SXSW: Synth pop catharsis with Future Islands
After two people were killed by an out of control driver just after midnight on Thursday morning in Austin, a lot of SXSW started to seem silly.
Were Kanye West and Jay Z "amazing" at the Austin Music Hall on Wednesday after making people wait for three plus hours in line to see them? Did the Hold Steady "kill it" up the street at the Cedar Street Courtyard? Does it really matter which hot buzz band "won" SXSW in the music fest's first full fledged night of 2014? What does it all mean in the grand scheme of things?
Naturally, that sobering vibe settled over the festival on Thursday, as well it should have. Instagramming pictures of kimchi fries or indie pop quartets can seem pretty trivial when the scent of death is in the air around the corner from where you were partying hard last night.
But just as naturally, the party isn't about to stop. Music's natural rhythm will have its way. And there's nothing like a driving beat and a commanding stage performer to lift the spirit even when it is isn't necessarily in the mood.
Which brings me to the MEGABLAAG party on Thursday afternoon at the Hype Hotel in Austin that was curated by Yvynyl, the music blog of Philadelphian Mark Schoneveld.
I hadn't heard much music during the day, though I did catch Swedish dream pop band Mary Onettes and Taiwanese quarter Chocolate Tiger at the International Stage at the Convention Center while sitting in a corner and banging on my Macbook. And after interviewing divine songwriter Angel Olsen (for a feature story to come in May) I stopped briefly by the Paste party at Swan Dive and saw a bit of the rock-solid Those Darlins' and North Carolina indie rockers Roman Candle.
On from there to the Hype Hotel, where first I caught Trust, the electronic three piece from Toronto with Robert Alfons on vocals and programming. He delivered a moody dark wave that gathered momentum as it went along, quickening the blood and shaking off the gloom.
The Hype Hotel headliners were Future Islands, the Baltimore band fronted by Samuel T. Herring, the super intense frontman who looks more like a muscled-up auto mechanic or late character actor Ben Gazzara than your typical skinny legged bearded indie rock singer.
Herring take the mic and he goes to work, setting to the task at hand, and throwing himself wholly into the band's synth-pop soul while showing off some seriously kooky dance moves.
He's a serious man: The singer introduced "Long Flight" by saying it was "about a guy who went on tour for four months and when he came back he realized he had lost everything he loved."
"Spirit" he said was "about digging down real deep and finding the light inside oyu that makes you who are, and holding it up to the light." That pretty much sums up his approach to engaging with every Future Islands song, which made this show one of the most memorably energetic ones I've seen at SXSW.
Though probably not any more energeitc than all the shows that Future Island played this week in Austin. "I saw something a guy wrote about us after we layed at the Spotify House on Wednesday," Herring said, with a fiercely competitive look in his eye. "He said, 'I don't think they'll be able to keep up that level on energy for the whole week.' It's a challenge, man. I love a challenge."
Future Islands play First Unitarian Church on April 24. Check out the clip below of them playing on Late Night with David Letterman to see if they're your cup of tea.
Previously: SXSW Crash Update Follow In The Mix on Twitter