Tag: Levitation music festival

Top 30 albums of 2021: #’s 30 – 26

As always, I actually wait until the previous year has ended to put out my list of my top albums (and live performances, which will be listed in other posts), because albums are released all the time. Many excellent albums have been released in many Decembers and gone forgotten or ignored by music critics and bloggers.

So, without further ado, let’s get started. I reviewed sixty-five albums last year, so I cut the list in half to cover the top of the bunch.

#30: Shred Flintstone – Unlimited Power

This is a wild punk rock record from a band with a goofy name and serious chops. I mean, you have to be good with a name like “Shred Flintstone.” Unlimited Power is appropriately titled, because the whole thing is bursting with energy.

#29 Open Hand – Weirdo

This is a fun dance-rock record that was several years in the making. It’s like a combination of LCD Soundsystem and !!!.

#28: Jealous – Lover / What’s Your Damage?

This is a wild double EP of post-punk and krautrock from Berlin. It ranges from dance beats to rock riffs and was one of the best releases fro Dedstrange all year.

#27: Cuffed Up – Asymmetry

This four-song EP is solid alternative rock with catchy hooks, great double vocals, and heavy riffs that bode well for a full-length album in the future.

#26: The Black Angels – Live at Levitation

The Reverb Appreciation Society has been issuing “Live at Levitation” albums for a little while now, so it was no surprise that The Black Angels, who started the RAS and also started and still help curate the annual Levitation Music Festivals in Austin, Texas and Angers, France, should get their own release in the series. It covers some of the bands’ earliest performances at the festival and is a treat for fans of the band, the festival, and psychedelic rock.

Who cracked the top 25? Come back tomorrow to find out!

Keep your mind open.

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Review: The Black Angels – Live at Levitation

Live at Levitation is a collection of six tracks from The Black Angels (who, among many other hats they wear, help curate and organize the annual Levitation Music Festivals in Austin, Texas and Angers, France) taken from the 2010 – 2012 festivals and band lineups.

Opening track “Manipulation,” for instance, includes Elephant Stone‘s Rishi Dhir on sitar while Alex Maas‘ vocals knock over the back wall of the venue. Christian Bland‘s guitar on “Better Off Alone” sounds like it, his pedals, and his amps are all on fire. The live version of “Surf City” included on the album is raw and rough, bordering on dangerous.

“You on the Run” is a personal favorite, and it always slays live – as it does here with cranked fuzz and menace. “Empire” is a special treat, as The Black Angels don’t often perform it live. It’s a psych-trip and brings things down to Earth…for a moment, as the closer is one of their biggest hits – “Young Men Dead,” which hearing live is like standing in front of a roaring dragon. This is especially true due to Stephanie Bailey‘s thunderous drum beats, which always threaten to destroy everything around her.

It’s a must-own album for fans of the band, the Austin music scene, or psych-rock. It also further establishes The Black Angels as one of the most powerful live bands out there.

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Levitation 2021 lineup announced.

The lineup for the 2021 Levitation Music Festival is here, and tickets are already on sale!

They’ve added shows on Wednesday night (the festival always started on Thursday night in the past), and I wouldn’t miss Here Lies Man if I were you. Speaking of Thursday, I already have my tickets to see Fuzz and The Well. No Joy, The Vacant Lots, and Public Practice will also put on a good show.

Friday? Well, you shouldn’t go to Levitation without seeing The Black Angels. I mean, they help curate the thing and pretty much started it. The fact that they’re playing with Tinariwen is an added bonus. Black Midi‘s show will probably be nuts, as will A Place to Bury Strangers‘ set.

Thundercat‘s live set is always a groovy show, and I hope to catch Frankie and the Witch Fingers and maybe Ganser – since they’re coming all the way from Chicago. As for Sunday, I’m excited to see The Hives again. They’re one of the best live bands on the planet.

More bands and sets are to be announced, so the weekend is sure to be packed with good stuff. Don’t miss it.

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation Austin returns…on Halloween weekend, no less.

The Reverb Appreciation Society has announced the return of the Levitation Austin music festival this year, and it’s on Halloween weekend just to make it weirder.

The festival will take place at various downtown Austin venues (Stubb’s, Mowhawk, Empire Garage, Hotel Vegas, and more) and coming in early for the Thursday night shows is well worth your time and money. Lineup announcements and ticket sales will start this summer, so keep your eyes peeled, book your travel, and plan your Halloween costume.

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Levitation Austin 2019 recap – Day Four

We began our fourth and final day of Levitation Austin 2019 by attending the downtown record show at the Palmer Event Center. The show was a gold mine for vinyl record collectors. I managed to score three CD’s there – a live Goblin bootleg of a show from 1975, a copy of Husker Du‘s Zen Arcade, and a copy of Duran Duran‘s Arena (the cassette of which I wore out years ago).

We had a nice dinner at one of our yearly stops – Daruma Ramen – and then headed back to Barracuda for the Death by Audio showcase. This was one of the first tickets I bought for the festival when I saw one of my favorite bands, A Place to Bury Strangers, was playing along with The KVB, who I’ve wanted to see live for a while now. APTBS were selling earplugs at their merchandise table for $2.00 a pair. I had brought my own, but in case you’ve never seen them before, this is $2.00 well spent. Trust me on this. First up for us at the DBA showcase was Numb.er, who put on a cool set of shoegaze noise.

Up next, and outside were The KVB, who were excited to finally be playing in Austin and to a welcoming crowd. They sounded great and showed how much evocative music two people can make with the right chemistry, guitar pedals, and synth / drum machine set-up.

We went back inside to catch most of the set by Austin’s own Ringo Deathstarr. They played a mix of new (some played for the first time that night) and older material and filled the inside stage area with fuzzy rock.

I then went back outside for APTBS’ set. My wife stayed inside to wait for Christian Bland and the Revelators and to avoid the sonic assault provided by an APTBS show. This isn’t a crack on my wife. Not everyone can handle their shows. I’ve seen metal heads, screamo fanatics, and hardcore goths wither under their power. Sure enough, they unleashed fury on the outdoor stage, with Oliver Ackermann’s guitar and Dion Lunadon’s bass both being hammered onto the stage within two songs (and multiple times thereafter).

APTBS with members of Ringo Deathstarr and Cryogeyser

Every band from the Death By Audio showcase came out to play with them during the set, which included members of Cryogeyser, the KVB, Numb.er, and Ringo Deathstarr. Their was so much fog machine fog rolling off the stage at one point that the band, bathed in strobe lights as well, took on the appearance of ghosts. I was near the front of the stage and facing Dion Lunadon for most of the set and he went through two bass guitars, and all of the strings on the second were broken by the end. In other words, it was another great APTBS show and a great finish to the festival.

Christian Bland and the Revelators, meanwhile, were putting on a cool show of early Pink Floyd-influenced blues-psych inside Barracuda, and it was a nice way to send our latest Levitation Austin Festival out on a groovy note with one of its curators.

Christian Bland (left) and the Revelators

Levitation weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the year. It’s always a good time, the crowds are always cool (I’ve yet to have run-ins with jerks at the festival.), and the music (and food) is always great. Thanks again to the Reverb Appreciation Society for making it happen. See you next year, Austin.

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation Austin artist spotlight: Oh Sees

Otherwise known as Thee Oh Sees and OCS, Oh Sees are a wild psych-rock band whose lineup goes through changes seemingly with every record but the hard, driving energy of their music never alters.  Both of their Levitation Austin shows at Barracuda on April 28th and 29th are sold-out, but you still might be able to get tickets for their show at Austin’s Hotel Vegas on April 30th (which is a charity benefit show, no less).  These shows are sure to be nuts, so get to one if you can.

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation Austin festival to return in 2018.

File this under: Best News You’ve Heard Today.  Austin, Texas’ annual Levitation Festival returns April 26-29, 2018.

The flagship Levitation festival (the others are in Chicago, Vancouver, British Columbia, and Angers, France) was cancelled this year after the organizers, the Reverb Appreciation Society, took a heavy loss due to the 2016 Austin festival being cancelled due to storms and flooding.  Make up shows were quickly scheduled, but many attendees got shut out of those thanks to ruthless ticket scalpers.  The RAS bounced back a bit this year with their Angers festival, but fans hoped the Chicago, Austin, and Vancouver shows would return soon.

There’s no word on the Chicago festival (which is usually the first of the four and held in early spring), but the announcement of the Austin festival’s return is great news and a good omen for the other Levitation shows.

Tickets for Austin aren’t on sale yet, but don’t wait too long to score them.  The demand will be greater than normal.  See you there.

Keep your mind open.

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