Even though this is my first year attending Austin’s renowned South by Southwest (not to mention my first time in Austin period), I had a good notion of what to expect: closed-off streets, throngs of drunk people, and more shows and bands than you could possibly cram into your skull.

But, of course, I didn’t really understand the full extent of SXSW’s madness until I was smack in the middle of it all. Part of it was how much ridiculously bigger downtown Austin is than downtown Athens. Here I was expecting a quiet little college town with a few blocks, but downtown Austin was dotted with actual skyscrapers! The time had finally come; I’d hit the big city.

The event’s main week, referred to as “SXSWeek 2010,” has been raging since March 12, and since my good friend and partner in crime Christopher Benton and I are both taking full course loads and were limited in how much school we could reasonably miss, we got a late start on the week and spent most of Wednesday traveling to Texas. By the time we got downtown, it was about 10 o’clock at night.

Benton had a press pass waiting for him at the convention center downtown, but I was in a slightly different boat. I had decided to carry out an experiment, to experience SXSW as a completely ordinary attendee — no badge, no wristband, no credentials whatsoever. Due to a combination of negligence and being told by numerous friends that I didn’t need credentials to enjoy SXSW, I didn’t act on getting a music pass. That meant sacrificing the big names in favor of seeking out the abundance of lesser-known-to-unknown bands, ones most music journalists would overlook. As I scoured the streets for appealing bands, I saw my role as music critic transform to music observationalist, being that most of the bands I saw I hadn’t previously been familiar with.

So, onto what music I actually saw last night.

My first night of SXSW coincided with St. Patrick’s Day, meaning over half of the people I saw downtown were just there to get wasted. Around the 11:30 mark, we made our way to the legendary Stubb’s BBQ to try and catch Austin-native indie-rockers Spoon; we were told they were offering $20 individual tickets to those without credentials. After standing in line for almost a half hour this turned out to be a lie. I heard from friends that Spoon’s show was underwhelming, but I ventured across the street in search of something I could access.

I quickly stumbled upon the Murdocks, a local Austin trio with a raw, garage/powerpop/punk-y guitar style anchored by elastic bass. Their sound was highly reminiscent of Athens darlings the Whigs; the big difference was that singer/guitarist Franklin Morris sported a higher-pitched, manic vocal register that contributed a degree of tension and complemented his vicious, slashing guitar technique.

Afterwards I walked up 6th street (basically SXSW’s main vein) and heard something irresistibly heavy emanating from a bar called Bayou. The heavy sound in question turned out to be Exilia, an Italian metal quartet fronted by a fierce female singer with dreadlocks. Though capable of earsplitting screams, she retained a highly melodic sensibility throughout the performance. In no way do I mean her style wasn’t dark, however, especially when coupled with the gloomy underworld her bandmates churned out. Exilia’s relentless depth was occasionally punctuated by the lead guitarist’s ethereal, nerve-fraying solos. Upon playing the final song of the set, the lead singer made an announcement in slightly broken English, which I’ll attempt to paraphrase: “I would like to say f**k you, Paris Hilton, and I still believe Pantera is a good band.” Amen, Exilia. I can drink to that.

Since I was already on the path of genre-jumping, I met up with my friends and we journeyed to a electronica showcase called House by Southwest, where we sampled the pummeling, get-up-and-dance breakbeats of DJ Eric Davenport. The party vibe was undeniable, but the clientele at the venue was somewhat lacking.

Today there are a lot more bands and we’re getting a larger head start. Hopefully among of the bands I’ll be seeing are Frightened Rabbit, Ozomatli and our very own Drive-By Truckers. But only time will tell.

The endurance test continues. A new report tomorrow.