“Gebel Barkal” — OM
Psych Fest Bonus content after the jump…

“Nothing Ever Happened” — Deerhunter

Bonus Psych Fest content after the jump…

“Shattered Me” — Bass Drum of Death

“Rival” — Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Psych Fest bonus content after the jump…

“Lulla” — Tinariwen

Psych Fest bonus content after the jump…

“Love Fade” — Tamaryn

Bonus Psych Fest content after the jump…

We made the pilgrimage to Austin for Psych Fest and were rapidly enamored with, well, everything. The first morning saw us in the city center, which was near immaculate and amply endowed with bars and boutiques, much to my and bec’s delight respectively. Buildings both commercial and residential were elongated marvels of stone, concrete, steel and resplendent wood of many hues and grains. Wandering wide-eyed through this large scale homage to Frank Lloyd Wright we also experienced a strange and pleasant sensation for these pale Pennsylvanians : cheery sunlight hastily absorbed by the skin. Patronage at Langford Market along a leafy esplanade near city hall Friday morning did yield up luxurious wares for bec and a suggestion for Saturday morning repose, namely South Congress, the local mecca.

2.

Shortly thereafter, suffering happily from sensory overload and the effects of excess vitamin D, we made the journey in our rental out to Saltlick BBQ in the foothills for lunch. I always feel that it’s incumbent upon me to push rental vehicles to breaking point, stressing every moving part, electronic component and spotweld if possible – we managed a bone rattling 120 in a Fiat on the German autobahn once, at great expense to Bec’s nerves and my forearms. However not wanting to run afoul of the fine lawmen in texas that I’m convinced are some amalgam of Chuck Norris and Tommy Lee Jones- a terrifying thought indeed- on this occasion I kept it to a respectable gallop. We hurtled through splendid scrub on winding rural roads and gaggles of greckles, to be eventually greeted by the sweet smell of burning mesquite gently cooking our quarry. When parking at our destination, we made a beeline for the low building most resembling a smokehouse; the entire complex was palatial to say the least.

3.

Signs bid us forfeit greenbacks versus plastic in exchange for vittles, and that the dining duration should not exceed one half-hour. I selected the platter meal, and did solemnly pledge my legendary appetite and wallet would abide by the rules. The food once ordered and received from our bubbly texan waitress was sublime, the marbled-brisket in particular; words just won’t do it justice. Suffice it to say that there have been precious few comparable bbq meals in my experience. The Union Pig and Chicken in Pittsburgh may come close, though slathering my food with the habanero sauce induced some painful consequences on that infamous occasion. Mindful of these past vicissitudes for my lower intestines and environs, I limited myself to the delectable house sauce and single pickled jalapeño. These condiments and several sides proved most optimal; our state of bliss broadened considerably.

4.

The feast consumed, we took flight again, keen to make it in time for kick off at Carson Ranch, spinning wheels and peppering several bemused patrons with sand and gravel in the parking lot. Upon arrival at the festival site just north of the airport, we were now greeted by the odor of baked earth and greenery. The olfactory sense is a powerful device of recall, and I was immediately reminded of my time as a ranch hand in Goondiwoondi, Queensland in the mid-nineties. It was a happy period of solitude and personal growth in the Australian outback, spent largely hacking out boxthorn (Lycium) with a mattock along miles of lonely fenceline in 100+ degree heat. I would also tackle and bring down rams in need of having fly-blown flesh cut out by old Chief, a sub-optimal experience for all concerned, to say the least. Chief engaged in hand-to-hand combat with lethal brown snakes, survived innumerable natural disasters gleefully offered up by the Australian interior, and possessed the most spectacular four letter vocabulary I’ve ever heard. He was probably the toughest and most incomprehensible old bugger I ever met. I digress. With these recollections playing through my mind, we strode through security and confidently handed over our exquisite, commemorative weekend passes for inspection, like two bright eyed schoolchildren on excursion. We were subsequently adorned with stately, emblazened black wristbands, which looked like they might be used in former times to delineate disease carrying individuals.

5.

A cursory inspection of the venue revealed a magnificent backdrop from the amphitheater in the form of the Colorado river and treelined banks. Above the river and amphitheater in the field there were many eclectic stalls, far removed from the main stage in the field center. Several drool-worthy customized vehicles were arranged seductively near a tent for headliners, Moving Sidewalks. There was also a selection of food and beverage stalls. Alas, besides some undrinkable sodas and alcopops more suited to a bieber concert, the beverage for purchase was generic lager or water in boxes – and here I’m not referring disparagingly to weak beer, you really had to purchase water by the carton, a novelty worthy of a Portlandia skit. A fine craft beer was not to be had for neither love nor money. My melancholy over the beer selection quickly gave way when hearing the early acts; a highlight was Bass Drum of Death who, to quote from the vernacular, killed it. During this supreme set, Bec used some of the more sensitive areas of her body to locate an ant’s nest whereupon the poor girl discovered that the ants didn’t share her love for all God’s creatures, choosing to inflict her with painful bites and itchy hives. A trip to the medic was of little help; a request for salve and anti-histamine was met with the response “come back to us if you stop breathing”, not the most reassuring of words. However her remarkable resilience won out, and in due course she was able to sit in relative peace and tranquility.

6.

Given the idyllic setting, most of the time we parked at the amphitheater. A rewarding discovery was Kay Leotard who certainly impressed this generally ignorant WASP. I realize that musical comparisons are anathema, but if I was to make one it would be to Grace Slick. And speaking of WASPs, or rather the exact opposite, we met a lovely couple from Austin during the melodic Tamaryn set. Not for the first time, we heard expressions of disbelief that we made the trip down from our little hamlet, of which they’d never heard. We soon discovered that we shared with them a desire to hike the Appalachian Trail. One half of the couple spent his formative years in Seattle during the early nineties and was a UPS driver cum sculptor, the other half a feminist, life coach and relationship guru. I’m sure the details of our lives seemed dull by comparison, although when she asked what a physicist did and I mumbled something about studying the laws of the universe, her countenance brightened considerably and she responded “Oh, you mean like the laws of attraction?!?” Under great duress I resisted the temptation to deliver an obvious little chestnut containing the phrase “yes, between heavenly bodies” because a) only bec and I would laugh b) conversation would go south faster than an object descending through the upper atmosphere.

7.

We also met a delightful young couple from Berlin, taking in the festival and promoting their first album. Here, our germanic ancestry provided some overlap and we talked happily about favorite european destinations and now-berliner Anton Newcombe (a recurring and fascinating topic of conversation at this festival as it turns out), before heading over to Warpaint at the main stage. Our evening ended there with a masterful performance by the Raveonettes. The heavy lunch, sun and cheap lager got the better of us and we couldn’t stay for BRMC sadly, lest we fall asleep and be trampled underfoot in the moshpit. Day one complete and a resounding success apart from incident with nihilist ants, we drove away and retired to the estimable Doubletree along I35, happy visions of wonderful music, psychedelia and smoked meats dancing in my head.

I have seldom looked forward to a music festival as much as I am Psych Fest 2013, set for April 26-28 in Austin. As is usually the case, I will probably come back raving about some obscure bands I never heard of before. It’s a great place to discover new faves. This year, however, I’m very excited to see The Black Angels, the guys who put on the festival, even though they play Sunday and I will be so tired the next day. The reason is their latest album, Indigo Meadow. I like it much better than Phosphene Dream, the 2010 album everyone raved about.

Usually when I review an album, I try to pick out the influences. Byrds, Doors, Jefferson Airplane, 13th Floor Elevators? All those influences are there and more, I’m certain. These guys are so passionate about psychedelic music that they started a festival and a music label (Reverbation Appreciation Society) to celebrate it. I don’t much care though. This album is so good, I just don’t feel like picking it apart. I would much rather just sit back and enjoy the music. 

The tunes and propulsive rhythms make the songs irresistible. I am especially nuts about the title track and “Don’t Play With Guns,” but I enjoy the entire album immensely. It’s in constant rotation on my car stereo and on the laptop. I get the feeling that with this release, the band has become so at home in this genre that it is now just effortlessly making songs. It doesn’t sound like someone making neo-psych music, it sounds like a collection of great songs. I feel like the Black Angels capture that period where ’60s psych music quit being about peace & love and began to turn dark.

words by Cal Roach

Hold onto your hats, Milwaukee.  There is way too much going on this weekend.  You’re on your own for schoolnights because we just have more great options for today and tomorrow than we can even cover.  This would be the wrong weekend to stay home and watch TV, if you can help it.  Just try to not find something enticing in the following rundown of stuff to do Friday and Saturday.  We dare you.

Austin has been running its celebrated Psych Fest for six years now (and this year’s lineup is a doozy!) but seriously, it’s about time the Brew City had one of its own, wouldn’t you say?  After all, acts like Moss Folk, Elusive Parallelograms, Catacombz and sleepcomesdown have been rocking our worlds for quite some time, predating this current psych-rock revival by several years.  Cactus Club is the place to be tonight (Friday) starting at 9 and Saturday for an early show at 5 and late show at 10; not only can you catch all four of the aforementioned bands, but also some of the scene’s most celebrated up-and-comers like The Holydrug Couple, The Warlocks and Woodsman.  Click here for the full lineup and who’ll be at which show.

Wouldn’t you know it, though–there’s a killer show going on at the Riverwest Public House tonight too, so you might have to flip a coin, because the prospect of missing a Sat. Nite Duets show is never appealing.  Widely regarded as one of Milwaukee’s best live acts, these guys have an eclectic energy all their own, and their sound is constantly evolving.  Also playing tonight is Milwaukee’s Static Eyes, a band that wouldn’t necessarily be out of place at Psych Fest, although they’re a lot more noisy and garage-y than most bands in the psych-rock category.  If you didn’t already figure on it, you’d be well advised to bring earplugs to this show, ‘cause this band is LOUD.  Plus, get there early for US Male, the grungy side project from Cassidy DW and Myles Coyne that debuted at last year’s Riverwest Fest.

Also tonight, the Miramar Theatre will host a night of beat-driven ambient bliss with Phutureprimitive.  Although DJ Rain has ventured into more upbeat and even–dare we say–dubstep territory, his bread and butter remains melodic, downtempo beats that soothe the senses even as they move the body.  You can’t go wrong with his 2004 debut, Sub Conscious, a dreamy, meditative soundscape that’s a perfect gateway album for people interested in mellow, palatable ambient music.  He’ll be joined by likeminded Canadian DJ Ill Esha, so you’ll be in for a full night of smooth beats.

If none of these trips your trigger (wow, you are picky!), you’re still not out of luck by any means.  We haven’t even mentioned the high-profile gig going on at Pabst Theater tonight!  It’s a guy with the unassuming name of Jim James, head honcho of globe-trotting rock juggernaut My Morning Jacket.  He’s basically neck-and-neck with Jeff Tweedy for the title of king alt-country-folkie-turned-eclectic-rocker, but he beat Tweedy to the punch on the solo album score; the new Regions Of Light And Sound Of God is somewhat of a return to the moody, subdued roots style of early MMJ, but there’s also a modern indie pop sensibility, including hints of (gasp) electronic beats.  The guy is even more renowned for his live performances than for his well-received records, so chances are this will be a show people will be raving about for weeks to come.

Saturday is even more balls-out jam-packed; try not to feel too guilty about all the cool stuff you have to miss, as long as you get out there!  To begin with, it’s Record Store Day, which means mainly, go buy some records at one of our city’s fine local establishments!  Don’t take RushMor and Acme and Bullseye and Exclusive Company for granted, people; in this day and age, most towns are lucky to have ONE such independent shop.  Not only are there all kinds of deals and special releases to be plundered (here’s the full list), there’s live music!  Exclusive on Farwell will host Trapper Schoepp, Absolutely and JD McPherson (playing later at Shank Hall), among others; the Greenfield location features WMSE DJs all afternoon plus Semi-Twang (click here for the complete schedule for both stores).  At Acme, catch Black Eagle Child, Wereworm, a DJ set by Jon Mueller (among others), and Psych Fest visitors The Holydrug Couple (full details here).  This might be our favorite holiday of the year; get out and celebrate!

After you’ve relaxed for a minute at home enjoying your shiny new vinyl, it’s time to contemplate your night.  Your most one-of-a-kind option is certainly the event taking place at Turner Hall, another installment of the celebrated Cedar Block series.  This one’s called “May The Schwartz Be With You,” and it’s an homage to SPACEBALLS…okay, not really.  It’s a tribute to another disappearing institution, the independent bookstore–specifically, the gone-but-not-forgotten Harry W. Schwartz shop that once fostered a thriving community on the East Side.  It’s music, acting, storytelling, you name it; a treasured amalgam of performance art that nobody leaves without a smile.  Mastermind Brent Gohde has hinted that this might be the final Cedar Block project; it’s too bad that these things only ever run for one night, but by all means, get there if you can.

Saturday night also marks the EP release party for the latest project featuring one of Milwaukee’s biggest hip-hop talents, Dana Coppafeel.  The veteran MC has teamed up with another Uni-Fi Records mainstay, SPEAK Easy, for a collaboration that’s already getting some national notice, most visibly from a little website called RollingStone.com (probably the only time we’ll link to that site from this page!), which featured lead track “This Is Us” as its song of the day recently.  Also on that track: Klassik, who will probably join the duo onstage for it at this show; he’ll do a set of his own, surely drawing heavily from last year’s excellent In The Making album.  Also performing: Da Ricanstrukta, Streetz-n-Young Deuces and Mammyth.

Finally–and we mean that in terms of this article as well as the band itself–Fable & The World Flat is back in action!  It seems like ages ago, but it was actually 2009, when the debut album by these guys came out, the fantastic Ladies And Gentlemen.  They released the CD, played a couple shows, and then proceeded to vanish from the face of the Earth.  But Saturday night at Blackbird Bar, there’s a listening party celebrating the brand new The Great Attractor, at which you can grab a free digital download of the album prior to its official release next week.  As it happens, we’ve gotten to listen already, and…yeah, it’s a highly entertaining listening experience, as expected.  They’ll be DJing until close, so you could probably hit this up after the other events of the night if you like.

This year we hosted Camera, a fantastic psych rock band from Berlin. This is perfect for us as we are huge fans of the genre. We learned so much, have a place to stay in Berlin now with a nice local tour planned for us, and we experienced amazing music. Also, this was fun!

So many people like to complain about the obvious drawbacks of having a big event hosted in your town: the traffic, the crowds, the trash. Others like to rant and rave about the music choices and how commercial or corporate the event has become. But while all those complaints are basically true, they are also narrow-minded and short sighted. First, the majority of bands, like the one we hosted, are independent and poor, they need the festival to increase exposure and they need people like us to house them for free and help them navigate the chaos. Second, while I would love to live in the world where we just did shit because it was cool, that is not human nature at all. We do things because it benefits us, and most times, we want to benefit others too. SXSW is a huge part of Austin’s economic success and mystique. And whether you like it or not, it is made possible in part by corporate moneys. Welcome to the real world, buddy. Lastly, if you complain about its commercial aspects but do nothing to support its independent aspects, you are missing the point and doing yourself and this town disservice. Almost two thousand bands come here every year to increase their opportunities, focusing on the Princes and the Dave Grohls is missing the point. Those guys are doing their part by drawing in the crowds and music agents who eventually walk into other clubs and discover something new and wonderful.

At the end of April we have Psych Fest, a  smaller music event that features our favorite cosmic music. Because of the experience with Camera, we have become connected to other musicians in the genre and will be hosting a band again. We are thrilled and see this as a lovely reminder that opening your door leads to many more adventures you will never forget.

My advice is simple, if you are strapped at times and can’t get away to travel, let travel come to you. Open up your home to strangers, family or exchange students and watch your mind and heart open up as well.

Sun Araw @ Austin Psych Fest 2012 – Beauty Ball Room.

If you haven’t heard this two piece, check ‘em out! I’ve got Ancient Romans on LP. My favorite song is on Side B, track 2 . You’ll have to figure out the song title for yourself.

Prince Rama

Prince Rama down in the crowd. The were very shiny. (Chris Kinney photo)

Prince Rama gets into the audience - which clearly got into them also. (Chris Kinney photo)

The first was a duo called Prince Rama of Brooklyn, NY, two ladies performing a sort of electroclash with a lot of percussion, some programmed, some acoustic. One song started with Enya’s “Orinoco Flow” and turned into a really cool tribal jam. For their last song, they got down into the crowd and danced. The crowd loved them. Enough to beg for an encore. We didn’t get one, alas (I guess if every band did that, the festival would drag on forever).

Chris, my concert buddy for the weekend, compares them to Govinda and Fisherspooner.

The two sisters Taraka and Nimai Larson, have an interesting background. They were raised on a Hare Krishna commune in Florida and went to an art school in Boston. They were picked by Animal Collective to perform at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in May 2011. Pitchfork recently gave them a really good review.

Feathers

Feathers singer dances, bewitches the audience - especially the guys. (Chris Kinney photo)

Blue disco ball, smoke machine, black lingerie outfits, Feathers put on a spectacle and the music was awesome. (Chris Kinney photo)

An all-female group from Australia, Feathers also lit up the Beauty Ballroom last night. Lots of percussion, they had a dark, brooding electronic sound, very danceable, and an impressive light show. They were dressed in black and were sexy as hell. I guess you would refer to their stuff as electro clash, but I also thought of witch house. Definitely a darker vibe than Prince Rama.

Here are a couple of their songs on Bandcamp:

Pink Mountaintops

Pink Mountintops, doing one of their folkier numbers. (Charles Wood photo)

The Pink Mountaintops rocking out at Psych Fest 2012. (Chris Kinney photo)

I have enjoyed the light shows so far for all the bands. Most have been computer generated. I really enjoy the old school effects though. We were standing close to this guy, who swirled dye around on plates, with the images projected on screen. Really cool. (Chris Kinney photo).

It wasn’t all about the ladies. I really enjoyed Pink Mountaintops of Canada, which is a spinoff of another favorite band of mine, Black Mountain. The music was at times hard and heavy and at other times rather folky.

Tonight looks to be a big night. I’m looking forward to seeing Tuareg singer Bombino, Thee Oh Sees, The Meat Puppets, and of course the Brian Jonestown Massacre.

Disappears - awesome performance at Psych Fest 2012. (Cellphone camera couldn't cut the mustard so I nabbed this one off the band's Facebook page.)

Just starting to feel human again after a late night at Psych Fest. As usual, the band I enjoyed most wasn’t the one I expected it to be. Best performance and a definite band to watch, is the Chicago-based band Disappears.

I did enjoy the bands we went to see: Dead Meadow were very good and The Black Angels were great as always, I enjoyed a few other bands as well, both at Emo’s East and the Beauty Ballroom. The thing is, none of that really jumped out at me. It was the kind of fare you expect to hear at a festival devoted to psychedelic music – lots of reverb, lots of Velvet Underground influence.

Disappears stood out from the crowd (kind of an amusing statement now that I think of it). They were very together, every member knowing what the others were doing at all times. Different rhythms, vocals higher in the mix. I got a strong postpunk vibe from them. They made me think of bands like Joy Division, Magazine and The Fall.

Chris, my concert buddy, was so impressed he bought three of their CDs. I would have if I hadn’t been a little strapped after buying a few drinks. We played through a couple of the albums after we got back to Chris’s appartment and their latest – Pre Language – is unquestionably the best. The others were good also, but they had a different sound, reminding me a lot of the Stooges.

Here’s one of their best in my opinion:

BTW, I just found out after a bit of searching that their drummer is Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth.

Disappears will be playing in Dallas tonight and in Memphis, Tenn. tomorrow night. They are also getting ready for a summer tour of Europe. Check out their website for more. Also visit their store. You can get Pre Language for $12. Worth it I would say. And check out their Facebook page.

Bands I look forward to seeing tonight include Pink Mountaintops, Olivia Tremor Control, Telescope and the Black Lips. But who knows? Best show might once again be someone completely off my radar.

Emo’s East

I’ve decided I really like the new Emo’s East location on East Riverside Drive. I will miss the old location on 6th Street. I saw so many great shows there. But this one is big, still homey somehow, and they kept a lot of the art from the old place – like the creepy/weird/trippy painting of the elephant cutting open its third eye and the one of Johnny Cash flipping the bird.

I’ve been so busy lately that I just now had time to check out the lineup for this year’s Psych Fest. There are some killer bands on the bill this year. I really enjoyed last year’s festival, which was held at the decommissioned Seaholm Power Plant. This year, the festival will be at Emo’s East and the nearby Beauty Ballroom on Riverside Drive.

I’m going to miss that weird industrial aesthetic, and the fact that you could go from the “big” stage to the “small” one to check out different bands without leaving the building. We’re going to have to walk a little more this time. There are advantages to having two separate venues, however. There was a certain amount of interference between bands last time.

Some of the bands I’m psyched about include: Brian Jonestown Massacre, Pink Mountaintops, Telescopes, Dead Meadow, Olivia Tremor Control, and of course, the Black Angels. And as always, I look forward to checking out some bands that I don’t know anything about that could turn out to be new favorites. I discovered some great ones last year.

Here’s a link to the official site. There might still be time to get tickets. And in any case, here is Al Lover’s Psych Fest Mixtape. Tons of great music.

And check out my posts about last year’s festival here and here,

A Psychadelic Festival in Los Angeles? Yes, now you don’t even have to drive as far as Inyo to get a dose of weird in your weekend.  Thanks to a small group of passionate advocates, Los Angeles’ First Annual PsychFest will commence on March 25th with over 10 ours of mind altering entertainment.

As this is the first year of the festival, the group is accepting donations on kickstarter.com to help cover expenses and perpetuate future years of Psych Fest.  Information and donations HERE.

Whether or not you know much about this event or its acts its a great opportunity to take your shoes off practice some of your burning man dance moves.  Plus, its the first year so if this event ever takes of you’ll always be able to say “I’ve been going since year one… back when it was still cool”.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lapsychfest/the-first-annual-los-angeles-psych-fest/widget/video.html

I didn’t have any “enhancements” at Psych Fest 2011 last weekend, April 29-May 2 — unless you count the mild contact high I got from all the second-hand pot smoke — but I still had a great, trippy experience. I was especially excited about getting to see Roky Erickson for the first time.
The three-day event was held at the recently decommissioned Seaholm Power Plant which was an excellent setting. All those pipes, conduits, valves, stairways leading into God knows where, openings in the floor leading into mysterious chambers two stories below… All that stuff once had a very practical purpose, but ended up creating a weird sort of aesthetic.
Seaholm has great acoustics – especially the big room containing Stage 1 and all the vendors. Stage 2’s smaller room was a bit louder, but it was pretty cool that those two stages could have shows at the same time and not interfere.
I didn’t catch every band and I’m sure I missed a few good ones, but I saw several shows by acts I knew were going to be great, and they definitely were. I also discovered some new favorites.

Below are some of the highlights. I’m going to break my journalist code and forsake the inverted pyramid. Bands are in the order I saw them, not according to how much I liked them.

(And many thanks to blog commenter Christopher Kinney for turning me onto this festival and being a great concert buddy.)

Friday Night, April 29

Beach Fossils

Beach Fossils

This was the first band I heard when I turned up on Friday. They have a nice postpunk sound. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but they put me in mind of bands like Modern English and the Comsat Angels. The bass and rhythm guitar really captured that vibe for me.

Night Beats vs. Blue Angel Lounge

Night Beats

I had a real dilemma as Night Beats was still performing on Stage 1 as Blue Angel Lounge cranked up on Stage 2. I really started getting into Night Beats, which had a cool twangy cowboy psyched-out rockabilly aesthetic, with projections of RV travel trailers zipping by on the screen behind them.
I was then alerted to the fact that Blue Angel Lounge was cool and needed to be checked out. They were right in my postpunk/goth sweet spot. They reminded me of bands like Interpol and Clinic. Dark and hypnotic. Very good. I’m not the only one who thought so. The crowd got a lot bigger after Night Beats finished and Blue Angel Lounge really got a great response.
If I only I could’ve cloned myself and seen both shows at once.

Atlas Sound

Atlas Sound

Atlas Sound is the solo project of Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox. He was the first truly psychedelic act I heard on Friday night. Trippy, hypnotic and downright beautiful. He is a one-man band, singing and playing acoustic guitar, using loops and reverb to create an amazing tapestry of sound.

Crystal Stilts
I liked these guys – they came across as very ‘60s, with a Velvet Underground influence.

Tobacco
This is the band that Christopher was itching to see. It’s a side project of several members of Black Moth Super Rainbow. They had a funky mix of hip hop beats and electronic sounds. I thought they were good, and the crowd they drew went nuts over them, but I wasn’t as crazy about it as Christopher was, mainly because I was in the mood for the kind of psychedelic music Atlas Sound put out, full of reverb, feedback and distortion. Tobacco did start to sound more psychedelic as the show went on, getting into some cool, hypnotic grooves.

Saturday, April 30

Pontiak
First band of the day for me. I liked them a lot more than Chris did. They looked like “indie” guys, but their music was drugged out, sludgy metal. They made me think of Soundgarden. Black Sabbath had to be a big influence as well.

Black Ryder
I enjoyed this one. Kind of a gothic shoegaze sound. They harmonized nicely and had some good tunes. At times I thought of the Chameleons.

White Hills
Like Pontiak these guys were a bit sludgy, but more energetic and uptempo, and with vocals.

Sleepy Sun
This was my discovery on Saturday. They had a bluesy, feedback drenched vibe and used a lot of reverb to create a wall of sound. The singer had a good voice – which is important with bands like this. They also had some good tunes. I liked them enough to buy a CD (Fever) and sign up for the mailing list. I have played Fever several times over the last few days and it gets better with each listen. It makes me think of bands from the early ‘70s that had elements of blues, hard rock, psych and prog all at once. They’re mining the same territory as Black Mountain.

Crocodiles

Crocodiles

Best show on Saturday night. Very energetic feedback-drenched sound. They performed a bunch of songs from their excellent album Sleep Forever (in my top 5 from 2010). The singer had a great stage presence. Lots of dancing and jumping around. Wearing sunglasses and a black T-shirt with a grinning skull. He reminds me a young Lou Reed.
I’ve been itching to see them live since I first heard their cover of Deee Lite’s “Groove is in the Heart” on Dandelion Radio — and they didn’t disappoint. They got great crowd response too. Maybe they’re on their way to getting the props they deserve.

Indian Jewelry
They came across to me as a kind of gothic industrial (a style that Chris informs me is known as electro-clash) and featured a stand-up drummer who created a pounding tribal beat.

Soft Moon
Awesome industrial. These guys put on a hell of a show on stage 2, with programmed. Mechanical sounding beats and a vocalist who sometimes sang, sometimes made wicked-sounding utterances. The projection was focused in the center of the room so that the shapes, stars and intersecting lines seemed to rush toward us. Very cool effect that went well with the music.

Black Moth Super Rainbow
I saw them on Saturday night and thought they were powerful and innovative. Funky, with electronic noise and vocals run through a vocoder. I liked them, but I have to admit I didn’t get how crazy everyone went for them. They got a big crowd and a big response. Some people told me they came to the festival to see them specifically. Maybe this is a band that will grow on me.

Spectrum
Another discovery. They were playing at 1 a.m., right around the time our little crew began to run out of steam. If they had gone onstage earlier when I had more energy I would’ve been all over their show. As it was I had to take in part of it sitting outside, trying to rest my feet and my aching back. They were doing a sort of shoegaze, working against drones and doing extended pieces that could either come across as monotonous or hypnotic depending on whether you were feeling it. At times they reminded me of Spiritualized. At other times their music made me think of the long spoken word songs by the Doors like “This is the End” and “When the Music’s Over.”

I think Jim Morrison had to be a big influence.

Sunday, May 1

The Black Hollies
I liked these guys. Sort of a twisted ’60s sound with a Farfisa organ (or something that sounded like one). Like Spectrum, this band reminded me of the Doors, but they were a little more pop-oriented, not as psychedelic.

Daughters of the Sun

Daughters of the Sun

Great discovery. To look at this trio of long-haired musicians from Minnesota, you might expect them to be a metal band — one member was wearing a Judas Priest vest. You would be wrong. Not that I don’t love metal, but this was a lot more interesting. Their music was a very psychedelic mixture of electronics, guitar and reverb, dreamy vocals and lots of very tribal-sounding percussion. They had two drummers and a singer-guitarist who also banged on the drums for some songs. I liked them so much I went looking for CDs, found they had sold out, and bought a handmade cassette EP of Net Wt. instead. Would’ve bought the vinyl version of their latest album, Ghost with Chains, but I don’t have a player. Their music can be found as mp3 downloads on Amazon, iTunes and at their labels Modern Radio.com and NotNotFun Records.

Dirty Beaches

Dirty Beaches

In a word: Intriguing. Dirty Beaches, aka Alex Zhang Hungtai is a one-man band, singing, playing guitar and using loops, programmed beats and other electronic sounds. He had a ’50s greaser look, with a white T-shirt, slicked back hair and tatooed arms. Some of his songs had a retro sound also, especially the one he dedicated “to the lovers.” After combing his hair back, Fonzie-style.
One song was a shouted, spoken word piece with a freakout guitar solo. Very cool.

Pete International Airport

Pete International Airport

It took me a while to warm up to this band, but once I got them I was impressed. The singer had a low, almost monotone delivery. I thought of Sisters of Mercy. Chris was reminded of Fields of the Nephilim and Mission UK. He wore sunglasses and had a hint of menace about him that made me think of Blue Oyster Cult’s Don Roesser. Great frontman, really. I also loved the melodic plucked bass and the fact that the band had two drummers.

The Growlers

The Growlers

Very good band with a great sense of melody. They had a bit of ‘60s garage, a bit of surf, a bit of country & western and just basic great all around pop. Strange as that sounds, it really works. They had a great stage presence and really hit it off with the crowd.

Roky Erickson

Roky Erickson

Roky is the main reason I decided to fork over the money for the weekend pass. I’ve wanted to see him ever since I learned he was performing again. I’ve been following his story for years. His 1960s band the 13th Floor Elevators were arguably the first psychedelic band. Roky has struggled with mental health issues for years and slowly reemerged as a performing, recording musician again, thanks in large part to love from his fans in Austin. We love the man and we’re not ready to let him go.
I saw him on Sunday night. After his show I felt like I could go home. I thought he put on a hell of a show. I felt like his guitar work was a bit sharper on his solo works like “Two Headed Dog” and “Night of the Vampire” than with his Elevators songs, though he kicked ass on “You’re Gonna Miss Me” during the encore. I loved all of it though. He rocked. Hell of a backing band too. He’s a legend and I feel very lucky that I got to see him.

Black Angels (stay tuned on this one)
If there seems to be a glaring omission, that’s because I missed the Black Angels show. I didn’t like it, but they weren’t going on till around 11 p.m. and I knew Monday was going to be a brutal work day (it was). Since I saw them not too long ago, I went ahead and lit out. Fortunately, Chris was able to stick around and I’ll pass along his impression of that show soon.

Edit: I previously said I thought Pontiak would’ve been better with a vocalist. Turns out they have one. I just got dragged over to the first stage before I could hear him sing. Also… Christopher Kinney is still chipping away at his review of the Black Angels show. He hasn’t forgotten.

This morning I was feeling a little asleep. We had our first show last night! It was over before I knew it, very much like a roller coaster. I’m excited to see where we all go together! If you are interested, you can check out our tumblr blog by clicking here!  We haven’t recorded yet, but any info about events, projects, shoots and records will be on there.

I was feeling absolutely asleep today, incapable of being a hundred percent there, I popped these in the juicer and took the juice to work. SO delicious. Absolutely necessary. Its 3pm and I STILL haven’t had coffee.

I cannot get enough of little black dresses. I dig wearing formal wear during the day, I think theres never a need for an excuse to get fancy, and they’re so easy!

When its hot, she likes to hop in the fridge when we open it. The freezer too, its really cute.

The hotel San Jose (see previous post) graciously got back to me, but as it turns out, they don’t allow photo shoots in case the guests don’t want to be bothered by the camera, that night however, my brother (in law) Brian and I were walking off a Dim Sum coma and wandered into the lush Barton Springs neighborhood, and food just about the most psychedelic mini golf course you ever did see. Its amazing.

Who is going to psych fest next week? Stay tuned! I’m doing a psych-in-style festival post later!

bisous!

Here are some upcoming show dates in California.  Keep an eye on this site (as well as the band’s website www.thewarlocks.com) for more cities to come… May 19 Wed UC Riverside, CA
The Barn Dios Malos http://www.myspace.com/thebarnatucr

The New    Parish Assemble Head And The Sunburst Sound, Gypsy Moonlight http://www.thenewparish.com/ Jun 20 Sun Los Angeles, CA
The Echo The Meek, Green Eyes http://www.attheecho.com/ ]]> http://mattparish.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/homegrown-4-day-psychfest-in-boston-phoenix-7-16-09/ Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:15:57 +0000 mdouglasparish http://mattparish.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/homegrown-4-day-psychfest-in-boston-phoenix-7-16-09/

Dan Shea introduces us to the 40-band lineup of his depraved 4-day fest of mind melting music from all over the map. For people on or off drugs.

“To me, it’s any music that is made using, enjoyed by people using, or made to create the effects you might feel while using drugs,” says Shea. “I mean, I don’t want a negative connotation, but look at the flyer this guy made. It’s got purple mushrooms and marijuana plants on it.”

Link to article at Phoenix here.

How do you define musical success? Lots of money? Lots of fans? Most dedicated cult following? Major label deal? It just keeps getting trickier and trickier.

A few weeks ago a friend loaned me his copy of Dig!, a documentary about the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols. Two very talented and trippy groups that had very different career paths – the Dandys got a major label deal and got really popular, especially in Europe; the BJM got more and more dysfunctional over time, with rampant drug use and constant fighting.

It also follows the changing relationship between BJM’s volatile singer Anton Newcombe and the Dandys’ Courtney Taylor, who started out as great friends and ended up as bitter rivals.

I recently saw both bands at Emo’s in Austin. The Brian Jonestown Massacre played at Psych Fest and The Dandy Warhols played later at their own show. I loved both bands, but I think I would’ve appreciated them a lot more if I had seen Dig! beforehand. I didn’t realize how awesome it is that Anton is keeping it together as well as he is right now, or that tambourinist Joel Gion still tours with the band after quitting/getting fired/getting in fights, etc. so many times. (BTW, Joel was my favorite “character” in Dig!, just laughing and clowning and partying through it all, the quintessential stoner.)

So which band succeeded? I would have to say both. The Dandys had more commercial success (Although Capitol has since downsized, dropping them from the label and turning them back into a “true indie” band). Their songs are catchier.

Brian Jonestown Massacre make consistently great music that will stand the test of time. They’re like some of the great psychedelic bands from the ’60s before they got big and lost their edge.

I think the Anton and Courtney love/hate relationship is fascinating. Anton envies Courtney’s success with the Dandys and Courtney loves and envies Anton’s songwriting ability. Here’s hoping they get back to the point where they can hang out and perform together again.

If you’re a fan of either of these bands and haven’t seen Dig!, you owe it to yourself to watch it. Even if you never heard of either band, watch it. Best documentary and in fact best movie I’ve seen in a long time.

Strangers Family Band

Dead Meadow

Dead Meadow

This is my first real blog about something, and I don’t know anything that would be easier to write about, yet also completely impossible to do justice with words. If you’ve never been to a music festival, I guess the people you meet there are just “on another level”. We were told Austin is more lax than the rest of Texas and it’s really the only place like it in Texas. This was my first time in the state, but I believe them. Practically everyone we met or stopped to talk to even for 2 seconds instantly became a new friend. There’s something about settings like Psych Fest and Bonnaroo, everyone is just there to have a good time and you can really feel it in the whole bubble of human consciousness when everyone is having a No Worries attitude. The load is lightened, and it is, whether we are aware or not, a load we share, so you feel lighter when the whole group is lighter. Similarly I can recall feeling the entire place mount up in an anticipation when Brian Jonestown Massacre was about to go on.

Okay, so, Psych fest blew all of my expectations away. We were attending mostly for Jonestown, and there were a few other bands that I knew and really liked, like Dead Meadow, but for the large part of it, I didn’t know any of the bands. I’ve never been surrounded by so many talented bands. The first band to take the stage was Strangers Family Band, and they were insanely good. All the bands were ALL, REALLY good, and of course they were all psychedelic, but each in their own different way. No two bands sounded even close to too similar. I realized at some point that I don’t know any other genre of music that stretches to allow for so much variation and so many different sounds or sub-genres, and the catalog of psychedelic music from the 60′s and onward is endless. There’s a myriad of undiscovered bands that sound as good as Cream or The Beatles. If that gives you a bit of a mind-gasm, you’re in the right place.

Now, I’ve seen a lot of good bands. ZZ Top, B.B. King, The Strokes, The Black Keys, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, Arctic Monkeys, Flogging Molly, Silversun Pickups…you get the idea. Live music is truly magical, as Anton Newcombe told me, because I’ve listened to a lot of good music over the years, too. And let me tell you…Brian Jonestown at Psych fest was the best fucking thing I’ve ever heard in my life. The only thing that exceeded the generosity and good-timely nature of everyone there, was a moment during the show when I felt elevated to a state of connection with nearly everyone in the room. It was no longer about the music or the band or the audience, it was just about that moment, as life always is, but I think a lot of people in the crowd were being made aware of it then which is why it felt so good.

Another beauty of Psych Fest is that most of the bands stay for the whole weekend, and when they’re not playing, they’re just walking around and hanging out. We met the members of Strangers Family Band several times and got to hang out with the guitarist/singer Ric. The bands here treated you like an equal, it was amazing. I got to meet Anton, the genius behind the BJM. When I tried to express my respect for his music, he put his hand on my shoulder and said, “Let’s just digress from all that. I’m just your friend.” Now that I think about it, normally I would have resisted and insisted communicating how much his songs mean to me, but the softness in the way he said it made it so easy to just say “Okay.” It reminds me of Jimi’s soft nature. He was a really cool, nice guy. I couldn’t believe it when I was just walking next to him later as he lit up a cigarette. I couldn’t resist saying hey to him every time we passed him. At about 10:30 we passed him again, around an hour before they were going on. “Can’t wait for you guys to play,” I said to him. “Yeah, me neither” was his reply. That small exchange of words somehow meant a lot to me, I guess I felt connected to him.

Matt Hollywood is on the far left, Anton is next to him. Joel Gion behind the Sitar. This is them playing “Super-Sonic”.

These are the only two pictures I took, and I didn’t bother with videos that wouldn’t do it justice. I was too busy enjoying it.

Granted, perhaps I’m slightly biased. In 1997, I was there visiting the family of a girl I was dating. It was Thanksgiving. A month later she moved in with me. Three weeks after that she went to San Francisco for the weekend and reunited with the father of her (latest) abortion. I never saw her again. It would be disingenuous of me to deny that perhaps this situation has left me forever unfavorably disposed to the capital of Texas.

However, I like to think I am capable of change. Sure, even while blinded by love, I wasn’t particularly impressed with Austin fifteen years ago. But I didn’t like Brussels sprouts then and now I do, so I figured I’d give it another try. After all, the Psych Fest had a fantastic line-up and it seemed that it would be a fine opportunity to reassess the situation.

I met up with two friends, one from St. Paul and one from Portland. Through AirBnB we rented a bungalow/shack in South Austin that was fully stocked with Texas memorabilia and Ayn Rand propaganda: a puzzling, yet oddly telling detail in this allegedly hip neighborhood in the midst of a massive gentrification. Not so long ago South Austin was a ghetto. Now, ramshackle homes stand next to gleaming modern ones. A local boasted that it is where the slaves used to live. Now there are coffee shops, vintage clothes stores and enough food trucks to satisfy a range of cravings from $5 donuts to West African stewed goat.

We arrived at varying times throughout Friday afternoon. By the time Portland showed up, it was time to get over to the venue. The Psych Fest’s 5th edition was stationed at Emo’s East and the Beauty Bar, a short walk from one another in an odd commercial wasteland. The Beauty Bar, which resembles a barn much more than a bar, was the site of San Francisco’s Moon Duo, who provided an excellent opening salvo for the festival (for us). We ended up spending much of the evening here. At the other side of the parking lot was Emo’s East, which essentially is a warehouse with the ambiance of a truncated roller rink. It is, sadly, exactly what I’d expect a venue in Texas to be: too big for its britches and mistaking misguided kitsch for personality. In a state that routinely confuses big for better, the sound system was massive, yet muddy.

While the proprietors of both venues were amiable and created a space conducive to the freedom one might expect from a festival dedicated to psychedelia, both the Beauty Bar and Emo’s East are devoid of personality to the point that you could be anywhere. To make matters worse, the neighborhood which hosts these emporiums is surrounded by section 8 housing, dilapidated, run-down stretches of big box box stores, bingo halls and flailing franchises. It is a essentially a ghetto. Since the venues, which can hold 2500 people between them, can only accommodate about 100 cars in their shared parking lot, concert-goers will likely get an intimate view of the rotting carcass of the American Dream.

With a little time to burn before Lotus Plaza, we tested our Frogger skills and managed to make it safely to El Pollo Rico across the street. This taco shack is apparently a cherished Austin favorite and as such our expectations were high … and therein lies the problem with Austin, it’s supposed to amazing, but in reality it’s nothing special. In accordance with that calculus, the lard-encrusted tacos were fine, certainly nothing mind-blowing. It is, however, possible that my taste buds were stunted from the infusion of carbon monoxide spewing from the line of pick-up trucks idling in the drive-thru, conveniently located right next to the stand’s picnic tables.

Despite the unfavorable conditions, I was hungry for more. The weekend promised to be a marathon, it would be important to pace oneself. Somehow we managed to extricate ourselves from the greasy picnic table. But there would more tacos that evening. Many, many more.

Magically, there was a taco stand in the parking lot behind the Beauty Bar. Their tacos were far superior, and came with the added bonus of not having to risk one’s life crossing the street for the privilege of dining in a mist of car exhaust. I downed several of their chicken concoctions throughout the evening in a manner reminiscent of Ignatius Reilly’s prodigious ability to devour vast quantities of hot dogs. It seems I had acquired a parasite since touching down in Texas, which considering the nauseating state of the city’s water supply made a disturbing degree of sense.

After staying up well past 4 a.m. on Friday night we managed to get ourselves up for brunch.  Apparently, most of Austin had the same idea as the lines were long at most recommended places, even though it was already past one in the afternoon. We ended up at the Bouldin Creek Coffee House & Cafe. It is a vegetarian restaurant, a shock to us at the time, but not an unwelcome one. Their spinach omelette was not only a minor revelation, but also efficiently soaked-up the toxins of the previous evening’s escapades.

sightseeing downtown: an Austin geisha lets it all hang out

We rented bikes upon our arrival, but had not yet used them so we took them for a spin, leaving South Austin and heading over the river for downtown and the capital. The bike trails and parks are quite impressive, but unfortunately they led us to 6th Street, a tacky commercial tourist zone where Austin “keeps it weird” in the most innocuous and tedious way. First we made the rookie mistake of stopping at Jackalope for a drink. Obviously, the name should have driven us away, but the Zombies were on the jukebox, so we went in. Apparently, mixing drinks is a difficult task for bottle-toking Texans, so it should not be astonishing that making a simple whiskey and lemonade was beyond the abilities of the Jackalope bartender. I can’t say we didn’t have it coming. The Jackalope – it’s the perfect name for Texas tourist trap.

Portland takes a Texas-sized hit from an avian aerial raid

From there we went to Easy Tiger, attracted to their ping pong tables and courtyard next to a stoned-in creek full of swimming painted turtles. In a matter of minutes I managed to smash my paddle into a pile of toothpicks, while Portland was showered with a Texas-sized pile of bird shit – an incident which I thought was particularly hilarious since we had just switched sides. That bird, I’m quite sure, had been gunning for me. I don’t think the winged creature had particularly appreciated my observation that Austin is essentially Branson, Missouri for hipsters.

The afternoon was slipping away so we headed back to our bungalow to get ready for the evening’s musical offerings. After hosing ourselves off, we were again thwarted with wait times of an hour or more at no less than three restaurants (none of which take reservations), so we ended up at a food trailer park in South Austin where we dined at Little Thai, purveyors of an unpredictably decent pineapple fried rice.

The fest offered several stellar acts on Saturday night, including Pink Mountaintops, Woods, The Telescopes, Olivia Tremor Control and the Black Lips. If only they hadn’t been relegated to the sterile Emo’s East, perhaps a degree of transcendence could have been reached. The weather was great all weekend and it’s a shame that the festival wasn’t outside. While it is unfair to judge Austin on the purgatory that is Emo’s East and the Beauty Bar, life in Texas is seldom fair, so somehow my conscience will have to deal.

the winding road to the top of Doug Sahm Hill

We rode around on our bikes again on Sunday and almost immediately stumbled upon an unexpected Austin landmark, Doug Sahm Hill, named for the legendary musician. Sahm was a child prodigy and shared the stage with Hank Williams in December 1952 at Austin’s Skyline Club. Sahm was 11. Hank died 13 days later. It was Williams’ last show. Sahm would go on to have a fantastic and influential career, cut short by a heart attack in 1989.

The Sir Douglas Quintet classic “She’s About a Mover” was once named the number one “Texas” song by Texas Monthly:

The third night of psychedelic offerings ended with a solid bang of Bombino, Thee Oh Sees, Meat Puppets and Brian Jonestown Massacre. Despite the lame venues, it was a fine, albeit narrow, festival.  A few short weeks later, it is now largely a blur. And like Doug Sahm, I doubt I’ll be going back to Austin again anytime soon.

Doug Sahm – I Can’t Go Back To Austin