SXSW '07: 3/13 -- THE CALM BEFORE THE MUSICAL STORM

In recent years, as the South by Southwest (SXSW) music conference/festival has scheduled a full slate of panels and performances on Wednesday, it makes more sense than ever to arrive in Austin, Texas, the day before.

The early birds who flew into Austin this afternoon featured an assortment of accents, aromas and attitudes, not to mention a rainbow of hair colors and all types of facial hair designs.

One guy near baggage claim was sporting an electric blue mohawk. Another guy was wearing a kilt -- and unfortunately, he didn't keep his legs closed as he sat and waited for his luggage.

One of the town's slogans is "Keep Austin Weird." That's never an issue during the music portion of SXSW.

With only a smattering of music events scheduled, as well as wet weather, tonight was a good time to get settled, plan the next four days and sift through the myriad items in the SXSW tote bag. (One is given to each music badge registrant.)

One CD came with a voodoo doll. Now that's clever marketing.

Tune in Wednesday for a recap of that day's events.