Seeing Su Lee play SXSW was quite surreal to me. I (and a fair portion of the world) was introduced to Su Lee via her self-created music video for “I’ll Just Dance”
I believe I found it in the early stages of the Pandemic and it was one of the first things during that dark period that showed how resilient and creative people can behave in any conditions. Su Lee’s lyrics, full of anxiety and self doubt, very much reflected the state of the world and the feelings of a lot of people at the time and that connection between her and everyone who was isolated led to quite a following.
Two albums and four years later, she is at SXSW playing a live set of those same songs she had constructed in her bedroom. It was a bit surreal. Considering how she got her start, I was not too surprised to see a minimal setup, consisting of just her, some keyboards and a laptop. Immediately, Su launched into the the song “I’ll Just Dance” – including her signature dance moves – and created a fun vibe with the crowd.
Anyone who has seen her YouTube videos would know that Su has a certain sense of humor and honesty to her songs and stage banter that really created a fun and imitate set. Despite the more serious topics of her tracks (dealing with depression, anxiety, etc.), all the songs were catchy and demonstrated a wide range of styles with some involving R&B elements that showed off the playfulness of it all. A particular highlight was an almost heartbreaking take on A-Ha’s “Take on Me” which put things into a different light.
Highly enjoyable set, I’m excited to see what’s next.