AUSTIN, Texas — South by Southwest�s slogan should be �patience is a virtue.�

Waiting in line is practically an art form here.

And schedule delays, while they don�t happen often, can really mess up your day.

Take Friday night�s Bright Eyes show as an example. It was a surprise performance, as the Omaha group�s main show is Saturday evening.

Bright Eyes announced Friday morning that it would play that night at 8:30. After some problem (rumors flew that either the band showed up late or the sound system was faulty), the group went on stage at 10 p.m.

I wasn�t there. I had left after waiting about an hour in line.

I�m not bitter. Honest. It happens. I found another show to go to, and I�ll see Bright Eyes on Saturday.

See, that�s the beauty of SXSW. Most bands play several times, so if you miss them you�ll likely be able to catch them the next day. Or if you like a band a whole lot, you can watch it perform again and again.

For me, TV On the Radio is a good example. I waited in line with friends to see the group on Thursday, but bailed after an hour to go see another band, Surfer Blood.

To make up for it, I caught TV On the Radio on Friday at Stubb�s, a barbecue joint that has a large amphitheater behind the building.

The band was fantastic and played new material from a forthcoming album as well as old tunes such as �Wolf Like Me.�

TV On the Radio is one of the larger indie groups playing the fest (along with The Strokes, Bright Eyes and Queens of the Stone Age) and was well worth the time in line.

But what about Bright Eyes? I�ll let you know when I get to see them.

Other highlights of the day:

� Joy Formidable played outdoors at Waterloo Records, a very cool record store.

The band is a three-piece with that fuzzed-out rock sound that reminded me of Silversun Pickups — except British. And with a really cute blonde frontwoman. I�m looking forward to grabbing their debut record and maybe catching them again. They rocked.

� Inside the store right after that was the Pains of Being Pure at Heart. The stage was in an odd spot, with a wall right in front of the stage dividing the store (and the crowd) in half.

Still, it was really cool to see the band again this weekend, especially because they did a bunch of new stuff. The new material is in the same vein as its debut album, and the EP that followed, but included a lot more melody. A welcome addition.

� I�ve had a lot of pizza in Austin (really one of the only things to eat when you�re running from venue to venue) and my favorite is still Ho�k�s Death Metal Pizza. Still looking for a decent taco.

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