Pics from the Austin Record Convention

I just spent the afternoon at the Austin Record Convention/Show, which is considered by many LP collectors to be one of the premier gathering of its type in North America. Turn out was extremely strong; on their website the organizers state that they'll have to consider another venue for their next show in October because parking was such a problem for attendees.

Considering the North Austin Event Center is a large building with an equally large parking lot, I'd say that this is a great sign that vinyl records are alive and well in the Live Music Capital of the World.

Despite the fact that the crowds tended to be the thickest around the $1 and $2 record bins, there were still plenty of serious LP collectors who were able to fill in those pesky holes in their record collections.

The overriding theme seemed to be the Beatles (what else is new?), with plenty of vendors offering rare LPs from all over the world.

Yes, that's an actual copy of the Beatles' "Butcher Baby" LP on the upper right. There was no price on it. If you have to ask, I guess you can't afford it.

These T-shirts were the coolest tees I've seen in a while. Each one featured a classic R&B/soul single. I should've bought one, but I couldn't find that one special song that had a lot of personal meaning for me. Still, these shirts were big hits and I saw several attendees wearing them as they browsed through the bins.

Unlike AXPONA, where all of the choice LPs had been scooped up by the time I finally made it over with my credit card, these vendors still had plenty of stock on hand even as the show wound down.

Dig 45 singles? This was certainly the place to get them. There were also plenty of CDs, cassettes and even 8-tracks.

Sometimes I buy LPs just for their covers. That wasn't the case here. I may wait, however, for the MoFi version.

I love how most of the vendors had plenty of chintzy little portable turntables available so that potential buyers could check out the condition of the LPs before laying down the green.

Here's proof that some of these LPs were "rare as hell" and had the price tags to prove it.

Yes, hot chicks dig vinyl too.

All in all it was a great show and I hope to go back in October! For more information, check out the website at http://www.austinrecords.com/.