Monster week ... and Vampire Weekend

AUSTIN, TEXAS -- It started out 21 years ago as a way to showcase some regional talent and sell some beer and margaritas during a college town's spring break. By the time the South by Southwest Music Conference (SXSW) wound down Sunday morning, after four pandemonium-filled and sun-baked days, it had become a monster out of control -- in good and bad ways.

A picturesque town that prides itself on being green and clean, Austin looked something like the wrecked site of the Woodstock '99 festival by the fourth and final day. Remember: That's the Woodstock that was so overcrowded and trashed that fans eventually lit the place on fire.

About 1,700 invited bands -- plus maybe an equal amount of uninvited ones -- were hoping to ignite a buzz at the world's biggest music convention. Most played two or three showcases apiece, on up to the nine that Kimya Dawson offered.

"This thing has gotten so big that one show's not enough anymore," the "Juno" soundtrack star said before the third of her gigs.

Going hand in hand-stamped hand with the musicians, the city was inundated with 50,000 to 100,000 festivalgoers who believe there's no such thing as too much music. Or at least they believed that when SXSW kicked off Wednesday afternoon.

Still, even amid the human crush and the rampant corporate promotion that has invaded the fest -- companies hawking everything from detox drinks to cell-phone services to basically every hip-leaning website under the www.sun.com -- there was a strong-as-ever spirit of independence that gave meaning to the madness.

"We got signed today, but we've already been dropped tonight," joked Rico Dolce Riot, Brazilian-born singer of the quirky Los Angeles dance-punk band the Afrobots -- one of many bands that came to SXSW with no worries about the slumping state of the corporate record industry.

As for the bigger-name acts at SXSW, many of them emulated the fest's independent spirit in the form of widespread political expression. R.E.M. debuted a strong batch of seething songs featured on its new return-to-rock album, "Accelerate" (in stores April 1). And an all-star cast of singer/songwriters -- including Ben Harper, Billy Bragg, Serj Tankian and Dawson -- performed protest songs Thursday to promote the Phil Donahue-produced documentary "Body of War," its soundtrack and especially its cause (Iraqi vets against the war).

Then there was Van Morrison, who had his own issue to rail against in an otherwise sleepy set Wednesday night previewing his big-band swing album, "Keep It Simple" (also due April 1).

"As soon as you put away your mobile phone, we can get started," the Irish legend spewed to SXSW's Blackberry-armed industry crowd.

Here are some of the SXSW highlights and low points worth text-messaging home about:

Best overall showcase: Already a cult phenomenon, Kentucky sextet My Morning Jacket reached awe-inducing heights with its orchestrated guitar jams and a strong batch of new songs. Look out, Wilco -- this might be the best live band in America.

Biggest disappointment: Even before the fest, you could feel the backlash coming up quickly behind the buzz on Vampire Weekend, but its Friday afternoon set at the trend-barometric Spin magazine party came off as dull and one-note. Maybe if they had taken off their button-up, college-boy shirts in the heat they'd have sounded better.

Biggest loser: Going back to Robbie Williams, there always seems to be one U.K. star who flops at SXSW, and this year it was Duffy. Her cutesy soul music (that should be an oxymoron) was reminiscent of Joss Stone's 2003 debut here.

Second biggest loser: Hipster music bloggers. The influential sites such as PitchforkMedia and Stereogum have done well in the past two years getting the jump on quality artists, but this year their buzz bin produced many ho-hum acts, including Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire wannabes the Most Serene Republic, frilly Swedish tunesmith Jens Lekman and annoying sonic collagists Yeasayer. Meanwhile, the bloggers missed or downplayed a lot of great classic-sounding, straight-up (and untrendy) rock acts, including the Whigs, Howlin' Rain and Austin's White Denim.

Most valuable instrument: Violin. Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore and British Sea Power featured it heavily in their sets. DeVotchka had a magical pairing with the Tosca Stings. The violinist and cellist were about the only good thing about Lekman's set. And best of all, New York balladeer My Brightest Diamond (Shara Warden) dazzled with a four-piece chamber group.

Most valuable venues: Churches. Fest organizers somehow got the keys to two downtown holy houses. Never mind the great acoustics and intimate settings, those hard pews (the only seats in town) never felt so comfortable. Among the congregation of performers were M. Ward, My Brightest Diamond and Minnesota's Retribution Gospel Choir (not actually a gospel act).