Austin – New Zealanders are starting to rule the world. First of all, you had Xena, Warrior Princess. Then you had Lord of the Rings. Now, there is the Flight of the Conchords. Enter Ladyhawke. Exploding into the scene last summer with the sensational summer dance floor romper ‘Paris is Burning’, Ladyhawke has been all over the internets in the past eight months, including endorsements from famous blogs such as Perez Hilton and of course, Indie Kid vs Dance Kid. I was quite excited to discover that Ladyhawke would be playing SXSW and had marked this down as one of the shows I needed to see here in Austin.
Having an early slot at the SXSW can be a curse or a blessing. On one hand, it’s early, and a lot of people are still getting their wristbands, hotels and just generally, getting their shit together. It runs a risk of being a semi empty show. On the other hand, it’s early in the festival, and you have the crowd’s undivided attention . It’s the first show and people haven’t ingested the liters and liters of alcohol that they will have over the next four days.
Having seen another blond girl with dancey electro music (Lykke Li) put on a rather crap show just about a month ago, I was a bit skeptical of what kind of show Ladyhawke would put on. All my skepticisms were put aside when the band arrived on stage and lead singer Pip Brown walked on with a guitar and looked like a musician instead of a pagan Swedish version of Mary Kate Olson. The modest New Zealander (aren’t they all?) said a quick hello and launched us into a world of bright lights and disco beats. The band was a lot more funkier then I expected, the band’s drummer and bassist provided semi packed crowd at Stubb’s BBQ more then enough reasons to get dancing. Playing material from her full length debut album, Ladyhawke quickly ripped thru each song, whipping the enthusiastic fan base into a dancing frenzy (the ones at the front anyway). With a full band, a pulsating drumbeat and hair raising bass lines, the album’s material definitely translates better live. Ending off the set with an extended version of Paris is Burning and My Delerium, Ladyhawke left the stage with crowd cheering for more, a sign of a job well done.
Good show.