Saturday Night is technically the last night of SXSW. But it's also the night that many of the conference attendees head home, and a second guard of music fans arrive. The vibe changes some what: it's more of a party atmosphere and less of a serious music atmosphere.

Since we were busy packing up all the webcasting gear (that didn't work) and making a last mad dash to hand out SomaFM stickers, we only got to do a couple things, including crashing the SoundExchange party and catching Oppenheimer at Emo's, but missed seeing a few other people we wanted to see.

You see, that's the big problem with SXSW: you can't see everyone you want to see. Sets are short - usually under 45 minutes; and you end rushing between venues to try and catch people while they're still on.

Of course, Elise's approach is to just spend most of the time at Emo's and Emo's Annex, where many of the best bands play. Merin's approach is to just wander around from venue to venue and see what music calls out to you. (She caught a show by Why? this way; while I planned ahead to see Why? but ended up getting there right as they went off stage.)

One thing that's impressive is how punctual most performances are. My suggestion is to get the printed SXSW Music Pocket Guide, mark it up with the artists you like, and carry it with you at all times. Don't rely on accessing schedules over the internet, or on your mobile phone - it's much too slow.

There are over 50 official and unofficial venues. Just understand that you're not going to see everyone you want to see. Allow for some serendipity, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised by who you discover.

PS- We really didn't crash the SoundExchange party; John Simpson and Mike Huppe invited us. (I'll report more on what's going on with the SoundExchange negotiations next week.)