Day one at SXSW is usually a logistical clusterfuck, but this year it couldn’t have gone smoother. Thanks to the Matador “Together” Bus, stocked with a full bar and the forthcoming New Pornographers, I was dropped at the door of my hotel—with a healthy buzz to get me started. A few badge pickups and wristband secures, and it was off to the trenches. Wednesday is pretty lax, traditionally spent eyeing a few acts—like Neon Indian—poised to keep the hype active. Now with a full band in tow, Alan Palomo has the heft to make his Sonic the Hedgehog-on-acid jams legit from the stage. Thought he’s my least favorite of the chill-wavers (just slightly too sugary), the boy has worked hard on making his pixilated visions a real tangible act.

Next was my annual pilgrimage with Roky Erickson. Instead of a make-shift band of Austin sidemen backing him, this year it’s Okkervil River. To be honest, I am still somewhat torn by the collaboration. On one hand they youngish, enthusiastic, Will Sheff and company, bolstered songs like “Two Headed Dog” and “Starry Eyes” into deftly arranged indie-twang standards, on the other hand, hearing the “new” songs, with Roky sans guitar, standing and taking direction from Sheff with his arms crossed, it’s an awkward pairing. Still, the man is on stage, with the same voice he had in 1968, playing songs that have stood the test of time and have influenced (as evidenced by Okkervil’s genuine humility) an entire generation who have tuned in to the Elevators and beyond. They’ll be performing in this configuration a number of times throughout the week, so make sure this is on your list at least once.

Being in transit en route from Columbus since 4:00am, I was wiped out at 5:00pm and took an overlong nap that lasted into the showcasing hour. Waking up at 10:00, I was at a loss of who to see. Again, Wednesday is slim pickings. Into the night with no itinerary can be daunting, so I headed to a random location and caught about 10 minutes of Princeton—one of many Paul Simon/Vampire Weekend disciples who can play a great cascading exotic guitar run, but can’t write a song with it. Born Ruffians weren’t much of a step up from that, but satisfied my craving for well-crafted melodies and interesting execution.

Confounding that band is on Warp Records, especially considering what was to follow them. I opted to plant roots at the Phoenix for the label’s showcase, and judging from the line of non-badge holders and locals outside, it was a good move. The rest of the night was dominated laptop pioneers, deejays who are taking the genre of hip-hop and electronica to dizzying new heights that go beyond those tags. Glasgow’s Hudson Mohawke is, at least in my eyes, the Kid 606 of this new decade, chopping up what sounds like sides from the new romantics, cartoon theme songs and crystal vibrations into popping, bass-heavy tracks. Funny how a chubby white Scottish kid knows hip-hop better than those we call the greatest. Hook him up with a few left-field emcees and let the wobble begin. After that was Eskmo, a San Francisco native who was likely the closest to dubstep anyone will go this week. Before his set, a colleague and I were discussing exactly when dubstep would take hold in the states, if ever. We concluded that America is still not ready for such a foreign sound. Eskmo had the beats synonymous with the British import and layered it all with stained-glass mosaics. He added his own synth riffs where he saw fit and was able to keep the crowd enraptured for the duration.

For all the knob twiddling and button pushing, anyone making accusations that this crew is some deviation of Girl Talk charlatans, hasn’t really listened deep enough. Flying Lotus, the L.A. wunderkind, is the epitome of this new wave. His set was the highlight of my entire day, a brain-frying melt of histrionics that covered everything from the dubstep to the IDM glitch to the party theatrics of a B-boy on the wheels of steel—but this was the future, and the seizure inducing visuals that played along with the beats he was flaying only added to the feeling that you were 20 years ahead of the world outside. One to watch? So far Flying Lotus is the one to beat.