SXSW: Givers kick off Wednesday with engaging, energetic set at Paste party
Just as breakfast is the most important meal of the day, the first set you catch at South by Southwest can set the tone for everything that follows.
It was a great start, then, for the crowd that kicked off this year’s festival with Givers.
Playing at the Galaxy Room Backyard as part of a Paste magazine day party, the Lafayette, La., band made its SXSW debut, throwing down an ebullient, highly energetic set of songs with traces of folk and Afrobeat, and a ton of rock ‘n’ roll heart.
The quintet, which toured last year with Dirty Projectors, packed guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion, ukulele and sunny male-female vocals into layered, polyrhythmic songs with pulsing beats.
Both singer/percussionist/ukulele player Teddy Lamson (top) and singer/guitarist Taylor Guarisco have a habit of sticking out their tongues while playing, which added a slightly goofy, completely endearing element to their set.
Listen here to their song “Ceiling of Plankton.”
— Text and photos by Eric R. Danton
Love the tongue sticking out photo!