As in years past, Austin Psych Fest delivered a solid lineup of cohesive music over an ambitious three-day event. While the genre of “psychedelic” music gets stretched somewhat at the festival, incorporating garage rock and experimental pop, the festival still addresses a fairly niche market of music, refusing to court festival buzz acts. These staunch standards make the event a gathering of folks who are more like-minded than the diverse, please-all crowds that turn up at events like ACL or SXSW. A relaxed yet decidedly rock ‘n’ roll vibe permeated the atmosphere for the weekend.
I followed two-thirds of my own advice by showing up in enough time for Roger Sellers and Shannon and the Clams. I had full intention of arriving an hour earlier, but Austin’s Friday traffic near the airport and sorting out parking took longer than expected. Roger Sellers was moments from starting when I finally cleared the gates and made my way across the dusty festival grounds of Carson Creek Ranch and into the Levitation Tent. Sellers possesses an ability to perform in entirely diverse styles dependent upon the occasion. For this set, he stood behind a table of synthesizers and mixer, weaving electronic soundscapes and performing his own live drums over looped audio. The next day, Sellers recorded an acoustic session with KUTX, which was editing blindingly fast and is viewable here. With his diverse talents and engaging live sets, Sellers has rapidly grown in popularity in the Austin music scene, and that trend appears likely to continue.
Shannon and the Clams played the fest’s largest stage, the Reverberation Stage, in the early evening–an excellent set that would remain one of favorite of the weekend. The band channels early 60s pop such as The Crystals and the Shirelles and runs them through a gritty, garage-pop filter. The trio emits captivating energy onstage, and they sound just as solid live as recorded; I personally heard the band’s set lauded in plenty of conversations among musicians and members of the press throughout the weekend. If you haven’t tuned in to this band yet, it’s time.
I caught a few songs of the heavy hitting, classic-rock leaning Graveyard, who wasted no time getting to the punishing, crunchy guitar riffs; then, I headed down to the banks of the Colorado River and the Elevation Amphitheater to catch Fresh and Onlys. As we indicated in our coverage from last year, the scenery at this stage in particular is one aspect that makes Psych Fest so enjoyable. Tiers of earthen seats stair-step down to the stage, which backs up to the slow-moving waters of the river. With a backdrop of lush green trees, Fresh and Only’s kicked out a set of distorted pop. They’re one of the groups on the bill that does contain some psych undertones within their wavering washes of electric guitars, yet in many ways serves to stretch the weekend’s musical focus.
From the amphitheater, I ducked into the Levitation Tent to catch a few minutes of White Hills looking all glam-rock and getting down to the business of pumping out wailing guitar riffs and churning distortion. The group’s sound is built around the core of duo Dave W. and Ego Sensation. The band is signed to esteemed label Thrill Jockey and undoubtedly represents something a departure from that label’s standard fare. If you like lean, aggressive psych-rock, look no further.
Sunset during the first night of Psych Fest brought a rager of a performance from The Black Lips. I’ve seen the blues-leaning, dirty psych-rock outfit several times, and I feel like I’m one of the few that just isn’t completely taken by this band. Recorded they’re solid, and when listening to recent single “Boys in the Wood,” even the most reserved would likely find it impossible not to fall into a head-bobbing groove. However, live most of the band’s subtle grooves are exchanged for completely lackadaisical sloppy rock-out sessions. The crowd always loves it, and in this particular crowd almost pushed over Psych Fest’s stage barriers, prompting extra security to flood into the crowded photo pit. Although the live appeal is a bit lost on me, I can’t deny how energetic and raw the band’s sets are as well as how categorically their fans adore them.
When Austin Psych Fest announced their lineup at the end of last year, I already couldn’t wait. In large part, that’s due to the fact that The Zombies would be playing the festival. Odyssey and Oracle ranks as one of my favorite albums of all time. And while the group has been through Austin several times, I’ve always found myself tied up with some inescapable obligation. I was beginning to be afraid that something terrible would happen–like the time Alex Chilton died the night before I would have seen Big Star or the time I skipped Coachella and then Lou Reed died shortly after. However, it didn’t. I saw the Zombies, and it was glorious.
Make no mistake, Colin Blunstone’s voice is all but gone, and the songs sometimes sputter out of sync. However, it just doesn’t seem to matter. These are some of the greatest pop songs ever written–utter gems from an under-appreciated group that should be seen as on par with The Beatles. The set was a short one–one of the unfortunate caveats to festival performances–comprised primarily of the group’s most well-known material. Much of that was culled from their 1968 triumph Odyssey and Oracle, including “A Rose for Emily,” “This Will Be Our Year,” and one of my personal favorites, “Care of Cell 44.” The band closed the night with their hit “She’s Not There,” to the great delight of everyone who has ever lived. Seeing the Zombies was a bucket list experience for me and, alone, made Psych Fest 2014 worth attending.
I ended my first night at Psych Fest by seeing Woods. I’m not sure how I’ve never seen Woods before. I’m a fan of the work they do as well as their label, Woodsist, which encourages and fosters some outstanding musicians. By the way, remember when I talked about how great Woods member Kevin Morby is — well he currently seems to be not in the lineup. I’m not sure if that’s a permanent change or if his work with The Babies and alone has simply taken the fore for the moment. Either way, the band still rocked. The group spent some time playing the more accessible and mellow tunes from their excellent new album With Light and With Love, but still found plenty of time to deliver crunchier, heavier jams. The set served as a solid end to the first day. Stay tuned for our coverage of the next two days coming up this week, and peruse our photo gallery below.
All photographs © Bryan Parker & Pop Press International; all rights reserved. Click any image to open in slideshow viewer.
