Watch out, South by Southwest. There's a new music fest on tap this weekend right here in the Twin Cities called the Indoor Indie Music Fest 2011, and if organizers' dreams of grandeur come true, it could unseat the 25th annual SXSW to become the new hotbed of hipsterdom each year.
More power to them, I say. Because let's face it, all those cool taco trucks and barbecue joints in SXSW's lame slacker city of Austin, Texas, are no match for the MOA's Orange Julius stand and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. And all those cool old clubs once haunted by the Butthole Surfers and Roky Erickson are no match for the rotunda where Miley Cyrus and Joan Rivers once stopped by to schlep their goods. And last year's SXSW-ending mega-shindig with Kanye West and Jay-Z at a historic vacant power plant will be no match for the party those dudes could put on in one of the empty sports-bar spaces on the mall's fourth floor.
OK, that's probably enough poking fun. The brainchild of the fledgling www.IndieMusicChannel.com, the Indoor Indie Music Fest (IIMF?) seems to have its heart in the right place supporting young new talent. And between the heat and the economy, some free air-conditioned live music is not a bad option of entertainment over the weekend. I've yet to recognize a name among any of the performers, including a local guy being touted by organizers, Cities 97-style singer Justyn Dow. They also are trumpeting Disney Channel-style Dallas starlet ZoeAnn. The live music sets kick off Friday night following a 7 p.m. "summit" and continue Saturday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. They will be spread out over five stages, including the aforementioned Best Buy Rotunda and more in the Macy's Court, Nickelodeon Universe and Sky Deck Sports Grille (one of the few bars still open on the fourth floor).
