There’s nothing like a day show at South by Southwest. For those that have never partaken, picture your favorite bars all opening at noon and serving free beer and free food while some of your favorite bands play (again, for free). By far the hardest part of the whole weekend (besides deciding to skip round one of the NCAA tournament) is figuring out whose free beer you’re going to drink. Luckily, your boy Jon G has come through with a handy-dandy guide to the SXSW ‘08 day shows. Here’s a list of the best day shows on Thursday (note: all showtimes are courtesy of Showlist Austin).

Red Eyed Fly (starts at 11:00AM, free entrance, free bloody marys and beer) – The Raveonettes, The Black Angels, Peel – Tough to beat the free booze that Red Eyed Fly offers. Also, Blackbird swears by the Black Angels, and I can vouch for Peel’s badassedness.

Emo’s – The Shout Out Louds, Tokyo Police Club, The Stills, Georgie James – This one might be worth it for Tokyo Police Club alone. They’ll be playing multiple times around the city during the festival, and are an absolute must-see. Adding The Shout Out Louds and The Stills, who I’ve been a fan of for a couple years but have yet to see, is pretty huge.

Beauty Bar – (12-6 – free entry, free beer, coffee, and food) – Two Gallants, Film School, Scissors for Lefty – The Bay Area Takeover, a showcase of San Francisco’s best upcoming bands. We’ve featured Two Gallants, and will be featuring Scissors for Lefty next week. They have been on heavy rotation ever since discovery.

The Parish – Shout Out Louds (1:30), Jens Lekman (2:15), Vampire Weekend (5:00) – I’ve promised myself that I would see Jens Lekman at SXSW, but will probably wait until Friday when he plays at Club DeVille. If you want to catch Vampire Weekend at a day show, you’ll either have to do it here or at Stubb’s on Friday (which is invite-only).

7th & Red River – (free show) – The Raveonettes (11:00), DeVotchka (2:30) – If you’re one of those people who can’t wait until after noon to begin rocking, make sure you start your day here. And have a michaladas for me.

Trophy’s – Land of Talk – I’ve never been to this place before, but Land of Talk is fantastic.

Please note: this is not even close to an entire listing of all the bands that are playing at each venue, much less all the shows that are available. For a full listing, check out Showlist Austin (which also doesn’t claim to have a full list). If you know of another good show to check out, let us know in the comments.