No one would have blamed Kweller for canceling after such a devastating loss, but instead he went on, making the show a fundraiser for the foundation he’s launching in Zev’s honor, showing a video of his son’s life before the showcase started, and playing a cathartic, powerful set with a four piece band (including “ Superbad” actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse on bass) that felt as healing as it was surely difficult. Tragically, Zev died in a freak car accident just weeks before the event. Veteran rock songwriter Ben Kweller’s SXSW showcase was intended to be a celebration of both the 20th anniversary of his seminal power-pop album “Sha Sha” and the debut performance of his 16 year old son, Dorian “Zev” Kweller. If all of that doesn’t make sense to you, just step out of the way: She’s gonna be huge no matter what. But the highlight may have been the opening song, “Quiet on Set,” a rap-sung-rock-pop-whatever banger that was like Rage Against The Machine through the filter of Billie Eilish. Her cover of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” slowed down and funked up the original, giving her room to show off the range of her vocal fry her own crowdpleasing “Liquor Store” gave the mostly Gen-Z crowd a chance to sing along (the show was wisely free and open to the public, filling the room with actual fans). Although they sound nothing alike and are very different performers, they’re both women in the pop world who clearly, defiantly, push back against the norms of what that world has traditionally sounded like and looked like - though in Wolf’s case she does it by dressing down rather than dressing up (her stage garb was a oversized shirt and jeans that humbly could have come straight off the racks at Zara). Playing with a crack band against a screen of rotating hypercolor visuals, Wolf’s set called to mind Lizzo’s jaw-dropping breakthrough in 2019. Though the 27-year-old genre-defying singer/songwriter Remi Wolf has been buzzing since appearing on “ American Idol” a decade ago, her time is clearly now: At her first-ever SXSW showcase on Thursday at the massive ACL Live (scheduled appearances in 20 were canceled), Wolf’s stage-commanding confidence, poise, and songwriting prowess made her set unquestionably the best show we saw this year. Here’s the best stuff we saw, from newcomers, veterans, and speakers alike, this past week in Austin. That said: SXSW has always been a hub to find new talent on the way up, and in that, this year’s fest delivered the goods in the same way it has for decades. Perhaps it’s post-Covid malaise, perhaps it’s the heightened cost of touring, maybe people were waiting to see how this year went - but something in the Topo Chico has changed, hopefully not for forever. On top of that, many of the highest-profile showcases were postponed or shut down following a massive lightning storm on Thursday night. Even the former Spring-break hub intersection of Sixth Street and Red River was a ghost town on Friday night, and lines to get into showcases across town were essentially nonexistent. In practice, though, the music portion of SXSW still felt under-attended, and the current wave of music just on the fringe of popularity under-represented. After a mid-pandemic return in 2022 that was intentionally less high-profile than past editions, this year’s South By was supposed to be a return to form of the citywide takeover that’s made SX a staple in the calendar for decades for musicians and execs alike. The first real SXSW in four years wrapped up this weekend, but it’s likely what went down this year will be looked at in the future as another transitional year.
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