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SXSW review: Childish Gambino (Donald Glover)
“Thanks for letting me come out and do this,” Donald Glover remarked a couple songs into his packed showcase kicking off the night at Red 7.
“I mean, I’m a comedian. If Dane Cook had a show I would not be at that show,” he quipped.
For a funny man, it turns out that Glover is actually quite serious about his music. Predictably deft with the wordplay, he spits rhymes with the bravado of a battle rapper. Stylistically, his music covers a wide range. His four-piece band dropped everything from an aggressive percussive opener which included rhythms pounded on a rubber trash can and a piece of sheet metal to delicate harmonies drawn from a violin. Glover also sings. He doesn’t have the velvety croon of a traditional r&b singer, but there’s a simplicity to his falsetto and a palpable ache of vulnerability that drive his love songs home. The fact that the young actor is easy on the eyes also certainly doesn’t hurt his appeal and the sensitive sections of his showcase made the ladies scream.
But Glover’s main intent was to rock the party hard. “I don’t mind if you’re a hipster,” he called out late in his set before launching into a raucous groove, “but y’all better dance.”
And dance they did.
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Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: SXSW 2011
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By skrapoel
March 20, 2011 10:57 PM | Link to this
After that, Donald Glover was a no-show at the Esther’s Follies showcase at 11:15 PM. The audience wasn’t told until 12:30 when he was supposed to hit the stage. Lot’s of tweets spotting him at Kanye West instead.
2 hours of other bands I could have seen. Kinda killed the last night of SXSW for me.