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SXSW final thoughts: Deborah Sengupta Stith
When I talked to her the afternoon before her set, DJ Rekha asked me what the Desi scene in Austin was like. I told her it’s young, predominantly comprised of UT kids. We shared a moment over the fact that as 30-somethings, we’re old for Desis. There were no Indian sororities and fraternities when I came up. At the party later that night, there were scant SXSW badges in the house, but a pack of young Desis showed up and they danced and danced. It made me happy to see my people represent like that. | Video
The Mexican American Cultural Center is my new favorite performance venue in Austin. The building itself left me awestruck during the Frog Design Interactive Fest party, but it was the Border Music Sessions party on the plaza on Friday night that really stands out as my favorite SXSW experience. It was a balmy night and dancing on the banks of the river to the irresistible rhythms of Venezuelan powerhouse Los Amigos Invisibles was amazing. Light patterns from the stage pinwheeled across the graceful arch of the building while the city’s ever expanding skyline glittered in the distance. Simply divine. I gushed ridiculously in the video we did (I’m new to this whole video thing), but I was really moved. | Video
David Banner is crazy. He’s wild, uncontrollable and utterly off the chain. He told the audience at the Fader Fort on Saturday that he likes playing SXSW because he can showcase his work that won’t get commercial airtime. Then he proceeded to rock the majority of his killer set in the audience, moshing, spraying beverages of every ilk and even climbing on the shoulders of one of the photographers in the front row who carried him through the crowd. Oh yeah, and apparently his DJ canceled at the last moment, so he brought along hip-hop legend Manny Fresh as a replacement. | Video
Perez Hilton in person was everything I expected he might be, goofy, enthusiastic and packing a quick-witted self-promotional scheme. The party seemed promising when we first showed up. We bumped into friends, sipped mojito’s and contemplated getting coiffed at the beautification station. But if the hour-long set change before N.E.R.D. took the stage at 3 a.m. wasn’t a buzzkill, the crappy house mix which bumped away during said set change certainly was. It included a take on Enya’s “Sail Away.” Really. Why would they do such a thing? At one point I thought it might just be me, but only handfuls of hipsters were dancing. By the time N.E.R.D. finally appeared I was cranky and quickly figured out there’s a huge sonic chasm between the Neptunes I love so much and the thrashy aggro-vibe of N.E.R.D. We left after a few songs. | Video
Pleasant surprise: Believe the hype. Swedish songstress Lykke Li is not only mad talented but adorable. I’d heard a lot of buzz around her name, but I wasn’t planning to see her. When I inadvertently caught her set at the Fader Fort, I was very impressed. | Video
Home team plug: Austin’s Brownout! tore it up at Club DeVille on Saturday. The ultra-tight instrumental funk ensemble proved that Austinites never have to leave town to see world-class music.
Overheard at the fest: Club DeVille, Saturday night, hipster girl in short black dress to older gent: “Well, I just sell my panties on the Internet…”
(Pictured: David Banner at the Fader party)
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