Little Boots is clearly a big star in the making. Theblonde, British electropop chanteuse (real name: Victoria Hesketh) is alreadybeing championed by Perez Hilton months before her U.S. album debut even comes out (she'll be playing his South By Southwest closing-night"Divas" party alongside Solange and Margaret Cho). And when sheheadlined Thursday's SXSW "AllThat Sparkles" party at Malverde, throngs of adoring hipster fans waitedpatiently to see her, even though she went on more than an hour late due tosoundcheck snafus.
By the time Little Boots hit the stage, which was actually amakeshift platform on Malverde'soutdoor patio, she had to perform in almost total darkness, as the sun hadalready set and there were no stagelights of any light. But Boots managedto light up Malverde and sparkle nonetheless. Her stage presence was positivelyKylie-esque, while her pure pop voice--accompanied by little else than minimalsequencers and keyboards--seemed amazingly big, in a Robyn/Lady GaGa disco-divasort of way, for such a Little body.
By the time her sunset set was over, the only place tointerview Little Boots with lighting adequate enough to properly illuminate herlovely features was the stairwell outside Malverde. But I probably could haveinterviewed her in a pitch-black alleyway and her star power would have burnedjust as bright.
On those stairs, my attempts to investigate Boots' short-lived stint on the U.K. talentshow Pop Idol (a factoid thatimpressed me immensely, actually) and in her former indie band Dead Disco weresomewhat unsuccessful. But she was more than happy to chat about Perez's support and her recent duet with electro legend PhilipOakey of the Human League (as was I...especially that latter subject!).
Enjoy all that sparkles about Little Boots' personality in the interview below, along with acouple of her "bedroom" videos: