#10 - Sage Francis
Until Sage walked onto the stage we had no idea what to expect. Was Sage a he or a she? What kind of music was Sage going to play? What were we in for? Sage was going to be our first act for our Friday night and Niki’s friend Joey informed us that we must see Sage perform. The reason Joey recommended us to see Sage, is that Joey’s co-worker a “proto-hipster” said that Sage Francis was a must see and that we had to catch the show. So knowing nothing more then a Sage being a “must see” we walked over to Emo’s Main to catch the show.

Sage walked onto stage (he ended up being a guy) with nothing more then a mic and a loop player. He hits play on the loop and then drops into fast moving and clearly punctuated rhymes. Ah, he’s a one man wreaking crew MC. His performance quickly won us over with both his wit and rhymes, which impressive act in itself. We came in not knowing anything, having to first grok what he is doing then then to sync up and feel what he is doing on stage.

He show is full of an intense energy, his word are packed with humor, pop culture references but at the same time a dark edge. For every line that brings a smile he turns it around and lays in something about human nature or problems within our lives. It was a great show and I can see why Joey’s friend called him a “must see”.

#9 - Ferraby Lionheart
We missed the official Ferraby Lionheart show because Amy Millan was performing for the Arts & Crafts showcase at the same time. Ferraby was the first band planning in the Habana indoor stage for the ny2lon day party and while we were waiting to get a free bite to eat (which they ran out just as we got there) the band was setting up.

After our first round of morning drinks Ferraby kicked off his show with a guest Trombone player who was only able to play for the first half of the show before he had to run off to another set. Ferraby played piano and sang with a unique and almost quirky pop/folk style.

I was impressed with both his simple yet highly entertaining stage presence. I had never heard his music before so it was a great way to experience his sound for the first time. After seeing him play I have added him to my queue of new music to buy. Next time he comes through the bay I will definitely want to catch him.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 26th, 2007 at 5:00 am and is filed under General Conversation, Live Shows, sxsw. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.