Well here's that hot water heater with legs again, Robogeek, this time with a series of recommendations for those of you embarking on the adventure known as SXSW... Personally this begins today for me, and I can't wait. I'm giddy, I love film festivals. And this one is a doozy... I would add to the mix, DESERT BLUE and ABILENE and ZACARIAH FARTED... but that's me. Anyways.... Here's Robo...

Greetings, citizens!

Well, it's that time of year again. Ol' SXSW takes over Austin for Spring
Break week, and well, a funny thing happens. See, as soon as it starts, I
generally can't wait for it to be over. But as soon as it's over, I can't
wait for it to come back again next year. It's the vicious cycle of a
festival addict.

As usual, the AICN gang will be out and about, covering the fest to the best
of our abilities, and pointing you towards things we deem worthy of your
attention. But I wanted to get a jump-start on that today by spotlighting
what is, for me, _the_ primo event of the fest this year -- the one I am
looking forward to above all others, the one I wouldn't miss for anything.

It's not a film. It's not a band. It's not a panel. It's not a party. It's a
man named Speed.

Last fall, I was blown away -- as many people were -- by an extraordinary
documentary called "The Ride." In fact, I rated it in my Top Three
Documentary Films of 1998. It also just won the International Forum Jury
Prize at the Berlin Film Festival. In a nutshell, it follows virtuoso NYC
tour guide Speed Levitch on a mind-blowing journey through his beloved
Manhattan on a double-decker bus. Since the film's release, he's had
unforgettable appearances on the Tonight Show, Late Night, and the Today
Show. You get the feeling there's something not quite right with this guy --
but it's not something you want to fix.

Next week he'll be performing his new monologue, "The Moments Take Up My
Day" (also titled "Never Lust Quietly!"), Monday through Wednesday, March
15-18, at 10:30 pm, at Austin's Frontera @ Hyde Park Theater. It's only $8
($4 if you have a SXSW badge or wristband), and is selling very quickly.

As far as I can ascertain, the piece is best described as follows: It's
something analogous to Heinriche Heine's "Diechterliebe" -- a song cycle
formed of autonomous songs that sing to each other. However, the "songs" are
stories, three-to-fifteen minutes long, about Speed's first love, The
Russian Tempest, the slavic woman Speed trained as a tour guide on the
double-decker-bus and with whom he went on to collaborate in a "Doctor
Zhivago" romance along the tour route. All the stories are
loosely structured, leaving room for improvisational riffs and discussions
with the audience about life. The stories eventually land Speed in prison.
(His jail term was mentioned in the film, "The Cruise," but without
specifics.) The performance monologue will discuss the incarceration in
detail and conclude that life is a series of opportunities for
celebration...

In other words, it's going to be really, really cool.

Don't just take my word for it. Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" called
Speed "a one man counter-culture," while the Village Voice called him "the
guy Woody Allen can only dream of being." His new book, "Speed's New York: A
Guide To Life" will be published this fall.

The opportunity to see this guy perform live -- in the magically intimate
Hyde Park Theater, no less -- is simply not something you can pass up. In
fact, if I could, I'd probably go every night. Especially since it's such a
steal.

So here's what you need to do: Call the good folks at Frontera @ Hyde Park
Theater at 512-452-6688. Tell them Robogeek sent you. Tell them you want to
make reservations for Speed. Then go.

You can thank me later.

- robogeek@hotmail.com

P.S.: I'd be remiss if I didn't give you a film recommendation or two. While
I am bitterly disappointed that the-powers-that-be at SXSW didn't grab "The
Blair Witch Project" and "Free Enterprise" (shame on you!), I am thrilled
that they included a delightfully quirky, original, and off-beat black
comedy unfortunately burdened with the really awful title "There's No Fish
Food In Heaven." To make matters worse, the blurb for the film in the SXSW
program not only gives away its pivotal plot twist, but also the ending!
ARGH!!! Someone at the fest office is on crack! Anyway, DON'T read the blurb
if you can help it, but DO see this film, even if it is out-of-the-way on
the schedule. It screens at 4:45 pm Sun. (3/14) at the Convention Center,
and then at noon Wed. (3/17) at the Dobie. Unless they change around the
schedule, of course. ;-) (Double-check.) Another film worth catching: "A Day
in Black and White," screening 2 pm Sun. (3/14) at the Alamo, and 12:30 pm
Wed. (3/17) at the Dobie.