The following post was written by Leon Alesi, an Austin based photographer, music enthusiast, and all-around good dude.

SXSW is a terrific indicator of Austin’s popularity. When I first arrived here in 1993, it was a small event that took place in a defined number of places for 3 days. SXSW 2010 seemingly took over every square foot of usable space in the downtown Austin area for a week. For the first time this year, parking garages were employed as music venues, open fields held free daytime events and it seemed as if the whole world had descended upon our small city. My biggest revelation this year was that in the Facebook age, there are no secrets. While in years past you could saunter over to a free daytime event, hang out, drink free beer, and catch a killer band (i.e. Yo La Tango) with a minimal crowd, this year the line was around the block trying to get into an already full capacity show.

But SXSW is still a joy to behold. It’s a unique event where the entire city is the venue for the festival. It’s unlike other festivals where you are relegated to one place and stuck behind a fence to endure the crowds, expensive lame food, and the camp-chair hippies. SXSW is a more civilized space where you are allowed to roam freely, hear a little bit of this, some of that, duck into a bar for a drink, and soak up as much or as little as you want.

Here are some photos I took documenting what I saw:

Raphael Saabiq, Austin Music Hall

Mr. Smokey Robinson, Austin Music Hall

“My Girl,” “You’ve Really Got a Hold On Me,” ” The Tracks of My Tears,” “The Tears Of A Clown, “I Second That Emotion,” “Going To a Go-Go,” etc. Smokey just kept layin’ them on us, along with stories about Motown, Stevie Wonder, et al.  I’ll likely never see a show like this again.  His style of showmanship is almost dead.

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Stubbs

Dillinger Escape Plan, Emo’s

With so many things happening at SXSW, it is fun just to jump into the unknown and see what you get. With D.E.P., this meant an old school hardcore show replete with stage dives, beer flying and screaming choruses.

Buskers

This shot of two Buskers playing in an alley is probably my favorite of the whole festival. It symbolizes for me what SXSW was like before Metallica, Cheap Trick and other rock behemoths started invading along with the unsigned bands.

Big Star, “The Last Dance,” Antone’s

The show I was most excited about this year was Big Star. Unfortunately, Alex Chilton passed three days before the event was to take place. Instead of the proposed Big Star gig, the band took the opportunity to turn the show into a tribute to Alex with various vocalists coming in to take a turn in Alex’s place. Mike Mills, John Doe, Chris Stamey, Evan Dando, M. Ward, the Watson Sisters, Kurt Kirkwood, etc., all took a stab at a different tune. This turned out to be a very moving and emotional evening.

Hearing these songs performed for the last time really drove home the meaning they held for me. These were the songs that shaped my youth and now they, like my youth, are a little more removed.