Levitation 2016 Day 1

Levitation has a bit of a mixed track record, although I still think it's the best festival in town in terms of the quality of the music, which is of course the most important criterion anyway. Last year, I was so frustrated by the failure of the shuttle system that I wasn't sure I wanted to come back this year. (The rainstorms and mud didn't help, either.) However, they once again put together an incredible lineup and I decided to give it another go. In fact, I bought tickets for both Friday and Saturday.

As I'm sure everyone has heard by now, the festival was canceled as of 5pm on Thursday. Heavy thunderstorms were looming once again, and the festival site was already worse for wear from storms throughout the last week. The organizers rushed to put together as many shows at local venues as they could manage, but unfortunately most of them sold out as soon as they went on sale, as the demand was understandably out of control. I failed to procure any tickets, but decided to try to see what I could see anyway.

Event: Levitation 2016 Day 1

Venues: KUTX Studio 1A and Scoot Inn

Location: Austin, Texas

Date: 29 April 2016

Details about the make-up shows were a bit scarce and initially available only through Facebook and Twitter. The Austin Chronicle began keeping track of them, and I saw that one of the bands I was interested in, Dungen, would be making an appearance at KUTX. I mentioned this to a friend, and he immediately was on board, so we rushed to the University of Texas campus, found a parking spot, and made it to the radio station studio just in time to be let in.

All I knew about Dungen was that they were Swedish and occupied a space somewhere between psych, folk, and prog. The started playing something that sounded like standard-issue indie rock, but driven by a grand piano and a prominent bass. However, as the song progressed, it gradually turned into a serious prog rock jam. It slowly wound down, but without really pausing, the band started into the next song, which led into another tremendous jam. At the end of the third iteration of this pattern, someone whispered in the singer's ear and they brought the show to an end. They only played for fifteen or twenty minutes, but it was a fantastic journey. The instrumental work was top-notch, the harmonies were transcendent, and the jams were captivating without being excessive. It was just a shame they didn't get more time.

[Dungen at KUTX.]

It was before, during, and immediately after this set that the fiasco of the make-up show tickets occurred. Around 2:30, Levitation announced a series of make-up gigs, with a claim that ticket holders would have advance access. This took the form of an email sent at about 2:50 that contained the same links to Transmission Events ticketing pages that were available on the Levitation website. The tickets were supposed to go on sale at either 3 or 3:30 (reports varied), but it fact they appeared to go on sale at variable times throughout the hour. I tried my best, but I did not get tickets for anything. They all sold out with incredible speed. There was really only one that I was really, really interested in, though: Slowdive with The Brian Jonestown Massacre and Twin Peaks at the Scoot Inn. In desperation, I scoured the internet for scalpers, but I could only find others looking for the same tickets.

At this point, it was clear that it wasn't actually going to rain that day. This matters, because Scoot Inn is an outdoor venue. Admittedly, it was odd that an event that was canceled due to weather would be moved in part to an outdoor venue, but I guess it worked out. I decided to head to the venue and try my chances at getting a ticket on the spot. I biked on down and quickly realized I was one of many looking for a ticket. I gave up as soon as I realized that there was a grassy parking lot adjacent to the venue's stage that was full of people hoping to catch some of the scattered sound waves. I found a decent spot where I could see the speaker racks on stage, sat down, and waited to see what happened. This was my view when Twin Peaks went on:

[Twin Peaks at Scoot Inn.]

It wasn't a perfect experience, but I was excited for the show and figured it was worth making the most of it. Realistically, I couldn't see anything, and the audio wasn't as good as I'm sure it was inside, but I could still hear enough to enjoy it. (It also helped to have a friend join me and bring beer.) I'm going to do my best to review what I heard, although my scores will be admittedly somewhat tentative. I doubt my experience truly represents what the bands offered to the people inside.

Twin Peaks played a sort of catchy but rather generic garage rock. They seemed to play rock 'n' roll fairly straight and by-the-numbers, but I appreciated that they did have some finesse about it. They were skilled at dropping in little rhythmic flourishes and shifts that kept their set from getting too boring. They didn't seem particularly sophisticated, but they sounded better than their studio work had led me to expect.

The Brian Jonestown Massacre were up next. I actually saw them at Levitation two years ago, back when it was still Austin Psych Fest, and they were the topmost headliner after Primal Scream dropped out. That time around, they played good music, but they went on late, only played for 45 minutes, and were plagued by sound issues. This year there were no major sound problems, but they still only played for about an hour since they weren't the headliner. They again featured an abundance of guitarists that all mostly played the same thing, and while it did make for a fairly big, warm sound, it also was a somewhat monolithic or monotonous sound. They played consistently good grooves, but rarely played something really thrilling. The vocals had a characteristic sort of lazy, stoned quality to them, which contributed to a fairly mellow mood despite their classic rock obsessions. The side of their music more akin to shoegazing, as represented by their early album Methodrone (from which they played "She's Gone"), came to the fore. I suppose it was only appropriate considering the headliner, although I may have just been reading into it because of the pairing, and my removed location may have influenced my perception as well. An incomplete setlist can be found here.

[The Brian Jonestown Massacre at Scoot Inn.]

Finally, Slowdive came on stage. Here's the setlist (with some help from here):

01. Slowdive
02. Avalyn
03. Catch the Breeze
04. Crazy for You
05. Machine Gun
06. Souvlaki Space Station
07. When the Sun Hits
08. Morningrise
09. She Calls
10. Alison
11. Golden Hair (James Joyce/Syd Barrett cover)

Ever since they reunited in 2014, Slowdive have relied on a fairly regular setlist for their shows. It's hard to complain, though, since it's a solid collection of songs. It is quite biased towards Souvlaki, and includes more EP tracks than anything from either other album, but that's probably a fair representation of their best work. Naturally, they started with the eponymous "Slowdive" from their debut self-titled EP.

Slowdive also have a tendency to let their three guitarists meld their sound together into one big sound, but they make it work more successfully. While The Brian Jonestown Massacre aim for a thick chorus effect, Slowdive develop a gigantic wall of sound. They rely on a variety of guitar effects, driving bass, and airy vocals to build up their desired atmosphere. It makes for a beautiful and hazy sound that just washes over you in waves. While the music flowed past, the vocals were mostly indecipherable, although that's fairly par for the course with shoegazing acts. At any rate, the music was somewhat heavier and more intense than on record, which may reveal the insufficiencies of the production available to them at the time. At the point in "When the Sun Hits" where the song really picks up, it felt huge. It's already a great song on record, but this performance felt transcendent. Some other songs admittedly seemed a bit vague and meandering, but most of them were a wonderful experience to bask in.

Final Thoughts: This was a strange day by any metric. It was very disappointing to have the festival canceled, especially with such short notice, but it would seem that Travis County made the call and that was that. (Apparently the flooding concerns were bad enough that the Lower Colorado River Authority decreed that camping by the river would not be permissible.) Although Friday was ultimately a clear day, overnight it stormed heavily. Levitation and Carson Creek Ranch posted pictures the following morning showing the devastating results: thoroughly flooded grounds, knocked-down fences and portapotties, and destroyed tents. It turns out they made the right call. (Amazingly, there were claims floating around the internet that Levitation conspired to cancel the event since it didn't sell out and they could recoup the insurance benefits. This makes no sense when you consider that the festival has never sold out.)

Despite my frustration and disappointment, I can't really say I'm upset, since it was clear that Levitation wasn't happy with the situation and was trying to make the most of it. I was far angrier after the shuttle situation of last year. However, while I sympathize with Levitation and trust that they are a committed, local organization dedicated more to the music than to the money, that's not to say they handled everything as well as they could have.

Levitation did a great job of putting together last minute shows all weekend, but disseminating the details was occasionally difficult. On the positive side, the shows were all $5 (or free) and all proceeds went to the Austin Relief Alliance. Much less positive was the fact that ticket holders were not actually given any sort of advance opportunity to purchase these tickets, despite the initial claim. This was particularly unfortunate for people that had traveled from out of town; all of their planning and early orders did nothing for them. In fact, the line of people that formed outside Scoot Inn for the Slowdive show got entirely screwed over. Supposedly, despite initial promises that they'd get the first chance at tickets, they were told at the last minute that they'd too have to use the overburdened website to try to buy tickets like everyone else. Since the tickets were cheap and could be bought in sets of up to four, there was a lot of complaining about scalpers, although I'm not actually sure how much of that really occurred. I've heard one report of a $75 resale, but not much else.

In the end, I still got to listen to two of the bands I wanted to see, and I caught a brief set of another, and that was all for free. It wasn't what I was hoping for, but it was better than nothing. I was far from alone; there were multiple hundreds of people in the fields and on the street around Scoot Inn, and I'd bet many of the other make-up venues had external crowds. I'm very disappointed that I lost my chance to see David J and the Gentlemen Thieves, and I missed out on Brian Wilson, Animal Collective, Woods, Lee Ranaldo, and plenty of others. On the other hand, I did see some interesting sights at the Scoot Inn parking lot, like this:

[Firedancer outside Scoot Inn.]

Scores:

Dungen: A-

Twin Peaks: C+

The Brian Jonestown Massacre: B

Slowdive: A-

P.S. Many thanks to Mustafa!

P.P.S. What does it say about my luck (or the effect of climate change on Texas) that I have held tickets for the only Levitation to ever be canceled as well as the only day of Austin City Limits Fest to be canceled thus far?

[Edit 2016.05.03:] P.P.P.S. Phone video footage of the entire Slowdive set can be found here, and an mp3 of the entire Dungen set can be downloaded from KUTX here.

[Edit 2016.05.12:] P.P.P.P.S. The setlist of the Dungen radio appearance is here.

South by Southwest Music Festival 2016, Day 3, Part 2

Event: South by Southwest Music Festival, Day 3: Levitation Showcase

Venue: Hotel Vegas (outside stage)
Location: Austin, Texas
Date: 17 March 2016

Introduction: As previously mentioned, this was a long day, so I've split it into two reviews. The previous post covers the various day parties I attended, and this one covers the Levitation showcase at Hotel Vegas. I've come to really treasure the ability of the people who run Levitation to curate the bands they sponsor. The lineup of this year's Levitation Festival might look rather populist, but they still find lots of great bands. Last year's Levitation SXSW showcase was so impressive that it was an easy choice to return this year.

I got through the gate with what I thought was just a few minutes to spare before Elephant Stone started. However, things were running obviously late, and Vaadat Charigim was just starting. I didn't complain, except that almost every band of the evening was forced to play a truncated set. Anyway, Vaadat Charaigim are a noisy, shoegazing power trio from Tel Aviv, Israel. Their preferred sound was a thick, heavy, solid wash of guitar. It was actually rather nice to get lost in, but the lack of variation was disappointing. Since they sung in Hebrew, there was no additional thread for me to follow in the lyrics, although to be fair, meaningful lyrics are rarely important for shoegazers.

[Vaadat Charigim.]

After a long break came Yonatan Gat, another rock trio originally from Israel. Their gimmick is to set up right in the middle of the audience and let the crowd encircle them as they flail about. The music was purely instrumental and focused primarily on the improvisational guitar of the frontman. The drummer was wild and intense, but I wasn't even sure there was a bassist for the first half of the set. I liked the energy level and the creative, tense, spindly guitar runs, but I wasn't up for fighting through the crowd, and I suffered from a lack of a view. It got a bit tiring to just listen when I really wanted to see.

Elephant Stone finally went on and immediately delivered some great psychedelic grooves. The frontman alternated between bass, keyboard, and sitar, while two other members handled guitars and keyboards (and some bass) and a fourth drummed. Alex Maas of The Black Angels joined them on vocals for one song as well. The mix was frustratingly terrible, but I still enjoyed what I could hear. The bass in particular was smooth and skillful, and when the sitar was audible, it added a great dimension to the sound. The music was just barely danceable, as if it begged to soar and be heard in a more pure setting.

[Elephant Stone with Alex Maas.]

After another long break, Noura Mint Seymali of Mauritania began playing. It was a little unclear where the soundcheck stopped and the set began, but their first extended piece featured the frontwoman playing an ardin, a type of harp, while seated. Her husband accompanied on guitar, and a bassist and drummer completed the band. I was disappointed that Seymali didn't continue with the ardin after the first song, but the guitarist increased the intensity of his playing to fill in the void. Between her vocals and his blistering guitar, they made for quite a powerful, twisting, contrapuntal musical experience. By the end, they were doing some kind of funky blues, but they were cut short by the limitations of their set length.

[Noura Mint Seymali, playing the ardin.]

The appropriate successor to Seymali was Bombino, who I've seen wield his guitar like a blazing hammer once before. The Tuareg bandleader had his own share of sound problems, including his guitar dropping out a few times, but did his best to bring an incredibly funky and infinitely groovy set. The bassist could be a star in his own right, and his solo was unbelievably good. Bombino even gave the drummer and rhythm guitarist their own turns at brief solos that were also no disappointment. The band was tight and the blistering guitar of Bombino was as mesmerizing as ever.

[Bombino.]

Finally, the main reason I was there: Faust, the storied, pseudo-mythical, avant-garde, German band from the early 70s. This particular configuration of the band features just two of the original five or six members: Jean-Hervé Péron on bass, vocals, and samples, and Werner "Zappi" Diermaier on drums. (Hans Joachim Irmler fronts another version.) They were joined by French synthesists Éric Débris (of Métal Urbain fame) and Maxime Manac'h (although the latter was absent for the first half of the set). After an infuriatingly long soundcheck, they fumbled into a song mostly consisting of repetitive vocal samples and aimless drumming. Péron would occasionally shout-sing seemingly disconnected phrases into the mic or veer into a flurry of rhythmic bass work. These trends continued for the remainder of the set. Most songs were apparently unstructured, and whatever message may have been intended was unclear. However, knowing this band's roots in dada, improvisation, and sonic experimentation, they might be more interested in the method than the result. The only attempt made to appeal to the audience was the inclusion of the refrain to the classic "Mamie Is Blue", but even that sounded little like the original other than sharing the same words. Their obstinate artistic sensibility and general joie de vivre was somewhat endearing, but I felt like I was missing the joke.

Here's my best guess at the setlist:

1. French National Anthem

2. Dada Hierarchy (written by Jean-Marie Drot?)

3. Fresh Air

4. Mamie Is Blue

5. Listen to the Fish

[Faust.]

I was exhausted but still hoped to see one more band: Electric Eye, the Bergen, Norway psych band I'd seen on the inside stage of Hotel Vegas two years prior. They were an absolute highlight of my first SXSW and I still enjoy their debut record. This time, they were playing inside on the Volstead Lounge stage, but as things were not running late on the inside, I only caught the last ten minutes of the their set, which included part of a new song and all of "Tangerine". They were going strong but it was over all too soon.

Scores:

Vaadat Charigim: C+

Yonatan Gat: B-

Elephant Stone: B+

Noura Mint Seymali: B-

Bombino: A-

Faust: C

Free Week at Mohawk 2016.01.09

Event: Free Week

Venue: Mohawk

Location: Austin, Texas

Date: 9 January 2016

Apparently there is a tradition in Austin of booking a ton of local bands for free shows during the first week of January, as this week is typically one of the worst attended for concerts around the country. Somehow I'd failed to catch wind of this in previous years, but I was well aware of it this time, and I decided to make it to at least one of these shows despite a busy week and minimal willingness to actually get out of the house. (Apparently I too am guilty of reclusiveness at this time of year, probably due to something about the January cold and recovery from holiday excesses.) I ended up just going to this one event, but there were solid lineups at venues all over town all week long. The one I chose was sponsored by the consistently on-the-mark people at Levitation, which is perhaps why this lineup leaned so heavily psychedelic.

I spent most of the night at the outside stage, despite the relatively cold temperatures (about 40°F, which I'm well aware is not that cold by the Midwestern standards I was raised by). First on the bill was Moving Panoramas, who I'd recently seen at a Fun Fun Fun Fest aftershow. Their dreamy, spacey, consistent groove was still their core and it was still pleasing to hear, but they played at a distinctly superior level. The drummer seemed more confident and steady. The bassist really held down the grooves, and her harmony vocals were much more distinct and perfectly in tune. They may have simply gotten a better mix than at that previous show, but it felt like their whole sound just came together better. They might not have any big variations or unexpected twists, but their increased confidence and comfort made their tunes all the better.

[Moving Panoramas.]

Next up was Christian Bland & the Revelators, whose frontperson is best known as the guitarist of The Black Angels. I'd heard enough about this band to be curious, but I was getting disheartened by their frustrations to get the mix right while soundchecking. When they finally got going, it was immediately clear that the star of their show was their drummer, Bob Mustachio. He was incredibly active, but he always played just the right thing. His driving force brought most of the energy to the songs. Most of the songs lived in a very old-school psychedelic rock space, like they could have been made by a stoner psych band in 1968. The deliberately retro keyboard, heavy reverb, and fuzzed-out haze all spoke to a bygone era, for better or worse. This was reinforced by a straightforward but solid take on Pink Floyd's "Lucifer Sam" (although they confusingly ended with a cover of Buddy Holly's "Peggy Sue", which has never been a favorite of mine).

Christian Bland himself had a good guitar sound, but his voice was heavily effected for the entire set, including when he was just chatting to the audience, so he was rendered entirely incomprehensible. I could forgive that, but unfortunately there was an even weaker link: the keyboard. Either the instrument was simply out of tune or the keyboardist was just playing poorly. In any case, it didn't help that the volume level of the instrument varied greatly from note to note such that it was often inaudible and then suddenly way too loud.

[Christian Bland & the Revelators.]

I took a break inside to warm up and see Hidden Ritual. They had a sort of dark, hazy post-punk vibe. The singer wore sunglasses and mumbled sparsely into his microphone in a manner that was not particularly enthralling. However, I was reasonably impressed by the bassist, as he seemed to be driving most of the harmonic and rhythmic qualities of the band. His sound was thick, punchy, and insistent. The rest of the band seemed a bit cold and thin in comparison. The drummer was apparently unmiked and nearly inaudible, and despite having the bass drum lifted off the ground like another tom, his style seemed constrained and unsophisticated. The keyboardist seemed particularly odd and spent most of his time hunched over his instrument, engaged in a ritual that did not seem to produce much actual sound. They reminded me of the early, goth-minimalist style of early Cure albums, but sadly without a comparable standard of songwriting.

[Hidden Ritual.]

Although I was excited to see Ringo Deathstarr last year at Levitation, I ended up feeling like they weren't quite what I was expecting. This time, they stayed a bit more in line with the classic shoegaze sound of their studio recordings. However, they again exhibited a heavy side that isn't entirely documented on record – their thick, swirling energy often burst into an intense rock passage with blazing, wild guitar solos. Their whole set was very active and fun to watch. I liked the basslines and appreciated that the bassist got more opportunities to sing, both on her own and alongside the guitarist.

[Ringo Deathstarr.]

I may have seen Golden Dawn Arkestra twice last year, but they've rapidly become my favorite Austin band. They bring such a strong and unmistakable vibe to their shows that it's hard not to get wrapped up in it. They manage to be incredibly funky, very danceable, thoroughly psychedelic, and bizarrely mystical, all at once. At this show, I counted thirteen members, and their configuration was different than past concerts I'd seen. There was again a keyboardist/vocalist/saxophonist and a xylophonist/keyboardist/vocalist, but this time five horn players, a bassist, one guitarist, two percussionists, and only two dancers. There was a lot of movement on stage and it did seem like many members switched roles and positions throughout the set. The whole thing has a great upbeat, exuberant tone and I don't know how anyone could resist their grooves. They have a wondrous mix of style and substance. I eagerly await their debut full-length album.

[Golden Dawn Arkestra. Note bandleader Topaz McGarrigle climbing up the wall.]

Scores:

Moving Panoramas: B+

Christian Bland & the Revelators: C+

Hidden Rituals: C-

Ringo Deathstarr: B+

Golden Dawn Arkestra: A

Levitation (Austin Psych Fest) 2015 Day 1

Event: Levitation (Austin Psych Fest) Day 1
Venue: Carson Creek Ranch
Location: Austin, Texas
Date: 8 May 2015

Introduction: I had such a good time at Austin Psych Fest last year, even with the many minor faults, that I couldn't wait for it to come around again this year. Unfortunately, I have been so busy with other activities that I knew I couldn't go all weekend, so I just picked one day. Sunday features the first reunion of the 13th Floor Elevators since their breakup in 1969, which would be an amazing sight to behold, but I went with Friday, primarily for the opportunity to see Tame Impala, whom I missed my chance to see at Austin City Limits in 2013 due to a rainout. Ironically, this week in Austin has seen record-breaking rainstorms, so I knew going into it that it would be rainy and muddy. This was not at all my first experience with rain-drenched outdoor concerts, so I figured I could deal with it. The worst part was just that the festival grounds had to be reconfigured, as the riverside Elevation Amphitheater was not tenable.

Unlike last year, the grounds didn't open until 3pm, with the first band starting at 3:45. I rode my bike downtown during a downpour around 3pm and waited for the shuttle while seeking shelter in a covered doorway. A group of three Australians joined me, and after they quickly grew impatient, I joined them in an Über ride to the venue. (Thanks again, Steve and Caroline!)

I started with Hundred Visions. I was fairly disappointed by their noisy, thrashy punk sound and quickly departed to Willie Thrasher and Linda Saddleback. I wasn't entirely sure what to make of them. Thrasher is an old school Inuit folk musician hailing from Aklavik in the Northwest Territories of Canada. I admired his spirit (and he sung and spoke plenty about spirit!), but his performance was not actually very accomplished. Part of his claim to fame at the moment is the appearance of several of his older songs on the recent Native North America, Vol. 1 compilation. He played "Spirit Child", which he claimed to have forgotten until he heard it again on the collection, but most of his songs followed a similar pattern: rapid, heavy strumming on an acoustic guitar; shouted, nearly strained vocals; a not-so-steady pulse on a bass drum; and vocal and tambourine accompaniment from his partner, Linda Saddleback. I dug his message and ageless energy, but he could benefit from a little variety of style.

[Willie Thrasher & Linda Saddleback. Note that this is the weather-afflicted relocation of the Elevation Amphitheater.]

Mr. Elevator and the Brain Hotel: I was immediately surprised that the centrally-located figure on stage, the bassist, did not have a mic and did not appear to be a frontperson per se. In fact, it was rather ambiguous who, if anyone, led the band. The two keyboardists on either side of the stage both contributed vocals, as did the drummer. Usually, all three sang together. I was pleasantly surprised at my own confusion as to what was happening on stage, and it was all the better in that the music was great. It was groovy and bright with a deep psych vibe.

[Mr. Elevator and the Brain Hotel.]

Ringo Deathstarr: I had missed them at SXSW, despite that I was rather excited by them. Their studio output sounds straight out of 1990, as if they were still right in the middle of the shoegaze phenomenon. Their sound might be a complete ripoff, but the recordings are just so good that I don't care. On stage, they come off like much less of a My Bloody Valentine soundalike, instead leaning in a heavier, harder direction. Unfortunately, in the absence of the thick psychedelia I was expecting, there wasn't much left. They were missing a lot of what I thought made them special, but they still played a fun set.

[Ringo Deathstarr.]

The Holydrug Couple: This late addition to the lineup turned out to be a most welcome bonus. Hailing from Chile, they play a classic psych sound that they have thoroughly mastered. They had great keyboard and guitar sounds and a great groove. The highlight was probably an instrumental featuring the lead vocalist on percussion effects and keyboard. I appreciated their careful integration of various effects into their total sound without letting them overwhelm the instruments and thus come off as gimmicks. They ended with a long, drawn out space jam.

[The Holydrug Couple. This is sadly the last picture I managed to capture!]

Holy Wave: I'd just seen them at SXSW, but enjoyed their droney, stoner groove enough to want to see them again. I like that their vibe is mellow but still full of movement. Their five members really blend in with each other well.

Indian Jewelry: I'm still not sure what to make of this band or their name, but I was encouraged enough by their recordings. Live, they were less ethereal and gauzy than I was expecting, and perhaps a little more dancey and effect-oriented. Instead of coming off like some kind of cousin to Cocteau Twins, they were something of a mess, lost somewhere between electronic dance music, trance, and spacey psychedelia. There was lots of fuzz bass and a dense web of effects. It was bizarre and hard to make sense of.

DIIV: I think I thought this was some sort of dreampop band, and while most of their songs were dreamy or hazy, only occasionally did a pop sensibility emerge. It was more some sort of spaced out rock, but their three guitarists didn't exactly make the most of their instruments and I was left waiting for the music to take me somewhere. After every song, they repeated some variant of the words, "Hello, we're DIIV from New York. This is a new song."

White Fence: Their basic sound might be somewhat derivatively based in 60s garage rock and classic psych, but I loved it all the same. They were a tight band and the music came together well. Several times, they broke free of their chains and let loose into long space jams.

Spiritualized: I've always admired the Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized, even if I've never followed them closely. My legs were strained and my eyes couldn't take the light show, so I had to sit down, but I could still hear them well. In addition to a full backing band, bandleader Jason Pierce also employed two backing vocalists to add harmonies. The set was very mellow, but very precise. Musically, it was warm and pleasant; it felt like a dream that I was being slowly guided through. It was never jarring or grating or ugly. It also seemed like every single song was about drugs, including the twisted turnaround of "She Kissed Me (It Felt Like a Hit)". "Electricity" and the Spacemen 3 sendup "Walkin' with Jesus" were standouts. The setlist has been posted online:

01. Here It Comes (The Road) Let's Go

02. Lord Let It Rain on Me

03. Electricity

04. Shine a Light

05. Electric Mainline

06. She Kissed Me (It Felt Like a Hit)

07. Soul on Fire

08. Oh Baby

09. Rated X

10. Walkin' with Jesus [Spacemen 3 song]

Tame Impala: I finally got to see them and I was not disappointed! They played most of their amazing Lonerism, a few tracks from Innerspeaker, two new songs to be released on Currents, and a few instrumental jams that have only been played live (and in some but not all cases, released on last year's Live Versions). The grooves were solid, the musicianship was tight and impressive, and they delivered everything I could've wanted. They switched things up on several songs, adding jam sections and extended instrumentals throughout, making it a constant pleasure to try to figure out where they were going next. This was also the live debut of "Eventually". They played for about 80 minutes, and while I would've loved an encore, they wrapped up around 1:45am and I think the festival was supposed to be winding down by then. Here's the setlist (with some help on the details from here and here):

01. Intro Jam

02. Let It Happen

03. Mind Mischief

04. Sestri Levante

05. It's Not Meant to Be

06. Why Won't They Talk to Me?

07. Elephant → Mind Melt → Jazz Prog Odyssey 3070

08. Be Above It

09. Alter Ego

10. Eventually

11. Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind?

12. Feels Like We Only Go Backwards

13. Apocalypse Dreams

Final Thoughts: Sadly, the story does not end here. Last year, I had some trouble getting on the shuttle back downtown, but this time around was far worse. I'm still not clear on what really happened, but after I got in the line, two buses filled up, departed, and never returned. We were told they were stuck due to mud and traffic, but after the traffic cleared (along with the entire parking lot), they were still nowhere to be found. As taxis and Über rides started diminishing the remaining crowd, we became increasingly anxious as nothing really happened. At one point, a couple hired security staff members even openly mocked us for asking where the buses were. Around 4:30am I finally caught a ride in a taxi with a few other stranded attendees. This issue has been somewhat addressed on the festival website, the Facebook page for the shuttle, and personal email interchange, but it was rather upsetting. I finally got home around 5:30am. (Last year it was about 3:30am, which was bad enough.) Apparently, next year they will be using a different service, and in the meantime they've added extra shuttles.

Scores:

Hundred Visions: D

Willie Thrasher and Linda Saddleback: C+

Mr. Elevator and the Brain Hotel: A

Ringo Deathstarr: B-

The Holydrug Couple: A-

Holy Wave: B+

Indian Jewelry: C

DIIV: C-

White Fence: B+

Spiritualized: A-
Tame Impala: A+

P.S. Here's where the Elevation Amphitheater was originally supposed to be:

South by Southwest Music Festival 2015, Day 3, Part 2

Event: South by Southwest Music Festival 2015, Day 3: Levitation Showcase

Venue: Hotel Vegas (outside stage)
Location: Austin, Texas
Date: 19 March 2015

Introduction: As previously mentioned, I've split this day into two parts, and this post will cover my evening spent at Hotel Vegas. Levitation, previously known as the Austin Psych Fest, sponsored showcases all day at the venue, starting with unofficial events in the afternoon, transitioning to an official SXSW event at 7pm, and running well past 1am. They ran three or four stages (depending on how you count): two separate ones inside, and one big one outside, which was loosely split in half so that one band could set up while another was performing. It was a little weird, but it mostly worked. I stayed outside and hung out for as long as I could.

I actually got there a little before the official events commenced, so I saw the end of a set by Deerhoof. I only saw enough to know that they certainly aren't your average band. They were trying to do an audience-interactive call-and-response thing in an odd time signature with stop-start rhythms. I'm amazed that it even halfway worked.

Then came the official showcases. First up was Think No Think, an Austin power trio. They had a little too much of a bro-ish cock rock vibe for me. They were far too invested in upholding rock 'n' roll cliché. They could play reasonably well, but they stuck to standard noisy, thrashy hard rock, the kind of stuff Led Zeppelin and The Who did much better once upon a time. They were big fans of their feedback to a point of excess.

[Think No Think at Hotel Vegas.]

Golden Dawn Arkestra: This Austin band is apparently unrelated to the original 1960s Austin psychedelic band The Golden Dawn. They are, however, definitely psychedelic, but in a much, much funkier sense. I guess this is what is known as Afrobeat. This was some sort of really out-there, high-energy, post-apocalyptic, semi-mystical experience. I think there were fourteen people on stage, but it was hard to tell who counts as a member among the many people that were performing music, dancing on stage, and dancing through the audience. Everyone was dressed in some sort of cosmic outfit, there were props, there was a lot of percussion, and I think there was a heavy dose of Sun Ra influence. There were horns, there were hints of reggae, there was rhythm, and there was a lot of funk. There was also a lot of singing about unity and visions and awakening. It was great.

[Golden Dawn Arkestra at Hotel Vegas.]

Holy Wave: An El Paso psych band. These guys were very much in the traditional vein of psych rock, with hippy hair and looks to prove it. Their music was fairly straightforward but easy to enjoy. Their guitarist somehow managed to break two strings in rapid succession, which put a bit of a damper on their energy level.

[Holy Wave at Hotel Vegas.]

Merchandise: By now this band is an established favorite of mine. I can't get enough of their blend of Chameleons-style ethereality, quasi-industrial noise, and pop hooks. I was surprised to hear they were playing SXSW again, but I wasn't about to complain. Here's their setlist:

1. No You and Me

2. Little Killer

3. Green Lady

4. Anxiety's Door

5. Long noisy jam with unknown special guest [Edit 2016.03.30: Rat Bastard]

[Merchandise at Hotel Vegas.]

I still can't really figure out what was going on at the end. They started with a relatively weak song and then played three really awesome songs, so they were on a good path. But then they said they wanted to do something "special", so they brought out a guest and started some sort of dark, noisy jam. I can't even tell what the guest was doing – he was just holding some little device in his hands. Guitarist Dave Vassalotti spent most of the jam crouched down by his effects pedals, and although I couldn't see him, I think I could hear his instrument. The whole thing was very self-indulgent. At least the rest of the set had something going for it, even if Carson Cox's vocals had too much reverb and they used backing tracks in the absence of guitarist/keyboardist Chris Horn. [Edit 2016.03.30: After listening to a recording of the set, I think Cox was drunk or something.]

[Edit 2016.03.30: Merchandise with Rat Bastard.]

Moon Duo: This duo plus drummer psych/shoegaze band hail from San Francisco. They make a great space with the synth and drums, and the guitarist solos beautifully on top. There are vocals, too, but it's more likely that the listener will end up hypnotized by the music than told any sort of story. It did start to drag a tad, but on the whole I found it rather entrancing.

[Moon Duo at Hotel Vegas.]

Songhoy Blues: This is a Malian "desert rock" group, exiled from troubled northern Mali but apparently making big waves (they are the first African band signed to Atlantic since 1972!). I've reviewed other desert rock bands from Mali and Niger that played major festivals in Austin (Imarhan Timbuktu at SXSW 2014 and Bombino at Austin Psych Fest 2014), and they've all taken different approaches, generally rather successfully. Songhoy Blues might just be the best band I've seen yet in this genre. Their style was very funky, very danceable, but also with a strong rock edge. The drummer was excellent, always offering energetic, syncopated rhythms; the bassist was really funky; the singer was charismatic and enthusiastic, even if I couldn't understand his lyrics; and the lead guitarist was simply on fire. He never slowed down! He just kept tearing it up, constantly playing amazing lines of lead guitar. It was an incredible experience to behold.

[Songhoy Blues at Hotel Vegas.]

The Pop Group: Well known as the furthest thing from an actual pop group, I'm not even sure how I feel about them as a studio band. I bought Y in London in 2009 after years of hunting for it (it's never been released in the USA), but it's a bizarre album. They had three amazing singles, a few scattered other notable tracks, and a lot of extreme experimentation that wasn't always very successful or listenable, and then they broke up. Their new, post-reunion album (Citizen Zombie) has a few decent moments but is mostly not very good. I'd heard that they were best seen live, so when I saw a chance to do so, I wasn't going to pass it up. Sure enough, they delivered. Here was the setlist:

1. We Are All Prostitutes

2. Citizen Zombie

3. Thief of Fire

4. Shadow Child

5. She Is Beyond Good and Evil (cut mid-song)

Unfortunately, the band took forever to set up and soundcheck, despite the intended rapid-fire schedule set by the venue. I couldn't tell exactly what was wrong and who was on stage making demands. It seemed like someone with the venue was trying to fix a microphone feedback issue, but I think there were band associates making various complaints and demands as well. At any rate, the band took forever (relatively speaking) to hit the stage. But when they did, they did it with full force. Five aging men turned into a lurching, jagged, aggressive mass of energy. They rocked with an incredible force, as if they were struggling to contain it. They walked a line of being too much, too far, of being just about to fall apart and shatter into pieces – but they held it together as if they were strong enough to form the chaos into music.

Bassist Dan Catsis was incredible, forming the foundation of the sound with hard, angular funk. Mark Stewart's vocals were somehow surprisingly clear, even despite the mess of a soundcheck (or maybe because of it!), and the words all made sense, conveying a terrible feeling of socio-political frustration. "Thief of Fire" was a performance like I'd never seen before: brimming over, at the edge, barely contained. Even the new songs soared far above their studio counterparts. "She Is Beyond Good and Evil" was about to transcend space and time, but then suddenly the stage went dark and all sound was cut. The drums stuttered to a halt. Stewart, clearly enraged at the indignity, yelled at the sound crew to at least let them have a closing word with the audience, but the sound was not restored. Instead, spitefully, over the PA came Roy Orbison's "It's Over". Other attendees have suggested that they blew the circuit and lost power, but I am suspicious that an active role was taken by the venue.

[The Pop Group at Hotel Vegas.]

Gang of Four: The Pop Group and Gang of Four make a great double-billing: two pioneering post-punk groups with extreme political bents; sharp, angular, and funky instrumentation; and careers that rose and fell in just a couple years. While The Pop Group never reunited between their 1981 breakup and their reformation in 2010, and their membership has hardly changed over those two periods, Gang of Four have had a much more complicated history. After hemorrhaging members and quality in the early 80s, the two remaining members (vocalist Jon King and guitarist Andy Gill) have periodically revived the band with various lineups from then until now. They managed to reunite the original lineup in 2004, but this only lasted until 2006. In 2012, even King left, but Gill refused to let the band go and has still carried on, now with a replacement singer, John Sterry.

Sterry might not be King, but at least he can approximate the vocals reasonably well. Gill still plays his guitar deftly, but the whole thing looked and sounded a bit odd. Bassist Thomas McNeice and drummer Jonny Finnegan are reasonably good musicians, but one can't but notice that Gill is quite a bit older than the other members, and he seems out of place in his own band. Gill, Sterry, and McNeice kept shuffling their positions on stage and trading microphones, and bizarrely, it appeared that Gill was repeatedly pushing Sterry around. One gets the impression all is not well and cordial within the band. It doesn't help that Gill wears a constant grimacing expression of scorn.

The performance was fairly good, but the newer songs are conspicuously of lower quality than the older ones. "To Hell with Poverty!" was a highlight of the set, but "Anthrax" came out a little weird. Gill and Sterry attempted to recreate the asynchronous dual-vocal parts of the studio version, but Gill's spoken part came out choppy and inconsistent. I guess it sort of worked, as far as reinforcing the disaffection and disillusion of the song, but it certainly didn't turn out as well as the studio version. Here's the full setlist:

1. Where the Nightingale Sings

2. Not Great Men

3. I Parade Myself

4. Anthrax

5. Stranded

6. Damaged Goods

7. To Hell with Poverty!

[Gang of Four at Hotel Vegas. Gill's sneer is partially obscured by the microphone silhouette.]

Scores:

Think No Think: D

Golden Dawn Arkestra: A

Holy Wave: B

Merchandise: C-

Moon Duo: B

Songhoy Blues: A

The Pop Group: A-

Gang of Four: B-

Austin Psych Fest 2014 Day 2 (Part 2)

Introduction: This is a continuation of my previous post about Austin Psych Fest. That post introduced the event and discussed the first six or so bands I saw during the day. This post will cover the six or so bands I saw in the evening and conclude with some additional analytic remarks.

I think the attendance of the day's festivities peaked around the time Temples went on stage, or at least that seemed to be the most crowded show I saw all day. It's understandable; I think some of the early arrivers were getting ready to leave, but the latecomers were certainly there by then (the set started at 8:15pm), and the band has been getting a lot of hype. It's not without reason: Temples are a classic psychedelic band, marrying a blues/hard rock core with spacey sounds, lots of effects, and an otherworldly, slightly mystic vibe. (I mean, consider their name!) Live, the spaciness was less apparent and the rock was a little more in focus. They seemed to float between being a Tame Impala ripoff and a less melodramatic Led Zeppelin acolyte. I like the style, and the sound is good, but it still seems like it's missing something to make it really special. I watched them soundcheck and caught the singer asking for the vocals to be pushed as loud as possible. They were almost certainly the only band at the festival to make such a request, and it went a long way to make them stand out. Maybe that makes them too conventional, but I appreciated being able to understand the words.

[Temples. My last picture of the night, taken as darkness was falling.]

I then went back to the Levitation Tent to lie down and listen to Mono for a while. They are an instrumental rock band, and I'm absolutely sure I'm far from the first person to make the Godspeed You! Black Emperor comparison. Admittedly, they have very different ideas of what instrumental rock can be, but their guitar tone was very similar (I recently dubbed it "bulldozer guitar" because of the thick, distorted delay effects) and the sense of dynamic rising-and-falling seemed familiar from the GY!BE playbook. It's probably an unfair comparison, but I couldn't help thinking of it while I was listening. The guitarwork was good, but I think their overall sound is just a little too guitar-heavy. Without vocals, I think other instruments, or at least more focus on the bass and drums, might have made things more exciting.

Next up for me was Unknown Mortal Orchestra, whom I'd heard of but never listened to. I gather they have quite a following, and I was initially hesitant to buy in, but I made myself give them a fair chance, and I found myself enjoying it. They performed as a power trio, with the singer/guitarist as the clear central figure. I was expecting to resent his showmanship (ugh, what's the gender-neutral version of that word?), but I actually found his solos quite appealing, and I liked that the drummer fit right in with them and complemented the guitar. Even if the frontperson was the focus, it was clear that the other members had important contributions to make. The sound was a little hard or heavy, but balanced by a pop feel.

Setlist (borrowed completely from here):
1. The Opposite of Afternoon
2. Thought Ballune

3. How Can You Luv Me

4. Strangers Are Strange

5. Monki

6. Ffunny Ffrends

7. So Good at Being in Trouble

8. Boy Witch

I intended to catch some of Acid Mothers Temple at the Elevation Amphitheatre, but the riverbanks were about as full as they could be, so I decided to give Medicine a shot instead. They seemed to be in line with the shoegaze trend, very similar to My Bloody Valentine. It was like a mix of the drone and trance of a song like "Soon" with the darker, thicker mesh of guitars of Isn't Anything. I found the music to be a little too static and invariant. The bass was pleasantly prominent but yet rather simple. The vocals weaved some good harmonies, but they sounded fairly vague and low in the mix.

Setlist (borrowed in full from here):
1. Christmas Song
2. Long As the Sun
3. The Pink
4. Miss Drugstore
5. The Reclaimed Girl
6. Never Click
7. Farther Down
8. Aruca
Encore:
9. One More

I left their set early to get a decent spot to see The Horrors. They immediately had a stage presence and atmosphere that seemed right out of the gothy, synthy era of the late 70s and early 80s. Their sound would have fit right in with Gary Numan or some corners of the Siouxsie & the Banshees catalog. I had a nagging feeling that they sounded identical to one of my favorite bands, but I couldn't (and still can't) figure out which one, which probably means they absorbed the influences of some of my old favorites and made something new out of it, which should probably be considered an impressive feat. I liked the post-punk bass and the big, moody synthesizer. The singer seemed a little dark and gloomy, almost to a fault, since I couldn't understand him at all. The guitarist started out the set only contributing a useless mess of noise, but by the end he was playing riffs that fit right in. Despite that particular improvement, I actually thought their set kind of dragged downwards as it went on. I enjoyed it, but couldn't connect with it like I thought I should have. It probably wasn't helping that the lightshow was bothering me greatly by that point.

I was getting pretty worn down by that point, so I just sat down and waited for The Brian Jonestown Massacre to start. Most bands only had 30 minutes between sets and 45 minutes to play, and while the Horrors had been given an hour to play, BJM were still scheduled to go on a half hour after that. Despite their 12:15am billing, they were still setting up at that time. They finally hit the stage at 12:45.

Setlist (thanks to here for filling in the holes):
01. Whoever You Are
02. Who?
03. What You Isn't
04. Jennifer
05. Anemone
06. The Devil May Care (Mom & Dad Don't)
07. When Jokers Attack
08. Sailor
09. No Come Down
10. Days, Weeks and Moths
11. Oh Lord

Admittedly, the setlist was awesome, even if they didn't really play any of their "hits". They mixed several classics from their great 90s albums with a few new tracks ("What You Isn't", "Days, Weeks and Moths"). They claimed that they had never played two of the songs live before ("The Devil May Care", "No Come Down"), both of which were great tracks that I was happy to hear. It was also great to see longtime member Matt Hollywood back in the band; he even sang lead on two songs ("No Come Down", "Oh Lord").

But that's about where the party ends. First of all, the band itself is confusing. Their current form has eight members: frontperson/singer/guitarist Anton Newcombe, apparent second-in-command/guitarist/vocalist Matt Hollywood, two other guitarists, a keyboardist/guitarist, a bassist, a drummer, and the humorously odd tambourinist Joel Gion. For having four (or sometimes five) guitarists, you'd expect a lot of nuance to their sound, but in fact, they usually all played the exact some chords. Some were even playing what appeared to be identical instruments. The music was cool, but I couldn't help but feel like there were some inherently wasted opportunities. At times one of the guitarists would play a lead line recognizable from the recordings, but the others would still be sharing a single part.

Second, partway into their set, the sound of horrible, all-consuming feedback enveloped the soundscape. It wasn't the ear-destroying screeching of microphone feedback, but more akin to the loud, warm sound of a giant engine. It didn't destroy the music, but it was louder than it, and it kept going for several songs, only fading when they paused between songs. By watching the performers carefully, it was clear that Anton's semi-hollow guitar was the culprit – and I've heard the same voluminous sound from similar instruments. Oddly, no one else seemed to notice, not on stage nor in the crowd. I wondered if I was just in some terrible type of dead zone, but I moved through the crowd and it wouldn't go away. After four or five songs, it finally faded away for good, but it had ruined half of their set in the meantime. I don't understand how their extra half-hour of soundchecking resulted in them having the worst sound of any performer at the festival. How did they get that so wrong? Perhaps having so many redundant guitarists didn't help the problem.

But that's not even the worst thing. Since they started a half-hour late, and I had heard the festival was to end at 1:30, I assumed they'd still give us 75 minutes of music as scheduled. Like I said before, certainly no noise ordinance could be in effect, so who would mind if they played late? However, at 1:30, they unceremoniously bowed out, awkwardly looking at each other and questioningly laying down instruments. They finally mumbled some words of appreciation and then left. The audience cheered for more, but house lights and PA music came on, and stage hands came out, indicating that the show was over. No encore. 11 songs, 45 minutes. That was it. The topmost-billed headliner of the entire festival only played for 45 minutes!

Final Thoughts: First, a word about the environment. Being a ranch, the location isn't exactly great, but there is something nice about being a little removed from the big city and closer to nature. However, the only natural benefit was the backdrop of the Colorado River, and the city is actually inescapable because the airport is very close by and planes continually fly low overhead. My experience was rather dusty, hot, smelly, sunny, and windy, but not so much of any one thing so as to be terribly annoying. In fact, listing those things in sequence makes it sound worse than it was. What was truly annoying was the lightshow. In fact, I'm not sure if it can even be called a lightshow if in practice it just meant blinding the audience. Seriously, those lasers were pointed right at my eyes for almost the entire set by the Horrors and much of the other evening sets as well. I thought I had paid money to see bands play live, not stand in a crowd with my eyes closed.

The other annoying thing was that there was absolutely no oversight of the shuttles at the end of the night. A line formed, but when I say "line", I mean "mob", and it got a little pushy after the first shuttle filled up and we had to wait for the next one, which was going to a different location anyway. I did get on the third one, but there were plenty of people still left behind after that.

I think the overall experience was cool. Ultimately, I didn't really see any great performances, but I did see a lot of good bands, and I had a fun time. I think the sum was actually better than the parts. I'm still not going to give an "overall score" as I have occasionally done before, but don't let all the B grades make you think I didn't enjoy it enough.

Scores:
Temples: B
Mono: B-
Unknown Mortal Orchestra: B+
Medicine: B-
The Horrors: B
The Brian Jonestown Massacre: D+

P.S. BJM is a really good band, and I'm not happy about giving them such a low score, but that's what they deserve. It might not even have been their fault; it's entirely possible that the sound techs, the venue staff, or someone else entirely sabotaged their sound and schedule. Whatever the case, it could have been so much more.