On our sixth and final day of truly exploring the music scene in Texas, we headed back to East Austin, or the west side, in good Portuguese. It was very close to where we spoke with the guys from Taipei Houston , but this time at a different place, Easy Tiger, a bakery/pastry shop and beer garden, as far as I understood.
The afternoon of shows was the work of the Brazilian production company Brain Productions, in a heroic production marathon in Austin. The outdoor stage space, or Patio, was very large and the place itself quite pleasant, but the sun had become relentless once again and enjoying the early afternoon shows would be for the few.
However, neither Atalhos nor Tagua Tagua , the two shows by Brazilian artists that we went to see, were deterred by the less-than-ideal conditions. I think everyone who saw ongoing projects postponed by the pandemic is happy to be here doing things, making contacts, playing shows, showcasing their music, and so on. Whether at night, with a full house, or during the day, with a few people taking refuge from the scorching sun in the shadows somewhat distant from the stage.
Also common between the duo Atalhos, from the interior of São Paulo, and Felipe Puperi , who performs as Tagua Tagua, is the need to reduce the size of the band completing the show in order to perform at SXSW. This is a constant, incidentally, in most shows by bands with more than three members that we've seen here. Even though Austin is a major venue, it's still far away and expensive for most people coming from outside the region, especially if you're accompanied by a band with six or seven members, for example.
Armed with their voices, guitars, and hats (perhaps in a nod of recognition from the São Paulo country bumpkin to the Texan cowboy), Gabriel Soares and Conrado Passarelli, from Atalhos, performed accompanied by a bassist and drummer, delivering a fantastic soundtrack for that early afternoon. Known in Brazil, among other things, for the many literary references in their lyrics, in Austin the spotlight had to be on the pleasant 80s sound of their folk rock. And that's perfectly fine. The language barrier doesn't seem to make much difference when the melodies are captivating. We talked about this with Felipe from Tagua Tagua, and he told us that he always thinks about how we Brazilians grew up listening to and loving music in English, even without understanding any of the lyrics, and that's far from being an obstacle to connection.
Tagua Tagua also performed as a quartet (a slight adaptation according to Felipe, as it was possible to complete the ensemble with a brass section), and despite what I pointed out earlier about the sun driving the audience away from the front of the stage, the sound was fantastic. Those nearby certainly enjoyed it while drinking their beer and eating their burger, or their pretzel with mustard, which was something I was quite curious about. This would only be the first of three shows of the day for them. Other stages, other audiences, new chances for connection.
After our scorching hot adventure at Easy Tiger, we returned to the city center to grab what would be our last complimentary Shiner Bock beers at SXSW, just to relax between appointments. It was the last few minutes of business at that area in front of the Convention Center, where we could stop by every day to recharge, and because we were in the final stretch of the festival, the staff there were generous, giving out two cans per person, which helped a lot to refresh us. A shower and a change of clothes later, and we were ready for the main event of the night: the show by the Brazilian duo ANAVITÓRIA , on one of Austin's most prestigious and unusual stages, the Central Presbyterian Church.
By far the best-known Brazilian act participating in SXSW, the girls from Araguaína enchanted with the delicacy of their voices and melodies, performing on the same altar where Billie Eilish performed at the 2018 edition of the festival. The acoustics and grandeur of the church only lent the performance a little more of that solemnity that makes an entire hall fall silent to hear someone's whisper. In the audience, many were Brazilian, judging by their reaction to the artists' humorous comments in Portuguese, who were always very friendly and seemed amazed by the whole experience. On the other hand, this is another one of those cases where music transcends language, so I think the non-Portuguese-speaking audience also left with a very good feeling.
It was already past 11 PM when we left the church, somewhat tired, not only from the day's activities but from the whole week and a little more. Exhaustion creeps in slowly, accumulating a bit more each day, and suddenly you start thinking about simple things, like bed, a shower, dinner, with a very special fondness. But surrender is a word that doesn't exist in our vocabulary, and we needed to finish the musical coverage in grand style. After a strategic stop at our base of operations, we hit the road again, heading back towards the same good old East Austin, now without the scorching sun beating down on our heads but with a lovely, icy wind licking our faces.
Our goal was to check out a show I'd been wanting to see for a long time, Surfbort, a punk band from New York but also somewhat based in Los Angeles, with one of the most charismatic vocalists and a show that's full throttle the whole time. We arrived at a bar called Hotel Vegas (which, by the way, has become another of my favorite places here), more precisely at the outdoor stage, the Hotel Vegas Patio, and the show was already starting.
Enjoying the show this time was a little different because our traditional arrangement wouldn't work. Usually, my brother and partner Rafael Beck positions himself in the pit in front of the stage, equipped with his infallible leather harness with two powerful Nikons hanging from it, and I just find a comfortable spot, if possible, to enjoy the show and take some photos as a secondary photographer. This time, however, because of my desire to see this show up close and my height advantage, I wrapped the camera strap around my hand and joined the punk mosh pit, while Rafa could enjoy it from a safe distance. What can I say? Fun doesn't fully describe it. It was cathartic, a Dionysian moment of pure enjoyment and at the same time extremely productive work.
I got a beer shower and at one point a guy flew over me, but I took some really cool photos, letting my finger go free and firing the flash directly at the mosh pit and even right in the face of the vocalist Dani Miller (because at this show the rules of good photographic etiquette could be bent or even broken). We even chatted after the show with this frontwoman who not only has a unique stage presence but also a surprisingly velvety voice for someone who sings the kind of music she sings. Definitely a great ending to our musical coverage.
Soon we'll have a text summarizing our entire experience here, and possibly a few more articles delving deeper into some of the cool things we enjoyed. Until then!
