Rain had been threatening all day, but the weather was holding when I arrived for day two of Austin Psych Fest’s 6th annual event. Missing several artists I had hoped to see, I showed up at an awkward moment when several sets were ending and a few had not yet started.
Eventually, I found my way to the Levitation Tent for Masaki Batoh’s Brain Pulse Music, a project originally conceived in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquakes, and used to support relief efforts for the victims. The project centers on a device placed around the head of an individual and then used to translate brain waves into music—or sound at least. While the set was challenging and odd, it was one of my favorite of the day to watch because of its surreal and entrancing visual nature.
Night Beats took the main stage shortly after, playing a raucous set full of haphazard distortion before relinquishing the stage to Japan’s noisy drone band Boris. Masterfully navigating epic surges of noise, static and metal riffs, the band captivated the crowd and delivered a powerful set. Smoke enveloped guitarist Wakeshi, who played a double necked guitar, one for bass and one six-string. The set’s visuals and sounds were a clear highlight from day two.
Black was the shade of the afternoon as Black Bananas performed a loose, lackadaisical set of sloven punk-psych in the tent before Black Mountain took the main stage to issue a series of commanding and punishing dark pscyh rock songs. However, colors were unfolding down on the amphitheater stage where British legends Kaleidoscope were performing. The band sounded good, but I felt that my own lack of familiarity with their body of work prevented me from completely appreciating their more laid back psych-pop.
Before Kaleidoscope’s set, fans were treated to an outstanding solo sitar performance by Rishi Dhir, who plays often with the Black Angels and fronts the band Elephant Stone, who would play on Sunday. Simply seeing Dhir tune the sitar was enjoyable, and watching him play its elaborate strings and elongated neck was near magical.
Back inside the tent, Man or Astroman? climbed onto the stage as commands from some unseen mission control scrolled across the projector screen that served as a backdrop. Donned in matching orange and blue, the band launched into the singularly most energetic set of the festival. Ripping through rock riffs, the band danced around the stage and walked out over speakers to lean into the audience. Their enthusiasm was infectious and the crowd was universally convinced by their intense performance.
As I walked back to the main stage photo pit from the tent, swollen raindrops began falling sporadically on my skin. Brazilian psych luminaries Os Mutantes had almost finished soundchecking when the rain began to fall ferociously. The band left the stage as gear techs began moving equipment out of the downpour. Huddling over our cameras and gear, photographers filed out of the pit and bottlenecked to get to cover. Had my concern for the torrents further soaking my gear not deterred me from walking to my car, I might have left.
But after a half hour or so, the rain began to lighten, and Os Mutantes was able to soundcheck from a position further away from the stage’s front and begin their set in still lightly falling rain. Those who remained in the now somewhat thin crowd were rewarded by an excellent and upbeat set that utilized a wider range of sounds than many of the weekend’s bands. Emphasizing acoustics and melody in a way that modern pscyh and noise bands often eschew, Os Mutantes’ songs instilled joy into fans in the aftermath of the rain storm.
Still later, a much delayed Deerhunter began to set up their gear after an extensive Os Mutantes set. Bradford Cox, much lauded Deerhunter frontman, wore a 70s-dad-esque cardigan, faded shorts and flip-flops as he moodily checked pedals and arranged gear. After this much delay, there seemed little point in hurrying. Eventually, the band finished checking levels for instruments and Cox departed only to return a moment later in a black and white dress and an ill-fitting black wig. Fans applauded as the band began their set with a long, caustic swell of noise. The band’s new album Monomania will drop next week, and the set included several songs from the highly compressed psych-rock effort while making sure to include a couple old favorites. Intense colors of light washed over Cox’s surreal costumed figure as he smoked and strummed his guitar.
Those who waited out the rain were rewarded with two of the most interesting sets of the weekend by two of the festival’s most talked about and diverse bands. Back to back, the bands represent two disparate camps of psych rock—one approach that of an acoustically beautiful and quirky mainstay and the other the style of a noisy and challenging contemporary lynchpin. Taken together, they embodied the best of what Psych Fest has to offer.
All photos © Bryan Parker and Pop Press International. Click any image to open in slideshow view.
