SXSW 2011: Sarah Jaffe, Live In Concert The Denton, Texas, singer is no stranger to the stages of nearby Austin. Perhaps that's why she sounded so comfortable performing at Momo's on Friday night during KUT's SXSW showcase.

SXSW 2011: Sarah Jaffe, Live In Concert

SXSW 2011: Sarah Jaffe, Live In Concert

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/134575121/134710532" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Texas native Sarah Jaffe performs at KUT's SXSW showcase at Momo's in Austin. Sean Christopher Murphy/KUT hide caption

toggle caption
Sean Christopher Murphy/KUT

Texas native Sarah Jaffe performs at KUT's SXSW showcase at Momo's in Austin.

Sean Christopher Murphy/KUT

Set List

  • "Paul/The Body Wins"
  • "Under"
  • "A Sucker For You Marketing"
  • "Vulnerable"
  • "Clementine"
  • "When You Rest"
  • "Halfway Right"
  • "Even Born Again"
  • "Before You Go"

Midway through Sarah Jaffe's set at KUT's 2011 SXSW showcase on Friday night, the blond Texan thanked the packed crowd at Momo's. "I appreciate you guys letting me play the acoustic guitar," she said, "and be a girl that does that among many others."

I'm not so sure Jaffe is up on her singer-songwriters these days. Frankly, the rest of us should be appreciating her, not the other way around. Her songs only superficially resemble what we've come to expect from the genre. Just listen to her first song from this performance, "Paul/The Body Wins," with its looped vocals and electronic undercurrents. Sure, Jaffe's a woman and she plays the acoustic guitar. But I'm not sure she sounds like anyone else, let alone "many others."