Toro Y Moi, Hype Hotel, March 16 – photo by Allison Smoler

For those laying around or flying from Austin, Monday pulled double-duty as “National Hangover Day”: not only did it mark the day after St. Patrick’s Day, but it also saw the end of 2013’s SXSW.

Whether that’s a point of sorrow or celebration depends on your perspective.

For the music fan, a look at the reams of flyers now clogging trash cans Austin-wide would suggest SXSW is a week of paradise. Where else can you can you catch the best up-and-coming bands, practically every festival headliner this summer and Prince in one week, and all within the same plot of walking distance? Nowhere.

Odds are, not even at SXSW.

That’s because most folks at SXSW for the music come armed with little else than a few RSVPs and a friend here or there working a venue or a showcase that may be able to grease the wheels. Depending on the showcase, RSVPs alone will let you see a fair share of good bands’if you’re willing and able to do so from noon to 5 p.m. After 5 p.m., if you don’t have any credentials, you’d better have friends in high places. Come nightfall, most venues turn their day crowds out and become exclusive to VIPs and SXSW badge and wristband holders. It’s also when most of the marquee bands play.

Not that that’s wrong, or should surprise anybody. Like any festival, SXSW costs money to produce, and in turn, to attend. But as the event has picked up steam, the number of fans that turn out to try and catch their week’s of free shows has followed suit. Those thinking they’ll catch every one on their wish-list should prepare for disillusion. (That goes quadruple for Prince fans.)

Instead, come to SXSW with an open mind, satisfied to see any music’let alone free’from any band that you happen across. Odds are, you’ll discover a mess of great bands you didn’t know about and come away a lot happier. To hear SXSW music veterans tell it, that’s the way it used to be anyways: a week of auditory exploration.

That’s the way it was for us. Throughout the week, we caught promising acts like Mac DeMarco, Caveman, Vietnam, Allah-Las, Robert DeLong, Foxes and Spindrift across the crowded streets of Austin.

Were you at SXSW this year? Tell us about your favorite shows in the comments section.