SXSW announced their preliminary list of showcasing bands. At first, I thought that the list looked a little weak. That was until I took the time to list out the bands that I was excited to see. Now, I'm thinking that this could become the strongest line-up SXSW has had since I started attending.

Bands that I'm super excited about:

• Rival Schools - I saw them at FunFunFun Fest in November and quickly remembered how much I like these guys. I hope they play more new material at SXSW.
• Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - They've been at SXSW before, but I've always missed them. A few months ago I got my hands on their latest album and it was my favorite album for about two months straight. In fact, I need to listen to that album right now.

Bands that should be good:

• Andrew Bird - He was awesome at ACL in '07.
• The Crystal Method - Might be this year's most well known act.
• Grizzly Bear - Will this band's hype make them this year's Vampire Weekend? Nope. Grizzly Bear was being overhyped over a year ago and then they faded away for awhile. This could be another coming out party for them.
  
• Peter, Bjorn, and John - I've never seen them play together before, who whistles in Young Folks? Hopefully I'll find out in March.
• St. Vincent - Another FunFunFun Fest '08 act.

I've seen them before and can't wait to see them again:

• Explosions in the Sky
• (+/-)
• Pompeii
• Say Hi
• Stars of Track and Field

Guaranteed to be entertaining, even if the music sucks:

• Peelander-Z - I've never seen them, but I heard that their shows are absolutely crazy. They describe themselves as Japanese Action Comic Punk. How have I not seen this yet?!
  
• Monotonix - I have seen them, and their shows are absolutely crazy. I think I should dedicate a post to comparing this show to the Peelander-Z show.

Now I just have to wait for the MP3s to be released so I can find some gems in the pile of bands that I've never heard of.