SXSW take over on their always-happening website and you can:

• RSVP for all the free parties. No badges needed. Film. Interactive. Music.
• Check out thousands of bands. Discover, watch, listen. Find out everywhere they’re playing that week.
• Build a custom schedule after browsing through thousands of panels, parties, showcases, and other events.
• Sign up for the Do512 Daily Top Picks emails to get the top 10 parties of the day delivered to your inbox.

2. Check out the new stuff, like a work collab

Texenza Coffee shop (4th and Congress) during South by Southwest is turning into a great place to collaborate and work. They’ll be giving away free breakfast, lunch, coffee, and drinks to anyone who stops by. March 9-13 from 9a-7p. You probably have actual work to get done, so stop by and do it while networking your face off.

3. Check out the old standbys, like the Four Seasons’ morning acoustic music showcases

Four Seasons Hotel Austin and KUT-FM 90.5 are once again teaming up for early-morning music. Wednesday, March 14 through Saturday, March 17, $10 gets you a breakfast taco and unlimited coffee, while the money goes to Austin’s Seton Shivers Cancer Center at Brackenridge Hospital. New this year, The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Austin will offer complimentary hand massages and mini-facials throughout each day’s event. The music schedule (each artist performs a 30-minute set):

•Wednesday, March 14 (7 – 11am) – Lost in the Trees, Grace Woodroofe, M. Ward, Cotton Mather
•Thursday, March 15 (7 – 11am) –  Kat Edmonson, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Jimmy Cliff, Punch Brothers
•Friday, March 16 (7 – 11am) – Ruthie Foster, Motopony, James Mercer, Trampled by Turtles, Nneka
•Saturday, March 17 (8am – 12noon) – Sons of Fathers, Glen Hansard, Justin Townes Earle, Nada Surf

4. Another app

You will go into new app overload during SXSW, but the good news is that the cream will rise to the top and the rest will simply get deleted (though somehow apps are never really deleted, but I digress). One possibility for widespread adoption is a new geosocial service called glomper. The mobile-and-web app ties together check-ins and sharing across already active social platforms facebook, twitter, instagram, foursquare, etc. but is strongly event-focused—so it’s more about partying. You can see all the events nearby by type/date and you will be able to share your plans to visit them before they start and then to check-in when you arrive.

Launch event Mar. 11 from 3-7p, at the Launch787 next to Moonshine. Free but you need to RSVP: glomper.eventbrite.com

5. Spa getaway in town(ish)

Lakeway Resort and Spa on Lake Travis is 18 miles northwest of downtown Austin. They’ve got events all week for families, but even if you’re not staying there, you can get away and enjoy the Hill Country Festival with live music and kids activities on March 10th and 11th at 3p or a St. Patrick’s Day Beer Garden + entertainment on March 17th at 6p. The spa at the resort has also put together the San Saba Spa Delight, a 50-minute signature facial and a traditional manicure for $148 to rejuvenate during or after your SXSW adventures. Post-SXSW, refresh with a nightly rate of $125 for March 18 – March 22 only. Promo code is SPRING.

6. Three rules to live by

I posted 11 SXSW Rules last year, but let’s face it, there are really only three important rules: (1) drink a thousand times more water than you think you need to, (2) wear your sunscreen unless it’s raining which it might be, and (3) relax—there’s no way you will ever make it to everything, so enjoy what you’re doing and forget about the rest.

If you’re lucky enough to be attending, you’ve likely already checked out foodandwine.com/classic, but I find the website confusing and not all that interesting. Better to download the free app and follow the hashtag #fwclassic on twitter throughout the weekend for the REAL news. If you’re not attending, no worries, the town is abuzz with crazy energy, and you’re likely to spot some serious starpower … last year I saw Giada de Laurentiis heading up the Gondola and Mario Batali with his fam at Bruno’s. It’s a blast, tickets or no.

Also note that the Saturday Market starts up this Saturday, so there’s tons of local merchants and farmers selling their goods, and it’s a great place to wander enjoying the Aspen sunshine.

Second, they use local artisan coffee company Cuvee.

Cuvee roasts coffee daily and delivers it directly to companies like Patika, ensuring an amazing quality coffee. YUM!

When I worked downtown, I remember wishing there was a great local coffeeshop option. This truck answers my call! The fellas at Patika were super friendly, which was really nice given that it was the middle of SXSW and I’m sure they were exhausted.

Hit it up: patikacoffee.com

I found that this year, the interactive portion of the festival was less about meeting people and making connections and more about partying—which, it’s worth noting, is usually how I feel about the music portion. But it’s a bummer of a shift when you’re interested in the interactive bit. It was the first year I’d ever said, maybe I should have bought a badge for interactive.

Like it or not, this year was definitely a tipping point. What will next year be like?

The music portion was as party-rific as ever, with major players in town this year … another sign the fest is bigger than ever. I didn’t attend film, but heavyweights were out and about; and music brought some of the biggest names in the biz to our fair city. The biggest:

Daytime:

The Alternative Apparel Lounge: Moby, Duran Duran, Duff McKagan, Linda Perry, American Idol runner-up Crystal Bowersox, Dirty Vegas, Bowling for Soup, and Jamie Burke.

Express Clothing Lounge: Chromeo, Skylar Grey (duetted with Enimem at Grammys), B.o.B, Jamie Burke and Diplo. I also sneakily got my hair cut here by the fabulous Vinnie of Proper Barbers LA, my “brother.”

Fast Company Lounge: Just wanted to point out that marketing works. I snagged a free copy of Fast Company magazine, which I’d never read, read it, loved it, and subscribed. So there.

Nighttime:

Red Bull Thre3style DJs: Z-Trip, DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ QBert, Switch, Mick Boogie, DJ M-Squared and D-JR, and De La Soul. Surprise guest LL Cool J, who hasn’t performed live in years as he pursues an acting career, rocked and proved he’s still got it. LOVE! I snapped this pic from the pit:

Perez Hilton’s One Night in Austin: What used to be the biggest party in town brought Kids of 88, Oh Land, Zowie, The Pretty Reckless (yep, that’s Gossip Girl Taylor Momsen’s band), Selah Sue, Liz Phair, DJ MNDR, Dirty Vegas, Frankmusik, NERVO, Mia Moretti and Caitlin Moe.

Vevo at Seaholm: By far, the talk of the town was the Vevo Party at Seaholm Power Plant, which was impossible to get into but if you did, you would see Kanye, Jay-Z, John Legend, Kid Cudi, Mos Def, Pusha T, Fonzworth Bentley, and Bon Iver singer Justin Vernon. Kanye performed more than he has in quite some time, though he didn’t take the stage til 2:30am. Diddy and Beyonce were reportedly in the audience, as were Brooklyn Decker and Andy Roddick.

With those names here for music, SXSW has tipped from indie fest to commercial giant. Rap isn’t indie, kids.

All-Inclusive Hotel & Indie Day Party: Travaasa Austin + StyleCaster

Travaasa Austin is a new destination hotel in Austin overlooking Lake Travis in the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve and debuting mid-April. For the sneak SXSW preview, Travaasa Austin partners with StyleCaster for Hit The Lights, March 17-20, with exclusive accommodations and packages and an outdoor bash at Cheer Up Charlie’s on the east side on March 19 with an all-star Indie lineup that includes Dan Deacon, Pains of Being Pure at Heart as well as Heavy Hawaii, Diamond Rings, Dirty Beaches, Writer and Manhattan Murder Mystery. Sponsored by Wonderful Pistachios and Sigg.

The rooms include locally-sourced organic breakfast and free shuttles between downtown Austin and the Travaasa Austin hotel on Friday and Saturday to provide easy transportation for hotel guests andconcert attendees. Single occupancy is $249, double $299. To book (a perfect last minute choice!), call (855) 868.7282 or visit www.stylecaster.com/sxsw/vip.

Beatles Complete on Ukelele

Remember this marathon from last year? It’s SO Austin. At SXSJ on Wednesday, March 16^th from noon to 6pm, stop by to see tons of artists performing the full 185-song Beatles catalog … the main reason I’m posting this is because one of the Beatle-crooning musicians is the group Bowling for Soup (“Mexican food sucks north of here anyways”), which is so freshman year of college. Others include Drew Smith, Amy Cook, Ben Kweller, and more.

Friends Play SXSW: Jones Street Station

Support my friend’s friend’s older brother’s band:

New Late-Night Bites: Haddingtons

You can be certain you’ll hear more about the most amazing burger I had at Second Bar & Kitchen the other night, late, but like 9pm late not like 1am late. For the 1am and on crowd, Haddingtons is having a limited SXSW late-night menu now through March 19, 11pm to 2am. The menu includes the infamous Toasted Pots; Bleu Burger with caramelized onions & blue cheese; Fish & Chips with celeriac remoulade; Roasted Lamb Sandwich with arugula, red onions & mint aioli; TLT Sandwich smoked sun-dried tomatoes & brun-ustoo cheese. Valet parking during SXSW 5pm to 2:30am.

More Hotel Love: The Omni

All week through March 15, the hotel is offering its guests an Early Riser Bar, 6-9am with complimentary breakfast tacos and Bloody Mary Bar. There’s a late night menu too, from 11p to close, with breakfast and burgers, whichever tickles your fancy. Guests, you already know they greeted you with a pretty sweet swag bag…

App: The “Pandora of Social Restaurant Recommendations”?

Obviously there are tons and tons and tons of apps being released right now, so sorting through them is kind of a madhouse. But Grubster promises to help you choose not only the restaurant but what to order (though I never liked that specificity) in a Pandora-style fashion. If it works, it’ll be awesome.

The iPhone app is currently available in the App Store here, and the website grubthis.com functions the same way as the iPhone app.

Phew! So there are six more things about SXSW. Does your brain hurt yet?

2. See a SXSW Film. It’s cheap and worth waiting in line to see big name premieres.

3. SXSW Music exhausts me. The easiest thing to do is wander the streets, people watch, and pop into the occasional bar for a free bevvie.

4. Drink lots of water. Way more than you think you need. If it’s after 7pm, you need to be going 1:1 with booze.

5. RSVP to every single party you mightpossiblymaybeI’llthinkaboutitletyouknow attend.

6. Get on twitter, foursquare, gowalla, where, track, your momma’s app, whatever. Get with the technology, it’s how you’ll find out about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING cool.

7. Wear sunscreen.

8. Eat. A lot. We have awesome food. Take advantage.

9. Sleep. 8 hours is preferable. Even if you go to bed at 4am, you can be up by noon. Trust me, you need sleep.

10. Call a cab, walk, or bike. Don’t be an idiot with drinking.

11. Chill out. This doesn’t mean take a yoga class, this means you need to relax and enjoy the madness that is SXSW. If you get your proverbial panties in a wad over a long line, rude bouncer, NYC skinny-jean-wearing smoker, whatever, you are only ruining the fest for yourself.

Joining founder Matt Timms as guest judge is last year’s Austin bacon queen and my fave cooking vlogger EVER Hilah Johnson, who wowed the crowd with Bacon Chocolate Strips and her homemade bacon dress (she did it before Gaga?!)!

Prizes for contestants include Hormel^® Black Label^® bacon and other cooking-related items, AND a random audience member and taster will be selected to receive free Hormel^® Black Label^® bacon and other prizes!

Sunday, March 13, 3-5 pm, Emo’s Austin

$10 to taste and judge all the bacon entries (that’s 20 of ‘em!) OR ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!

Giveaway: Win a Pair of Tix to the Bacon Takedown!!

How? Leave a comment with your fave part of SXSW. Can be an event in the past, present, or future, an experience, an artist, whatever you want. What’s your fave??

Leave a comment by 10p CST tonight, Wednesday night, and winner will be chosen by random generator OR funniness, whichever I feel like at 10:01 CST.

[WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT!] Congrats to Sandra Fab, who won TWO tix to the Bacon Throwdown! If you didn’t win, tix are only $10 each so I hope to see you there!

Savage craic (pronounced “crack”) is an Irish expression meaning a great time out with friends. Fadó’s weeklong St. Patrick’s Day party kicks off Wednesday, March 9, with St. Patrick’s Day-themed trivia. There’s a Friday night dance party, then on Saturday, March 12, a St. Patrick’s Day parade to benefit the nonprofit St. Baldricks Foundation, a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising pediatric cancer research.

Wednesday, March 16, Fadó will host an all-day live music showcase from 11am to 8pm before the big day. On Thursday, March 17, the city closes down Fourth Street so Fadó can set up a massive outdoor tent, complete with a beer garden and performance stage, directly in front of the pub. Doors open at 6am, with the street festival beginning at noon. For the rest of the day and into the night, Fadó will treat Austin to two stages of live music.

Y’all know I make a lot of lists about my fave places in Austin. Now there’s a new list-tastic app called WHERE that is currently ranked at the number 1 navigation app on the iTunes store and is getting over 40,000 downloads a day! They conveniently launched just before SXSW … are they the next Gowalla/Foursquare/dare I say it twitter?

Not sure, but you can check out my list (and other awesome Austin bloggers) by clicking (w)here: sxsw.where.com/friends.html or downloading the free app!

Note: Don’t worry, my spreadsheet of free parties is coming soon …