SXSW 2012: The Lumineers, other first encounters and some sparkling bull

Seraphina Lotkhamnga on March 14th, 2012

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[With the Buzz Bands LA staff running on 3 hours of sleep combined, the trek to SXSW was an early one and it made our day that much longer. Then again, coming back to a city where tons of freebies cushioned any of our traveling woes made us glad to be back in the Austin mix. Here are some highlights, calculations and oddities from Tuesday.]

@Seraphina_L on Tuesday at SXSW:

“Yeah, it should sound like God’s heartbeat,” multi-instrumentalist Jeremiah Fraites told the sound engineer when asked if he wanted more volume on the second kickdrum. With an answer like that, the Lumineers’ soundcheck foreshadowed a great set, and the Denver-based trio (with a fourth member in a live setting) did not disappoint. Led by guitarist Wesley Schultz, the Lumineers (which also includes pianist/cellist Nayla Pekarek) brought in the first packed house of the night at 1band1brand’s Music Meets Tech party Tuesday night.

Going head-first in to their heartrending songs, the band induced swaying, clapping and sing-alongs from a crowd hungry for their soaring folk-pop melodies. Schultz, with vocals that fall in somewhere between Ryan Adams and Kristian Matsson (Tallest Man On Earth) sang with an intensity echoing the honest songwriting of the Avett Brothers dug deep in to songs like their single “Ho Hey” and brought the audience in as much when he asked, “Will you help us sing?” Extraordinarily vivacious from the first song, the Lumineers left the crowd revitalized by the end of their set.

Also notable …

The Lumineer’s recent tour mates, the Kopecky Family Band played a set beforehand, and the Nashville, Tenn.,-based sextet offered a wonky, indie pop rock with their own peculiar twists. Although band members aren’t actually blood-related, their tight-knit harmonies in their quirky rock songs played on a multitude of instruments make it hard to believe.

Memo to …

The Spotify House: Nice color, dudes. Hopefully all these people got to enter the party without being asked if they knew how to make a playlist.

Stats for the day …

# of L.A. bands we’ve run in to upon our arrival at the airport: Two (Dawes and Shlomo)
# of blocks walked: At least 20
# of lines we’ve stood in: Seven (Badge, Press, Photo, Skinny’s, market stop, Cedar Street Courtyard, Buffet in Cedar St Courtyard)
# of free drinks: Five
# of L.A. bands we’ve run in to in passing throughout the day and night: Seven (Youngblood Hawke, Nightmare Air, Standing Shadows, the New Limb, Chasing Kings, Milo Greene, Superhumanoids)