The second day of our musical marathon in Austin, and after the almost ritualistic search for free food in some of the many spaces occupied in the city by companies and initiatives participating in SXSW , we began our music-related activities by meeting up with the folks from Akeem Music , a great group from Porto Alegre, about whom I will talk more in one of the next reports. They shared our plan to check out the show by the Paraná trio Tuyo Music Festival would also take place a little later
At Empire Garage, aside from some confusion in the entrance line and the disappointment of the so-called Music Festival only offering two measly complimentary drinks, the night was still quite fun. At Tuyo's show, despite the presence of a few Brazilian groups here and there, the vast majority of the audience were non-Portuguese speakers, and for that very reason, the band's merit in engaging and energizing this audience seems even greater to me. More than the poetry of the lyrics in Portuguese, in Austin what stood out were the captivating melodies, the stage presence, and the charisma of the trio from Curitiba.
A few minutes before the show started, I spoke to a stylish American wearing a cowboy hat and lots of glitter, who was waiting very close to the stage. He didn't even know who was playing, but he was there to feel the "vibe." When I spotted this same guy from afar, dancing alone and super excited at the end of the show, I couldn't help but regain a little faith in the unity of the peoples and tribes of the world.
After Tuyo, we stayed at Empire Garage and, in addition to the guys from Akeem Music, we also met Gabriel Gonti , who we'll talk about later at the Festival. It's always great to see Brazilians supporting and checking out the work of their colleagues on occasions like this.
We then followed it up on the same stage with two more shows by some of the most interesting women. The electro-pop of South Korean Cifika and, on the other hand, South African Moonchild Sanelly with her self-proclaimed future ghetto punk. As I said, two of the most interesting women, but for the sake of brevity, I'll roughly limit myself to saying that Cifika has a Björk- (in a good way) while Moonchild is a mix of energy, rhythm, sex appeal, a South African accent, and exuberant blue hair.
Outside the Empire Garage, after sharing a Kung Pao Chicken table on the street with a random Canadian, we ended our night of coverage at Flamingo Cantina, which, according to some local friends we'd made earlier, is a classic Austin spot for "stoners," as they refer to those who enjoy consuming cannabis for recreational purposes.
We found Flamingo Cantina rather empty when we arrived, but we were happy to see that when the first beats of São Paulo rapper Bivolt started playing, the dance floor filled up enough to get excited, and from then on it only grew. Calling Bivolt a rapper is somewhat reductionist, and the very message of duality that her name carries speaks to this. She raps, she sings sweetly, she sings powerfully, she dances and jokes, all at the same time.
And just as we observed with the Tuyo crew, it was quite beautiful to witness the foreign audience letting themselves be carried away and feeling the music under Bivolt's direction, without necessarily understanding the lyrics.
That's all for today, more tomorrow!
