ATH @ Austin Psych Fest’s Levitation 2015

Time to reflect on Levitation 2015. I liked the name change away from Austin Psych Fest when it was announced as there are several bands that that may meander towards that genre, fans of the genre may love, but just aren’t “Psych” bands. I hope they continue to expand the diversity of the lineup. With that, let’s talk about this year and then you can gander a whole mess of photos taken at the fest.

First of all, congrats to the APF team for just keeping things together. Heavy rains leading up the event on the already tired grounds from hosting several smaller fests meant moving the main stage clear across the field to the far side of Carson Creek Ranch, moving the entire amphitheater stage up and away from the swollen river banks and getting new territory for camping prepped. The amount of mulch dropped to prevent mud-related tragedies will likely prohibit grass from growing in several patches of the big field and they will likely need to do a ton of rehab before their next event. So many stranded shoes and other items lost to the mud gods First night tales of parking lot traffic jams, some friends stuck for an hour and half, lessened the following nights; no excuses for next year, be ready.

brian.gray – My winners for the fest: Mini Mansions, Vaadat Chagirim, Creepoid, Ryley Walker, The GOASTT. Mini Mansions is one of the bands that flirts with Psych, they are more of a 60’s era pop band. They brought the most energy for a set front to back and quite frankly, won the festival away from the big names. Vaadat had a pretty strong following in the tent and the band fed off that energy. There was a confidence to the set, hard to describe, just a powerful presence. Creepoid, with the charismatic Anna on bass, put down a strong set. Philly represented well, big sound, great set at an earlier timeslot proving you need to get out to the groudns earlier, people. Ryley Walker was the most musical. Gorgeous instruments played by skilled musicians, this was the set where I missed the setting of the river-side amphitheater the most. The GOASTT afforded me an opportunity to get close to Beatle DNA. Sean Lennon fronts this collective and while I went into the pit to get photos of him, I left the pit with a new appreciation for his musicianship and quite impressed. I dug it.

nathan.lankford – I’m so tired of festivals, but that being said, I rather enjoyed my time at Levitation…all weather (which wasn’t that bad!) permitting.  The APF folks did a great job of stretching the boundaries of what was once “Psych” Fest, making the experience even more enjoyable.  I’ll give a quick rundown of my favorite acts…and let Brian’s photos do the talking.  DIIV played exceptionally well, and I almost forgot just how many great songs their first LP had, though they furthered my adoration by adding some new songs to the mix.  I thought Soft Moon got points for drawing a crowd against Spiritualized (who sounded great but seemed all too dull for my tastes). It seems like this line-up is one that works well with the band’s sound, leaving them as a standout in my book. When looking at the line-up, Ex Cult might have stood out to many as one of the more “punk” bands on the list, and they absolutely killed it. Honestly, my favorite set of the weekend, hands down…energy, noise, rock. Nothing would be my second favorite too, bringing in that poppy shoegaze sound surrounded by the perfect wall of noise. I was pleasantly surprised by the old guard too.  Both Primal Scream and JAMC performed well and fulfilled many a festival-goers dreams; it’s good to see some old school bands belong on the stage, while some don’t (I’m looking at you Gang of Four!). While I’m thankful that I got to see so many bands in a short span of time, I couldn’t help but seeing the downfall of festivals, as several of the acts I was most excited to catch didn’t fulfill my expectations, namely Black Ryder.  All in all, I left with a great deal of respect for the organizers…but still missed my stage down by the river.

nicole.baumann – Yea, there was a lot of mud and muck at the festival, but that didn’t really seem to matter once the music started and rain boots were donned. Friday’s best of for me had to be The Holydrug Couple and DIIV, both of which killed their sets. I went into DIIV’s set having very little knowledge of the band and their music, but was then wowed by their lush and enticing new-wavey psych tunes, of which they played a mix of new and old. The Holydrug Couple was one of my most anticipated acts of the weekend, and they failed to disappoint: the crowd was swept up in their funky dream-esque tunes, and the band fed off the positive feedback for a great time. Saturday’s shout outs go to The Black Ryder and Jesus and Mary Chain. The Black Ryder’s set was a magical one for me: the lights in the Levitation Tent were spectacular, coating the band in color and enhancing their already enrapturing sound tenfold. When they played “Let Me Be Your Light,” a hit from their most recent LP, you could say I was swooning. Jesus and Mary Chain were every bit as amazing as I’d hoped they’d be; age didn’t really seem to be a factor and they were well worth the 1.5 hours it took me to leave the Ranch for not leaving a headliner early. Sunday’s best were Mac Daddy Demarco and Chelsea Wolfe. If you’ve never been in attendance for the joy of a Mac Demarco set, please change that immediately. Mac and company were in full fledged hilarity and fun, with their hour long set having the whole crowd grinning from ear to ear; they were relaxed and zany as always, cracking jokes and playing the favorites and then the non favorites, including an impromptu “Yellow” from Coldplay while Mac fixed a broken string and later on a few choruses from “Reelin’ In The Years” which the whole band was laughing through, as though astonished they were pulling it off. Chelsea Wolfe was the queen of darkness, and her loud metal folk set rounded things out nicely for the festival. And lastly, a special shout out goes to the best grilled cheese I’ve ever had (Waylon & Willie) from Burro Cheese Company and to every messed up person who I had a conversation with.

rayray – To begin with, I think it’s important to recognize all festival promoters, staff members, and representing PR company Giant Noise. No one could have predicted the nasty weather we were hit with during the week leading up to the festival and even a little during the festival itself. Despite the crappy weather, everything was done as beautifully as it could have been. Sure it was a little muddy, but I think things went off without any major hitches and all staff were super friendly and helpful. Well done everyone. As far as highlights go, I rather enjoyed Mini Mansions, Soft Moon, locals Hundred Visions, and fellow locals White Fence were all impressive. Honestly, I felt like this weekend was all about the locals showing off how great our music scene is here in Austin. Locals on the bigger stages didn’t seemed phased by the huge crowds and kicked some serious ass. Proud to say I’m from here. Also enjoyed the various food selections which was a welcome upgrade from years past. A hats off as well to whoever decided to move the River stage due to some flooding. The visuals and light show at night was truly a thing of beauty. My only minor letdown from the weekend was the set by Spiritualized. I know pierce’s thing is to be kind of nonchalant and melancholy, but it came across as a lack of interest in playing the show. Other than that, good music put on by some good people. Sign me up next year.