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But the Raveonettes and the Ting Tings played thrilling sets in Austin on Friday, with Santogold acting as this year's token female rapper.

Every year at South By (that's what the cool kids call it), by Friday my legs hurt, my feet are swollen and all I really want to do is stay in one place for an extended period of time.
 
And every year at South By I spend my Friday at Stubb's, which tends to draw the most buzz bands of any venue. During the afternoon, after catching a quick set by the Duke Spirit at a parking lot across the street, I hit Stubb's for Spin and MySpace's party, which opened with the underrated Ben Jelen, who alternated from violin to piano, singing passionate songs about the environment and things besides ex-girlfriends.
 
The Whigs followed and delivered a solid rock 'n' roll show, which is sometimes hard to come by here. Take for instance, The Raveonettes, whose distinguished style is somewhere between surf rock and New Wave. They followed the Whigs and, while they suffer a bit from every song sounding the same, there's something infectious about their show. Sharin Foo just oozes cool, and she found the perfect counterpart in Sune Rose Wagner.
 
Probably SXSW's most hyped band (and Spin cover boys) Vampire Weekend then hit the stage, doing what everyone predicted: not living up to the hype. How could they though? That's the problem with the hype machine. They were a good band, but I thought the Calexico influence would shine more live, not less. And their stage presence was nothing special.
 
Another one of the most-talked-about bands this year is The Ting Tings, who played Stubb's Friday night, and they managed to live up to it. The British duo (what's with all the duos this year?!) play the brand of electronic-infused rock perfect for a party, with singer Katie White serving as the maestro. Her sort of sing/rap/scream thing can get a little screechy, but all in good fun.
 
Santogold followed and seem to be this year's token female rapper (following M.I.A. and Lady Sovereign from previous years), only not as good or unique. Her militant backup singer/dancers were kinda fun to watch, though.
 
-Adam Deroy-
 
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