Poor Man's Guide to SXSW

Chances are, if you're reading this, you didn't make it down to Austin this year for the annual 5-day orgy of live music that is the South By Southwest music conference. However, that doesn't mean you have to miss out on all the fun. Rather than dropping mad chedda' on airfare, admission and booze, you can have your own SXSW experience right here in Chicago for little more than $10. Step 1: Add Texas Flavor The first step to your local SXSW experience is to re-create the atmosphere of the event. The massive crowd of music industry execs, fans, SXSW volunteers, band members and roadies is going to pretty hard to re-create...and there doesn't appear to be a Texas-sized heat wave coming to the city anytime soon to mimic the moderate Austin climate. However, you can add a little Austin flavor to your local festivities. SXSW is a great excuse to go on a 5-day drinking bender and Austin has almost as many bars as Chicago...so let's start with the booze first. Go to Binny's and pick up a case or two of Lone Star, the official beer of Texas...and a local favorite in Austin and at SXSW. Downing a few of those, and you'll be feeling the Texas spirit in no time! (Actually, if you are ever in Austin, I'd recommend local favorites Shiner Bock and Fat Tire, but unfortunately you won't find those in Chicago) As much as Austin loves to drink, Austin also loves to eat...a lot. And, like everywhere else in Texas, the plate of the day is always BBQ. So go to your local grocery store and get yourself a heapin' helpin of beef or pork. Then marinade it, cook it and smother it in Stubb's BBQ sauce (available at Jewell). Stubb's is a landmark restaurant in Austin that is famous not only for their amazing sauce, but also for their big outdoor music venue adjacent to the restaurant. Stubb's is a must stop for food on any Austin trip, and not a bad place to see a show, either! Step 2: Add Austin Style Now that you've got the flava, you're going to need to sport the SXSW look as well. Essential to the look is the gratuitous cowboy hat. Yes, nothing says "I'm in a band playing SXSW" more than the ironically-worn cowboy hat. And, it goes great with just about any motif ...rocker, hipster, rapper, emo, punk, etc... so it's an easy and cheap way to look your Austin best. For added affect, grab some dirty jeans and a smelly t-shirt from the hamper and don't bathe for the rest of the weekend...this will give you both the look and smell of a SXSW patron who has just spent the last 5 days traveling in a van to play a gig. Step 3: Crank up the Music Ah yes, I almost forgot...the whole point of this excursion to Austin is check out copious amounts of music. Thanks to the widespread availability of broadband connections, you can now experience a lot of this music madness from the comforts of your own home or office. First, you can check out live coverage of the event via two of the best internet radio stations in the country, WOXY.com and KCRW.com. Today (3/17) on WOXY, (aka 97X...BAM!...The Future of Rock and Roll) you can hear an entire day of performances. Here's the scheduled line-up: THE CRIBS (1-1:20pm) NICOLAI DUNGER (1:35-1:55pm) GIANT DRAG (2:10-2:35pm) FEIST (2:50-3:15pm) EARLIMART (3:30-3:55pm) THE NATIONAL (4:10-4:35pm) THE FRAMES (4:50-5:15pm) On KCRW, "Morning Becomes Eclectic" host Nic Harcourt will be broadcasting his show live from the studios of KUT-FM in Austin on Thursday and Friday (11a-2p Chicago time). During Friday's show, "pop-based and soul-inspired" band World Leader Pretend is scheduled to perform, but the show also promises "more guests to be announced." While they're not providing live coverage, another great internet radio station is providing a re-cap of SXSW festivities on Saturday. Tune-in to Seattle's KEXP.org on Saturday (3/12) for the Audioasis program (8-11p Chicago time), where John Richards and Co. will be highlighting this year's SXSW performers from the Pacific Northwest. Finally, if all those streaming broadcasts aren't enough, you can check out the event's very own web stream at www.SXSW.com. Click on the "SXSW Player" to hear a continual stream of artists featured at the event. The site also features hoards of MP3 downloads, band bios, pictures and more. With about 1200 acts scheduled every year, scrolling through everything on the site should keep you busy for a while. ....Yeah, I know, listening on-line on your little PC speakers isn't even close to experiencing a live show in a great venue; and I have to admit, the Lone Star and Stubb's always taste better when you're in Austin. But, unless you want to shell out a few hundred bucks for a last minute flight, this is as close as you're going to get experiencing SXSW 2005. Besides, how can you resist an excuse to consume tons of BBQ and beer in front of your PC while wearing a cowboy hat?? Sounds like a good weekend to me!