Text written by Gui Beck
Photos by Rafael Beck
Our first day, March 14th, with eyes and ears attentive to the musical performances at SXSW , started very well on the traditional and bohemian Rainey Street, at the Container Bar, where the Texan city of Fort Worth was promoting the third and final day of an occupation designed to promote the city's business and tourism.
Let's be honest, it was early afternoon and the rumor of a "free BBQ" piqued our curiosity early on. We didn't find the free food, but we temporarily satisfied our hunger with two cans of Lone Star and were soon pleasantly surprised by the music of Abraham Alexander . Greek by birth and of Nigerian descent, Alexander came to Fort Worth as a child. His music is full of feeling, his voice is velvety yet powerful, and he has an elegant stage presence. The unusual and lean combination of voice + guitar (played by himself) + 3 backing vocals was surprisingly complete and harmonious.
Early in the evening we went to Cedar Street Courtyard, occupied here by the British Music Embassy, which brings only UK artists to SXSW. We went to check out a promising live show with plenty of energy from the guys in Gallus , a Scottish punk band formed in a Glasgow pub. The expectation created by their Best Live Act at the Scottish Alternative Music Awards was not disappointed.
The shows here at the Festival usually last 30 to 40 minutes, given the large number of performances that need to fit into the time we have to watch, but Gallus' 40 minutes seemed, from the beginning, like the most energetic part of a show. It included two highly interactive walks by vocalist Barry Dolan through the crowd and the show ended with half the band piled up in the middle of the stage like a single exhausted, still-living organism. Following Gallus' show, we decided to wait for the next act from the UK crowd.
Based on our experience here, you plan a portion of the attractions you want to see and leave a bit of it to chance because some of the artists you discover by surprise end up being the most interesting.
Nuha Ruby Ra , the London-based artist who took to the stage alone at precisely 9 pm, accompanied only by her electronic beats, sounds, and dissonances, proved to be one of those interesting surprises. Perhaps not in the sense of "I'm going to put on some nice music to listen to" or even "I'm going to go heavy on the music selection to energize myself," but I would say that Nuha Ruby Ra is more for when you're in that David Lynch . Live, contrary to what one might expect due to her unorthodox musical style, the performer engaged and made the audience scream along with her, while paradoxically seducing everyone with faces, expressions, and poses. See some photos of what happened below.
Today, the 15th, is day #2 of the Music Festival and we're already heading to check out the shows. We'll have another report tomorrow!
