Over the past few years, no Halloween weekend in Austin is complete without the sights and sounds of Levitation – a multi-venue celebration of psychedelic music and the adjacent sounds of industrial, metal, ambient, and more. Beginning on Thursday, October 31st, and running through Sunday, November 3rd, this year’s edition featured a nightly residency by Oh Sees, a rare sighting of the ‘70s doom legends Pentagram, and an autumn sound bath by Tycho. Each performance at the event was brought to life with meticulously curated light shows spanning from ‘60s-era liquid light projections to Studio 54-era disco balls to modern LED strobes and floods. One would be hard-pressed to find another music festival so dedicated to psychedelia’s audio and material culture that also immerses concert-goers into a truly elevated experience.
In Levitation’s choose-your-own-adventure format, performances are scheduled simultaneously at venues on Red River, East 6th Street, and the Far Out Lounge in South Austin with some ending in time for attendees to rush over to another and catch a later show. Prepared concertgoers poured over the calendar to make the hard decision of who they will see and who they will have to miss. To kick off the event on Halloween night, The Black Angels headlined Stubb’s, one of the largest stages at the fest while Oh Sees began day one of their residency at the modest east side confines of Hotel Vegas.
Costumed revelers were greeted by a perfume blend of oak, hickory, and THC smoke as they descended the gravel slope of the Stubb’s entrance during magic hour to see an international showcase capped off by festival founders, the Black Angels – Austin’s preeminent psych-rock band who have made Austin a pilgrimage for like-minded enthusiasts.
The warm fuzz of a Moog synthesizer welcomed the early evening crowd as the Brazilian quartet, Boogarins, returned to Austin – a local favorite since they began coming to town for SXSW. The Boogarins build up luscious and galloping tropical soundscapes, like in the song “Tempo” from the 2015 album Manual, with ghostly vocals and enough tension to keep the crowd entranced before crashing down with their heavier sounds. In the middle of their set, they introduced songs from a new album coming out in November that veers into more dreamy synth-driven qualities echoing the sensibilities of contemporary Australian psych bands such as Pond.
As night descended on Stubb’s, the projected liquid light danced across the stage’s pointed canopy with blobs of magenta and teal swirling overhead as Mdou Moctar, the Niger-based songwriter and guitarist, and his band took the stage. Pulsing synths washed over the crowd while each band member took their position wearing turbans and robes. Inspired by Tuareg guitar music, the lanky 38-year-old lefty exuded a Hendrix-like combination of virtuosity and stage presence as he kicked out rhythmic and pumping jams such as “Chismiten” from the 2021 album Afrique Victime. Mdou Moctar demanded crowd engagement throughout the set, getting revelers to put their hands in the air and join along with rhythmic clapping. The openers of Thursday’s showcase underscored the international enthusiasm for contemporary psychedelic rock that continues to grow and evolve.
Massive Attack’s “Angel” blasted from the house speakers while the familiar black and white Black Angels projected logo swirled on the canopy above a growing crowd of festivalgoers anticipating the headliners for the evening. Dressed in all black except for the festive orange socks worn by guitarist Christian Bland, The Black Angels took the stage to bring to life one of their iconic albums. Kicking off with “Bad Vibrations”, the first track of the album Phosphene Dream (QRO review), the band played each track off their 2010 record in sequence before dipping into a trio of songs from their 2006 debut release Passover. The band’s signature reverb, note bending, and sound layering had a distinctive Middle Eastern vibe that blended well with the global lineup. Seeing guitar virtuoso Christian Bland twist and writhe as he closed out their set with the crate digger song “Molly Moves My Generation”, made many a vinyl lover’s day and set the tone for the weekend ahead.
Late nights at Levitation were reserved for smaller venues across the Red River corridor, that was the case on opening night where goth/industrial club Elysium hosted a rare Austin appearance from ‘80s industrial pioneer Nitzer Ebb. In front of a capacity crowd of costumed fans, founding member of Nitzer Ebb Bon Harris was joined by a female percussionist while the duo progressed through decades of dark and moody material. Drawing heavily from their 1989 album Belief and That Total Age from 1987, Harris brought the sexy with his twisted and gyrating dance moves as he pranced across the stage joined by dedicated fans to songs such as “Captivate”, while they pounded their fists in the air. The pairing of these performers with this macabre venue demonstrated the quality boutique festival curation that is a hallmark of Levitation.
Seeing California-based quintet Oh Sees sell out nearly all four nights at the East Austin venue Hotel Vegas during Levitation was a testament to the Reverberation Society’s impact in building a solid contemporary psych-rock fanbase in the local community, along with selecting a big draw for traveling festivalgoers. Hotel Vegas is one of the local homes for up and coming and established indie rockers throughout the year especially during their annual Spring Break Boogie parties at SXSW music fest. The venerable back yard of Hotel Vegas recently received a facelift in time for Levitation 2024 with new lights and a carpet of Astroturf that reduces the choking clouds of dust that Austin produces after its extremely hot and dry summers.
Presented by local radio station KUTX, an especially muggy Friday night of Levitation 2024 was reserved for a split bill featuring West Coast performers Oh Sees and Death Valley Girls. Fronted by vocalist and keyboardist Bonnie Bloomgarden, the surf psych pop band Death Valley Girls has grown to a septet after their formation over ten years ago and features three back-up singers and a saxophonist, giving the band a 1960s girl group vibe. Sporting an alien vibe with bright colored fishnets, Bloomgarden led the band in the chant “Clear my mind, my heart, my body, and fill me with your will” before kicking the set off with “Abre Camino” from the 2018 album Darkness Rains, a noisy and building tune with a ghoulish Halloween vibe. The bouncing forty-minute set included newer spooky songs such as “Magic Powers” from their last year’s record of the same name, and closed out with a closing chant before ending with the eerie vocal and saxophone-laden soundscape of “Hypnagogia” from the 2020’s Under the Spell of Joy.
Between sets, the crowd on Friday night at Hotel Vegas began to swell and concertgoers were pushed to the edge of the stage where the Oh Sees’ dueling drum kits were assembled. Veterans of Oh Sees shows were well aware that the nursery rhymes piped through the PA were the calm before the storm as the band led by dynamic guitarist and singer John Dwyer began taking their places. Explosive fan favorites “I Come From the Mountain” from the 2013 album Floating Coffin, followed by “The Dream” from 2011’s Clarion Caller/The Dream kicked off the set, and anyone within ten feet of the stage tumbled like laundry as a pair of unruly fans dressed as nuns shot into the mosh pit inciting one of the most raucous sets of the weekend.
Performing a second night in a row after Halloween and during an unseasonably humid evening seemed to take its toll on Dwyer, with ten gallon bags under his eyes and dripping sweat as he kicked his heels and lunged across the stage throughout the night. At the tail end of the performance during the trance-like drumming in the 2011 song “Chem-Farmer”, a dehydrated but not defeated Dwyer unplugged his guitar, hopped off the stage, returned with four beers, and then slammed one before ripping of his tank top and wringing out what seemed to be a pint of sweat before returning to his guitar. Leaving sweaty and bruised at an Oh Sees show is a badge of honor for the psych-rockers growing fan base.
The Far Out Lounge has served as a South Austin satellite space for Levitation and the local psych rock scene since 2019. The large outdoor location is notable for their storied musical history; Janis Joplin once performed there and Willie Nelson shot a music video there. Willie and Janis are also the names given to the venue’s two stages, Janis being the smaller of the two. On Saturday evening, the oppressive heat and humidity that lingered into November came to a welcomed end when a fast moving thunderstorm blew through parts of the city, mellowing the plumes of dust that swirled around the rocky grounds.
Rain quickly came and went during Arushi Jain’s performance at the Janis stage, an intimate graffiti-adorned space on one end of the grounds. Born in Delhi and based in Brooklyn, Jain builds up ethereal songs with her voice and synthesizers that are minimal and meditative, matching the dramatic weather as the parting dark clouds revealed a dazzling sunset. Jain’s unique soundscapes combine modular synthesis and digital manipulation with Hindustani classical music creating an immersive environment of ambient sound which is exemplified nicely in this year’s Delight. Her elevated compositions were performed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in August and served as a welcomed palate cleanser after a beer soaked evening in the mosh pit at the Oh Sees.
Washed Out was saved from being literally washed out of Saturday’s performance at the Willie Stage, only starting 15 minutes after their intended 7:15 pm time slot. The chillwave band is known popularly for providing the theme song for Portlandia, a satirical comedy show about woke cities like Austin, and was a big enough act to draw a substantial crowd eight miles from the center of festival activity in the Red River Cultural District. Washed Out, the Ernest Weatherly Greene Jr. project, has been touring extensively in support of this year’s Notes from a Quiet Life (QRO review). Building up from a single note, Greene emerged on the stage flanked by two droopy mesh projection screens before the beat kicked in on the song “Waking Up”, the first track on the new album. As the set progressed into “All I Know” from 2013’s Paracosm (QRO review), the rectangular screens at the rear of the stage parted revealing members of the touring band surrounded by billowing black and white projections of figures, mouths, and eyes. The vibe was noticeably delicate and dancier than the festival’s earlier performances and provided the perfect soundtrack for the amateur mycologists at the fest.
After Washed Out’s hour-long set, the crowd dispersed to chat with friends, grab a free can of Guayaki Yerba Matte, or saunter over to the Janis Stage to catch Brijean, featuring the San Francisco Bay Area multi-instrumentalist Brijean Murphy on congas and multi-instrumentalist producer and collaborator Doug Stuart on bass guitar. The stage took a new dimension after dark, bathing the side of the festival in liquid light projections. While not as well-known as some of the other acts on the festival lineup, there was a certain familiarity to their songs. Doing more research revealed that Murphy’s catchy tropical dance rhythms are featured in collaborations with Poolside and another Bay Area chillwave artist Toro Y Moi. Murphy’s placement on the lineup as a bridge between Washed Out and Tycho sets was superb and was a pleasant new discovery of the weekend for those who like their dance music on the groovier side.
Over at the Willie Stage, Tycho, the project of San Francisco musician and songwriter Scott Hansen, closed out the evening as spotlights shot diffused lights off a giant disco ball overhead. Kicking off with “Phantom”, a futuristic new drippy and poppy song off of this year’s Infinite Health (QRO review), Tycho settled in and delivered over a dozen songs that leaned on the new album, as well as Awake from 2014 and Epoch from 2016. Tycho’s synth and guitar driven musical soundscapes are reminiscent of low-budget ‘80s movie soundtracks and were brought to life with colorful abstract projections of sunsets in saturated orange and magenta hues. The lighting and projections at the Willie stage were perhaps the most sublime and well executed of the entire festival and rewarded those making the trip to South Austin.
Daylight Savings on Saturday night gave the bruised and battered festivalgoers an extra hour of recovery on Sunday before heading out for the fourth and final evening of shows. Sunday’s primetime slots pitted shoegaze versus metal with English band Slowdive at the Far Out Lounge and Austin’s The Sword holding court at Stubb’s on Red River. Given it was the Sabbath, the QRO Mag team decided to attend the “Church of Drop D Tuning” for a stacked lineup showcasing the metal artistry of the past and today.
A smattering of janky Halloween costumes in a field of black concert tees greeted attendees as they entered the gates of Stubb’s. With the sun setting earlier in the day, the lights and projections were more prominent as they saturated the stage and crowd as Austin-based band The Well took the stage for their 5:30 pm slot. Self-described as a heavy psych-rock/proto-metal power trio, The Well has built a growing cult following since its founding in 2012. With doom riffs and key progressions galore, the band set the tone for the evening by kicking out signature tunes such as “Mortal Bones” from the 2014 album Samsara and the aptly named “Sabbath” from 2019’s Death and Consolation.
Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol kept the heaviness going as they took the stage at 6:24 pm. The Austin band’s star has been rising lately, securing an early spot during weekend 2 at the prestigious Austin City Limits Festival just a few weeks before (QRO recap). The shaggy power trio of Leo Lydon on vocals/guitar, Sean St. Germain on drums, and Aaron Metzdorf on bass/backing vocals emerged in a sea of swooshing vertiginous projected lights and had the presence of a band twice their size. The highlight of their set had to be the heavy tune “Body Bag” from this year’s Big Dumb Riffs, when the band was bathed in a flood of blood-colored liquid lights that bubbled and swirled like something you would see when looking at a crimson specimen under a microscope.
The walls of the BBQ venue felt like they were closing in on themselves around the 7 o’clock hour as an estimated crowd of 2,500 began filling up the sold-out show. Nearing 8 pm when the crowd reached peak capacity, doom metal pioneers Pentagram took the stage. The band has had over two dozen members since its early days as an underground metal group in the 1970s, but the constant has been the vocals of sole founding member, Bobby Liebling, who hails from Northern Virginia with a plume of white fright wig-looking hair. Between the 1970s tune “Forever My Queen” and the more recognizable 1980s hit “Sing of The Wolf (Pentagram)”, Liebling recalled the nightmare he had the previous evening that foretold the joint nightmare the United States would wake up to a few days later on November 6th.
As the evening progressed, an obscenely long merch line snaked around the back of the venue and nearly into one of the porta-potties in the far back. After seeing the new Sword screen-printed tees, it was no surprise late arrivals began queueing up immediately for sick 80s-style graphics akin to Conan the Barbarian and similar medieval video game packaging from the era. Again, the celebration of material culture in the form of tees, posters, and vinyl combined with the play between the visuals and music make this a truly unique festival.
Being an Austin-based band performing in front of a sea of diehard fans makes The Sword oddly approachable. For example, lead guitarist Kyle Shutt was spotted casually walking around the crowd before their 9 pm set. This set was the first show that The Sword has played since breaking up in October 2022, explaining the high demand for tickets and tees and they delivered a fiery set. Taking the stage to a recording of the 1976 song “The Boys Are Back In Town” by Thin Lizzy, The Sword, fronted by vocalist and guitarist John D. Cronise, progressed through nearly 20 sludgy metal songs sourced from their vault of seven albums. Anchored by solid doom offerings such as “Freya” from 2006’s Age of Winters and fan-favorite “Cloak of Feathers” off of 2012’s Apocryphon (QRO review), one was hard-pressed to find a person not headbanging or in a power stance playing along via air guitar. The Sword’s set was one for the ages and put a big old fat exclamation point on the festival and weekend. Welcome back, boys!
-words: Alex Freeman
-photos: Juan Carlos Ferrer
