At SXSW, it's the thrill of the unknown
AUSTIN, Texas - Last Thursday at a hole-in-the-wall on the far end of 6th Street, Heri Schwartz, who is from the Faroe Islands, paced the foot of the stage, swinging his keytar like a mad scientist with a shrunken Hammond organ. Singer-guitarist Zachariasson - a soul screamer, TV evangelist, and rock god rolled into one - noted in a thick Nordic accent that his rear end was on fire. The pair jumped off the stage and tried to start a mosh pit while playing their instruments. The small crowd inched closer to frenzy. It was the Boys in a Band's first song.
The next day, under a punishing afternoon sun, Heloise Williams could hardly see through the eye make-up streaming down her cheeks. A bottle blonde with a fondness for spandex and all that glitters, Williams was leading her band, Heloise & the Savoir Faire, in a nasty bit of '70s disco rock. She laid out her mission fast and furious: "Trash, rats, and microphones/ That's where I'm at/ Why don't you leave me alone?"
A few hours later, Thomas Bartlett hunched over his piano, his voice barely raised above a whisper. In the solemn confines of Central Presbyterian Church, Bartlett and his four-piece band Doveman conjured melancholy dreams about collapsing castles and stars that refused to shine. His hushed intensity moved parishioners to lean in to receive his languid sermons.
This is why we and more than 12,000 other music fans and industry insiders make the annual pilgrimage to South by Southwest. The panels are informative, but the beating heart of the music business's premier global gathering is the thrill of discovering the great unknown band. More than 1,700 acts (some more familiar than others) vied for attention at this year's festival, which is both a new-artist marketplace and a high-wattage opportunity for veterans to spark interest in forthcoming albums.
Alternative-rock pioneers R.E.M. set up shop in the backyard at Stubb's barbecue joint, iconic singer-songwriter Van Morrison played new tunes at a Mexican restaurant, and seminal punks X remind ed a roomful of conventioneers that a fistful of raw chords still matters.
Despite the marked absence of buzz bands going in - the recent Columbia grads in Vampire Weekend were the closest thing to cachet upstarts, and they are so six weeks ago - four days of trolling the clubs turned up a trove of excellent new music and intriguing trends.
Last year we noted the triumphant return of the power trio, and in 2008 musicians are making do with even less: mirroring the shrinking record business, bands have trimmed their rosters as well. The duo is seeing a resurgence across the board, in rock, dance music, pop, and electronica, and twosomes delivered some of the festival's most captivating showcases.
Portland's the Helio Sequence cobbled a set of edgy, atmospheric Americana that blurred the line between roots music and ambient sound. San Francisco experimental-folksters the Dodos charmed with their raucous country drones. The Ting Tings, a saucy British drum-and-guitar duo, played buoyant club rock drenched in feel-good hooks, minimalist grooves, and indie abandon that anointed the pair one of the event's most exciting young acts.
Actors who try to cross over into music often get savaged, but it's unlikely Zooey Deschanel will be raked over the coals. The "Elf" star proved more than credible as a vocalist, pianist, and songwriter in her stunning set with She & Him, her partnership with M. Ward. The pair showcased beautiful harmonies and simpatico, old-time soul and country instincts, including a tender version of Sam Cooke's "Bring It on Home to Me."
The strongest showing of female singer-songwriters since the ladies of Lilith roamed the earth turned up at SXSW, and the new generation of songbirds is proving to be a quirkier and more diverse bunch than their forebears.
England's Laura Marling, at the ripe age of 17, held a roomful of rowdies in thrall with her terse, nimble voice and oddly shaped, understated songs that turned barbed without warning. New York troubadour Jaymay delivered a series of clear-eyed break-up narratives with an old-school, music-hall feel. Berklee-bred, Boston-based Madi Diaz restored faith in the future of folk-pop, while Priscilla Ahn one-upped Norah Jones with a pristine set of slightly jazzy, vaguely twangy, entirely lovely tunes from her forthcoming debut on Blue Note.
Of course, rising female starlets don't just spring from England and the US. Coming soon to a
The sea of sounds at SXSW spanned angular avant rock, retro-soul revivals, assaultive metal mania, and an island of straight-up pop classicism from Jim Boggia. The Philadelphia singer-songwriter possesses a voice whose grain has surely been earned by a lifetime of hearty laughter and intense conversation. A student of melody with a gift for the clever and cutting, he played songs that split your sides one minute and made you cry the next.
Likewise, David Dondero loosed a set of deep, smart pop-rock that draws a line from the great musical storyteller Townes Van Zandt to gifted indie scribe Conor Oberst (Dondero's protege and label boss). The North Carolinian is no newcomer - Dondero has been around since the early '90s - but based on his gripping performance here in Austin, his profile is criminally low.
Hip-hop continued to expand its visibility at the festival, with 150 acts that included such big names as Ice Cube, Dizzee Rascal, and Clipse.
"We're here to save rap music!" crowed Lord T, the powdered-wig-sporting leader of the Memphis "aristocrunk" trio Lord T & Eloise. (His compatriots were rocking curlers and a Vietnamese conical hat, respectively.) Apparently, the plan is to ease on down the road to salvation with the help of booty-moving beats, sweetly sung soul hooks, and tight rhymes about unexpected topics like snooty friends. While their look bordered on the absurd, their flow was seriously strong.
Reminding us of M.I.A. and Dizzee Rascal, Mala Rodríguez is an unlikely hip-hop sensation in her native Spain - a 29-year-old woman who raps about life on the streets with flamenco flair. She was nothing short of a gale force and she kept good company: two MCs, a female back-up rapper, and a DJ spinning fat hip-hop beats. How she isn't packing theaters in the US yet is a mystery.
But that's the point: A musician can arrive in Austin an unknown and leave a rising star. Which brings us to 23-year-old pop chanteuse Duffy. Already the owner of a number one single in the UK, Duffy made her US debut in Austin with style. Her Motown-informed grooves and girl-group gestures drew inevitable and apt comparisons to last year's "It Girl," Amy Winehouse.
"You don't know the record here in America," Duffy said, "but don't worry, we'll talk you through it."
So she did, delivering a welcome shot of excitement on the festival's final night and riding out of town - like the lucky few - with masses of new fans in tow.
James Reed of the Globe staff contributed.
