Pitchfork

It's amazing how much a magnetic singer can do for a band. When you only want to look at the person out front humping the microphone, the rest of the group is pretty much off the hook to just chill out and play. That was the case with the Duke Spirit's afternoon set. They started almost half an hour late, but singer Liela Moss made up for that with a heap of stage presence. She was constantly striking poses, which cut both ways: the show seemed a little pre-fab, but her charisma made it fun to watch.

Robyn [Cedar Street Courtyard; 5 p.m.]

Robyn rounded out the Cedar Street bill of platinum blondes (as Be Your Own Pet's Jemina Pearl noticed; check out Paul Thompson's diary to read about their set), and from the start, her set was plagued with technical difficulties. The soundcheck took forever, and when Robyn appeared on stage, there were still plenty of kinks to work out. As Paul pointed out, such glitches are especially debilitating for someone like her, whose whole formula is "voice + beats."

However, the obstacles allowed Robyn to showcase just how much of a pro she is. She's an excellent singer, which seems in part a product of the era in which she originally came up (i.e. teen pop, where labels encouraged artists to do things like take voice lessons and learn how to dance). And speaking of Robyn's past, the tech problems resulted in a rearranged setlist that included an unplanned appearance of "Show Me Love" as well as a piano-only version of "With Every Heartbeat", both of which were treats.

Phosphorescent [Mohawk Patio; 8 p.m.]

Secretly Canadian/Jagjaguwar/Dead Oceans really know how to pick these early evening showcase openers. Last year, it was the Besnard Lakes, who seemed to usher in the beginning of summer, and this year it was Phosphorescent. Frontman Matthew Houck started off the night by saying they would drag their feet for the people who weren't yet inside the venue, which established a tone for the entire set. Houck comes off as ready to unhinge at any moment onstage, but behind him is a solid country band playing lilting waltz-time tunes-- hard to get worked up about, but blissful when you can just let the music wash over you.

My Morning Jacket [Austin Music Hall; 11 p.m.]

A solid My Morning Jacket show is a bankable commodity at this point, and the band delivered with its evening set at Austin Music Hall. Most of the night was occupied with material from Z and debuting new songs, and from what I could tell, the new material has a noticeable r&b bent to it. It's a little hard to process when one of your favorite bands decides to focus on playing new stuff, but when Jim James and co. returned to something from It Still Moves or At Dawn, it was just as shiver-inducing as ever. As an unexpected bonus, the lights at this show were awesome, tasteful and complementary at every turn. That Dave Matthews money is well spent.

Dizzee Rascal [Scoot Inn; 1:15 a.m.]

It was strange to watch Dizzee Rascal play such a traditional SXSW rap show. Instead of the eccentric cowering on the cover of Boy in Da Corner, fans were treated to a talented MC with a crew who likes shout-outs and shoes. His set drew as much from excellent early material as it did from Maths + English, and the high-BPM beats kept the show flowing and energetic. Dizzee looked older than he does in pictures, which was cool to see: a prodigy aging well. He made sure to plug the April 29 U.S. release of Maths + English, which comes courtesy of showcase sponsor Def Jux.