It was my first time back to Levitation France in a few years, and it felt great to be back in Angers and at another Levitation music festival. This was my first time attending the festival at the La Chabada venue, which was composed of two outdoor stages facing opposite of each other, a food truck area, and an indoor merchandise booth. One of the many things Levitation France does better than most other festival is to offer affordable, tasty, non-alcoholic beverages for purchase. The lemonade and apple juice (really more like apple cider) there were top-notch. I wish festivals in the U.S. offered stuff like that. Here, it’s usually just an overpriced bottle of water or a can of Mt. Dew.
Day One of the festival (Friday, June 03rd) started off with a small bump when the lineup order had to be changed due to Dry Cleaning having to cancel their festival appearance. That was a bummer, as I was keen on seeing them for the first time. I hope they’ll be at the main Levitation festival in Austin, Texas this October.
So, we started off the festival by catching most of Stuffed Foxes‘ set. They’re a group of friends no older than twenty-two, I think, and they threw down a wild set of loud rock to get everyone ready for a wild weekend.
Up next were Albinos Congo, who played a fun set of post-punk with a bit of psychedelia thrown into the mix. Their drummer was sharp, using fills to excellent effect.
We closed Day One with Automatic, who hypnotized the crowd with their synth-punk / krautrock set. A funny moment was seeing them leave the merchandise area not long after their set, as they had a flight to catch or had to get on the road for their next gig, and watching their surprise when so many people applauded for them as they left.
We were a bit exhausted by the end of their set, so we cut out early in order to be well-rested for the next day, which we knew would have even better attendance.
Coming up next, I finally get to introduce myself to a band I’ve been promoting for a while, see some dynamite legs, watch a band adapt to an equipment malfunction, see some psychedelic legends on their final tour, and watch a woman enthrall a crowd.
Keep your mind open.
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