Monday, March 18th, 2013 // Blogs,SXSW
Local Natives were just as awesome as one would expect them to be. They came onto the stage at the Mohawk at 1 a.m. and the place was packed. There was a line winding around the block outside. Many weary fans who crowded into the tiny audience area instantly gained energy as the band took the stage. With only 40 minutes to play, Local Natives played their most well-known songs, including “Airplanes,” “Wide Eyes,” “Sun Hands” and a few from their new album Hummingbird, including “You and I” and “Heavy Feet.” The audience knew every word to every song and swayed along as Local Natives delivered their famous reverb-laden harmonies and guitar riffs with exceptional quality. The harmonies were mostly spot on, and at some point in the show every member of the band played a percussion instrument, further reinforcing the band’s unique reverb-driven folk-rock. All in all, I was impressed with Local Natives. They came out with a lot of energy and delivered their songs really well. They extended a few songs and engaged the audience with some singing and clapping along. They seemed thrilled to be performing at such an intimate venue for a crowd of huge fans of their music and the joy that they seemed to experience onstage rippled out to the audience to create one of the most sincere performances I saw at SXSW.
Post by Kyle Henson. His DJ show “The Roots of Pop” airs Sundays at 6 p.m.
Monday, March 18th, 2013 // Blogs,SXSW
Seeing Kodaline was the happiest accident that happened to me at SXSW. After misreading The Red Eyed Fly’s schedule, I expected to see Swim Deep but instead saw four Irishmen playing and singing their hearts out in perfect harmony. When I stumbled into the show, Kodaline had just started their song “All I Want.” Delicate harmonies soon picked up to an anthemic, driven chorus of rousing ooohs reminiscent of Mumford & Sons and I nearly fell in love. In the ten minutes of their show that I saw, the lead singer played mandolin, keys, and guitar. The bassist played keys as well and harmonized with all three other members of the band to create sincere, honest folk music. Kodaline delivered an engaging performance and clearly poured their hearts into their respective instruments and microphones. Walking off of the stage sweaty, tired, and content with their performance, they were swarmed with people asking for autographs and trying to get to know more about the band. With just an EP out, Kodaline has a bit of a ways to go to make it big, but the strength of their live show is enough to create a fan out of anyone who sees them perform.
Post by Kyle Henson. His DJ show “The Roots of Pop” airs Sundays at 6 p.m.
Monday, March 18th, 2013 // Blogs,SXSW
I was honestly surprised that when Alt-J took the stage they weren’t accompanied by a MacBook. The sun was beating down on a packed outdoor performance area at Waterloo Records as Alt-J delivered a very skilled performance that was simply four guys playing their instruments with some electronic drums, bass synths and oodles of guitar effects thrown in the mix. What surprised me the most about the show was that despite sounding very electronic and produced, Alt-J’s album, An Awesome Wave, must’ve involved little to no post-production at all. Their live show was almost like listening to the album on huge speakers. This was both a good and bad thing. Clearly the band was astoundingly polished and the performers were very talented, being able to deliver a really complex and layered sound with just keys, guitar and bass. Yet Alt-J’s show lacked energy. They didn’t move around, jam out, extend any songs, or really interact with the audience. They simply delivered a very good rendition of their album, no more, no less. They played all the songs one would expect at their show and executed them very well. While Alt-J’s music is fantastic, they’re clearly a band with comfort in the studio creating these complex and layered arrangements rather than thriving off of the energy of the crowd.
Post by Kyle Henson. His DJ show “The Roots of Pop” airs Sundays at 6 p.m.
