South By Southwest Music and Media Conference

Austin, Texas - Scheduling and sound-system snafus turned the promising events lined up for Saturday into a day of disappointments.

Hideout party co-organizer Tim Tutten seemed to be doing an excellent job of keeping things running smoothly as the wisecracking host of the Chicago club's annual afternoon affair at Pok e Jo's BBQ. But the over-ambitious artist lineup, including just about every band that ever passed through the Windy City, meant frequent stage gear switches. So even with severely trimmed performance times it was soon running behind schedule.

The restaurant's back lot was a sea of ironically worn metal T-shirts and trucker caps when Neko Case stepped forward to join Calexico's Joey Burns and John Convertino for her only appearance during the music fest.

The just-rolled-out-of-bed look she reserves for non-paying gigs, combined with the delays, left a number of people wondering if it was really Neko Case they were seeing. Even the dude standing next to me who'd been building her up to a buddy as "this gorgeous chick with long, thick red hair" had to reserve judgment until he had a closer look.

Case acquitted herself magnificently, though, summoning up a hair-raising version of Deep Red Bells as a closer. MTV's Carson Daly - conspicuously decked out in a shiny new leather jacket and oversized celebrity shades - sashayed backstage for a quick thumbs-up before splitting with his SXSW swag-toting manservant stumbling behind.

There were bigger scheduling problems at the Saturday hiphop showcase held off the 6th Avenue strip at Zero Degrees. I figured if I arrived 20 minutes late to see fast-rising Vancouver MC Josh Martinez, he'd be just getting started. As it turned out, the Auditrons, who were supposed to be hosting the night, decided to perform an unscheduled 45-minute set of their own music at around midnight which pushed everything back an hour.

Where were the SXSW officials? Nowhere in sight. Martinez was clearly unhappy about getting shafted when he turned up at 1:30 am, but he channelled his rage into a furious 15-minute set, backed by Scratch Bastard, that turned the place upside down. Don't miss Martinez when he comes to the Gypsy Co-op March 27.

Also missing in action was the soundperson at Emo's Annex for the highly anticipated Erase Errata disco-punk extravaganza. After two songs with no vocals coming through the PA or monitors, singer/trumpeter Jenny Hoysten urged the tech star to fix the problem, but when they tore into their third jerky ESG-style number, Hoysten's screeching was still inaudible to anyone past the front row.

Next, she tried a visual suggestion by holding the microphone over her head and unplugging it, in hopes of clarifying her message, but that didn't work either. They continued instrumentally. I moved on.

There had been rumours of surprise gigs all week long. Roky Erickson surfaced momentarily but didn't perform, Turbonegro was a no show, but Spinal Tap? It seemed plausible since Michael McKean and Harry Shearer were spotted in town for the SXSW Film Festival premiere of their new Guffmanesque folk music spoof A Mighty Wind (due in theatres April 16) and a "special guests" slot was listed at Stubbs between the Coral and Supergrass, but the Polyphonic Spree were the big surprise.

Earlier in the evening I'd witnessed the awesome spectacle of the Polyphonic Spree, a 25-piece "choral symphonic pop band" in white flowing gowns cheerily singing sweet/sinister tunes of celebration, good times and er... soldier girls under the leadership of Tripping Daisy's Tim DeLaughter. As the Spree slowly and orderly filed onstage to take up their various brass and stringed instruments, an elderly Austin hombre nodded knowingly to his buddy, "They gotta be from Dallas." Funnily enough, they are!