After more or less playing second fiddle to actress Zooey Deschanel for most of last year’s SXSW, when they debuted their She & Him act, Oregonian indie-rock/roots-rock/folk guy M. Ward is back all on his own this year and might be the busiest musician in the fest. He has just about two shows every day of the fest, including a big public outdoor set Thursday on Town Lake in downtown.

Ward’s first gig of the week was as the headliner for the Paste magazine party late Wednesday afternoon at a nondescript but large Sixth Street club called Vice. He played this one solo, which is something he excels at but can be a challenge with the hobnobbing, Lone Star Beer-downing crowds at SXSW. No problem. He had the place unusually quiet for older favorites such as “Poison Cup” and “Sad, Sad Song” as well as the new gems “One Hundred Million Years” and “For Beginners,” from his latest disc “Hold Time.” Chances are he’ll play different sets throughout the fest, the guy has that much quality stuff and that kind of sense of adventure.

It took all of three hours, and I already caught a new band I’d walk through sewage to see again, or at least I’d stand inside a sweltering tent (as was the case this time). They’re called Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears and they’re from right here in Austin. Their debut for Lost Highway Records was produced by Spoon drummer Jim Eno and comes out this month.

On stage at Paste magazine’s party (also featuring M. Ward, Heartless Bastards and Wild Light), the multi-racial octet came off like an all-male version of Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, with hard-driving horns and billowy organ. Lewis himself is a 20-something skinny black fella who’s more a Delta bluesman to Jones’ soul singer, but equal in showmanship. The audience left coated in sweat, about half of which was generated by the music.

I also caught a promising new two-guitar and drum-machine duo from San Diego called Crocodiles at the Fat Possum Records party at Emo’s. The lead singer/guitarist who could stand in for Dylan in a remake of “Don’t Look Back” (shades and all), but musically he channeled the Jesus & Mary Chain with “Nuggets”-style ’60s garage-rock. They’re playing the Turf Club on April 10.

Not so promising: the aptly named Psychedelic Horsesh–, playing next door at Emo’s Jr. for the Brooklyn Vegan music blog’s party. I swear, these guys had intentionally bad haircuts and played intentionally sloppy punk rock. Must be a blogger thing.

The tailspinning economy hasn’t spoiled three common sights in Austin this time of year: Glorious sunshine, hideous new condo towers and mobs of kids in tight T-shirts who weren’t alive when the first South by Southwest Music Conference was held in 1987.

Word is attendance is staying strong for the year despite all the suckiness, with some 34,000 local hotel rooms booked for the week, according to the Austin American-Statesman. Sadly, I fear I’ll be one of the few newspaper writers here this year. But it seems like for every print journalist who’s out, there are 15 new bloggers to take their place. Likewise, for every big record company that used to host private parties during the fest, you now see 10 new websites or energy drinks or condom companies or whatever willing to sponsor a showcase.

Here’s a preview of the whir of activities, which get started at the crack of noon Wednesday and last through Saturday night:

THE BIG PARTIES: The Levi’s/Fader Fort (hosting music every afternoon) has been the big hit in recent years, but it’s in danger of losing its footing after moving to a new location under I-35 from the main drag of Sixth Street and losing some of its star party. Its biggest acts this year are Tricky, Peter Bjorn & John, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Handsome Furs and Jadakiss, and Minneapolis’ own Solid Gold play there Friday. Spin magazine’s Friday afternoon barbecue party at Stubb’s is promising with Echo & the Bunnymen, Glasvegas, the Black Lips and ex-Darkness singer Justin Hawkins‘ new band, Hot Leg. Some of the other hot parties are veering toward 80s metal, with Playboy’s after-hours bash on Thursday night (Friday morning) rumored to be hosting Jane’s Addiction and Perez Hilton’s late party on Saturday loosely linked to Motley Crue. For sheer bad-ass rock value, though, Rachael Ray has them all beat, with the Hold Steady and New York Dolls slated for her party Saturday.

THE BIGGEST NON-SECRET: Never mind Jane’s and the Crue, though. The big buzz this year is over Metallica. There’s a 10 p.m. slot at Stubb’s on Friday night with no name attached, and the showcase is sponsored by Guitar Hero, which has a new all-Metallica game coming out. The Beastie Boys did something similar at Stubb’s three years ago. I didn’t believe this one until Metallica’s publicist invited me to an interview session with some of the band members on Friday afternoon. He didn’t confirm they were playing that night, but I hardly think they’re coming to town just to talk to a schlub like me.

THE BIG NEW BUZZ BANDS: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are one of the biggies. So are Vivian Girls. So is a kid named Wavves. So is Austin’s own Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears. And the Astroids Galaxy Tour. And Micachu & the Shapes. And We Have Band. And An Horse. And Blind Pilot. And…

THE BIG REUNIONS: Besides the aforementioned Echo & the Bunnymen and Jane’s Addiction (who’ve both toured aplenty anyway), the big retro buzz at SXSW is over Devo, who I am personally looking forward to seeing for the first time. A reunion of sorts is P.J. Harvey with her heyday collaborator John Parish. And the Circle Jerks caught my eye, too, while Austin music lovers are eager for the Arc Angels (Doyle Bramhall II, Charlie Sexton and Chris Layton)

FUNNY NEW BAND NAMES: Psychedelic Horsesh–, I Set My Friends on Fire, Black Cock, Dear and the Headlights, Danananakroyd.

THE MINNESOTANS: Genuinely too many to keep track of this year. I see Solid Gold’s name all over the place. Haley Bonar snagged a couple choice showcases, including a day gig in the convention center playing to industry folk. Jeremy Messersmith and Romantica are both at a wind- and solar-powered party tomorrow in a prime location, Threadgill’s World Headquarters. All these acts and about 20 more are playing an almost-all-MN party on Friday afternoon coyly titled Moneyapolis, also including Vampire Hands, Idle Hands, John Swardson, Lucy Michelle & the Velvet Lapelles, Cecil Otter, and Omaur Bliss.

Stay tuned …

With their upcoming documentary/live album “Positive Rage” coming April 7, the Hold Steady are returning to the South by Southwest Music Conference in mid-March, and they landed a coup of a performance slot… they’re headlining Rachael Ray’s private party! OK, maybe it’s more impressive they were also recruited for a public interview in front of SXSW registrants at the convention center, the kind of thing that in past years has been saved for the likes of Morrissey, David Byrne and Mick Jones.

“Positive Rage” will be sold as a CD/DVD package. The CD comes from a single show at the Metro in Chicago last Halloween, but lest you think they left out Minneapolis, the movie reportedly culminates with footage shot last summer at First Ave show (their solo gig, not the Truckers shows). And if you didn’t know already it, the band covered Springsteen’s “Atlantic City” for the new war-victims benefit album “War Child,” also featuring covers by TV on the Radio, Beck, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Rufus Wainwright.

It’s all over but the shouting, which is what people usually do when they get their credit card bills back following SXSW with about 25 different bar tabs on it (because they were initially too cheap to pay the $5 ATM fees in bars!).

A rough estimate of what my number totals were for the four-day marathon:

60 bands (15 per day, less than usual thanks to this @#&$! blogging thing).

45 hours of live music total (10-12 per day, with time off for occasional non-standing-on-street-corner meal and this @#&^! blogging thing).

16 hours of sleep (3-5 per night, increasing incrementally as the fest went on, which is a lot less than usual thanks to this … ah, never mind).

3 Shiner bocks (yeah right).

The last night is always the craziest, in a good way, as you try to cram in as much as you can before going home, sort of like when you know you only have 30 minutes left on happy hour. Here’s what I crammed in:

Duffy at Stubb’s: Blech! The hard-buzzing goldie-locked British songstress, 23, came off like a cutesy soul singer — the worst kind of soul singer. Her band was flat, too. I left after four songs, I genuinely couldn’t take any more. 

Tulsa at Emo’s outdoor stage: Leaving Duffy allowed me a few songs by this psychedelic, neo-twangy trio — actually from San Francisco. It was definitely a trade up. They reminded me of Band of Horses mixing it up with Blue Oyster Cult.

The Most Serene Republic upstairs at the Parish: Another big, coed Canadian band signed to the Broken Social Scene-affiliated Arts & Crafts label, they definitely have a ways to go before living up to BSS and the band they most seem to emulate, the Arcade Fire (dramatic on-stage gesturing, horns and strings, cryptic lyrics, etc.). One of their main problems is main guy Adrian Jewett simply ain’t much of a singer.

Roky Erickson under the stars at Stubb’s: Seeing Austin’s psychedelic-rock legend/tragic figure was actually quite an emotional thing for me, having seen him on stage a couple times when I lived there in the 90s when he just stood on stage, arms folded, staring off into space. This time, with his recovery going strong a couple years now, Roky and his band of other Austin vets rocked like Hades unleashed. More imortant (genuinely much more important), he also looked like he was having a blast. He opened with a pair of his demon-summoning rockers, “Cold Night for Alligators” and “Don’t Shake Me Lucifer,” included his great cover of “Before You Accuse Me” and ended with the classics “Starry Eyes” and “You’re Gonna Miss Me.” I sincerely hope Roky’s reverberations carry him up to Minneapolis at some point.

Kid Dakota at the Thirsty Nickle (a medium-sized Sixth Street club): Picking heavily from their new album, “A Winner’s Shadow,” Darren Jackson and oh-my-god-he’s-good drummer Ian Prince sounded ready to take on the world, much less a packed house at SXSW. “Transfusion” was a riveting highlight, as was the celebrity who walked in mid-set and proceeded to snap a photo of the guys: Mr. Superbad himself, Jonah Hill.

The Slits: Never was much a fan, but I was curious to catch the influential all-female London punk trio in reunion mode. Still not much of a fan. Their already off-kilter, clumsily played avant-garde ska-punk songs, including “Love und Romance” and “Fade Away,” aren’t sounding any better after a two-decade hiatus. God love ‘em for paving the way for more women rockers, but thankfully more (and better) did come along.

British Sea Power on the rooftop patio of Maggie Mae’s (in photo below): I really like BSP’s new album, so this made a pretty good finish to the fest. Their rowdy, aggressive blend of punk with a bit of psychedelica and twang — complete with some horn and string additives – reminded me of the Mekons, whose frontman Jon Langford was playing several blocks away with his usual SXSW-closing set by the Waco Brothers (been there, done that; will do again). Things got terribly and perhaps dangerously uncomfortable on the rooftop venue, though, which was way overpacked. The third-story floor was shaking harder with each of the band’s bursting songs. We had to get outta there. No worries of the floor collapsing when they play the Triple Rock next Fri.

White Denim outside at Habana Calle 6: If you’re keeping score at home, I ended SXSW with the very first band I saw in town on Wednesday afternoon, mostly just cuz they were down the street from BSP. It honestly seemed like four weeks had passed, instead of four days. Austin’s ferocious, chooglin’, hyper-blues-punk trio had even more timebomb energy the second time around, despite having an even busier fest than I did. They made it look easy. The little bastards.

And on the fourth day…. people get crabby. You can see it anytime they get stuck waiting in line or have to wait more than three minutes between bands. I witnessed one guy take his aggression/weariness out on Matt Pinfield, the former MTV VJ who’s filing reports on a levitated stage above Sixth Street.

“You suck Matt Pinfield! You suck worse than Kennedy!” (Remember Kennedy? The nerdy-girl MTV VJ?)

SXSW certainly can be blamed for causing more headaches beyond the hangover kind this year. THERE ARE SO FRICKIN’ MANY PEOPLE IN THIS TOWN RIGHT NOW! The city really is bulging. It feels out of control, and maybe it genuinely is, since only about 25% or so of what’s going on is actually run by SXSW Inc., the rest is just a new set of crashers throwing/throwing-up parties. And it’s brought in a large new segment of spoiled indie hipsters who apparently don’t care if this thing is in Austin or Detroit. They’ve trashed this place, a beautiful city but currently a bruised one. As I walked all over downtown on Saturday afternoon navigating steady masses of haggard-looking people, I saw trash everywhere: piles of promotional fliers, stickers, etc.; countless plastic bottles emptied of the many gross, sugary, flourescent energy drinks being given away with names like Fuze and Monster, plus all the cheap paper plates that come from the questionable feed-em-while they’re-drunk food stands. It reminds me a lot of Woodstock ‘99. Uh oh, they’d better ban the girls giving out free promotional lighters.

Fortunately, I was able to find a little respite from all the filth and fury on the east side of downtown, under the bridge so to speak. There’s a picturesque historic house/museum over there called the French Legation, which has pristine grounds lined with curly live oak trees and honest-to-goodness green grass. I’m not sure how anybody convinced the city to allow a party over there, but they did. It was called the Garden Party and at least on this day it felt like heaven.

Part of the good Austiny vibes came from the music. Namely, from a new act called She and Him, which is made up of two familiar names: Actress Zooey Deschanel (”Elf,” “Almost Famous”) and Americana/indie-rock star M. Ward. SXSW has seen many actresses try on their singing caps and fail before, and I’m hoping they keep on doing it no matter their talent (at least until Scarlett Johansson’s CD comes out).

But Deschanel really has some decent pipes to go with her adorable charm, and having Ward more or less as her ace sideman — he’s an amazing guitarist — certainly helps too. Their songs, from a new album called “Volume One,” are mostly all light, playful alt-country fare. A typical lyric: “I’m alone on a bicycle built for two.” She sings a bit like Linda Ronstadt but also has a sexy but silly, singing-in-the-shower quality (or maybe I’m just remembering the Rated-G shower scene in “Elf”). Together with the aw-shucks picking of Ward it came off like a playful family singalong, which couldn’t have come at a better time. Or place.

Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore also played the Garden Party right before She and Him (which he called “Him and Her”). His solo band of the moment — playing mostly from his excellent solo album from last fall – basically sounds like an acoustic version of his usual band, with a violinist filling in where the two acoustic guitars can’t match the electrics’ feedback-buoyed edge. It was actually a pretty interesting twist on Moore’s strengths, and who’d have thought the guy could even play in daylight?

Before the Garden Party, I also took in Nicole Atkins’ short set on the Current’s broadcast stage. The buzzing New Jersey songstress is not so coincidentally getting a lot of play on the Current, and deserves it. She’s got a soulful-without-forcing-it voice and a really tight band called the Sea. They even managed to make something good out of the Doors’ “Crystal Ship,” a song I all-out deplore. Both her host Bill Deville and I were impressed by Nicole’s Wattstax T-shirt and by her joke about her bandmembers all having first names starting with D. They would have called the band “The 4-D’s,” she said, “but it sounded like a really small bra.”

Did you read the news story that ran in Sunday’s paper? And have you seen the ongoing photo gallery by Tony Nelson?