Seraphina Lotkhamnga on March 13th, 2014

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[Wednesday was a busy day for the BBLA crew. We were very happy to see our friends – and new friends – at our “Dear Austin: Love, LA” day party and we even managed to see a few more bands in the evening before we shut our eyes to recharge. Here’s what else I saw on Day 3 of SXSW…]

@Seraphina_L on Wednesday at SXSW:

If you came to Austin only to be disappointed by chilly winds sweeping through downtown, then Painted Palms would have been your way to mental nirvana. Heck, even their band name has a summery ring to it. The San Francisco-based band led by cousins Reese Donohue and Christopher Prudhomme brought California to Texas with them via Beach Boys-influenced melodies and electronic flourishes. Light, catchy and certainly not shy of their love for vowel sounds as lyrics (lots of “oooh”s and “aaaah”s), Painted Palms washed Maggie Mae’s downstairs room with their delicious psych-pop to remind us spring is just around the corner.

Also notable. . . 

If you are an enthusiast of both hardcore bands and pop bands, then the preceding set at Maggie Mae’s by Tony Molina may have also made your heart warm. However, Molina nearly left the stage as fast as he took the stage. Who knows if he had stuck to a five-song set, but either way, his songs that clock in at 2 minutes on average made his band’s set only 15 minutes long. It was a great 15 minutes nonetheless, with the brevity of Guided By Voices, the raucousness of Dinosaur Jr. and the melodic power of Teenage Fan Club. His finesse must come from a handful of other bands of which he is a main member (Ovens, Caged Animal). It probably would have been fun (and most likely a disaster) to play a game where you would try to finish one drink just before Molina finishes two songs.

There are lots of rooftop parties going on, but I decided to choose the 512 Rooftop party to see a familiar face. L.A.’s very own Jarell Perry serenaded rooftop drinkers with smooth R&B a little after midnight with fans in front of him and 6th Street behind him. Perry – who has worked with the likes of Childish Gambino, Diplo, Fat Joe, Usher and more – is a prolific songwriter, but his talent really shines during a live performance where his polite demeanor and his vocal stylings (which fall somewhere in between Trey Songz and Frank Ocean) enhance the production atmospherics. Charming and strong, Perry’s slick tunes moved the room but also floated into the night so passersby could also swoon.

Postscript. . . 

The Buzz Bands LA staff’s thoughts are with the victims of the late-night tragedy on Red River Avenue between 8th and 10th Streets in which two were killed and 23 injured when a drunken-driving suspect sped his car into a crowd. We’re thankful all our friends and colleagues here in Austin are safe, too. The festival is still going on, and we will continue to cover it.