We decided to end Levitation 2024 with a lot of metal.
My girlfriend slept and relaxed during the day, while I went to End of an Ear Records (where Drop Nineteens were doing a signing) and scored some fun CD compilations of everything from Italian late 1970s disco to classic British punk.
We were famished by late afternoon, and I realized that my girlfriend hadn’t yet experienced Stubb’s for their food, so it was an easy decision to go there. She fell in love with their Serrano cheese spinach.
I was surprised that the show that night, featuring Gran Moreno, The Well, Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, Pentagram, and The Sword, didn’t sell out right away – especially since it included The Sword reunion set. Lo and behold, it did sell out before day four arrived and the crowd was massive.
There’s about another third of this crowd behind us in this photograph. The turnout was wild. I hadn’t been around that many metal fans since probably Psycho Las Vegas in 2020. The line to buy The Sword’s merch was over an hour long for some people, and people were dropping money like mad. Metal fans always bring cash to spend.
We missed the first part of Gran Moreno’s set, but what we heard was a lot of heavy Latino garage rock from the duo. Up next were local doom darlings The Well, who crushed it as always and teased their upcoming album with “Christmas Lights.” The night crept in during their set, which was appropriate for their material.
Up next were another Austin trio, Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, or, as I saw them listed on a fan’s shirt, “Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Whatever the Fuck.” The mosh pit for their show of what I call “goofy metal” (I mean, they have a song called “Peanut Butter Snack Stix,” after all – which they played.) was insane. Their drummer is impressive, laying down thunderous stuff. They also teased new material coming soon.
Metal legends Pentagram showed they still have chops and commanded the stage with wizard-like power. The gray hair and beards only seemed to be lightning erupting from their bodies.
The crowd was at full capacity by the time The Sword hit the stage, and everyone was singing / yelling “Barael’s Blade” with them for the opener. “Cloak of Feathers” was a welcome addition, as was “The Hidden Masters.” Crowd surfers were abundant and everyone was going bonkers for most of their set.
It was a heroic return for them, as big as some of the epic tales they spin on their albums. “I didn’t know there were so many different kinds of metal,” my girlfriend said.
It was another fun year in Austin. The vibe was, as always, great, and the people were all lovely.
On Day Three, at the Hotel Vegas “Levitation Lounge,” I chatted with a father, Eric, and his son, Charlie from Minneapolis. Charlie had convinced Eric to come with him for the festival, and Eric was surprised to discover “This is all my music.” He was stunned at the sounds he was hearing, and loved how “You tell people you’re here for this festival, and they don’t know what you’re talking about. I love that. It’s like they don’t know it’s going on.”
Levitation still, somehow, feels like a secret even though it brings in some of the best bands in the world. “The level of musicianship here is amazing,” my girlfriend said after experiencing the festival for the first time.
It’s true. It’s always true.
See you next year, Austin.
Keep your mind open.
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