TCB

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Tick Tock

Things have never been more placid and serene around the Chronicle office than right now, and that goes double for our SXSW neighbors across the volleyball court. It's not like they have a music festival to run next week or anything.

"I'm fucking tired," says SXSW Music Creative Director Brent Grulke between yawns. "I want a nap."

When he and fellow staffers aren't tending to last-minute logistics like moving the New York Dolls to Stubb's and John Cale to La Zona Rosa, trying to rescue the imperiled Scarface showcase, and plugging in late-breaking adds like MF Doom, Grulke admits he's as amused as everyone else at the fantastical rumors that crop up as the buildup begins to crest.

"I hear everybody in the world," agrees Grulke. "A couple of years ago, we heard Bruce Springsteen, and we were fully prepared to believe he was really coming and was going to do something. I don't know any better than anybody else does, particularly if it's somebody like that, because they really can move in and out undetected."

One rumor that definitely isn't true is the Arcade Fire as the Merge showcase's special guests; the Montreal mopers are booked in jolly olde London that day. Another eyebrow-raiser was Interpol and Spoon joining forces to play under an assumed name, but the New York kids will be en route from Missouri to Florida, leaving Britt Daniel and company with a little extra room on the guest list for their March 17 Austin City Limits taping with Ray LaMontagne.

Though people waiting for the purported Geto Boys reunion will have to keep waiting, every so often one does turn out to be true, like the original lineup of Guided by Voices as special guests at their own hoot night Thursday at Emo's. Like most SXSW shows, a (very) limited number of tickets will be available first-come first-served at the door for those lacking badges or wristbands, which once again sold out a heartbeat after becoming available.

Wristbands are currently going for between $150 and $225 on eBay; SXSW plans to release more Wednesday once they determine how many they can sell and still leave crowds with a modicum of elbow room – which, Grulke notes, is often more than people might think.

"[Historically], most people with wristbands have been able to get into most shows. That's what we want to and need to maintain."

Maintaining sanity, on the other hand, is now a luxury best left to a different week. SXSW is here. Hold on tight and enjoy the ride.