South by Southwest Music Festival 2017, Day 4 (Thursday): Levitation Showcase

Event: South by Southwest Music Festival, Day 4 (Thursday): Levitation Showcase
Venue: Hotel Vegas
Location: Austin, Texas
Date: 16 March 2017

Every year I've gone to SXSW, I've ended up at the Austin Psych Fest/Levitation showcase at Hotel Vegas on Thursday. I've never been disappointed, even if there are often hiccups. This year, I decided to simply spend my entire day at the showcase. I was well rewarded.

Hotel Vegas expanded this year by taking over the adjacent property at 1504 E 6th St., which they called the annex patio. This caused some sound bleed between that and the main patio stage, but it was still pretty cool to have four stages active at one venue.

Cosmonauts (annex patio): This band has been on my radar for years, but I never managed to see them until now. They had a rocky start with some mix problems. They produced a psychedelic smog that was a bit dirtier than I would've liked but still fairly strong. The real weak point was that their vocals were sloppy and the lyrics were bad.

No Joy (annex patio): I recently got into this band and was really looking forward about this set. However, when they got on stage, guitarist Laura Lloyd was nowhere to be seen. Instead, singer/guitarist Jasamine White-Gluz was accompanied by another guitarist, a drummer, and a backing track for the bass. That was already a bit disappointing, but the mix wasn't very good, either. Vocals were mostly inaudible (even more so than on record), and the second guitar was too low. Furthermore, they were having problems with their in-ear monitors. They eventually pulled them out, tried one song without them, and then just gave up after four songs. They only played for about fifteen minutes.

[No Joy.]

Mint Field (Volstead inside): I only caught a few minutes but found them interesting enough to make note of. Hailing from Tijuana, they made a shoegazer storm that sounded promising albeit vague.

Merchandise (main patio): I just saw them the day before but couldn't resist another opportunity. Here's the setlist:

1. Intro jam

2. Lonesome Sound

3. In Nightmare Room

4. My Dream Is Yours

5. Become What You Are

This time, the intro jam wasn't as noisy and actually had words, but I couldn't understand them. "In Nightmare Room" was a delight, and "My Dream Is Yours" was a good additional selection from the new album. Carson Cox remarked that it was the "festival version", presumably because of a simpler arrangement, but I thought it worked well. "Become What You Are" was again the weaker slow version, but it's still a great song, and this time, they brought out Rat Bastard for the second half to make a delightful noise jam. They'd brought him out the last time they played at Hotel Vegas two years ago, but this time his contribution was much better suited. Cox also threw in a few lines of The Velvet Underground's "Sister Ray" in the midst of it. It seemed like their set was shorter than the one the day before, but the sound was better, they played stronger, and it made for a tighter package.

[Merchandise with Rat Bastard.]

Death Valley Girls (annex patio): At first, their retro rockabilly style seemed hokey and artificial, but their enthusiasm was infectious, and I gradually realized that their lyrics were hilarious, particularly with songs like "Pink Radiation" and "I'm a Man Too". When the frontwoman switched to an organ, their sound improved, and the songs where the drummer sang lead were a bit better executed.

[Death Valley Girls.]

Boogarins (annex patio): I first saw this band at my first SXSW three years ago (and saw them again mere weeks later at Austin Psych Fest) and while I don't like their second album (Manual, 2015) as much as their first, I still wanted to see them again. The sun-drenched sound of their first record was mostly absent, replaced by a lot of psychedelic guitar jams with vocal effect experimentation. The new drummer was quite active and was a good addition. The new songs weren't as melodic as the older ones, but they've also become better musicians and improvisers, such that even the older songs were retooled and rearranged into something new. I missed the harmonies, though; only "Lucifernandis" from the first album featured them. [Edit 2018.11.10: Here's the setlist:]

1. [Unknown]
2. Falsa Folha de Rosto
3. 6000 Dias (Ou Mantra dos 20 Anos)
4. Infinu
5. Lucifernandis
6. Auchma

[Boogarins.]

The Blind Suns (Volstead inside): A French psych band with English lyrics and slight country and rockabilly touches. They ranged from melodic pop with a bit of jangle to heavy rock jams. I liked their use of a partially electronic drum kit, but was disappointed by what sounded like a backing track for the bass parts. I couldn't quite figure them out, but I appreciated their juxtaposition of styles. I was also entranced by the unaffiliated team of projector artists working their magic.

[The Blind Suns.]

Vedett (Volstead inside): A French band on the line between punk and psych. They used keyboard backing tracks that almost sounded like synthpop underneath the noisier, aggressive live instrumentation. It was an odd mix that didn't quite gel right.

Frankie Rose (main patio): I was very interested in seeing her in part due to her strong track record in other bands, but her set seemed to get off on the wrong foot with monitor and mix problems. She kept complaining about a "vocal sample" not being in her monitors, but I never really heard anything that fit that description during the set, and I question the use of such a thing in a rock band. I liked their post-punk style and the reverb- and delay-heavy guitar tones, but the second guitar and keyboard were hardly present in the mix. At least the bassist had a solid, driving style that meshed with the drummer to venture into Krautrock territory at times. It seemed like their set was short, perhaps because the sound crew was tired of dealing with her petulance.

[Frankie Rose.]

Ringo Deathstarr (main patio): I've seen them a couple times before, and while their basic formula hasn't changed (My Bloody Valentine-style shoegaze with wild guitar solos), their execution has only gotten better with time. They follow the Jesus & Mary Chain aesthetic of noise plus pop, except that they prefer a bit less pop and a bit more punk. They've clearly worked on their dynamic range, because they managed to cover ground from the heavenly shimmering of The Chameleons to power trio hard rock riffage. The guitarist and bassist seemed to do a lot more singing together, which also worked in their favor. This was their best set I've seen yet.

Tempers (Volstead inside): An electronic duo with a darkwave edge. They mostly relied on backing tracks, but one member played guitar throughout and occasionally provided backing vocals. The combination worked well, and their stark appearance fit the sound. The light show had moved outside, so they were shrouded in dark shadows and white light. At times I was just barely reminded of the darker sides of Beach House.

[Tempers.]

Indrajit Banerjee (main patio): A highly skilled sitarist accompanied by Gourisankar on tabla. They played just a few pieces built around captivating improvisation, and although each one was rather lengthy, I hardly noticed how much time had passed.

Golden Dawn Arkestra (main patio): I've seen them many times before and they've never disappointed. This time, they didn't march through the crowd as is their norm, but there were still about fifteen people on stage, a lot of dancing and messages about taking care of our planet, and a really strong dose of astral funk. They played several of their best songs along with what I believe are two new songs. They are always an incredible sight to behold and it's practically impossible to resist their grooves. Here's the setlist:

1. Osaka

2. Spacewaves

3. The Wolf

4. Stargazer

5. Promised Land

6. Dimensions

7. Masakayli

[Golden Dawn Arkestra.]

Matt Hollywood & the Bad Feelings (annex patio): After rejoining The Brian Jonestown Massacre around 2010 and recently being unceremoniously removed, Hollywood has taken a break from band associations and has begun touring under his own name. He performed several BJM songs, a few by his other major band, The Out Crowd, and one or two new compositions from an upcoming solo album. While the BJM songs are classics that I was pleased to see Hollywood carry the torch for, I started to notice that all of his songs followed a similar pattern. They start with a slow guitar groove and spaced out singing, invariably about sex or drugs, and then suddenly they break into a big distorted jam with psychedelic guitar solos. At least in musical terms, it's a good pattern, but it did start to get old. Here's most of the setlist:

1. B.S.A. [originally performed by The Brian Jonestown Massacre]

2. Got My Eye on You [originally performed by The Brian Jonestown Massacre]

3. Miss June '75 [originally performed by The Brian Jonestown Massacre]

4. new song?

5. Drugsick [originally performed by The Out Crowd]

6. Honey, I Ain't High [originally performed by The Out Crowd]

7. new song

8. Oh Lord [originally performed by The Brian Jonestown Massacre]

[Matt Hollywood & the Bad Feelings.]

On the way out past the main patio, I caught a bit of Survive's synthesizer soundtracks, but I was too tired to stick around.

Scores:

Cosmonauts: C

No Joy: D

Merchandise: A-

Death Valley Girls: B-

Boogarins: B

The Blind Suns: B

Vedett: C

Frankie Rose: C+

Ringo Deathstarr: A-

Tempers: B+

Indrajit Banerjee: B
Golden Dawn Arkestra: A+
Matt Hollywood & the Bad Feelings: B-

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: