South by Southwest is one of the most prominent indie music extravaganza in the nation – maybe even the world. Actually, Austin is considered “The Live Music Capital of the World” so the latter is probably more accurate.
Having lived there before, I do miss the easy access to live music, so going back to delve into SXSW was quite exciting – but it’s like a bombardment of live music. It’s overwhelming – stressful even.
Nonetheless, one night after an evening of listening to Talib Kweli, Estelle, and watching rhythmless drunken girls dance on a bar that reeked of vomit, we ended the night at Spill, a bar on the celebrated street of college co-ed debauchery called 6th Street.
Lyrics Born and Joyo Velarde at SXSW. Please forgive the badly taken pictures
I was starting to lose steam realizing that I was not 21 years old anymore, but then I heard some music that gave me a little bounce. The last act of the evening in Spill was Lyrics Born and Joyo Velarde, two Asian American hip-hop and soul artists from the Bay Area.
Now that I claim the San Francisco Bay Area I was pumping my fist in the air in a non-douchelike manner and jammin’ out with the crowd – and it was the first time I heard of them. I wondered why it took me so damn long to even hear of this group. I felt so unhip and a disgrace to my Asian American brethren.
I really need to brush up on my Fil-Am and Asian pop. I used to be such a groupie when it came to that stuff. I think it’s time to reincarnate my dormant groupie.
