I was all caught-up in my post-Austin Psych Fest haze and I completely missed some great shows this week. I don't want you to get caught in the same Bermuda Triangle so, here's some shows happening this week that you can and should get tickets for. Metric plays Stubb's tonight but that shit's sold-the-fuck-out so I guess we can just breeze on by that one. Somehow, tickets to see Charles Bradley at the new Antone's on E. Riverside are still available. I honestly thought this show would have sold-out a long time ago but I guess the Mom-Jeans crowd isn't going out on a school night and the hipster-mafia will be at the Stubb's show. Speaking of Mom-Jeans, Jewel is on tour and she hits ACL Live at the Moody Theater this evening. Color me surprised, there are still tickets available for that show. Dreams last for so long but Jewel's career as a successful artist is another story altogether. If it were my money, I'd be spending it on Charles Bradley tonight.
Charles Bradley - Strictly Reserved For You video via YouTube
Thursday night you can rest your body and your wallet. Of course there are shows happening and there may even be some that are worthwhile but some of us have jobs so, let's just reconvene on Friday shall we?
Friday night's Yo La Tengo show at the Mohawk is sold-the-fuck-out BUT you can catch a free in-store, acoustic performance Friday afternoon at End of an Ear. They'll play host to this legendary band at 2:30pm, get there early if you expect to get in the door.
If you didn't get Yo La Tengo tickets for Friday night, you can still see Akron/Family or Turqoise Jeep at Red 7. Although, if I'm being honest I don't understand why people spend money on Turqoise Jeep but I know they do. In fact tickets for Turqoise Jeep are more than tickets for Akron/Family, which confuses and angers me.
Marnie Stern plays Holy Mountain Friday night as well. This show is my top suggestion if you want to see a touring act on Friday night and you don't have Yo La Tengo tickets. Is that too many caveats?
My top pick if you want to see a local show Friday night is The Calm Blue Sea with Air Review at the Parish.
There's a bunch of shit going down Saturday night but it's all about Shabazz Palaces with THEESatisfaction at Red 7. Tickets are only $12 if you buy them today and you will get to see two of the ONLY hip-hop acts that matter right now. A$AP Rocky, Kendrick Lamar and Danny Brown are great but they make music for dummies compared to Shabazz Palaces. If you're not at this show, we're not friends anymore.
Shabazz Palaces - Swerve video via YouTube
Now that I have that hyperbole out of they way, if hip-hop's not your thing or you don't care about what matters to people like me, I suggest you go to the Belmont for Ola Podrida'a LP release show. Just be sure to leave as soon as Ola Podrida's done or you'll be subjected to Trail of Dead and no one wants that. Ok, that was mean about Trail of Dead but firing your band several times over and continuing to perform under the same moniker is also mean and let's be honest Another Morning Stoner was a LOOOONG time ago.
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Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Thoughts on Austin Psych Fest 2013
Alright, I'll admit I was highly skeptical about Austin Psych Fest this year. The line-up was great but I was concerned about the venue and the logistics of getting to and from the venue. Well, I can assure you that my concerns were largely unfounded. The drive out to Carson Creek Ranch was pretty insignificant. Also, traffic was non-existent at the times that I was arriving and departing the festival. There was plenty of parking, although I must say that whatever the material is that composed the parking lot was a WHORE when it got wet. Also, the parking lot attendants could have used a few more Type A personalities to keep things orderly and clear.
Saturday night it rained extremely hard and the parking lot became very slippery. It smelled like the ocean and the "mud" was more like wet cement. I have no idea what sort of earthen material that was but it was no ordinary dirt.
The site of the festival was gorgeous, the Amphitheater that was along the river bank was the perfect backdrop. It was a bit treacherous getting to and from the amphitheater at night so, if you attend APF next year I suggest you bring a small flashlight to guide you. The festival grounds were big but it was very easy to move from stage to stage. I think this is largely due to the fact that the grounds to attendee ratio was pretty imbalanced this year. I feel like after word of this year's festival spreads next year's will be better attended and so on like that until it's a much more serious event.
I do think that as the festival becomes more popular some of my concerns will become more serious. However, for this year it was a very relaxed and comfortable experience. The drink prices were reasonable, the food offerings were diverse and also quite economical for a festival. If I were to give advice to the festival organizers for next year, I would suggest they borrow the crowd-sourced recycling idea from ACL Fest. Give people a free T-Shirt in exchange for a bag filled with recycling. The festival grounds remained fairly clean as long as there was daylight but as soon as the sun set, people got lazy and just dropped shit on the ground. Obviously, this is not unique to Austin Psych Fest which is why it's an idea that any of Austin's festivals can and should adopt.
As far as the music goes, the peanut gallery seems to be in total disagreement. I heard some people saying that every band sounds the same and you can't make a festival with only one genre. I also heard people complaining that most of the bands weren't "Psych Bands" and that only the person bitching knows what "Psych Music" even means. Personally, I feel like this year's festival represented a wide-array of psych bands. I don't feel like that genre description has a very narrow focus but I will say The Black Angels' sound could be heard from several bands.
My favorite sets of the festival came from Warpaint, Suuns, Holydrug Couple and Goat. I was pre-disposed to like all of these sets...and I did. Warpaint was definitely my favorite set of the weekend though. I have seen them perform in the past and they are always good but Friday night they were motherfucking spectacular. The sound mix was beyond superb, the songs were outstanding and the performance was magical. They have this bizarre ability to perform serious songs without taking themselves too seriously. The set was fun but still heavy.
I was prepared to like Suuns but their set in the tent made me love them. I feel like their performance was so good they deserved an evening set on the main stage but I understand why that didn't happen. Remember the name Suuns because I think their psychedelic star will definitely be on the rise.
Holydrug Couple was the perfect chill-vibes psych for an afternoon set at the Amphitheater. Their vocals are shaky at best but their musicianship, songwriting and stellar choice of songs to cover made up for any other weaknesses.
Goat was one of the most buzzed about bands amongst us music-writers and musicians at the festival. Everyone was looking forward to seeing this mysterious Swedish band to see if they could pull of they majesty of their album in person. I can assure you they did. Channeling Woodstock-era Santana, Goat is pure energy. They wore weird costumes with masks, they danced, they tranced, they jammed, it was wonderful. My only complaints were that they were hardly visible. The stage lighting was blacklights and they tried to do old-school overhead projector visuals but they weren't properly lit. Also, since Goat performed on the amphitheater the volume wasn't as loud as I wanted it to be. It was certainly loud enough to hear but it was overwhelming loud. I don't think I'll get another chance in the near future but I would love to see Goat perform at a proper Austin venue.
All in all, I had a great weekend out at Carson Creek Ranch and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Austin Psych Fest to any avid music fan. The crowd was peaceful and respectful music fans. The bands were humble, timely and they put on great performances. The festival organizers weren't as organized as they could have been at times but it certainly wasn't a chaotic or disorganized experience by any means. Word around the peace pipe is APF will take place at the same site for the next few years. I look forward to seeing how the festival evolves and grows into the fantastic location they've acquired.
Read more!
Saturday night it rained extremely hard and the parking lot became very slippery. It smelled like the ocean and the "mud" was more like wet cement. I have no idea what sort of earthen material that was but it was no ordinary dirt.
The site of the festival was gorgeous, the Amphitheater that was along the river bank was the perfect backdrop. It was a bit treacherous getting to and from the amphitheater at night so, if you attend APF next year I suggest you bring a small flashlight to guide you. The festival grounds were big but it was very easy to move from stage to stage. I think this is largely due to the fact that the grounds to attendee ratio was pretty imbalanced this year. I feel like after word of this year's festival spreads next year's will be better attended and so on like that until it's a much more serious event.
I do think that as the festival becomes more popular some of my concerns will become more serious. However, for this year it was a very relaxed and comfortable experience. The drink prices were reasonable, the food offerings were diverse and also quite economical for a festival. If I were to give advice to the festival organizers for next year, I would suggest they borrow the crowd-sourced recycling idea from ACL Fest. Give people a free T-Shirt in exchange for a bag filled with recycling. The festival grounds remained fairly clean as long as there was daylight but as soon as the sun set, people got lazy and just dropped shit on the ground. Obviously, this is not unique to Austin Psych Fest which is why it's an idea that any of Austin's festivals can and should adopt.
As far as the music goes, the peanut gallery seems to be in total disagreement. I heard some people saying that every band sounds the same and you can't make a festival with only one genre. I also heard people complaining that most of the bands weren't "Psych Bands" and that only the person bitching knows what "Psych Music" even means. Personally, I feel like this year's festival represented a wide-array of psych bands. I don't feel like that genre description has a very narrow focus but I will say The Black Angels' sound could be heard from several bands.
My favorite sets of the festival came from Warpaint, Suuns, Holydrug Couple and Goat. I was pre-disposed to like all of these sets...and I did. Warpaint was definitely my favorite set of the weekend though. I have seen them perform in the past and they are always good but Friday night they were motherfucking spectacular. The sound mix was beyond superb, the songs were outstanding and the performance was magical. They have this bizarre ability to perform serious songs without taking themselves too seriously. The set was fun but still heavy.
I was prepared to like Suuns but their set in the tent made me love them. I feel like their performance was so good they deserved an evening set on the main stage but I understand why that didn't happen. Remember the name Suuns because I think their psychedelic star will definitely be on the rise.
Holydrug Couple was the perfect chill-vibes psych for an afternoon set at the Amphitheater. Their vocals are shaky at best but their musicianship, songwriting and stellar choice of songs to cover made up for any other weaknesses.
Goat was one of the most buzzed about bands amongst us music-writers and musicians at the festival. Everyone was looking forward to seeing this mysterious Swedish band to see if they could pull of they majesty of their album in person. I can assure you they did. Channeling Woodstock-era Santana, Goat is pure energy. They wore weird costumes with masks, they danced, they tranced, they jammed, it was wonderful. My only complaints were that they were hardly visible. The stage lighting was blacklights and they tried to do old-school overhead projector visuals but they weren't properly lit. Also, since Goat performed on the amphitheater the volume wasn't as loud as I wanted it to be. It was certainly loud enough to hear but it was overwhelming loud. I don't think I'll get another chance in the near future but I would love to see Goat perform at a proper Austin venue.
All in all, I had a great weekend out at Carson Creek Ranch and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Austin Psych Fest to any avid music fan. The crowd was peaceful and respectful music fans. The bands were humble, timely and they put on great performances. The festival organizers weren't as organized as they could have been at times but it certainly wasn't a chaotic or disorganized experience by any means. Word around the peace pipe is APF will take place at the same site for the next few years. I look forward to seeing how the festival evolves and grows into the fantastic location they've acquired.
Read more!
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