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Playing at full volume at South by Southwest

Joy and fatigue amid festival’s large crowds and loud music

By James Reed

 |  Globe Staff  

  March 19, 2012

The first truth about South by Southwest is the hardest one to accept. You cannot see and hear it all. This five-day music conference and festival is designed to overwhelm the senses. You might want to see Fiona Apple, but then you’d be missing the Shins playing down by a lake. It’s the nature of this beast, which wrapped up yesterday. James Reed rounds up a week’s worth of highlights from the annual event.

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