I'm heading to the great town of Austin, Texas, for the sprawling South by Southwest festival. Aside from an appearance at a panel discussion — They Used to Call It Classical, on March 16 — my duties will be mainly of a spousal nature, as Gayby, the feature-film directorial debut of my husband, Jonathan Lisecki, is having its premiere at SXSW, screening in the narrative competition. Needless to say, we're tremendously excited by this turn of events; the film has already received some flattering attention from Indiewire, the Hollywood Reporter, and the Austin Chronicle. There will be several off-topic posts as the week proceeds, but I'll try to bend an ear to some of the purely musical events. I want to hear the fascinating Nicolas Jaar at the Pitchfork Showcase, for example, not to mention the keynote address by Bruce Springsteen, who, I hear, will examine twelve-tone octatonicism in the music of Foghat.
