Austin Sound

The second round of performers for this year’s Fourth Annual Austin Psych Fest, curated by the Black Angels, has been announced, and it’s hard to argue with any Psych Fest bill that tops itself with Roky Erickson. The Angels and Erickson of course have some history together, so hopefully we’ll even get to see some of that action from Night of the Vampire come alive. The Fest this year is both moving shop, and benefiting from some better timing, taking place over the three days of April 29 through March 1 at the East Side Drive In. Among the other new additions announced that we’re excited about are Young Prisms, Black Hollies, and Lower Heaven, and this is on top of the initial round that included Black Moth Super Rainbow, Atlas Sound, Sleepy Sun, and so much other good stuff. Check out the lineup as it now stands below, or visit the Psych Fest website at your seizured risk.

What, you thought we forgot? How could we forget the Austin Psych Fest. Now entering its third year, the Black Angles’ little psych shindig is a three day trip that this year will take place at the Mohawk. It kicks off tonight at 7:30pm and keeps rolling through Saturday and Sunday. The lineup this year is pretty phenomenal, and we’re going to direct you to the Austinist’s fantastic preview coverage that has been going on for several weeks, partly because we’re lazy, but mostly because it really is fantastic. If you didn’t purchase the three day passes when they were announced, you can still pick up tickets to each night for $18 a night, or $20 if you’re a minor. The lineup is below, and is pure wickedness. But if you want to start blowing your mind early, just stare at this poster for ten minutes. It should come with a disclaimer!

Before we get to drunk on SXSW action, keep in mind you’ll need to save some brain cells to kill during the Austin Psych Fest next month. The now-annual reverb rendezvous will be happening this year at the Mohawk over the three days of April 24 - 26. Three day passes are on sale now for $45 (drugs and rolling papers not included) and you can pick those up here. So what do you get for that $15/day price? Well, the Black Angels, of course, but also the Raveonettes, Warpaint, Pink Mountaintops, Spindrift, and YaHoWa 13, just to get you started. Not a bad initial roll out! There are about 20 bands listed right now, with more to be announced soon, though hopefully not till the SXSW madness subsides. Check out http://www.austinpsychfest.com for more info and updates.

Man, remember 2009? Those were crazy days. All the drugs. All the music. All the PSYCH, man! And the Radio Room, remember that place? Austin has changed, man. It’s all condos and yuppies now. A place like the Radio Room could never exist downtown today, you know man? Back then, Sky Saxon could be a crazy shaman dude and it was cool. He’d be so disappointed with what this city has become today. If only we go back to when Austin was exciting. Now the lawyers are trying to kill the scene, and stuff, man. We don’t even want to go out anymore. Thankfully we don’t have to because we can stay at home and relive those halcyon days back in 2009 when psych ruled the city, with the new DVD release of Austin Psych Fest 2. For the release party tomorrow night at the Mohawk, a stunning reunion has been assembled of some of Austin’s best Psych bands from that golden era of the ’00s. The legendary Black Angels have curated the event themselves, and it will include that obscure BA side project that has been all but lost to history, the Viet Minh, along with period local mainstays Horse + Donkey, Shapes Have Fangs, and the Ghost Songs. They’re going to be screening the film at 8:00pm, so prepare for some crippling nostalgia with footage from that legendary era and Psych Fest, as well as an additional 20 minute documentary on Sky Saxon. We might cry tomorrow night for those lost glorious days of ‘09. Check out the trailer below:

Oh lord, it’s like the Sixties all over again! What started out as friendly and fun and awesome has now turned bitter. Bring in the lawyers! Two years ago, the Black Angels and Live Music Capitol started up the Austin Psych Fest the weekend before SXSW, held up on Burnet Road at the Red Barn. Last year, it expanded to 3 days and took place down on Sixth Street at the Radio Room (what’s up with that place, btw? We were promised a new venue!). But today the Chronicle reports that Adam Demetri of the events company Live Music Capitol is suing the Black Angels over the name. Um, wtf guys? Really? First of all - yeah, suing a band is always a worthwhile endeavor, and second, it’s not like this is ACL or even Fun Fun Fun Fest for that matter. It’s just a damn party! Everybody chill out. The really hilarious part of all this, though, is that as the Black Angels prepare for Austin Psych Fest 3 next April, Demetri is booking another version of the event around the same time that he’s calling the “Official Psych Fest,” and dropping hints that he’s going to pull the Doors’ Robby Krieger as a headliner. So, it looks like we might have a Psych Fest face-off after SXSW. We’re not sure if we can handle that much acid, but if the Black Angels’ goal was to return Austin to it’s Sixties Psych peak, we guess this is one way to do it.

This year’s second annual Psych Fest put on by the Black Angels expanded to three full days, which needless to say is more droning and distortion than just about anyone can take. We pushed ourselves to limit and took in as much as we could at the not-really-opened for business Radio Room. Friday’s opening night offered an appropriate dose, with Low Heaven delivering a moody and melodic tone that was just as likely to crash into a wall of sound. It bookended well with the Black Angels closing set, which was one of the best and most energetic sets they’ve served up, with new material that promises to jump beyond Directions to See a Ghost. Most interesting for Friday night’s lineup was the Golden Dawn performing Power Plant in its entirety. While George Kinney and company couldn’t be accused of delivering the best performance of the weekend, they did remind that psychedelia is supposed to be fun, and Kinney’s dancing and crooning was a blast. For the rest of the weekend, we sent Evan St. John into the madness to cover the afternoons, and pics from the evening shows.

In case you didn’t notice the comment put up on our original post about the Black Angels’ second annual Psych Fest, which expands consciousness into a three day event this year, some of the bands have been announced. We might just be looking more forward to this than SXSW! You can check out the full list of confirmed acts and other details below, but the highlight will likely be Austin psych pioneers the Golden Dawn performing the whole of their 1968 album Power Plant. Tickets go on sale this Friday, February 13, and are $45 for the entire weekend or only $15 for one day.

Last year, the Black Angels revived the Spirit of the Vulcan Gas Company and Austin’s Sixties psychedelic past with their Psych Fest held out the Red Barn on Burnet. It was one hell of an event, and we’ve been looking forward to a second installment ever since! Well, word has finally leaked out that this year’s Psych Fest will be a whopping 3 day event, to be held just before SXSW on March 13-15. With so many great bands coming to town for our annual indie bludgeoning, we expect this to be an amazing weekend and just hope we survive to make it to SXSW! The lineup and more details will be coming soon, but we’re hoping that given their recent tour backing Roky Erickson and project to record some his material, that the 13th Floor Elevator himself might be unleashing his unholy growl on the scene. We’ll keep you posted.

This weekend, the Black Angels headline the first Austin Psych Fest at the Red Barn, and event that frontman Christian Bland has long wanted to organize. Since the release of Passover in 2006, the sextet have become the premier representatives of Austin’s resurgent psych scene, which includes many of the bands lined up for Saturday’s fest like Ringo Deathstarr, Horse + Donkey, and the Strange Boys. The Fest also serves as the christening for the new venue/art space, the Red Barn, which we expect will become the center of many more fantastic events to come. Also on the horizon for the Black Angels is their new album, Directions to See a Ghosts, due out in May on the awesome Seattle imprint Light in the Attic. We spoke with Bland about the Fest, the new album, and exactly what the relationship is between the Viet Minh and Black Angels.

This is gonna be a big one that you don’t want to miss. This Saturday, March 8, the Black Angels present the first Austin Psych Fest. As we noted in the intro to our Sound Advice Vol II Compilation, Austin’s psych scene is experiencing a rejuvenation, in no small part due to the return of it’s pioneer, Roky Erickson. No band embodies the spirit of the 13th Floor Elevators more than the Black Angels, and they’ve gathered some friends to help, shall we say, expand your consciousness.