Lifelong Austinite Vera Sandoval, who's owned Red's Scoot Inn on East Fourth Street for eight years, had long heard of South by Southwest, the music festival that had thrived on the other side of Interstate 35 since 1987.

But until party planners reserved her 200-capacity Tejano club last year and brought a legion of rock bands and overflow crowds for three days, she had no idea of the energy — not to mention the dollars — that the festival delivers.

"We had our biggest week ever, by double," she said. "My bartenders were exhausted, but we loved every minute of it."

During the third week of March each year, our town turns into Super Austin. There's more, much more, of what we're known for, especially live music. And just as a growing number of hipsters and young professionals are moving to the largely African American and Hispanic communities east of downtown for the affordability and edginess, so are SXSW parties.

Once overlooked by SXSW, East Austin will play host to more than 120 acts during the 19th annual music festival, which runs Wednesday through Sunday. Venues including the Longbranch Inn, Victory Grill and Church of the Friendly Ghost, plus normally nonmusical spaces such as the Terrible One Bike Ramp, Tillery Street Theater, Big Red Sun, the Rhizome Collective warehouse and Progress Coffee, will also resonate with music, most of it free to the public.

"We looked for a big enough space west of the freeway, but they had either all been booked for months or they were too expensive," said Juliana Gilchrist, who helped organize the third annual Scottish Invasion Party, which is open to the public late Thursday night at the Tillery Street Theater. "The cheapest we could find was $1,200 for the night. At Tillery Street we're paying just $400, plus $50 an hour past 2 a.m." The Scottish Arts Council is helping to defray the cost of the event, which features several bands from Scotland and local host band the Real Heroes.

Ben Dietz of Brooklyn-based magazine Vice, which is renting the Victory Grill for a day party Friday, said he was sold on the venue after fellow Vice employee Trace Crutchfield, a former East Austinite, told him about the 60-year-old club's history as a stop on the so-called chitlin' circuit. "Everyone is trying to make a splash at South By, and you do that by setting yourself apart," Dietz said. "How cool is it going to be to hear great, cutting-edge acts like M.I.A. and Ratatat at a place where so many legendary blues and soul acts passed through?"

Crutchfield said many SXSW-ers are looking for a respite from the "predictably tattooed" Sixth Street and Red River scene. "The east side has a certain cultural cache that has been absent from Sixth Street for years. It's less likely to be discovered by the media bandwagon and dominated by the SXSW machine."

The fest's eastward expansion was almost inconceivable just seven years ago when a couple hundred SXSWers were stranded at an art gallery party on East Seventh because almost all the cabs stayed downtown. Dozens of scenesters chose to walk the two miles, while others descended en masse on overwhelmed stray cabs.

Conversely, at last year's Capital Sports & Entertainment bash at 5501 E. Cesar Chavez St., 10 to 12 cabs were lined up at all times, ready to whisk partygoers away. "The first year in East Austin, we had to let the cab companies know we'd have a few hundred people needing cabs," said local promoter Charles Attal, who moved the annual Thursday night after-hours party from its original downtown location in 2001. "Now the taxis just show up."

Attal said being off the beaten path makes his annual blowout a lot more manageable. "You don't have all these curious people walking by and trying to get in," he said. "On the east side, you have to know where you're going and you have to want to be there." Attal said another plus is that out-of-towners see another side of Austin. "They've done Sixth Street and South Congress to death."

The east side bookings, most of which are scheduled during the day or after hours, are independent of official SXSW jurisdiction, though many of the acts are also playing sanctioned shows at night on the other side of the interstate.

SXSW has not booked a venue in East Austin since a three-year run at the Victory from '97 to '99. "It's always been hard for us to make something happen in East Austin because there's not an existing live music scene or clubs that are consistently open," said SXSW director Roland Swenson. "And the acts from the east side don't want to play on the east side. They want to play downtown."

Another downside: East Austin is predominantly residential and more likely to draw noise complaints from neighbors unaccustomed to the around-the-clock rock of SXSW. Sandoval said Red's patio stage was visited by police a few times last year. "We've told the organizers to keep the sound levels down to comply," she said. "One of them is bringing his own decibel meter this year to make sure it doesn't go over."

As an indoor venue, the Victory Grill had no such noise concerns, and manager Eva Lindsey had considered applying for the Victory to return as an official venue — sanctioned by SXSW rather than a private party — but she couldn't be sure by the December deadline that necessary renovations would be completed in time. When Vice magazine reps called in early February, Lindsey was more confident she could get the Victory up and running for the fest.

A recent transplant from San Francisco, Joshua Bingaman of Progress Coffee is looking to SXSW as a way to let folks know about his new place, which opened at 500 San Marcos St. in November. Wednesday night's private party for Flaming Lips will be stocked with industry folks from out of town, but the public may attend Friday afternoon's free show, featuring Lips protégés Student Film and others.

"People had told us about 'the wall,' " said Bingaman. "There's supposed to be this barrier that prevents people from crossing I-35." But the wall comes crashing to bits this week, and Bingaman said he hopes it stays down. "More and more folks are looking past the freeway."

A visit to East Austin during SXSW used to mean carne guisada and margaritas at El Azteca or brisket and ribs from Sam's Bar-B-Cue before heading back downtown for the music. SXSW was a party yacht that east-siders could see from the shore, but this year it's docked at the edge of the I-35 river. East Austin is playing host to so many bands this week that it's possible, though not recommended, for music fans to get their fill of live music without venturing west of the interstate.