For its 6th installment, Austin Psych Fest took a major leap out of a few venues around Austin to a full-fledged, field-style music festival with several sizable stages held just outside of Austin at Carson Creek Ranch. While genre-specific, the festival still includes a wide range of bands, partially because “psych” is a descriptor that can be attributable to a variety of styles, and partially because the boundaries of psych have flexed liberally to include much of garage rock and experimental electronica as well as other genres. The three day festival served as strong evidence that bands within these genres of music deliver captivating, often surreal and affecting performances.
Feeling bummed about my day job keeping me from catching local faves The Wolf and Kay Leotard, that regret was quickly washed away by the beautiful oceanic waves of Besnard Lakes elegant space-pop. The group played several of tracks from their excellent new album Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO. Their intricate set on the main stage would eventually prove to be one of the day’s best.
On my way down to the Elevation Amphitheater, I took a moment to check out the festival’s grounds, which included some relaxing and quaint features such as large two tiered tree swings and a river lined by intensely green vegetation. The scenery served as a wonderful backdrop for the Elevation Amphitheater, which had seated tiers for fans to view the stage at the bottom of a large hill on the river’s banks.
It was there that I caught Vietnam, immediately seeing the significant diversity in the festival’s performers as the band’s gritty, trance-inducing crunch reverberated over the tiered amphitheater. However, not a single band from the entire three-day lineup could compare with Tinariwen, who took the main stage in the late afternoon. The sun broke through the clouds as the group’s joyous, Eastern tinged sounds echoed out from their almost innumerable members. One of the apparently older members of the band swayed and danced happily as some sort of desert-folk-psych hype man. While that may sound laughable, it was only so in the most pure and jovial way imaginable, and the current that ran through festivalgoers after the band’s set was one of happiness and peace. Perhaps more so than any other band all weekend, Tinariwen inspired in these music lovers the basic, essential mission of psychedelic music.
Shortly before night fell, under the cover of the Levitation Tent, Suuns performed a pulsing set of music that very closely recreated songs from their recent record Images Du Futur. Meanwhile, Tamaryn performed a sweeping, distorted set down by the river at the Elevation Amphitheater. Warpaint had to be one of the most talked about bands of the opening day, and fans’ excitement was palpable as the group of girls tuned and soundchecked. The dearth of diversity within indie rock is often something I can’t help lament, and it was a beautiful thing to see this group of women take charge of a set if not the festival’s entire evening. Moving between responsibilities on bass to playing standing toms and singing, Theresa Wayman proved a talented, versatile, and interesting force at the helm of the band.
When I headed over to the Levitation Tent, The Soft Moon’s set was already underway, thundering and pulsing with skittering beats and thumping bass. The band, who has two albums and an EP out on the almost always reliable Captured Tracks label, recalls Joy division with their noisy rock. Frontman Luis Vasquez spastically moved around the stage as his guitar emitted angular bursts while bassist Justin Anastasi stood stoic and commanding.
As I walked back to the main stage, the threat of rain, which had lingered all day seemed less ominous as the clouds split and a beautiful, completely appropriate full moon hung high over the Psych Fest grounds. The Ravonettes finished soundchecking on the Reverberation stage and were ready to provide one of the most accessible and pop oriented sets of the evening. Despite constantly seeing mixed commercial success, this Danish band simply sounds great live. Their stage performance didn’t offer the same jarring visuals of many of the weekend’s bands, but they made up for it in upbeat, fun garage pop.
Near the end of the first evening, The Silver Apples represented the first legendary act of several that would perform over the next two days. Releasing the first of their progressive, innovative electronic psych albums in the late 60s, the band has only recently performed live again. Unfortunately the original duo now only consists of Simeon Oliver Coxe III (known simply as Simeon) since the passing of drummer Danny Taylor. Donned in a makeshift cape, Simeon tweaked knobs and engineered electronic whining electronic sounds from behind a pile of synths and keys. Not being completely familiar with the band’s discography, I found the music to be much more pop oriented and accessible then I remembered from their recordings.
The final band to perform on the main stage was not the last of the evening, but they might have been the most recognizable and iconic of the night. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club performed a hard-hitting set of blues rock tinged with crunchy garage undertones. Dressed in primarily black clothing and lit with minimal bright yellow lights, the group’s visual appeal matched their name. An experienced band, the trio displayed their abilities as veteran performers in a set built on nonchalant coolness and briefly explosive antics of guitar swinging.
With the first day down, Austin Psych Fest had settled into its new digs nicely, providing a day of solid performances by newcomers and legends alike. With so much to offer in a single day, it was hard to believe that two days remained and compliments are in order for such an impressive lineup from this young festival.
All image below © Bryan Parker and Pop Press International. Click any image to open the set in slideshow view.
