Live music – Page 4 – 7th Level Music

Friko releases Radiohead cover and announces 2024 tour dates.

Chicago band Friko — vocalist/guitarist Niko Kapetan and drummer Bailey Minzenberger — shares a cover of Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” and announces performances at Lollapalooza, Newport Folk Festival, and Fuji Rock, a North American tour supporting Royel Otis, and the band’s first European headline run. The band just wrapped their first North American tour in support of Where we’ve been, Where we go from here (out now on ATO Records), playing shows with Water From Your Eyes, WILLIS and Mind’s Eye. Their cover of Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” has become an exciting surprise during recent live dates. They performed it at their sold-out, headlining record release show at the 1000-capacity Metro in Chicago, and will continue to captivate larger and larger audiences throughout the rest of 2024.

Listen to “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” (Radiohead Cover)

An essential new addition to Chicago’s long lineage of forward-thinking indie rock, Friko transforms every song into a moment of collective catharsis. Known for their high-energy live show, Friko aims to deliver a live experience that’s fantastically disorienting in its emotional arc. Mastered by Heba Kadry (Björk, Big Thief) and engineered by Jack Henry and Scott Tallarida, Where we’ve been, Where we go from here embodies a sonic complexity befitting of a band that names Romantic-era classical music and the more primal edges of art-rock among their inspirations. Friko hopes that their music’s emotional potency might have a galvanizing impact on audiences.

Purchase Where we’ve been, Where we go from here

Watch Friko’s “Where We’ve Been” Video
Watch “Crashing Through” Video
Watch “For Ella” Video
Watch “Crimson to Chrome” Lyric Video
Listen to Friko’s “Get Numb To It!”

Friko Tour Dates:
Fri. June 14 – Chicago, IL @ Q101 PIQNIQ (Taste of Randolph)
Tue. July 9 – Evanston, IL @ SPACE
Thu. July 18 – Indianapolis, IN @ Rock The Ruins ^
Fri. July 26 – Niigata, JP @ Fuji Rock Festival
Sun. July 28 – Newport, RI @ Newport Folk Festival
Sat. Aug. 3 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
Sun. Aug. 4 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall (Lollapalooza Aftershow)
Thu. Aug. 8 – Nashville, TN @ Bobby Nashville (WNXP Event)
Wed. Aug. 28 – Louisville, KY @ WFPK Waterfront Wednesday
Mon. Sept. 9 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall %
Wed. Sept. 11 – Rochester, NY @ Essex Music Hall %
Thu. Sept. 12 – Toronto, ON @ History %
Fri. Sept. 13 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre %
Sat. Sept. 14 – Madison, WI @ The Sylvee %
Sun. Sept. 15 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue %
Thu. Sept. 19 – Champaign, IL @ Canopy Club (Pygmalion Fest)
Tue. Sept. 24 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer %
Wed. Sept. 25 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel %
Thu. Sept. 26 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel %
Fri. Sept. 27 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club %
Sat. Sept. 28 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues %
Mon. Sept. 30 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern %
Tue. Oct. 1 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl %
Tue. Oct. 8 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre %
Wed. Oct. 9 – Lawrence, KS @ Granada Theater %
Mon. Oct. 14 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether %
Tue. Oct. 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether %
Wed. Oct. 16 – Los Angeles, CA @ Palladium %
Fri. Oct. 18 – Oakland, CA @ The Fox %
Sun. Oct. 20 – Portland, OR @ McMenamins Crystal Ballroom %
Mon. Oct. 21 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre %
Tue. Oct. 22 – Vancouver, BC @ PNE Forum %
Sat. Nov. 2 – Amsterdam, NL @ Bitterzoet
Sun. Nov. 3 – Brussels, BE @ Les Nuits Weekender
Tue. Nov. 5 – Rennes, FR @ L’Antipode
Thu. Nov. 7 – Paris, FR @ Pitchfork Avant Garde
Sat. Nov. 9 – London, UK @ Pitchfork Festival London
Sun. Nov. 10 – Bristol, UK @ Louisiana
Tue. Nov. 12 – Manchester, UK @ YES
Wed. Nov. 13 – Glasgow, UK @ King Tuts
Thu. Nov. 14 – Dublin, IR @ Workman’s Club

^ supporting Hippo Campus
% supporting Royel Otis

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Woodsist Festival releases 2024 lineup.

The beloved Woodsist Festival returns to Arrowood Farms in Accord, New York, on September 21-22, 2024. Performers this year include headliners Yo La Tengo, Real Estate, and Jessica Pratt, along with Woods, Hailu Mergia, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Jeff Parker, Etran de L’Aïr, The Messthetics, 75 Dollar Bill Big Band, Rosali, Mystic 100s, Florry, and Sylvie. Arrowood Farms, a sustainably-minded farm, brewery and distillery located in New York’s scenic Hudson Valley, will host the performers on two alternating stages throughout the weekend and feature food from local Hudson Valley-based vendors and craft beer brewed directly on site. Tickets go on sale Friday, April 26th at 10:00AM ET and are available via www.woodsistfestival.com.

As in previous years, Jeremy Earl of Woods has curated the festival’s lineup. Formed in 2004, Woods have matured into a true independent institution, above and below the root, reliably emerging every few years with new music that grows towards the latest sky. On top of a new EP release, the band has embarked on a full year of touring, including shows with Waxahatchee, Avey Tare, and Natural Information Society.

The inaugural Woodsist Festival took place in Brooklyn in 2009 with Thee Oh Sees headlining alongside a number of acts including Beach Fossils, Real Estate, and Kurt Vile. Since then, the festival has been presented in various locations including Big Sur, Point Reyes National Seashore, and Pioneertown, CA. The festival found its home at Arrowood Farms in 2019, presented in partnership with Ground Control Touring and premiere Hudson Valley concert promoters Impact Concerts, and has returned annually since 2021.

We hope to see you on the farm, With Light and With Love.

Watch the Woodsist Festival 2023 Recap Video

For more information, including lineups, event news, and the latest updates, please visit www.woodsistfestival.com.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Rewind Review: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Live at Levitation ’14 (2021)

Praise be to the Reverberation Appreciation Society for releasing this early live gem from Australian psych-rock giants King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Live at Levitation ’14 is, I think, a recording of their first live performance in the United States. It was at that year’s Austin Psych Fest in Austin, Texas…and my late wife and I were there.

We didn’t know much about KGATLW then. Heck, no one in the U.S. did. They played an afternoon slot on the main stage, and there were maybe 125 people there for the set. I’d only heard a couple tracks that I’d found on obscure YouTube channels. Those tracks were intriguing enough for me to add them to my wish list of bands to see that year. I thought it would be an interesting set at least.

It certainly was. My thought about halfway through the set was, “Wow…These guys came to play.” Starting with “I’m in Your Mind,” the band launches off the stage right away with fun energy that would come to define their sets. They flow right into, of course, “I’m Not in Your Mind,” showing early signs of the linked “Gizzverse” stuff that would span across multiple albums.

They’re going nuts by the time they get to “Cellophane,” and stunning the crowd by this point. They then loop back to “I’m in Your Mind Fuzz,” and had attracted the other half of their set’s crowd by now because the amount of sound and energy they were putting out was immense. They didn’t stop for a breath until this track ends. “The Wholly Ghost” has a fun metal stomp to it and threatens to fry your brain altogether.

“We’re going to Dallas tomorrow. What’s that like?” Stu Mackenzie asks before the lovely, trippy “Sleepwalker.” “Bloody hot,” someone replies. The whole set is as hot as Texas heat. “Am I in Heaven” has the band starting mellow and then kicking in doors and knocking down tables on a stage in a western town. Call the festival attendees, there were madmen around that afternoon – judging from the chaotic energy KGATLW were broadcasting.

“We’re gonna play one more,” Mackenzie says. That one is the epic “Head On / Pill,” which is over sixteen minutes of psychedelia that will make your mind feel like the album’s cover image. It was a stunning end to a stunning set that left people elated and dumbfounded. They weren’t sure what they’d just seen and heard, but knew they’d been part of something special.

It was a great set, and still sounds great ten years later. It’s essential if you’re a King Gizz fan.

Keep your mind open.

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Blushing drop another killer single – “Slyce” – from their upcoming album.

Blushing — the Austin, TX-based band consisting of the double husband and wife pairs of Christina and Noe Carmona and Michelle and Jacob Soto — present a new single/video, “Slyce,” from their forthcoming album, Sugarcoat, out May 3rd via Kanine. Following singles “Tamagotchi” and “Seafoam,” “Slyce” shows Blushing at their most sonically experimental. The verses splash around elements of psych and shoegaze that rise towards an anthemic chorus. Lyrically, the song uses imagery of cuts and breaks to convey the damage that can be caused by engaging in toxic relationships, even when you just can’t help yourself.

The last song to be recorded during the Sugarcoat sessions, the band’s only option for recording was to utilize the Austin Community College recording studio where their producer and engineer Elliott Frazier happened to be a teacher. The recording sessions would occur during Frazier’s classroom time, so that meant the band performed and recorded in front of a classroom of kids and adults, all while Frazier explained to the class what he was doing at the console, incorporating it into his lessons. The track also features Christina’s dad Carlos Fernandez, a classical pianist who lends his piano playing talents over the song’s bridge.

Watch the Video for “Slyce”

Sugarcoat is the follow-up to two EPs, 2017’s Tether and 2018’s Weak, their self-titled debut, and 2022’s Possessions. They didn’t want to create an album where each song was made to fit into the same mold. Instead, they decided to run with each idea no matter which direction it was facing, resulting in an album that is somewhat of a sampler of the group’s collective influences. While there are certainly tracks immediately recognizable as “Blushing” songs, this album is where the band get to explore their love for expanding genres, from post-punk, psych-gaze, grunge-pop, indie-pop, slowcore, and beyond. Lyrically the album asks many questions, reaching out for someone to provide answers or for the answers to come from within. There is a lot of uncertainty in the world as well as personally. Getting older, questioning past decisions, and the constant unknown of the future.

On Sugarcoat, Blushing’s dynamism is on full display, flitting effortlessly from spacey psychedelia to twee pop jangle with finesse and panache. Having enlisted Elliot Frazier (Ringo Deathstarr) and Mark Gardener (Ride) for engineering, mixing, and mastering duties, Sugarcoat is a dense, reverb-laden exploration of alt-rock’s 40 year history that conjures up concord from chaos.

This summer, they’ll support Slater and Airiel across North America, along with headline dates in Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and more. Tickets are on sale now and a full list can be found below.

Watch Blushing’s Video for “Tamagotchi”

Watch Blushing’s Video for “Seafoam”

Pre-order Sugarcoat

Blushing Tour Dates
Thu. May 2 – Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas (album release show)
Wed. May 15 – San Antonio, TX @ Vibes Underground *
Thu. May 16 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada *
Sat. May 18 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall *
Sun. May 19 – McAllen, TX @ The Gremlin *
Fri. June 14 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Resonant Head
Sat. June 15 – Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge
Sun. June 16 – Nashville, TN @ 5 spot
Tue. June 18 – Washington, DC @ Pie Shop %
Wed. June 19 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s %
Thu. June 20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right %
Fri. June 21 – Boston, MA @ Deep Cuts %
Sat. June 22 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground %
Sun. June 23 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz %
Mon. June 24 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison %
Wed. June 26 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr Smalls Funhouse %
Thu. June 27 – Detroit, MI @ Small’s %
Fri. June 28 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland
Sat. June 29 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas
Mon. July 1 – Denver, CO @ Skylark Lounge
Wed. July 3 – Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey
Thu. July 4 – Portland, OR @ The Six
Fri. July 5 – San Francisco, CA @ Kilowatt
Sat. July 6 – Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge
Sun. July 7 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge
Mon. July 8 – El Paso, TX @ Rosewood
Sun. Sept. 1 – Cambridge, UK @ Portland Arms ^
Mon. Sept. 2 – Leeds, UK @ Old Woollen ^
Tue. Sept. 3 – Glasgow, UK @ Room 2 ^
Wed. Sept. 4 – Stockton-on-Trees, UK @ Georgian Theatre ^
Thu. Sept. 5 – Manchester, UK @ The Deaf Institute ^
Fri. Sept. 6 – London, UK @ O2 Academy Islington ^
Sat. Sept. 7 – Brighton, UK @ Dust ^

* = w/ Slater
%= w/ Airiel
^= w/ Ringo Deathstarr

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Live: Orbital, Tone Ranger, and Greg Haus – Radius, Chicago, IL – March 23, 2024

If you were lucky enough to catch them, rave legends Orbital are doing a limited tour throughout the U.S.: New York, Chicago, Miami, and two sets at this year’s Coachella Festival. That’s it. Somehow, the Chicago show wasn’t sold out (and was stunningly affordable), and I scored two tickets to see the lads.

Up first was a pretty cool DJ named Greg Haus, who put on a good set to get the crowd to the spacious floor and moving.

Haus spun for about an hour, and he was followed by Tone Ranger – who walked to the decks with a guitar over one shoulder. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, and it turned out to be a mix of house, ambient, and spaghetti western music. “I’m all in,” I told my girlfriend.

Orbital had a good, fun crowd by the time they came on stage. Opening with “Smiley” and moving onto hot tracks like “Where Is It Going?” and newer stuff like “Dirty Rat” featuring Jason Williamson of Sleaford Mods.

“Satan” was an unexpected deep cut, “Halcyon On and On” was another great classic cut, and the whole crowd was jumping and moving by this point. The crowd, by the way, was a fun mix of people in their 20’s, partying Latinas, goths, senior citizens, and old school ravers like yours truly.

“Spicy,” with its Spice Girls samples, was a big hit, “Chime” was lovely live, and the encore, “Lush” was mind-altering.

It was a beautiful show that felt like a vintage 1990s rave. Seriously, it was like stepping out of a time machine and into a moment when everyone still loved each other and believed good times and an amazing future were still ahead.

I don’t know if you’re planning on going to Coachella this year, but don’t miss Orbital on either weekend if you’re there.

Keep your mind open.

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Brijean are “Workin’ on It” with their new single and upcoming album and tour.

Today, Brijean, the project of percussionist/singer-songwriter Brijean Murphy — the percussive heartbeat for live bands like Mitski, Poolside, and Toro y Moi — and multi-instrumentalist/producer Doug Stuart announce their new album Macro, out July 12th via Ghostly International, and share its lead single/visualizer “Workin’ On It.” “Workin’ On It” finds Brijean at their lightest and free. The track initially started as a living room jam then “Doug played the two-layered basslines over a loop of bongos, congas and a drum machine and the rest felt like it happened in a dream,” explains Murphy. While working late into the night and struggling with insomnia, she improvised her sleep-deprived lines, riffing on self-improvement and modern times, half-serious at first but something clicked in those small hours. Later she asked fans to send voice memos in exchange for art, and some of those got peppered into the soundbed. “That was a treat… Just getting to go through and hear all of these voices from around the world, an intimate and charming experience.” The track’s visualizer, directed by Bijan Berahimi, sees jump cuts of still photographs of the duo in tracksuits, complimenting the playful energy of the song.

Watch the Visualizer For “Workin’ On It”

Since their debut in 2019, Brijean has moved with ingenuity, fusing psych-pop abstraction with dancefloor sensibilities. Through the body and mind, rhythm and lyricism, they make sense of the worlds around and within; 2021’s Feelings celebrated self-reflection; 2022’s Angelo processed loss, coinciding with the duo’s first headlining tour, which doubled down on the material’s desire to move. Now, across the playful expanse of Macro, Brijean engages different sides of themselves, the paradox of being alive. They’ve leveled up to meet the complexities and harmonies of the human experience with their most dynamic songwriting yet. Colorful, collaborative, sophisticated, and deeply fun, the album animates a macrocosm with characters, moods, and points of view rooted in the notion that no feeling is final and the only way out is through.

Macro’s sequencing elicits an exploratory vibe with high-tempo peaks and breezy valleys in the psyche; astral drifts like “Euphoric Avenue” and “Roxy,” brush up against propulsive pop numbers like “Bang Bang Boom” and the breakbeat-bursts of “Breathe.” Brijean sees the record’s vast sonic spectrum in contrast to the expectations for their output — “we’re supposed to know the box that our art fits in, and then fully commit to it existing within that box,” adds Stuart. Take the closing pair of “Rollercoaster” and “Laura”; one a thrilling roller-disco anthem and the other a parade of heartfelt, flute-heavy indie-pop. Both are signature Brijean and offer an appropriate send-off; love, family, fantasy, pleasure, pain… the intention of Macro is not just to move through the ups and downs but to feel it all.

Pre-order Macro

Macro Tracklist

01. Get Lost

02. Euphoric Avenue

03. Bang Bang Boom

04. After Life

05. Roxy Mountain

06. Breathe

07. Counting

08. Counting Sheep

09. Workin’ On It

10. Scenic Route

11. Roller Coaster

12. Laura

Brijean Tour Dates

Fri. Jul. 12 – Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village

Sat. Jul. 13 – Detroit, MI @ El Club

Sun. Jul. 14 Toronto, ON Velvet Underground

Wed. Jul. 17 – Washington, DC @ Atlantis

Thu. Jul. 18 – New York, NY @ MHOW

Sat. Jul. 20 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s

Mon. Jul. 22 – Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle

Tue. Jul. 23 – Atlanta, GA @ Vinyl

Thu. Jul. 25 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall (Upstairs)

Fri. Jul. 26 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada

Sat. Jul. 27 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live at 3TEN

Fri. Aug. 2 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent

Sun. Aug. 4 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios

Tue. Aug. 6 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret

Wed. Aug. 7 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos

Fri. Aug. 9 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux

Sat. Aug. 10 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court

Mon. Aug. 12 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge

Thu. Aug. 15 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar

Fri. Aug. 16 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]

[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Rewind Review: King Buffalo – Acheron (2021)

At first glance, you might think King Buffalo‘s Acheron is an EP. It only has four track on it, after all. Then you realize that the four tracks average about ten minutes each, making the album a full cosmic experience. Plus, the whole thing was recorded live in Howe Caverns in New York, giving the album a deeper feel of heaviness and heat.

The title track opens with blazing guitar work from Sean McVay that, as you can imagine, ignites the entire cavern system and probably awakened ancient mystics living in its deepest recesses. “Zephyr,” a song that seems to be about embracing a future that’s already here instead of dwelling on a past that was gone the moment it happened, soars about the cavern and your ears, like a bat gliding over a mountain stream.

“Shadows” is a gorgeous track elevated by Dan Reynolds synthesizer solo setting up McVay’s stalagmite-shaking guitar solo. It must’ve been deafening in that cavern when he played it. The closing track, “Cerberus,” is the crown jewel of the album, hitting hard in all the right spots and altering your mind-space in the others. Reynolds’ bass work is subtle yet stunning, and Scott Donaldson‘s drum work is so nimble that you can barely keep track of the number of fills he fits into one song.

It’s another fine piece in their excellent discography. King Buffalo doesn’t miss. Ever.

Keep your mind open.

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The Monsters announce first tour of Mexico and the western U.S.

Legendary garage punks The Monsters will tour through Mexico and the US West Coast in late April through May, beginning their trek in Mexico City and concluding up the Pacific Coastline in Seattle. This string of shows is their first-ever tour through western America and marks the band’s return to the New World since their 2014 Midwestern tour anchored by a headlining appearance at the Muddy Roots Festival. In two, with the Swiss quartet, Slovenly Recordings founder Pete Menchetti will DJ punk, garage, and exotica 45s during the pre-show and after-parties.

It’s common to read names like Celtic Frost, LiLiPUT, and The Young Gods as pioneers of Switzerland’s fringe rock movements. However, The Monsters are justifiably well deserving to be included in this category due to their creation of an off-branch rock genre they dub “trash rock, a subgenre that’s influenced a whole new generation of underground punk groups since the band formed in 1986. This genre is a strange mix of rockabilly grooves fused with chainsaw-fury speed punk, and The Monsters have only become faster, funnier, and more furious with age with their proof on their recent album, You’re Class, I’m Trash, which saw release via Voodoo Rhythm Records, Slovenly Recordings, and Sounds of Subterrania.

The Monsters have performed on stages across the continents of North/South America, Asia, Europe, and Australia. Their first run across the West Coast holds special meaning for the quartet, with the band sharing their thoughts below.

The Monsters are a Garage-Trash band out of Switzerland. We’ve played almost everywhere in the world, from Tomsoe, Norway, above the Arctic Circle, down to Buenos Aires, Argentina. From Japan to Mexico and to unusual places like Vietnam, Sicily, and more. But we never played the US West Coast, although that’s where a lot of inspiration for what we do comes from. Time to change that, for good!

The Monsters have a long history with the West Coast of the USA. Jan – the drummer – was born in San Luis Obispo in the summer of love, and Beat-Man – the CEO – even has family in Los Angeles. It’s like coming home, and we wanna show what we do and present to you our Super-1-Riff-Rock’n’Roll-Boogie-Trash.

The Monsters were formed in Berne, Switzerland, and that’s as un-American as a town can be. From the very beginning, we were unsatisfied with the music scene in general, and spezialy the music scene in Switzerland. At first, we were against pop music. Now it’s the copycats, the bands living and celebrating the past. We can’t stand it and hate it today as much as we hated it yesterday.

But instead of complaining, we create new music, a new listening experience for you and your brain, and it will be so loud that we can’t hear you complaining about it.

That’s our goal; you’ve been warned. – Beat-Man, Janosh, Swan Lee, and Pumi.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Matthew at Shattered Platter.]

Levitation France releases full 2024 lineup.

Levitation France returns with another fun lineup of pyschedelia, shoegaze, rock, and even rap this year.

Sleaford Mods closes the two-day festival on Friday, May 24th. Upchuck will provide some wild punk rock for you, Sweeping Promises will bring the fuzz, and psych-rock giants Acid Mothers Temple will melt your mind.

Don’t miss Deap Vally on the 25th. This show is part of their final tour before they put up the guitar and drum sticks to be full-time moms. Another good duo, Ghostwoman, will be worth your time. Melts are a hot new band playing a cool mix of post-punk and electro. Lysistrata are a hungry, raw, French rock band that I’m sure will put on a blistering set in front of their countrymen. Hoover III play nice psychedelia, whereas Fat White Family play somewhat dangerous psychedelia. I hope they come tour the U.S. after this.

Tickets are on sale, and Angers is a lovely town. Plus, you’ll be in France before the Olympics, so get there before the rest of the world does!

Keep your mind open.

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Review: King Buffalo – Live at Burning Man

Released, and still available, for free on their Bandcamp page, King Buffalo‘s Live at Burning Man is a great capture of them doing what they do best – melting minds and faces, and what better place to do it than the Burning Man Festival during their first trip there?

Starting with a scorching version of “Silverfish,” the trio immediately hook the crowd – many of whom might not have known who they were. It was the first time they’d played the festival, after all. The guitar solo on “Grifter” sounds like a test car racing across a salt flat. People are already shouting, “Love you guys!” by the third song (“Shadows”).

“Longing to Be the Mountain” is their ten-minute-plus psychedelic take on a classic Zen story. “Repeater” is probably on rotation in a Zen retreat on a mountaintop somewhere, as it seems to make you levitate. “Orion,” one of their best-known tracks, absolutely rips here. You can tell that King Buffalo and the Burning Man crowd were feeling it by this point, and everyone knew they were experiencing something special.

“Red Star 1 & 2” is a massive double dose of mind-altering sounds (nearly fifteen minutes in length). “Loam” is trippy and heavy at the same time. The set ends with the epic “Cerberus,” sending the Burning Man crowd back into the desert with visions of things on the horizon they hadn’t noticed before the show began.

King Buffalo are, despite their frequent touring, still a bit of a secret. This live album gives us all another reason to learn their secrets, the number of which seem to increase with each listen and performance.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to King Buffalo!]