By Olivia Turner | Arts & Life Editor
Humidity hung heavy in the air this past weekend at The Far Out Lounge in South Austin. Austin Psych Fest, the city’s annual psychedelic music event, drew thousands, their bodies packed together in front of stages featuring psych rock, indie rock and experimental pop bands from all over the world.
Alternating between the Willie and Janis stages on nights one and two of the festival, here is a recap of the live music sets we attended.
Friday, April 25
1. Kadavar
The sun was still out, though overcast, when Kadavar began their set on the small Janis Stage.
“Are you ready to rock and roll?” guitarist and vocalist Christoph “Lupus” Lindemann asked the crowd before the rest of the band — drummer Christoph “Tiger” Bartelt, guitarist Simon “Dragon” Bouteloup and guitarist Jascha Kreft — broke into stoner rock bliss.
The endurance of Kadavar’s set was marked with a red glow from the spotlights above. In the back, static-y, swirling visuals emitted from a screen. Leafy potted plants lined the front of the stage, forcing photographers in the pit to poke their cameras through leaves to get the perfect shot of the four headbanging band members.
The crowd mimicked the band’s erratic movements — jumping around and throwing their heads back and forth to songs on the setlist like “Die Baby Die” and “I Just Want To Be A Sound.” Some songs, Linemann and Bouteloup made their way to the front of the stage to stand on the speakers, leaning, spasming and swinging their guitars out into the crowd practically within reach of the front row. Other songs, they had faceoffs, putting their entire bodies into shredding their shrieking guitars.
2. Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Two white, translucent screens lined each side of the Willie Stage as instrumental band Godspeed You! Black Emperor walked on. As dusk set in, the set was almost as dark as the crowd, illuminated only by faint stage lights. They led with no introduction, their movements practically indecipherable as the bass bellowed with occasional cries of a violin woven in.
Abstract, flickering visuals projected onto the screen behind the group, silhouetting their forms against videos of cityscapes, maps, rivers, hills and valleys, the sun making its course through the sky and yellowed pages of Victorian-style instructions. Here and there, puffs of smoke floated up from the crowd into the clear night sky. Lighters flickered like fireflies, illuminating faces.
As the bass droned on, two drumsets built from a gentle rhythm to a crashing clamor. Guitars joined in the chaotic symphony to create a live music experience that felt more like a journey than a series of songs.
3. The Octopus Project
Lime-green light flooded the set of The Octopus Project, an experimental art pop band native to Austin. The set started with Yvonne Lambert on keys and the mic, Josh Lambert on guitar and Toto Miranda on drums.
Halfway through, an audience member fully encapsulated in a stretchy, green alien suit attempted to crowd surf by jumping from the photo pit, ultimately taking down some photographers with him.
The color and whimsy of this band showed through their intense, trippy effects backlighting their jam sesh. What’s unique about The Octopus Project is their versatility. Practically every song ended in the entire band switching around who was playing what instrument. Each member migrated from the drums to the guitar to the keys. And my, do they play! Josh, on drums at the time, announced he had broken a snare after one of the songs.
Yvonne also demonstrated her skill in playing the theremin, an electronic musical instrument which uses an electromagnetic field to create sound.
4. Explosions in the Sky
Heavy, somber, ethereal and otherworldly are just a few words to describe the experience that was Explosions in the Sky’s set.
“For 26 years we’ve been keeping each other’s company,” said guitarist Mark Smith before the first song. “We are very grateful for every time you come out, so thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Fog made red by the stage lights flooded the set as if the stage were on fire. All the while, the band churned out guitar-heavy, soundtrack-worthy songs, throwing their bodies front and back as if the weight of the music was moving them.
Saturday, April 26
1. Geordie Greep
Experimental rock artist Geordie Greep (and his band) brought nutty lyrics and phenomenal energy to his Saturday set at Austin Psych fest.
Despite the humid, sticky circumstances, Greep was dressed to the nines in a suit. Surrounding him was the rest of the band on keys, chimes, pink and blue guitars, maracas and drums. Particularly, the congas player could be seen dancing and salsaing as he played.
For some songs, Greep would turn to his band and initiate minutes-long jam sessions. To this, the crowd would nod their heads, sway side to side and twist back and forth.
All in all, it made for a performance with a whole lot of depth and texture.
2. Dummy
Golden hour was setting in as Dummy stepped on to do their soundcheck at the Janis stage. The moody Los Angeles indie band played warbling, alien-like sound effects mixed with addictive rhythms and beats, all which would build up to an long-winded shoegaze climax of droning guitar and relentless drums.
On the keys and mic was Emma Maatman, who sang hauntingly with her long, brown hair swinging over the board as she headbanged her way through songs.
Listening to Dummy live was both stirring and strangely calming depending on what part of the song was playing at the moment.
3. STRFKR
STRFKR’s performance was above all else colorful. Their set employed golden-hooded masked backup dancers, astronauts, rotating flower-shaped lights, rainbow confetti which came out in bursts during the slam of the drums and lead singer Joshua Hodges in a pink bob wig.
On this musical side of things, they projected climbing and falling bass chords, a steady beat from the drums and reaching, falsetto vocals from Hodges. Among some of their hits like “Together Forever,” “Bury Us Alive” and “While I’m Alive,” the band also played their rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”
In my book, this band was the most playful by far.
4. SASAMI
Of all the sets we saw on Saturday, SASAMI’s was undoubtedly the most electrifying and interactional.
The Los Angeles singer incited energy in the crowd upon arrival. After her first song, she egged on a mosh pit, made jokes and chatted with the audience.
During metal-ish songs, her white, lacy fingerless gloves strummed her electric guitar as her red vinyl boots traipsed around the stage, holding the mic up to her bandmate’s instruments during solos. When she wasn’t strumming, she was striking pose after pose and hitting move after move all while vocalizing, proving she’s not just a singer — she’s a performer, too.
Toward the end of her set, she whipped out a French horn, joking about her former life as a band kid and asking the crowd if there were any band kids present. She went on to play a hauntingly beautiful interlude which led into “Nothing But A Sad Face On.”
5. Kim Gordon
The crowd roared as Kim Gordon, punk rock artist and former Sonic Youth member, took the stage in her sparkly fishnets, briefs and T-shirt which read “GULF OF MEXICO.”
Her set featured music which ranged from slow and grungy to blaring and intense. She and the band performed favorites like “I’m A Man” and “Don’t Play It” for the ballistic crowd spanning across the lot.
The songs included distorted audio samples, raging drums and lyrics that she spoke and shouted more than she sang. Gordon even used autotune to spice up some of her later songs in the set.
6. Wombo
A sharp contrast to the fire and grit of Sasami and Kim Gordon, Wombo brought the relaxed, chill vibes to the festival.
Bassist and vocalist Sydney Chadwick charmed the crowd with her soft, falsetto voice dominating bass while her band projected memorable guitar riffs and drums. As they played, green stage lights illumined their faces, making the set all the more entrancing.
7. Darkside
A variety of unique and unexpected sounds crept their way into the set of Darkside, an experimental electronic group. Gospel-esque keys, high-pitched beeps, booming kettle drums and sound effects that mimicked that of a laser gun projected into the night as the stage glowed golden.
Visually, this set was heavy on the fog and utilized the front floodlights which beamed up and down over the crowd. Bright white lights flickered across the stage like lightning.
Each song eased into the next with seamless transitions, adding another instrument, sound effect or element with every few measures. Darkside was truly a transcendental experience and a momentous set to end the night.
