This year we sent some of our finest writers to witness SXSW first hand and mingle. there was also a lot of music to see.
Ramesh Srivastava | Peckerheads (Baeble Music Party)
When people ask me what my definitive “SXSW moment” I’m hard pressed to think of a better occasion than catching Ramesh by chance. Having met a friend for a quick drink I overheard a door man muttering something about “the dude from Voxtrot” playing an unscheduled show in a few minutes.
Voxtrot are this band whose music I’ve always loved but sadly had never had a chance to see live before they split in 2010 and I was keen to hear the singer/songwriter’s new output.
His stripped-down solo performance showcased a set of highly personal, portrait-like, songs and an unfettered glimpse into his heart. Reeling off new instant classics and favourites from his old band to a half empty room didn’t seem to phase him.
Pared down to a single stool, guitar, and mic, Ramesh owned the intimacy and his voice didn’t even crack.
The Orwells | The Main & The Jr (Brooklyn Vegan Party)
All piss and vinegar, punk rockers The Orwells put on an utterly refreshing live show. Mostly fueled by a raucous performance from front man, Mario Cuomo, who may or may not have been completely shit faced.
King Tuff | The Main & The Jr (Brooklyn Vegan Party)
These sleazy motherfu#*@%^s will win you over with their shit-eating grins and sense of humor, but the originality of the vocals on these stoner-rock tunes is what’s really fresh to death. King Tuff is here to stay.
Ester Rada | The Stage on 6th (Nat Geo Party)
An air of effortlessness and ease characterize this soulful songstress’s stage presence, whose grace is rivaled only by her beauty. Ester Rada arrived to Austin accompanied just by her jazz guitarist, this set featured a range of styles from her Ethiopian roots, to contemporary R&B.
thoroughly enjoyable and contagious throughout Ester is one of those artists we want to keep a close eye on.
Haim | Stubb’s Bar-B-Q
With our tempers already frayed and our bullshit meters set to 100000 we headed a large group of assorted bloggers, musicians and friends toward’s the Haim show at Stubb’s Bar B-Q figuring this would the “easiest” option to guarantee us all entry.
The thinking wasn’t so skewed and the line of was more than manageable but once we hit the front one overzealous security guard took exception with some of our camera equipment despite holding all the right credentials. I understand people have to do their jobs but at this point he was going out of his way just to ruin our experience.
While bosses after bosses was being summoned to rectify the situation I quickly left the debate not wanting to miss Haim again this week.
After all that had gone on this show could have been an underwhelming performance but in fairness to the sisters they really killed it live playing their catalogue with much more gusto and showmanship than is immediately evident on album and making a real connection with their audience. Bravo.
Delorean | Mohawk (True Panther Sounds x Terrible Records)
After all that hoo-hah to get into the Haim show we were definitely in need of something a little more on the chill side to end the night and Delorean came to the rescue.
A personal favorite South By discovery, this Barcelona-based group has an expansive, uplifting sound. Native to the club scene, they play a fine line between dance, rock, and electro.
For the last show of the week-long fest, we danced our cares away.
