Where his 2010 event was very much about the star power, 2011 saw Perez Hilton turn the focus of his annual “One Night in Austin” party to the music – celebrating a selection of often lesser known international artists – including some Aussies and Kiwis – who he had been enjoying during SXSW, and in recent months.
While there were a ridiculous amount of rumours circulating about who might pop into the show (including the Gaga rumour which we are guilty of falling victim to), the lineup remained sans surprises. There was some clear disappointment as to the lack of a “big name”, but as Perez himself stated – all the acts were announced in advance, as he does every year, and people were given exactly what he set out to provide: A kick arse Saturday night party with, for the most part, some wonderful musicians on display.
Australia was well represented by DJ duo Nervo (aka The Nervo Twins), who kicked things off with a solid set of enjoyable poppy tunes. Frankmusik, a Los Angeles based London artist followed with some fairly generic, though entertaining pop music, performing tracks such as “3 Little Words”. Keeping things in the mediocre department, a DJ set by MNDR was rather underwhelming, especially considering what followed.
As the venue hit capacity, we had the gorgeous Selah Sue grace the stage, an artist from Belgium who evokes music that is absolutely beautiful – and such language doesn’t nearly do it justice. Armed only with an acoustic guitar, it was incredible what Selah was able to bring to the stage. It didn’t totally fit the vibe of the party happening simultaneously, but I was in awe all the same. Do yourself a favour and check this young talent out.
New Zealand’s Zowie followed and with tracks like “Bite Back” proved to be an absolute highlight of not only the night for many in the room – but of the entire festival, too. This was definitely much more in the spirit of the goings on… Putting it simply: Zowie killed it.
In between sets for the remainder of the night was DJ Mia Moretti with violinist Caitlin Moe. Mixing through artists like Sia, MGMT, Wolfmother, Daft Punk, Kings of Leon and more, the duo knew exactly how to have the crowd eating out of the palm of their hand – apparently all it takes is a stupidly talented violinist, some great song choices, occasional cowbell (seriously!) and tambourines. One of the best (slightly interactive) DJ sets I’ve ever seen. Given the reception, they could have easily been the headlining act. No act quite got the crowd to a similar level of enthusiasm.
Kids of 88, however, certainly tried their very best, and you know what? They proved they can rock it on the larger stages. They were catchy, entertaining and talented, and while I’m still not 100% turned onto their music, I very much enjoyed the set. Liz Phair followed, a well respected artist who has been doing the rounds for some two decades, while selling some three million records worldwide. I was quite looking forward to her set, but I felt it fell a little flat. She brought a random from the crowd onto the stage for one of her tracks, which livened things up briefly, but ultimately something just didn’t quite connect with the crowd. All this said, however, it remained a tight and enjoyable set from the Chicago based performer, and it was a pleasure to see her perform. Props to Perez for managing to get her onto the lineup.
The night took a turn for the worst when Pretty Reckless took to the stage. Fronted by Gossip Girl’s media ‘diva’ Taylor Momsen, we were taken on a joy ride of a wannabe rock star, with uninspired lyrics and standard riffs – the sort of music that has been done to death. Taylor definitely sees Courtney Love as influence, with her vocal style very reminiscent of Hole’s early days.
So thinking of this comparison, she’s actually at least got a vibe going on and definitely has some talent. Sure, she’s copying much of the ‘schtick’ off her idols, but I don’t think she’s doing this ‘just cause’. She seems dedicated to it, and passionate about it – never giving up on keeping the crowd enthused, in spite of plenty of rolling eyes. Where so much talent lived in the showcase tonight, it was ballsey for Perez to add her to the lineup – but I suppose he just wanted to show that there was more to Taylor than met the eye. And indeed this was true. But that doesn’t mean it was any good…
The night’s quality was restored when Danish born, Brooklyn based performer Nanna Øland Fabricius, aka Oh Land took to the stage. “Son of a Gun” was the easy set highlight, and “We Turn it Up” closed things up. With Nanna at the helm, and a supporting ensemble that made her look and sound even better, this is a band who definitely left their mark on the SXSW scene – exposing thousands to their music, and making pretty much all of them new fans in the process. Including yours truly. I think we’ll be hearing plenty more from this creative artist and her ensemble.
Closing the night, as the crowd started to thin out (no doubt trying to get into Kanye or DFA1979), were Dirty Vegas. The well known tracks “Little White Doves”, “Days Go By” and a cover of “Sweet Dreams”, mixed in with Daft Punk’s “Harder Better Faster Stronger” were chucked out all at once, getting the crowd amped up, while glowsticks were thrown into the crowd to keep things interesting. Once the well known tracks (and glowsticks) were distributed, however, the show became a run of house music, which after an hour or so, definitely got a bit tiresome – especially as people realised that the possibility of a surprise guest evaporated, and their enthusiasm waned.
It wasn’t the best way to end an otherwise wonderful evening, but we stayed until the end in any case, watching as the crowd took over the stage of the beautiful new venue, until the music was forced off and the house lights were turned on. The said this at the beginning: Dirty Vegas had no intention of stopping the music until this had been achieved.
Who else than Perez has the power to fill out a brand new 2500-or-so capacity venue to watch bands they’ve never heard of, irrespective of rumour? That’s just brilliant. For some artists, this will have been the biggest stage they had played at SXSW – for some, perhaps the biggest they had ever played. It was a great opportunity provided.
In comparing it to last year, while the new Austin City Limits venue was fantastic, there was something brilliant about the warehouse he housed the party in 2010 – a night which definitely goes down in history as one of the best parties ever put on during a South by. This was always going to have to be something completely different, for it was a bar too high to match – and in this respect, Perez succeeded in giving us all a great night.
However, with the Kanye, DFA and surprise Diddy parties going on elsewhere in the city, it was far from the event of the night – though the atmosphere in the room, and the enthusiasm of the people in it, would definitely have suggested otherwise.
