
Sometimes we like to think of Allston Pudding as less of an official music publication and more of a community-minded arts project on which the focus is music. And so every once in a while we hand over the keys to a guest artist or writer outside our staff to give our digital pages a different sort of flavor. Today we have another one of those moments with friend of the blog and Ratchella co-founder Emma Caviness providing us a dispatch from her whirlwind time in Austin for SXSW last month. Read on for some stray thoughts and excellent live digital paintings of the many things Emma saw in Texas.
Hello, this is Emma Caviness, come with me on a field trip to SXSW!

The week began at a CDSM (Celebrity Death Slot Machine) show. The band has been described by FLOOD Magazine as a 6 member “freak out post-punk group” from Atlanta. They started winning me over before playing with their reversible gym class pinnie uniforms. And then they kept winning me over by throwing a dodgeball right at my face. Just kidding. They didn’t do that, but they did look like the high school senior football players in my freshman year gym class that would gang up on the freshman girls. I digress. Moral of the story is, YOU’RE GONNA WANNA DANCE TO THIS.

On the next night of athletics, I dressed up as someone who went to techno shows to see Jenna Shaw and Boston local Switch Angel on the roof of Coconut Club. With most of a Redbull in my blood, a grape popsicle style vodka slushie in hand, and no overly coked out boys encroaching on my space, I changed religions from “someone who grew up catholic” to “someone who vows to go to more techno shows.” No hard drugs needed to transcend, just… a routine serving of THIS.

No extended childhood/high school metaphor would be complete without The Prettiest, Most Popular Girl You Have A Crush On: It was a gift to see Sofie Royer’s last SXSW set at the iconic venue Cheer Up Charlie’s. I experienced Popular Girl’s Side Kick Transcendence when multiple people deemed me an authority and asked me “do you know who this is?” which caused my d*ck to grow 3 sizes Grinch style, but with pride. She sounded great live by the way.

The best showcase, hands down, was put on by the record labor Dots Per Inch under the lunar eclipse in the hallowed halls of homebase Hotel Vegas. None of the musicians in these bands looked like they would try to knock any of my teeth out during P.E. This is especially true for Fantasy of a Broken Heart, a Brooklyn band with a Bushwick version of Timothee Chalamet as front man, and the Venus Twins on bass & drums. In fact, this band resembled my fellow huddled-in-the-corner gym class survivors. During their set, I experienced a momentary psychosomatic spiritual linkage with Fantasy of a Broken Heart drummer (also 1 Venus Twin of the Venus Twins) catalyzed by my catharsis post break-up euphoria joy scream during their song “Loss.” I did not have as intimate an experience during Amiture’s set that followed, but with another great view of the drum set, I got to watch the most insane drumming delivered by a mafia-looking fellow in a button down with a cross necklace bouncing frenetic against his chest.

Now it’s 1am and the last act is up. To my dismay, I see LUCY (Cooper B. Handy) take the stage ALONE, with no instruments. I am completely confused by this because LUCY is a cult favorite of many respected friends, and this looks like a set up for failure. But lo, this night of mesmerizing artistry is not over. After the first song or so, once the rhythm of his performance was established, my dismay evacuated. I’m… still finding the right words to explain what I’ve learned about the artist known as LUCY (Cooper B. Handy). He is thorough, complete, and all encompassing with his performance; he keeps the audience company, even in between songs, whispering “Austin, Austin, Austin, everybody doing okay?, Austin, Austin” between each. Lyrically, he is poetic and tender. Sonically, he is stylized and bordering on absurd. Visually… he is a beautiful boy with a hat and a watch. I took every chance I could get to see him perform again, and with his other project Taxidermists (their new album just came out!).

SXSW continued on for several more days, but these 3 nights stand out in particular as moments of dancing and artistry. And these three nights of transcendence culminated with the lunar eclipse. I looked for the moon the whole walk home from Hotel Vegas and only after nearly making it back did I spot it: reddish, dim, yet whole. Just like a dodgeball approaching from a distance at high velocity.
Emma Caviness is an interdisciplinary artist based in Somerville, MA, producing live portraits of people, concerts, trees, rocks, etc. You can find more of Emma’s work at her website. The pieces included in this article are available as prints for sale directly from the artist via the site. You can also book Emma to capture performances at a show.