Ólöf Arnalds Opts for Sing-Along to Silence Crowd Chatter at SXSW

"Can you hear me okay? Because I can't hear me."

Ólöf Arnalds had a tough go of things at the Swan Dive Wednesday night in Austin.

The diminutive folk singer from Iceland -- performing at one of the many events that the music blog Brooklyn Vegan has lined up for SXSW this year -- not only had to contend with the sound of another band bleeding in from a performance space behind the building, but had to also strain to be heard, and to hear herself, over the chatter of a restless audience.

To her credit, Arnalds didn't give up and storm off the stage in a huff. Instead, she enlisted the chunk of the crowd that was paying attention in a loud, wordless sing-along to drown out the rest of the room.

It was a song she said was her go-to in situations like this in her adopted homeland of Finland, because "it was the song that people would choose to go get a drink at the bar or go use the bathroom." It didn't necessarily do the trick, but it did unite Arnalds with the fans she did have in attendance.

Really, if she hadn't said anything, you likely wouldn't have noticed that Arnalds was at all bothered by the crowd noise. She looked positively blissful while playing, especially when she delved into her array of cover songs.

Best was a lovely Caetano Veloso track, 'Maria Bethânia' written, according to Arnalds, as a letter to his sister during his exile in London in the '70s. But close behind was her closing number, a faithful and sweet take on Neil Diamond's first chart hit, 'Solitary Man.'