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Live review: L.A.X.
Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN
If there’s any genre of music that calls for muggy and muddy conditions, it’s heavy metal. But if there were two, it would be heavy metal and dance pop — after all, a good electronic dance show has no higher goal than to get its attendees as grimy, dirty and sweaty as possible, and half that job was already done by the festival grounds themselves.
And it was in that spirit that local sextet L.A.X. played for a tiny-but-appreciative crowd, adding a bongo player and playing a mix of new material from their forthcoming “A” EP and tried-and-true club materal like “Dancin.’” Band leader Andrew Collins sang and played keys with an impressive fervor — and though usually performing under waves of auto-tune it was interesting to hear his occasionally undistorted voice — but largely yielded the floor to L.A.X.’s secret weapons: vocalists Erin Jantzen and Yadira Brown. With commanding voices and stage presences to match, they’re ideal front women who manage the difficult job of selling some of the band’s more outre lyrics — L.A.X. toss out more obscenities before noon than most bands do all day. The new material showed a marked growth over songs written for the ‘L’ EP, with better hooks and a more finely tuned electropop style.
But the morning’s standout moment came as Austin rapper and man-about-scene Zeale joined the band for “Pump to the Beat,” managing an impressive freestyle and electrifying the groggy crowd. As a man of at least 50 danced passionately in an L.A.X. shirt near the front of the audience, it was clear that L.A.X.’s increasingly energetic live shows and catchy material are beginning to pay off.
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Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: ACL 2009: Sunday, ACL Festival 2009
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By Erin's mom
October 4, 2009 4:42 PM | Link to this
So proud of you Erin, Andrew, Yadira and the rest of the L.A.X. gang! The skies the limit now - so buckle up !!!
By the zeale's fan
October 5, 2009 9:46 PM | Link to this
Zeale is the best. Soon the world will know it as well.