R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe performs at Stubb's Bar-B-Q on Wednesday
Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/ Getty Images

AUSTIN, Texas — If you somehow managed to make it all the way down to the Convention Center, wait in line to get your badge, wade through the crowds on Sixth Street, stand outside a tiny bar (or promotional space) for an hour to squeeze into a showcase that was "at capacity," down some gristly BBQ, scam a couple free beers and not die of heat exhaustion, then you still wouldn't have been able to catch the biggest show of Wednesday at South by Southwest.

Because that show actually happened on Thursday.

Well, now we're splitting hairs. R.E.M. actually took the stage at Stubb's, Austin's landmark BBQ shack/ rock space, at 12:20 a.m., making Wednesday's most-anticipated, most-attended gig actually a great kick-off to Thursday's rock action.

And from minute one, Athens' premiere elder statesmen knew all eyes were squarely on them. Frontman Michael Stipe strode to the mic, rose his arms, Messiah-like, and greeted the masses ("Children of South by Southwest," he laughed, "come to me!") before the band launched into "Living Well's the Best Revenge," the lead track off their upcoming Accelerate album (the promotion of which was, in theory, the reason they were playing SXSW).

"We're going to play a lot of new songs tonight," Stipe smiled. "Luckily, they're under two minutes. So if you don't like it, you can go take a pee."

But no one moved. And they were rewarded with a one-two punch of vintage R.E.M.: "Second Guessing" (from their sophomore album, '84's Reckoning) and "Drive," the lead track on '92's Automatic for the People. Camera phones were held aloft, Stipe's oft-inscrutable lyrics were shouted back at him, and everyone basically behaved unlike a SXSW audience is supposed to — they were acting like fans attending a once-in-a-blue-moon show by a truly legendary rock band. Equal parts flaunting of the new album and joyous, intense workings of older classics, the gig — and R.E.M. themselves — was solid, tight and really quite stunning.

"Well, this is Stubb's Bar-B-Q, and I've never been here before," Stipe said at one point. "It's a great pleasure."

And you get the feeling he meant it.

(Check out photos of R.E.M. and other bands performing at South by Southwest here.)

Other Highlights of a Wild Wednesday in Austin, From Our Intrepid (and Tired) MTV News Team

John Norris:

White Williams. I got to know these synth-pop guys from Ohio-via-Brooklyn a couple of months back and was psyched to run into them in our hotel this morning. They seemed quite excited as well (and they'd better be) to be playing shows at SXSW '08. Unfortunately, their first was a tough one. At the Peacock, an all-blue lounge/ party space well east of Sixth Street, White Williams — now a four-piece with the recent addition of a live drummer — were wedged onto a stage that was maybe 30 square feet, with a guitar player, Hayes Shanesy, who was so sick that he spent the night before at a Dallas hospital. Suffice it to say, they'd all had better days. Still, they soldiered on with a too-brief set that had a newfound edge, thanks to the ol' drum kit, which rendered synth-pop songs into (nearly) rock.

Lightspeed Champion frontman Dev Hynes is a native Texan-turned-Brit who used to be in an art-punk group (the Test Icicles), but, with the help of Bright Eyes' Mike Mogis, has just released a beautiful country-tinged pop album called Falling Off the Lavender Bridge. They turned in a terrific acoustic set Wednesday at Antone's. Earlier in the night Dev told me that Lightspeed may indeed be the "champion" of this year's SXSW — he is playing no less than 14 shows here this week! "I was told that Black Lips played 12 shows last year," he said (sounds about right), "but I guess we got 'em beat."

Out at La Zona Rosa — a big barn of a club that held the "Free Yr Radio" party — the crowds were small (thanks, R.E.M.) but the lineup was huge with talent, including the fantastically fuzzed out Times New Viking and Brooklyn indie giants Yeasayer, both of whom deserved — and usually get — more attention.

James Montgomery:

Forget R.E.M. and Times New Viking. The best band on display Wednesday night at SXSW was undoubtedly the Plastic Constellations, Minneapolis' premiere purveyors of fist-pumping, buddy-hugging, six-pack chugging, adrenaline-surging rock. And, yeah, I know I've wasted a bunch of virtual ink on these guys already, but they're going on indefinite hiatus after the release of next month's We Appreciate You album. That — coupled with the sheer lack of recognition they receive — makes me a tad bit wistful. And their gig at the Mohawk — which doubled as a label showcase and a farewell show — made me even more teary-eyed (though that could've just been caused by all the beer being tossed into the air) amid the flailing guitars, karate kicks and super-good times. So, basically, it ruled like every other gig TPC have played over their decade-plus together. It's a shame you never got to see them.

At the same showcase (sorry, I didn't mention it earlier, but it was for Frenchkiss Records, which is a totally great label), I also really enjoyed Call Me Lightning and Tejas' own Fatal Flying Guilloteens, both of whom played music that sounds exactly like their names — hard, fast and dangerous (though the 'Teens also added a large degree of blood, sweat and honest-to-goodness, seizure-inducing, strobe-aided terror). Both were awesome and made you want to fight someone.

Other highlights: YACHT (Gil's got more on them in a second) and Does It Offend You, Yeah? at the Levi's/Fader Fort, getting to hear three songs from the Cab's upcoming Whisper War album (while sitting on their tour bus, no less) and running into actor/musician Lukas Haas on the street outside Stubb's. Apparently he's playing a show here Thursday.

Gil Kaufman:

South by Southwest is best when it's like one of those sampler platters at a Chinese restaurant, the kind where you don't necessarily know what everything is, but it doesn't really matter, because even the stuff that doesn't taste that great is still pretty interesting. Which explains a day that began with Los Angeles' Foreign Born — who, though together twice as long as Vampire Weekend, still kind of reminded us of that buzztastic New York combo — and ended with Nashville's spazzy surf-punkers Be Your Own Pet.

In between, I was treated to the anarcho digital terror of YACHT, whose singer/rapper, Jona Bechtolt, jumped into the audience at Emo's to bounce along with the hyped-up crowd and ended the show by repeating the "thank you" on his prerecorded digital track. And though John covered London's Lightspeed Champion above, I primarily want to give props to him for managing to work a shout-out to Elijah Wood into his set.

Speaking of celebrities, Austin's great for rubbernecking. Hey, there's former neon-dreadlocked 'NSYNC member Chris Kirkpatrick, wobbling his way down the street, hoping to see anything good, including a band we've never heard of called I Laid Your Mom (we think he made that one up). And there's Cisco Adler, roving with an eight-person crew and hoping someone notices him. And though the woman working the door at Stubb's didn't recognize them, we saw Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello and former Jane's Addiction singer Perry Farrell ducking in to see R.E.M. at midnight.

And despite all that, uh, star power, perhaps the best moment of the night came just before the hyper set from Nashville's Be Your Own Pet, when a suave gentleman up front was trying to chat up a few young ladies and asked them if they were going to see Vampire Weekend. "What's Vampire Weekend?" squeaked one of the girls, proving she may be the only non-blogger here, as well as one of the only people not trying to get into the VW show. All hype was forgotten, however, when Pet took the stage and lead singer Jemina Pearl — wearing yellow tights under a microscopic black miniskirt and a gray sleeveless T-shirt — proceeded to bounce around the stage like tattooed pinball, rolling on the ground and smashing into her bandmates as they chopped out double time surf-punk tunes from their upcoming second album, Get Awkward.

We're all over the bands, BBQ and hipster parties at SXSW '08. Check out the MTV Newsroom Blog and You R Here for more.

• Five Questions At South By Southwest: N.E.R.D., Paramore, Vampire Weekend, More
• 'John TV' At South By Southwest

• Vampire Weekend, Paramore, N.E.R.D., & More Rock SXSW 2008

• R.E.M.
• White Williams
• Lightspeed Champion
• The Plastic Constellations

Photo: MTV News

• R.E.M.
• The Cool Kids
• Lightspeed Champion
• Vampire Weekend
• UGK

The Cab
Photo: Decaydance Records

If there are only two certainties in life, there are even fewer down in Texas. And nowhere is that theory more valid than at South by Southwest, the annual music conference/ industry holiday/ media circus that descends on Austin each March. For 21 years now, SXSW has been the premiere proving ground for bands looking for their big break. Though that star-making potential has been diminished thanks to the rise of MySpace and music blogs, that hasn't stopped hundreds of bands from trekking to the state capital for a week of shows, schmoozing and shots at superstardom.

Still, the odds that any bands will make it to the big time are slim, so when it comes time to pen the annual "SXSW Picks To Click" article, it's a bit like finding a needle in a haystack. But that hasn't stopped us from highlighting artists that we think you'll be hearing big things from in the coming months (just think of them as the biggest needles in the SXSW stack). From Pete Wentz-approved crooners and Pharrell's favorite Ivy League doo-wop act to barely legal metalheads and DIY punkers with borderline offensive names, here are 10 acts we think are primed to beat the odds.

The Cab

Where They're From: Las Vegas, like a couple of other fairly successful rock acts whose names escape us at the moment.

Why You'll Be Hearing More From Them: Pete Wentz recently inked them to his Decaydance Records (home of, you know, Panic at the Disco, Gym Class Heroes and a host of others) and put them on the road with new labelmates Cobra Starship. So far, every date has been sold out. With Wentz's backing, an upstream deal with Atlantic and a sound that's equal parts MySpace and Maroon 5, we're expecting big things.

Where You Can Catch Them (Outside of Austin): After SXSW, they'll be hitting the road again, on another package tour with We the Kings, Valencia and Charlotte Sometimes. Then, in early May, they'll make an appearance at the Bamboozle festival at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, alongside scene heavyweights Paramore, Panic and Thrice.

Atlas Sound

Where They're From: Atlanta, by way of a lonely bedroom full of unrequited love near a children's hospital.

Why You'll Be Hearing More From Them: Because we need more Bradford Cox, one of the most fascinating figures in contemporary music. This time, he's traded in his semipossessed, dress-wearing Deerhunter persona for a more relaxed — but no less compelling — role, as the flannel-clad frontman of Atlas Sound. And on their debut disc, Let the Blind Lead Those Who See But Cannot Feel, Atlas prove that they can be just as amazing as Deerhunter — check songs like "Recent Bedroom" and "River Car" for proof.

Where You Can Catch Them (Outside of Austin): Atlas have but a handful of shows scheduled post-SXSW, but if you're jonesing for more Cox, you can follow his adventures though his eternally updated, endlessly entertaining/terrifying blog.

Black Tide

Where They're From: The metal Mecca of Miami.

Why You'll Be Hearing More From Them: They're teenagers who play old-school metal that could give Metallica a run for their money. While their peers have been at the mall shopping for Clearasil, Black Tide have been playing the main stage at Ozzfest, touring with Avenged Sevenfold and prepping their party-metal major-label debut. Led by 15-year-old singer/guitarist Gabe Garcia — who took the mic when he was just 9 years old — the group's veteran-sounding mix of classic Slayer thrash, Guns N' Roses melody and Iron Maiden snarl has already snagged them props from Ozzy himself and, seemingly, a one way ticket to groupie-ville.

Where You Can Catch Them (Outside of Austin): When they're not bumming smokes in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven, they'll hold an album-release party at the Key Club in West Hollywood, California, and then launch a Left Coast headlining tour. Then, presumably, it's back to more bumming of smokes in convenience-store parking lots

Foxy Shazam

Where They're From: Cincinnati, making them the second-best thing to ever come out of the Queen City, next to the Ickey Shuffle.

Why You'll Be Hearing More From Them: They've got awesome facial hair. They're frontman is legally insane and fancies himself the "Evel Knievel of Rock and Roll," and their album, Introducing Foxy, features songs written from the perspective of a bullfighter and Robin Hood. Their chaotic, shambolic live sets have earned them a loyal following with the MySpace set, and the video for their single "Dangerous Man" is possibly the most annoying/mesmerizing thing you'll ever see. Equal parts spazzy show tunes and spiky art-rock, and featuring more vocal acrobatics than a Serj Tankian/ Christina Aguilera duet, there are truly no other acts out there like Foxy.

Where You Can Catch Them (Outside of Austin): Following a Friday evening gig at SXSW, they'll hit the road for the foreseeable future, first with Portugal the Man and then the Fall of Troy.

No Age

Where They're From:Los Angeles or, more specifically, the all-ages, noise-art space the Smell, a venue that No Age have helped put on the national map.

Why You'll Be Hearing More From Them: Because we already are — and for good reason. They garnered much buzz with their 2007 effort, Weirdo Rippers, and now Randy and Dean — the dynamic duo behind No Age — are back with Nouns, an album that shows they haven't missed a step. No one does raucous fuzzed out tinnitus-inducing pop better. Other Smell faves like Mika Miko and Health are playing SXSW, but No Age rule the roost.

Where You Can Catch Them (Outside of Austin): They've got a pair of New York shows on the horizon in May, and then a whole bunch of festival appearances lined up in Europe. So ... might we suggest their blog?

Jay Reatard

Where He's From: Memphis — music city, baby.

Why You'll Be Hearing More From Him: He's releasing a single every other month on Matador Records from now until the end of the year, a schedule that isn't all that grueling for the 27-year-old new-wave/thrash punker, who has released more music since 1998 than some bands release in their entire careers. From his first home-brewed cassette at age 15 to the 18 full-length albums he's released under his stage name (he was born Jay Lindsey), and with bands including the Lost Sounds, Nervous Patterns, Final Solutions, Digital Leather and Angry Angles, the one common thread is that there is none. From '60s pop to Devo-like new wave, garage rock and classic skinny-tie punk, onstage and in the studio, Reatard is all over the place.

Where You Can Catch Him (Outside of Austin): He'll be on the road with Akron, Ohio, retroists the Black Keys until the middle of April, and then he'll launch a headlining tour after that. Oh, and if that's not enough, there's his infrequently updated (but frequently disgusting) photo blog too!

The Plastic Constellations

Where They're From: Minneapolis, a fact they mention at least three times per album.

Why You'll Be Hearing More From Them: Actually, you might not. After more than a decade together (they've been rocking since the ripe old age of 15), the hard-charging, even harder-partying quartet decided they'll be calling it quits after the release of April's We Appreciate You. So they're treating this year's SXSW as a sort of last hurrah, which, given the beery propensity of their infamous live sets, should mean awesome times for pretty much everyone.

Where You Can Catch Them Outside of Austin: Uh, they'll be playing a farewell show next month in Minneapolis, but other than that, the schedule's wide open (as is generally the case when you go on "indefinite hiatus"). Or you could just go buy We Appreciate You, because it's pretty great and full of songs about brotherhood and mysticism and stuff like that.

Lightspeed Champion

Where He's From:London, with a heaping helping of Omaha, thanks to Bright Eyes' Mike Mogis, who served as producer on the Champ's debut, Falling Off the Lavender Bridge.

Why You'll Be Hearing More From Him: Because Devonte Hynes is one of the more colorful figures in Austin this year (think Spank Rock meets George Clinton), though he needs to lose the fur hats (c'mon man ... fur?). And because on Lavender Bridge, he's done a 180 from his old Brit-punk outfit the Test Icicles, creating a relaxed, country-rock sound that may not change the world but is still a whole lot of fun.

Where You Can Catch Him (Outside of Austin): Hynes is crisscrossing the States as you read this, but after Austin, it's all Europe, all the time. Like so many on this list, he has a blog (with video!) through his Web site, so that will have to do for now.

Chester French

Where They're From: Straight outta Harvard, yo! (Via Cambridge, Massachusetts, ya heard?)

Why You'll Be Hearing More From Them: Because they're the latest protégés of a producer/rapper you may have heard of named Pharrell. Sure, the lily white duo of D.A. Wallach and Maxwell Drummey might seem like an odd addition to the Star Trak family, but they signed with Skateboard P — whose other protégés include street-grinding hip-hop duo the Clipse and Robin Thicke — because he promised not to mess with their Beatles- and Bowie-inspired British Invasion-meets-Beck/Weezer sound.

Where You Can Catch Them (Outside of Austin): Through the end of March, they'll be on the road with Pharrell and his cohorts in N.E.R.D., where they can no doubt expect to be muttered off the stage by throngs of rather confused-looking dudes in Billionaire Boys Club hoodies.

Liam Finn

Where He's From: New Zealand. Just like those dudes in Flight of the Conchords!

Why You'll Be Hearing More From Him: He's about to launch a U.S. tour opening for an old family friend you may have heard of ... Eddie Vedder. The son of Crowded House/ Split Enz legend Neil Finn, Liam is a one-man band whose recently released second album, I'll Be Lightning, sounds like a glitchy orchestra recorded in someone's spare bedroom. With a bracing falsetto that floats over spare drumbeats, acoustic guitars, swelling strings and Beatle-esque melodies, Finn has been performing the entire Lightning album live with just a backup singer and autoharp accompanist, cooking up real-time guitar, bass and Theremin loops onstage.

Where You Can Catch Him (Outside of Austin): He'll be out on the road seemingly forever, logging time with Pela, the Most Serene Republic and then — in April — the aforementioned tour with Vedder.

• 10 Bands To Watch At SXSW

• Pharrell Williams
• Lightspeed Champion
• No Age
• Black Tide
• Atlas Sound

Vampire Weekend, Paramore, N.E.R.D., & More Rock SXSW 2008

• Kaki King
• Mike Farris
• R.E.M.
• The Von Bondies
• The Raveonettes