November 9, 2006

Remember The Alamo

Well, the last An Event Apart of the year has come to pass, and we are all back from Austin (just in time to vote). I’ve never been to Austin aside from during SXSW, and I must admit, it was odd to see the streets so empty. I walked out of our hotel and just sort of stood on the sidewalk looking in either direction, experiencing a sort of Omega Man moment. At dinner with SXSW’s Hugh Forrest on Saturday he alluded to this coming SXSW likely being even bigger than the last. Yikes. I imagine all the attendees will just morph together into one gigantic flesh blob and terrorize the downtown.

I managed to arrive a couple days early this time and had the pleasure of seeing The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari with live orchestral accompaniment at the Alamo Drafthouse (also the location of Monday’s AEA). I’ve never seen the film before, or an live performance of orchestral score for that matter, and both were captivating. Two Star Symphony’s score called to mind a bit of Godspeed You Black Emperor, and fit the film’s deep expressionistic visuals beautifully. The food at the Alamo completed the package as a wonderful blend of comfort food and nap-inducing splendor. And any place with a tabletop Ms. Pac-Man is alright by me.

The event on Monday went off with only few hitches, thanks in part to the helpful Alamo staff and the amazing crowd of attendees in Austin. As with any conference, there are always technical problems, but, the crowd just seemed to accept it and move on. Clearly, you should not mess with Texas. They will kill you with kindness.

Thanks very much to everyone who helped us out: Megan Rucker and Justin Perkins, as well as our fabulous guest speaker, Molly. And thanks to the crew from Knowbility for a very merry happy hour. As usual, photos from the event can be seen from the Flickr group.

We’ve learned a lot about running a conference in the past year. Stay tuned, the next An Event Apart will be in Boston next year from March 26-27. Eight great speakers and two amazing days! New presentations, with more time for Q & A, and um… new haircuts? We’ll see.

Commentary (10):

1. justin says… nov 9, 2006 | 11:36 am

It sure was a lot of fun, thanks to AEA for choosing Austin and The Alamo (anywhere else would have been boring).

2. Jonathan E says… nov 9, 2006 | 12:01 pm

Sounds like a good time Jason.

Boston’s next eh? Has any thought been given to bringing An Event Apart north of the border? Perhaps in Toronto sometime?

3. Jeff L says… nov 9, 2006 | 1:18 pm

Thanks for the heads up that it’s coming to Boston, I’m looking forward to it!

4. Matt O. says… nov 9, 2006 | 1:41 pm

Jason, it was a blast! I’m glad we got to hang out and shoot the bull for a minute. Thanks again for the positive feedback and general critiques on the Sarah Eckhardt site from the 4 of you. (It was pretty crazy seeing it up there on the big screen). Glad you had a good time in Austin and we’ll catch you again at SXSW. Keep us posted on the Happy Cog Philly front… sounds like good things are instore.

5. Jason Santa Maria says… nov 9, 2006 | 1:49 pm

Jonathan E:

Boston’s next eh? Has any thought been given to bringing An Event Apart north of the border? Perhaps in Toronto sometime?

There definitely has been some thought, though no city or dates have been decided upon. I believe it will happen, we just aren’t sure when :D

6. Drew says… nov 9, 2006 | 3:05 pm

Two points for using the phrase “flesh blob.”

7. greg says… nov 10, 2006 | 12:09 pm

any idea when you’re coming back to chicago? i’m looking forward to AEA 07…

8. Chris Lee says… nov 10, 2006 | 12:23 pm

This two star symphony band is great.

9. Shane Guymon says… nov 10, 2006 | 11:24 pm

I will be moving to Austin at the end of this month, I’m pretty excited, but very sad to leave my humble home of San Antonio…

10. xakep says… nov 17, 2006 | 11:53 pm

Thanks for the heads up that it’s coming to Boston