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Friko appear to be playing a game of Show, Don’t Tell. Performing at downtown Austin’s Waterloo Records, the band are seemingly partaking in the Texan capital’s cowboy culture: wearing double denim, vocalist/guitarist Niko Kapetan’s bursts of fretboard finger-tapping are accompanied by sequences of movement. He frequently side-steps towards drummer Bailey Minzenberger before pivoting into a 90-degree turn, as though in a line dance. The only thing missing is some pointy-toed boots.
This ‘unofficial’ gig – an offshoot event of SXSW not directly associated with or funded by the festival – feels like an exciting early-doors moment, dotted with both young music fans tightly hugging their new vinyl purchases and industry heads swinging their music press lanyards. Some gig-goers even lean from behind David Bowie cardboard cutouts in order to see the shoebox-sized stage before them. Beset with nerves, with beads of sweat forming around his curls, Kapetan asks how this afternoon’s (March 12) audience is feeling after opener ‘Crimson To Chrome’. The answer from the floor is resoundingly positive.
The Chicago duo, who are joined today by bassist David Fuller, make peppy songs that shimmer with shades of Bright Eyes and The Microphones, as well as intriguingly subtle hints of chamber-pop. They emerged from their hometown’s flourishing guitar scene alongside Horsegirl and Lifeguard, while their February debut ‘Where We’ve Been, Where We Go From Here’ has become something of a runaway hit among indie-rock circles. Alongside storming the US music press, the record has impacted the indie charts in Japan and is currently earning bigger streaming numbers there than the band’s home country.
Their songs are almost unreasonably anthemic. ‘Crashing Through’ has a hint of Black Country, New Road melodrama, as textures fold and crash into each other while Kapetan and Fuller trade vocals. The hazy, winding bassline of ‘Cardinal’ – a track that taps into a particular type of Gen Z yearning – is offset by grinding dissonance, complemented by the sweetness and shyness of Kapetan’s vocals. The contrast is gorgeous.
Friko will go on to play a further seven Austin shows throughout the week; as bands continue to drop out of SXSW due to its current ties to the US Army and weapons manufacturers, many are choosing instead to play alternative showcases. That self-assuredness – and belief in both their music and decision-making – is on full display here. Alongside his bandmates, who quietly sing along to nearly every lyric, Kapetan throws himself into the rumbling closer ‘Where We’ve Been’, buoyed by the enthusiastic response.
‘Crimson To Chrome’
‘Chemical’
‘Crashing Through’
‘In Out’
‘Cardinal’
‘Get Numb To It’
‘Where We’ve Been’
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“Express yourself,” a whispered voice hushes through the main stage as the lights flicker. Doja Cat is about to take to the main stage to headline the final night of Coachella 2024, and when she emerges at the end of the runway in a hazmat suit, you know she’s going to do as those two words say.
For the rapper, expressing herself often means doing things others might not – either because her form of expression is too off-the-wall for the rest of the world or too controversial. Tonight, she proves the former spirit is well and truly alive, bringing a touch of brilliant weirdness to the desert.
After the opening two songs, she takes off the white suit that leaves only her face visible to reveal a body suit covered in long locks of blonde hair. Ominous tones roll out over the field as she crawls up to the main stage before ‘Demons’ cuts in, and she’s joined by dancers dressed in yeti costumes. If these are the demons she’s rapping about, they don’t look too bad – cuddly, almost – and she embraces them fully, climbing on one’s shoulders to deliver the final parts of the track.
This is just the beginning of the Doja Cat spectacle tonight, which includes multiple outfit changes and stage antics that get increasingly madcap. After a commanding ‘Tia Tamera’, she disappears behind a curtain, only her silhouette visible, as the buzzing sound of an electric razor whirrs, and she pretends to shave off the thigh-length blonde hair she’s been whipping around until now. When she emerges, she sports a shaved head and a look that can only be described as high fashion cyborg.
As the performance enters its final throes, she’s joined by a very special, unusual guest – the gigantic skeleton of a dinosaur. It rolls down the runway after her as she airs ‘WYM Freestyle’, looking like she’s about to be its next victim. Before the track is up, though, it appears to decide Doja is too formidable an opponent and retreats back to where it came from.
Formidable is exactly what the star is tonight, crafting a fiery set that bounces through her rap-focused songs and never lets the energy drop. ‘OKLOSER’, which gets its live debut tonight, is an infectious highlight, while ‘Balut’ drops the tempo to something a little more soulful but still powerful. When she brings out living human guests to join her on stage, she doesn’t come close to being overshadowed.
21 Savage appears for ’n.h.i.e.’, while Teezo Touchdown ups the weird, vocalising into a flower that seems to require his whole head to be submerged in its petals. A$AP Rocky makes his second appearance of the weekend for a ferocious ‘URRRGE!!!!!!!!!!’, trading bars with his host from the top of a scaffolding tower. Earlier in the evening, South African a cappella group The Joy bring light to ‘Shutcho’.
It’s unfortunate that the crowd tonight isn’t much bigger than it is – or that, other than the fans down the front, its energy isn’t far higher. Sure, it’s the final night of the weekend and the chilly desert winds are roaring, but the reception for Doja is disappointingly flat. Perhaps that’s because she doesn’t give the casual viewers what they want – her pop hits. There is no ‘Say So’ in this set, nor a rendition of ‘Kiss Me More’ – with or without a cameo from SZA. ‘Paint The Town Red’, her latest smash, is saved until the penultimate track in the setlist, but even when its opening notes drop, the response is muted.
Regardless, Doja sticks to her guns throughout and closes the performance in the kind of way that leaves the audience confused. After a brief break from the stage, the rapper reappears back at the end of the runway, which has now turned into a ring full of slimy, grey mud. She and her dancers get stuck into the mess as she closes the set with ‘Wet Vagina’, somehow not slipping and sliding through it but nailing the choreography.
As Doja strides back to the main stage and blows a kiss goodbye, the crowd hesitates, wondering, “Is that it?” They get their answer when the lights finally go out – a subdued ending, perhaps, but one that comes after 90 minutes of pure pageantry.
‘Acknowledge Me’
‘Shutcho’
‘Demons’
‘Tia Tamera’
‘Fuck The Girls (FTG)’
‘Gun’
‘OKLOSER’
‘Ouchies
‘n.h.i.e.’
‘Attention’
’97’
‘Balut’
‘Need To Know’
‘MASC’
‘Streets’
‘Agora Hills’
‘Ain’t Shit’
‘WYM Freestyle’
‘URRRGE!!!!!!!!!!’
‘Paint The Town Red’
‘Wet Vagina’
