Taking a cursory look at LIGHTS music and videos may give you the impression that her world is one of happy, bright poppy innocence. It’s rather ironic then, that LIGHTS finds her inspiration in the darkness. “It totally spawns from darkness though, and that’s’ how I keep myself happy.”
It seems like Eastern Europe is finally starting to get some respect from Americans. Nico Bellic and the GTA giant made thick accents cool. Gogol Bordello has been able to take his mustachioed gypsy punk to a mainstream audience while smaller acts like Golem and The Sway Machinery are putting a fresh spin on ancient sounds.
The Sway Machinery’s Hidden Melodies Revealed: “Anim Zemiros”
Gavin, drums (on left)
Chad, bass and keyboards
JT sings and samples
Andy sings and plays guitar
The Paper Route play their second SXSW, and this year have taken a slightly less intense schedule, playing two shows instead of four. Big fans of the music festival/conference/freebie schmoozefest, the Nashville quartet is enjoying their time in Austin. Even when I told them that Allen’s boot shop sold hats that said “Nashville Sucks,” they had nothing bad to say about the city. Ascribing the hats to a long-running country music rivalry of which the Paper Route wants no part, they proclaimed to be “hurt” and “disappointed” over their city’s treatment. “You can be there and not really know that country exists,” Chad says.
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Bands like VersaEmerge are one of the greatest parts about SXSW. The scrappy quintet of Florida pop punk rockers was unloading their own equipment when I caught up with them. They recently released an EP on the Fueled By Ramen, and are going to be one of the headlining acts on this year’s Warped Tour.
It’s pretty rare to come across an act the caliber of Somali-Canadian-Earthling K’naan. I can safely say he’s the only artist at SXSW whose last gig before jumping a jet to ATX was playing at the UN General Assembly. That probably makes him the only person to have rapped for Nas and Desmond Tutu. Lucky badge-holders are already lining up to catch K’naan’s next set at one of the festival’s most interesting evenings of music showcases, Afro-Punk, which will be hitting Austin Music Hall Thursday night. The collection of artists are all leading the charge away from over-commercialized rap and into uncharted territories. Big Boi will be playing with a punk band along with Janelle Moreau, K’naan and Dallas Austin.
You are robbing from yourself if you don’t find a chance to see King Khan and the Shrines during this year’s festival. From the moment Khan steps onto the stage, cape flowing and beer pitcher in hand, the audience is within his grasp. An unholy concoction of Elvis, Ike Turner and the Sonics, it wasn’t more than ten minutes before the small crowd at Bird’s Barbershop was singing back a slamming call-and-response on the topic of transsexuals.