We began the fourth day of Levitation Austin by heading to Threadgill’s restaurant for their Sunday gospel brunch buffet. The buffet was average, although the sweet potato pancakes are a delight, but the music by a band whose name I never found was classic country. I knew we were in for a good show when the lead singer asked, “Any Flatt and Scruggs fans out there?” My wife and I were the only ones who yelled in the affirmative. Sigh…
We then went to the famous Museum of the Weird, where I took part in a circus sideshow involving a man immune to AC electricity (getting zapped by him a few times). We also saw things like this.
I gave a dollar to a homeless guy we’d seen the night before getting shooed out of a food truck vendor lot by a woman who said, “Move on, Karate Kid!” We’d seen him three times, so I wanted to give him something. He asked everyone, “Do you have a dollar?” I finally had some change for him, so I gave it to him while he rested on a gas meter outside a building. Austin has a large homeless population, many displaced by the gentrification of downtown. I hope the city is addressing the issue.
I didn’t miss the irony of helping a homeless man and then grabbing lunch at Terry Black’s BBQ, where I had some of the best smoked turkey I’ve ever eaten. I liked it better than Stubb’s, which is more famous. Afterwards, we headed to Symphony Square in time to see the last half of Indrajit Banerjee and Gourisankar‘s set at the river stage.
“This is my favorite part of the weekend so far,” my wife said.
We chatted with them after their set and gave them some ideas about Indiana theaters that might host them. They told us they were playing at the Scoot Inn later that night – the same place we had tickets to see Golden Dawn Arkestra. It was going to be a good evening.
We went to the Scoot Inn right away to get decent parking. We saw the construction crane upon which many people sat to see over the fence the night before when the Black Angels and the Brian Jonestown Massacre played there. We met more festival attendees while standing in line. People complained about scalpers selling tickets for up to $100 each (20x face value apiece) and not getting to see any bands scheduled for the festival. One couple behind us got to see a pop-up gig by stoner metal masters Sleep. They wanted to see at least one band from Levitation, even if they didn’t like stoner metal. Other people hadn’t learned about the makeup shows until they were sold out. The couple in front of us had gone to MR Fest and saw La Luz perform there.
We got in and saw Blondi’s Salvation had been added to the lineup. They got the show off to a good start with their French blend of psych rock.
We had seen Puerto Rico’s Fantasmes at the 2014 festival, and we were surprised to hear how much heavier and darker they’d become since then. They looked and sounded like a Latino version of Interpol. It was a good set that made me want to seek out their newest material.
I was pleased as punch by this point because not only had Fantasmes delivered some fine music, but I discovered the Scoot Inn sold an Austrian radler that I hadn’t had since a trip there almost three years ago.
Indrajit Banerjee and Gourisankar played a half-hour set after Fantasmes. We got up front for it. One of the sound guys walked past and said, “This is going to be bad-ass.”
“He’s right,” my wife said. He was, and so was she (as usual). The Indian music masters wowed the crowd and had everyone booming with cheers by the end of their set.
The night ended with a wild, powerful performance by Golden Dawn Arkestra, who I can best describe as a combination of Goat and Earth, Wind, and Fire. The band is as big as their Afro-jazz-funk sound. I counted seventeen people on stage at one point, and there was even a dancing wizard in front of the stage during the whole show to boot.
People were bouncing during the whole set. I heard many raving about it after it was over. One woman was happy she hadn’t left after Fantasmes as she had planned. I told her I was glad she stayed.
I was glad everyone stayed for the whole weekend. I’m sure many turned around and went home when the festival was cancelled, but many toughed it out and either attended the makeup shows, went to other gigs, or had their own parties.
Levitation Austin 2016 will be remembered as “the one that got cancelled,” but it will also be looked upon as a badge of honor if you were there. Everyone has stories from the other festivals, but this one will have stories that become legends.
I hope to see you next year, Austin.
Keep your mind open.
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