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Some thoughts on Odd Future’s abrupt exit from its official SXSW showcase
So is Odd Future the Andy Kaufman of hip-hop?
Or are they the objective correlative for everything that has gotten big and exhausting about the layers of hype, party and general craziness about SXSW?
The line outside the Billboard Magazine showcase at Buffalo Billiards started at around 8 p.m. Security was surly, the SXSW reps seemed a little tense. Based on the bananas reports from Odd Future’s eight billion other shows this week, things might get a little (or a lot) wild.
Odd Future’s live sets had been the talk of SXSW, with rumors of broken bones and wild energy from the group, especially their faintly bonkers frontman, Tyler the Creator.
While the line for non-badge holders was long (the cover was $20), badge and wristband holders seemed to get into the club swiftly. After every act, if seemed as if slightly more non-badge holders were let in along with a steady stream of badge-holders. I didn’t go back outside once I got in for fear of losing my spot in what I was certain would be a jammed room.
Tanya Morgan (a group, not a person) opened the set with a solid set of East Coast hip-hop, performed in front of a small but growing crowd.
The same thing happened for Big Sean, Black Milk (whose live rhythm section worked brilliantly) and Curren$y, who busted out a whole mess of a capella lyrical runs.
Big K.R.I.T., the DIY sensation now signed to Def Jam, brought the infectious energy of a man whose dreams are coming true, even if his slower jam material wasn’t quite as powerful as one might expect. You can’t argue with fists in the air for “Country (Expletive),” however.
Then Odd Future took the stage at midnight, more or less. Something seemed a little off. They charged into their first song, but the energy the crowd was banking on was just not there. Tyler became angry quickly, seemingly at the crowd in the back, mostly, declaring that the fans in front were cool and that the ones in the back were not.
Except a lot of those fans had just ponied up $20 to see them. It wasn’t just the industry folks and music bloggers Tyler trashed on Twitter in that audience (nevermind the idea of Odd Future dissing music bloggers is so next-level ironic that Tyler either has no idea how he got famous or is so completely eight moves ahead of everyone he may be President someday).
There were plenty of people who stood in line for the whole night to see them. They yelled at the crowd, shot obscenities at SXSW and Billboard (on whose cover their mugs can be found this week). There were plenty of industry types at all of the free parties that Odd Future had put their energy into earlier that week. After more tirade, a genuinely interesting moment when Tyler jumped on an amp and smacked a light with a microphone, and part of two more songs, they left.
When it became clear they were not coming back, fans left, many of whom looked royally hacked off. (There is YouTube footage of most of their shows this week, including the Billboard showcase.)
Lisa Binkert, Billboard.com’s hardworking and very nice multimedia coordinator who booked the show, looked as if she wanted to die. She sat at the bar and put her head in her hands. A shot was placed in front of her. Her facial expression said “Just leave the bottle.”
Very quickly afterward, Tyler Tweeted the following (all sic):
“Billboard Is Cool. That Show Was Stupid. Thanks To The Fans And (Expletive) That Was There In The Front. Wasn’t Billboards Fault, (Expletive) THAT CLUB”
“(Expletive) That Security Too. I Knew From That Point, It Wasn’t Swag.”
“OFWGKTA At VICE MAG: 2am oddfuture.com For Info. Click Cross”
“To Everyone In The Front, I’m Soooooo Sorry. Damn.”
“But (Expletive) That Place”
“(Expletive) Voice Is Gone. (Expletive).”
“Lisa, Thanks.”
“OFWGKTA (Expletive) All The Label Heads And Bloggers In The Pack. That Shit Pissed Me Off. I’m Still Having The Time Of My lIfe”
“Damn, 5k People At Mess With Texas! That’s Why It Was Our Best Show. So Much Fun.”
So we learned the following:
After trashing Billboard - the magazine that just put them on the cover before they even released an album - from the stage, Tyler went on Twitter to walk it back, even mentioning Binkert by name. After all, there’s big difference between biting the hand that feeds you and eating the whole arm.
Tyler knew exactly how buzzworthy the band has been at other, jammed shows. People was blow away by their fire.
This one was not jammed. His voice was also shot and he had one more party to go, this one presumably filled with people that he might assume (rightly or wrongly) were not as industry-oriented.
He is a teenager, and they can be obnoxious.
He either doesn’t know or doesn’t care how important bloggers were to Odd Future’s meteoric rise, or is expertly tuned in to the natural self-loathing of music critic/blogger types - he is rather betting they won’t mind his Tweet, or doesn’t care. No idea how much credit to give him here.
He is more punk rock than anyone has yet given him credit for.
Security at Buffalo Billiards harshed his mellow for reasons that remain unknown. (I mean, they sure harshed mine, and I wasn’t nearly as important as the talent.)
So the parties kill, the official showcase is a bust, either intentionally or un-, and the buzz is on-going, either good or bad.
Is this the odd future of SXSW?
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Permalink | Comments (4) | Categories: SXSW 2011
Comments
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By Person
March 20, 2011 8:27 PM | Link to this
One album and this Tyler guy is already a Diva
By cm
March 20, 2011 10:29 PM | Link to this
brat
By BS Detector
March 21, 2011 12:12 PM | Link to this
Oh, yay. Another self-important rap “artist” from LA, sponsored by the virtually unknown Billboard magazine. Just the kind of innovative, independent, and locally-grown music that $X$W has gotten so good at showcasing.
By Noah
March 22, 2011 12:12 PM | Link to this
Nothing punk rock about them at all, just a big bag of boring….