Kevin Bronson on March 17th, 2011

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Brite Futures brought a lot of pink. Linda Perry brought two decades-plus of rock ’n’ roll experience and her brand new band, Deep Dark Robot. Other Lives brought enough gear to stock a music store. And Eastern Conference Champions and Voxhaul Broadcast brought new songs from albums arriving soon.

Those were among the highlights Wednesday at Cedar Street Courtyard in Austin on Wednesday, where the Buzz Bands LA 2011 showcase, sponsored by 1band 1brand, brought eight bands to day party held in conjunction with the South by Southwest Music Festival.

Where to start? The eight-hour showcase had its light moments: Brite Futures’ Claire England punctuated the young Seattle band’s set of technicolor disco-pop by romping through the crowd exchanging high-fives. And the afternoon offered serene ones too: Other Lives’ Jesse Tabish led his quintet through a pastoral set of orchestral folk-rock featuring four banks of keyboards, plus vibes, a horn, clarinet, cello and the usual drums/guitar/bass.

For Perry, 45, the former 4 Non Blondes frontwoman-turned-A-list songwriter/producer, it kicked off a SXSW that marked her return to live performance a week before Deep Dark Robot’s album “8 Songs About a Girl” debuts. “It’s like starting over and it’s exciting,” she said. “It’s nice to be out doing it.”

Miracle Parade kicked the show off with a set of melody-drenched pop before Hanni El Khatib ignited the early crowd with his retro rock ’n’ soul. Later, Letting Up Despite Great Faults turned in a glistening set of electro popgazing before ECC and Voxhaul closed out the show with their piquant guitar rock.