FauxSW

Young Jeezy rapped it best: "It's the recession — everybody's broke!" That being the case, South by Southwest, Austin, Texas' annual orgy of music and networking, is beyond many of our means.

While catching local SxSWers, Dear and the Headlights, Kinch, The Love Me Nots, The Maine, Miniature Tigers, and What Laura Says throughout the year should be some consolation, sometimes you wanna see a national act.

We crunched the numbers and, sadly, even restricting expenditures to road-tripping the 17 hours it takes to reach the 512 and subsisting on 85-cent Tamale House breakfast tacos once you're there doesn't get you the precious SxSW badge ($695!) you'll need to catch the performances everyone will be tweeting about. Like Futurecop!, for instance.

Producers Manzur Iqbal and Peter Carrol from Manchester and London, respectively, sought to create music forged from their love of '80s fantasy and teen farce films. The SxStateside Showcase at the Rhythm Room will be awash in their resplendent, unabashed synth pop on Tuesday, March 24. Also on the line-up are the critically-lauded Cali bands Princeton and Dusty Rhodes and the River Band.


Mon., March 16, 6:30 p.m., 2009