Reply #79: good points [View All]

[Gato Moteado]

yeah, i know there's antone's. and even one or two lesser known blues pubs east of I35. but that hardly makes a big blues scene. chicago, new york, memphis, kansas city...those are cities with real blues scenes. that said, some great blues artists do come out of texas once in a while (though probably not austin)...freddie king, albert collins (who actually moved to chicago). you mentioned b.b. king. he was actually born in mississippi and got his start on beale street in memphis. he plays all over the world now. i don't think texas can claim him.

sxsw is a great big festival. i actually like the film fest better than the music fest, although in the last 8 or 10 years the fest has gotten so crowded it's hard for me to enjoy either of the two. the music venues are jammed packed full of people and totally uncomfortable and smoky. there are a lot of bands that come into the city for the festival from all over the world...you're right about that.

and as for the natural places, it was the national parks that i thought were, in fact, the best things about texas. big bend is an awesome place.