There were more than 80 acts spread out over three days, and I did my best to make it worth it. I saw 31 bands—and I have a few words on all of them.

The Steve Miller Band received unanimous approval, as enunciated by the adoration of its fans.

The Grates' singer Patience Hodgson has more stage presence and enthusiasm than quite possibly anyone I've ever seen.

CMJ is a place to see and be seen—by new fans, maybe an industry bigwig or two.

Needless to say, Force Field PR is definitely doing it.

There was plenty of dancing, singing and clapping along. Whenever a band interacted with the audience for their participation, they always got a unanimously enthusiastic response.

Man Man offers a visual feast with five members dressed in a variety of white clothing and their instruments (too many to mention here) tightly packed into the middle of the stage.

For the first time ever, the Hokey Pokey actually worked for me. I enjoyed spinning myself around and I really understood what it was all about.

Ghostland Observatory is as good as people say—and not as good.

I decided not to walk the mile to The National, one of the decisions I kind of kick myself for now, especially in light of the Boxer-heavy set.

You would have known just by looking up DeVotchka's stage diagram that their concert would be unique to the mostly guitar-driven, amp-fueled Lolla bands.

While The Kills may have made some new friends, I will not accept that any band came nearly as close as increasing their fanbase as Gogol Bordello did.

SP20 took place at Marymoor Park, a gorgeous venue just outside Seattle on two perfect Northwest summer days.

Rather than make an attempt to cover all 46 bands I witnessed, I'm going to limit my comments of the five best new acts I discovered, as well as five shows from established acts that knocked my socks off.

The Dykeenies (Todd Sarvies)

Another South by Southwest Music Festival has come and gone, which means it's time to rest those aching legs and feet, catch up on sleep, return to healthy eating and drinking habits, and reflect on what we've just seen and heard.

In the western skies you can see the smoke from California's wildfires. The long, thin, black fingers of the smoke give the sky an eerie feeling.

Highlights from the 2007 edition of the annual music festival: As Tall as Lions, Kevin Devine, Semi Precious Weapons and more!

While My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James filled out a lime green tank top and bleach-blonde wig, the rest of the band and stage were blanketed in delightfully cheesy tropical regalia, from water wings and sunscreen noses to metal detectors and pineapple-holding Hawaiian girls.

 Joss Stone: Entertaining. Crazy to hear the voice of a 300-pound black woman come out of a 20-year-old white British woman. That's really all I have to say.

While Friday was mainly a dance rock day and Saturday an all-out rock show, Sunday was a hodgepodge of international bands, eclectic bands and good, old-fashioned Seattle rock 'n' roll.