I’m not gonna lie – as a Canadian, it’s been a little weird travelling to the U.S. at this particular moment in history. This is, of course, no slight on SXSW or the city of Austin. As visitors over the many years we’ve been coming for SouthBy, Austin has always made us feel welcome. And in fact, upon grabbing my credential this year, an older woman behind the counter remarked, “We are your friends” when she found out I was from Canada. But with everything that’s currently going on in regards to trade and whether or not the threat of annexation is real, things have definitely felt weird. And the fact that CIMA backed out of having a presence at the festival this year certainly showed that this is all having a real impact on SouthBy too.
While we don’t necessarily make a point of trying to see too many Canadian bands in Austin while we’re here, I did feel just a little bit stronger about supporting the home team this year. And so, on Wednesday night, we took in the Pop Montreal/M For Montreal showcase, catching sets from Milton’s Billianne and Toronto’s own OBGMs.
Billianne, a young Milton-based singer, has been making a name for herself as of late, first making waves online with videos of cover songs before branching out into original songs. She’s been at it long enough to have garnered a fair bit of attention, appearing recently on The Kelly Clarkson show, though she’s also early enough on in her career that her debut full-length has still yet to be released. Taking to the stage accompanied by two other musicians, Billianne performed a somewhat stripped down set of sweet-sounding folk pop that got the evening off to a nice start before The OBGMS would take to the adjacent outdoor stage.
Denz McFarlane, singer/guitarist for the Toronto punk four-piece, addressed the crowd early on in the set, noting, “We’ve come a long way and we don’t have a lot of time to fuck around. And reader, let me tell you, The OBGMS did not fuck around. Not one bit. As we headed out to Swan Dive’s outdoor stage to take in The OBGMs, the vibe shift from the warm coziness of Billianne’s set was fairly drastic … though I suppose, in a way, people were getting pretty cozy in that mosh pit during The OBGMs’ set. The band put on a fantastic, high energy performance that did not let up for one minute and they pretty much had the crowd at Swan Dive in the palm of their hands. Fun times. Also, shout out to that one guy in the band who was wearing a Queen Video t-shirt.
While The OBGMs have been around a while and I’ve heard good things about their live show, I’d somehow never managed to see them before this occasion. But now that I’ve seen them, I’m a convert and will definitely make a note to see them again. And again.
