LoveXStereo

The band was definitely one of the fan highlights of the evening, much of the crowd exploding into raucous applause when their introductory clip lit up the back wall of the stage before they started to perform. I’d heard of the band prior to coming to SXSW, but just as with almost every performer I saw during the festival, this was my first time actually hearing their music, most certainly seeing them live. Lead singer Annie Ko has an energy belying her impish voice. She most certainly made an impression on everyone in the audience—the woman standing next to me whispered, “The lead singer is very handsome (English wasn’t her first language, but I understood exactly what she meant: Annie is definitely beautiful and charismatic). With soft vocals when tender and sincere and soaring high notes when reaching her peak, she definitely doesn’t lack for stage presence and a joy for performance that permeated throughout the band’s set. Even having to pause for a couple minutes to allow staff to fix a problem with the drum set did nothing to curtail their enthusiasm, and the love for LXS was explosive and undeniably deserved. This was another band I held a bit of reserved concern for, as the members were also very close to Myoung-shin. Though it was obvious there was a heavy weight on their shoulders, they performed admirably, and really only those close to the band would be able to hint any sort of overwhelming lack of energy.