Jordan Kleinman on March 18th, 2016

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Anderson .Paak, Vadaat Charigim, AL Lover, XIXA, The Walters

Discoveries of a first-timer at SXSW:   

The aroma of grape cigarillos filled Brazos Hall for Anderson .Paak. The rapper/vocalist sang a few songs before bringing out a guitarist and bassist to play tracks of his new album “Malibu.” Soon after, he took to the drums and rapped while keeping the live beat. His accompanying musicians were quite talented — specifically the guitarist who tore through some ’80s power-metal-level solos — and made the tracks, like “Come Down” seem so natural in a live setting. Paak would alternate between emceeing and getting behind the kit, and at one point eventually led the group into a cover-teaser of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance.”

At Hotel Vegas, the one-man drum machine, AL Lover got the crowd grooving and freaking out (in a good way) to his industrial-post-punk-breakbeat-drumnbass. As the light faded from the afternoon sky into dusk, the dancing increased, and, using a Moog synthesizer and two sequencers, the sound-scaper created music that could possibly accompany the “bad trip” suggested by his T-shirt. Aphex Twin would be proud.

We hope no one did have a bad trip during that set and instead reminded themselves everything would be all right in a couple of hours.

Walking on to a droning noise similar to an ultrasound and accompanied by a liquid light show similar to that of L.A.’s The Blindspot Project, Tucson sextet XIXA, dressed in matching black and bolo ties, kicked things into high gear with their crunchy, cumbia punk-rock. The group featured a percussionist playing timbales, bongos, and even a timpani. Audience members flocked to the front to display their dance moves congruent with the punkish tunes, which could act as a soundtrack for a modern Western.

The Tel Aviv power trio Vadaat Charigim faded into their set with some pretty white-noise just after sundown — perfect timing to get the full force of the liquid light show, which went hand in hand with their shoegazey post-punk. This was the band’s third time in the U.S. and at SXSW, after releasing their second album “Sinking As a Stone” on Burger Records. Though most attendees of SXSW don’t speak Hebrew, the passionate lyrics clearly resonated with the crowd — though it could have also been the tasty soundscapes that seemed to ebb and flow. Drummer Yuval Guttman played with impressive control, able to quickly change time signatures without anyone noticing (well, most people at least). Singer-guitarist Juval Haring would strum in an open tuning to give the tracks a droning sound, which was underscored by his echoing vocals and the ripping bass lines of Dan Bloch. For those without plans on March 27, they will be at the Echo and are a must-see.

Playing their upbeat and sunshine sprinkled cardigan rock in a packed living room of the Helios co-op, Chicago’s The Walters shared their lively and sentimental tunes with eager listeners, who were swaying and singing along. The show, hosted by Chicago’s Treehouse Records, was heavily attended, creating overflow into the backyard, where people watched through a window. This was a show perfect for music lovers that don’t have a wristband but still want to catch a band with big things on the horizon. Reminiscent of the heartfelt and honest nature of early Weezer, theirs is emotionally reflective music. The room was so packed, listeners swayed whether they wanted to or not (although there was irresistible desire from the music itself). Singer Luke Olson was jumping up and down, screaming with gratification after each song, jumping into and dancing with the crowd many times throughout the set. The show stopped for a moment when someone in the crowd cheered for guitarist Walter Kosner to take his shirt off. He tried to play the next tune when Olson placed hand on guitar and made him comply before starting the next dreamy track. The show ended with Olson banging in a passionate fury on the floor, rolling around like he was being overtaken by a musical demon.