Rather than try to explain to you what this is all about, I am just going to direct you here.  While it may sound lilke a great idea, what it means for us is that come a few years from now, we may be SHUT DOWN!

But there is something you can do.  From John Wickham, the owner of Elysium and my benevolent master:

"This is the survey for the City of Austin about the plan for Red River in 2012. This is the LAST CHANCE for public comment. All surveys must be in by May 31st. Please suffer through and fill out the survey, and if you know anyone else who enjoys any bars/bands on Red River, please send it to them as well.

The first part covers your interest in the Red River/Waller Creek area, then your choice of what should be done in different areas along Waller Creek/Red River, then lastly the comment section.

Please fill out the survey.

Red River Survey / http://www. ci. austin. tx. us/wallercreek/survey. cfm

Thanks,

John Wickham
Elysium
President Red River District"

Please do what you can to help save us!

Thanks
~Julie~

So, I just (finally) grabbed all the photos Princess Mary took for us at the Steampunk Ball and posted them.  Go take a look if you haven't seen them yet.

As I was doing so, I thought how cool it would be to have a ton more photos representing Elysium antics, theme night or not.  So any of you camera happy people out there that have fun pictures taken at our establishment, please, send them my way!    And I know they're out there; I browse through your profiles on occasion.  Be sure and tell me who took them so I can give due credit.  Also be aware that they might also show up on the official website, once we ever get it set up so that I can put pictures on it myself.  (Yes, I freely admit that I don't know enough html to do it the way we have it set up currently.)

Anyways, yeah!  Thanks!
~Julie~

Alright.  I warned everyone that this schedule might change, and so it has.  Alas, Freezepop and Radio 4 are no longer going to be gracing our stage, but here is the new line-up:

Wednesday, March 12th:

SXSW Day 1: Starcleaner

The Dicks (Austin, TX) 1 AM
Shootin' Pains(Austin, TX) 12 AM
The Slits (London, UK) 11 PM
The Reaction (San Francisco, CA) 10:15 PM
This Bike is a Pipe Bomb (Pensacola, FL) 9:45 PM
Shellshag (Brooklyn, NY) 9:15 PM
Tulsa (San Francisco, CA) 8:45 PM
Kreamy 'Lectric Santa  (San Francisco, CA) 8:15 PM
Songs for Moms (San Francisco, CA) 7:45 PM

Thursday, March 13th:

SXSW Day 2:  Ninja Tune/Counter

TheDeathSet (Baltimore, MD)  1 AM
Ghislain Poirier (Montreal, QC)  11:30 PM
Megasoid (Montreal, QC)  10 PM
Yppah (Houston, TX)  9 PM
The Heavy (Noid, UK)  8 PM

Friday, March 14th:

SXSW Day 3:  Japan Nite!

Ketchup Mania (Tokyo, Japan)  1 AM
Petty Booka (Tokyo, Japan)  12 AM
Detroit7 (Tokyo, Japan)  11 PM
Quartz-head 02 (Tokyo, Japan)  10 PM
Avengers in Sci-Fi (Tokyo, Japan)  9 PM
Sodopp (Kagoshima, Japan)  8 PM

Saturday, March 15th:

SXSW Day 4: Japan Nite 2!

The Pillows (Tokyo, Japan) 1 AM
The Emeralds (Yokohama, Japan) 12 AM
Damage (Osaka, Japan) 11 PM
Toddle (Tokyo, Japan) 10 PM
KbN (Taipei, Taiwan) 9 PM
Maki Rinka (Osaka, Japan) 8 PM

And of course, here is the main SXSW 2008 link: http://2008.sxsw.com/music/ where you can find information on purchasing badges and/or wristbands, and possibly keep up with any further updates that I don't catch in time to post first.  Also, don't hesitate to check out the Q & A for any other questions you might want answered or need to ask!

Thanks so much, my dears!
~Julie~

Update:  They are posted now!  In case y'all hadn't already noticed.  ; )

So, I have the Valentine's Day photos, but it's going to take me a few days to get them all up.  If anyone doesn't want their VD photos posted (heheheh), please let me know, and we'll figure out a way to get them sent to you privately.

For the record, I was just going to throw them all up without doing any editing, but my uploader is acting cranky.  Hopefully it won't take me too long to do it the old fashioned way!

A special thanks to Mocha Latte for taking all the photos, and thanks to all of you!
~Julie~

Yes, this is basically a repost of the Q & A I did last year, with a couple of changes, so you may wanna give it a reread...

The official dates for us are Wednesday, March 12th thru Saturday, March 16th, though the film festival begins on the 7th.  I think.

Mr. Wickham does have a tentative schedule with the list of bands, unfortunately, we are not at liberty to post it before Southby themselves put up theirs.  I will say *cough-Freezepop-ahem*.

In the meantime, here are the usual questions...

Q:  How can I get advance tickets for [insert artist name here]?

A:  There are no advanced ticket sales per se.  The only way to guarantee entry to any show is to purchase a badge or wristband from here, and even then you have to beat capacity.  But, if you show up early enough, and there is still room after all those flashy laminates and sparkly wristbands slide in, then you may pay a cover charge to enter the venue for the evening.  Southby sets this charge, and we don't usually find out what it will be until the day of the show.  In the past this cover has run anywhere from $10 to $25, but I wouldn't be at all suprised if they've gone up, so be ye forewarned.  Oh, and early means 1 to 2 hours before when [insert name here] is supposed to start.

Q:  How old do you have to be to get in?

A:  21 & up only.  Sorry, no exceptions.  Something about some law or something.

Q: How does one get to play a show at SXSW?

A: SXSW books and schedules all the bands during their showcases.  I know it involves some lengthy application, and also that it's already too late to try to get in this year.  But if you would like to give it a shot in 2009, you can try and find more info here:  http://2008.sxsw.com/music/festival/apply_to_showcase/.  Currently this page has a little paragraph stating that the deadline for submitting has passed, but I imagine once this year's festival is over, it will redirect you to the place to apply for next year.  On that note, I would be absolutely delighted if any bands I know that have applied in the past would tell us a little bit about the experience, in order to give future applicants an idea of what to expect.  ATXU, can any of y'all help me out?
          Also, even if you don't get into the official showcase, many clubs around town offer non-Southby affiliated day shows.  I can't say if we have any planned this year as of yet, or if Mr. Wickham intends to do any at all, as SXSW is always so hectic even without the addition of day shows.  And I don't want everyone to go and start bugging him either.  Just be aware that there are possibilites, if you'd like to research them further.

Q:  ...Okay I can't think of anymore specific questions just yet, but I'll add them as they come up.  I did want to say this for our regulars:  Southby rocks, but it also gets a little crazy, especially for your beloved Elysian staff.  A lot of you are going to want to attend some of these shows, and we are going to do everything we can to make that possible, but it is going to be a little different than what you're used to.  For one thing, there will be someone else's smiling face to greet you at the door, as Southby has their own people for even that.  For another, as I mentioned before, you may have to be prepared to shell out a little cash.  But just remember the showing up early thing (yes, probably before 11pm, freakin' vampires) and you'll probably be good to go.  I hope so.  I will miss you guys if I don't see you for a week!

If anyone has any other questions they'd like answered feel free to message me or reply to this blog, and I'll do my best to satisfy your curiosity.

Take care, y'all,
~Julie~

For the record, my dears, we still have no information as to which artists we will be showcasing for Southby this year.  I promise that I'll post the info as soon as I get it!

I'm guessing it will probably be within the next week or so, but I can't make any promises.  In the meantime feel free to go back and read this blog to answer any other questions you may have concerning SXSW 2008.  Sorry it's from last year.  When I have a little more time later, I'll post an updated version.  : )

Thanks, everybody!
~Julie~

Why didn't anyone tell me my background was broken?  I mean, that little frog is cute and all, but...  Oh, well, it's fixed now.

So, while I have you here, Master Wickham wishes me to encourage you to go vote in the "Austin Chronicle 'We're Cooler Than You'.. errr.. Reader's Poll..." (as a very good friend of mine so eloquently put it.)  So, if you haven't done so already, GO VOTE!

We'd love to take "Best Live Music Venue," not to mention see some of our friends take "Best Industrial/Goth Performing Band."  Of course we're not gonna tell you who to vote for, but if you need some suggestions, there's Chant, subNatural, The Holocaust Humanity, Lucid Dementia, Tungsten Coil, Hipnautica (who are also a good pick for "Best Experimental and/or World Music, by the way), and Hollow.  (Sorry if I've forgotten anyone.  We have sooooo many good bands that play at Elysium)  I'm also gonna throw out One-Eyed Doll for "Best Rock" and Kimberly Freeman or Guymon Adams for "Best Acoustic."

Oh, and let's not forget our DJs.  I'm sure Pumpkin Spice, Void, the Gothfather, Edminister, or Boba Fett would love the attention.  So go on and vote.  You don't even have to live here to do it!  Hurry though, the deadline is this Thursday the 31st!!!

By the way, good luck to all the contenders.  I really really hope I get to see some of my friends win it again this year!

On a completely different note, if you haven't stopped by to see our upcoming events lately, you should do it right now!  We have some really good shows coming up sooner and later, and tickets are already on sale for most of them!  At least, the ones we are selling tickets for...

Okay, I'll leave y'all to it.
Love to all!
~Julie~

P.S.  - Yeah, it's silly, but I really want this flyer to win best concert poster.  The artist is Ritch N. and he did an amazing job on it.  That's his own original artwork and everything.  Maybe I just have a thing for cute little evil bears.  : )  And if I can talk enough of you into voting for it, it just might have a chance!  Do it or I'll use my evil psychic powers on you to make you bust your ass on the dance floor.  Mwahahaha!  (There's also this version, which I think Ritch himself prefers, but since you vote based on the event it's advertising, it doesn't really matter.)  Okay, I'm done!

"set 1



01. Fractured-Cold Eyes

02. Neuroactive-Play

03. Faderhead-Naughty H

04. Virtual Embrace-Virtual Embrace

05. Essex-Undercover

06. Cryo-Does It Hurt?

07. Edge of Dawn-Beauty Lies Within

08. The Retrosic-Ground Zero

09. NCC-Progress

10. Faderhead-Burning/Dancing

11. Noisuf X-Hit Me Hard

12. Slok-Lonely Child

13. Lights of Euphoria-White Wall

14. Mind in a Box-Amnesia

15. And One-Hardware Conflict

16. Fairlight Children-Before You Came Along

17. Wumpscut-The Fall

18. Edge of Dawn-Black Heart

19. Faderhead-Dirty Girls/Dirty Bois



set 2



01. Faderhead-The Beat Has Started

02. Imperative Reaction-Never Ending

03. Beborn Beton-Spawn

04. Iris-Vacant

05. Wolfsheim-Heroin She Said

06. Mind in a Box-Lament For Lost Dreams

07. Covenant-Brave New World



set 3 (the songs I had no time to play but had pulled)



01. And One-Stand The Pain

02. Dismantled-Get It Through

03. Grendel-Hate This

04. Iamx-Kiss and Swallow

05. System 22-Cherry

06. Mind in a Box-Change

07. Seabound-Scorch the Ground

08. Non Plus Ultra-Alice D

09. Neuroticfish-Why Don't You Hate Me?

10. Backlash-Unconsciously Astray

11. Fektion Fekler-Generations

12. Rabia Sorda-Save Me From My Course

13. Cleaner-Solaris

14. Deine Lakaien-Into My Arms

15. Destroid-Forever

16. Colony 5-She's a Planet

17. Razed in Black-Lie to Me

18. Electric Six-Gay Bar



Good times! Tonight was fantastic! I am posting my setlist including what I didn't get to play as so many people expressed an interest in what I was playing tonight. (that and napkins and what have you tend to get lost/washed/etc.)"

-Edminister

If you read the previous blog, you know what I'm talking about.  That was suprisingly speedy.

Now I have work to do.

Hugs,
~Julie~