Austin – Shows like Marina & The Diamonds on Thursday nights are the reason why SXSW is so damn fun. Playing in front of a packed crowd on the second floor of the bbq restaurant Lamberts, Marina Lambrini Diamandis absolutely enlighten and enthralled everyone with her show. It was completely awesome.
For some introduction, Marina and The Diamonds is basically Marina, a 25 year old Greek-Welsh singer songwriter and her backing band. They play extremely catchy, dare I say, anthem-ish songs that range from pop ballads to electro-pop numbers. Her album The Family Jewels will be out in the US in May.
Wearing a Planet Hollywood jumpsuit, Marina and the Diamonds took the stage after a lengthy soundcheck session and proceeded to deliver one of the best shows I’ve seen at SXSW. This girl can absolutely sing. She hit all her notes and delivered each song with great authority…yet there was a lot of playfulness to her stage presence. She would dance, pose, wink at people and just looked like she was having a blast. As a result, everyone was also having a blast. The setlist was what you expected, a collection of songs off her EPs and LPs, including sing-alongs to many of her hits including I Am Not A Robot and Hollywood. I was surprised how much better the songs sounded better live then on album, which is always a great sign.
What a show.
Marina and the Diamonds will be playing Fader Fort today and Perez Hilton’s party tomorrow.