Austin’s own Black Angels hosted their 2nd edition of Psych Fest this past weekend, and as there was still room for a few more bodies, it was by many means a success. Plenty of music for many a music lover, great local eats, $4 Miller High Life, hula hoops for your swinging hips, and plenty of good friends made for an enjoyable weekend @ the newly opened Radio Room.

I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of some of the more traditional styles of psychedelic rock, but when the genre encompasses bands like Dead Meadow and A Place to Bury Strangers, I’m on board for sure.

The hosts of the weekend, The Black Angels closed out a cold wet Friday night, in true modern psych drone rock style, maintaining to keep the vibe intact despite issues with the PA. Issues which seemed to haunt the sound engineers most of the weekend, but failed to put a damper on the audience’s enjoyment of the music offerings. The Black Angels droned through a set that included selections from recorded material as well as glimpse of newer material that I can only hope will see availability some time this year. The band has really found it’s groove, creatively and live on stage, while arguably establishing itself as one of the best rock bands on the scene right now.

Saturday offered up two acts of interest, the first of which was San Francisco’s Wooden Shjips. They dabbled a bit much in what I consider to be the traditional psych rock, but a few songs rocked enough to keep me interested.

I have been spinning the Dead Meadow quite frequently since I caught them for the first time last January, and the live show only confirms the talent that this 3 piece outfit possess. Although the band has been around just over 10 years they are one of my favorite newer discoveries, that I highly recommend to anyone who fans a wonderful modern twist on 70′s hard rock with a slight injection of the psychedelic.

Sunday brought one of the more interesting acts to be included on the bill, Brooklyn’s A Place to Bury Strangers. Self proclaimed loudest band in Brooklyn and deliverers of total sonic annihilation. I caught the band during their last visit here in Austin, and the show was a complete sensory overload complete with throbbing strobe lights, more smoke than a Dead show, and a volume rarely experienced @ a live show these days.  Singer/guitarist Oliver Ackerman lead the trio through a ferocious set once again that attacked the auditory senses slowly working himself into a frenzy that resulted in broken guitar strings while slinging the axe around on stage. Sonic annihilation that was absolutely a grand closure to a great weekend of music.

Festival organizer Alex Maas mentioned that there are definitely plans to continue with this annual event, with a committed effort to continue to build it bigger and better in the future. I’m already planning my wish list for next year.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 7:28 pm and is filed under austin bands, live review, live shots.