Spells were cast and souls enslaved in the battle of the WITCHES at day two of the Austin Psych Fest.
Austin Psych Fest started in 2008 and eventually morphed into Levitation. However, there’s so much great psych and adjacent music that Austin Psych Fest was added in Spring 2023 at my favorite outdoor venue, The Far Out Lounge. So now we have fests in both the Spring and Fall, as it should be.
Three straight days is a bit too much of a commitment for me, but thankfully Saturday was packed to the gills with great bands, most of them Witchy. I was eased in by the delicious kosmische grooves of Japan’s Minami Deutsch. Kind of like Moon Duo, they inspire some neon synesthesia with dancing unicorns eating galaxies and pooping rainbows. No drugs involved! Ghostwoman’s first album just came out in 2022, so it’s early days, but their droney psych went down nicely and I’ll be looking forward to hearing what they do next. Next is the first witch band, L.A.’s Frankie & the Witch Fingers. While they look like they’re just out of college, they’ve actually been at it for over a decade, and have released seven albums. Not as prolific as King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, but they share a similar kind of manic energy of Gizz at their best. The most rockin’ set of the day so far. Also from L.A., Hooveriii also have a pretty big catalog at eight albums, and their set was more lively than what I experienced at SXSW a couple years back.
Next up was Witch, which was really a treat, because I didn’t even know they were active anymore, as they hadn’t released an album in sixteen years. It’s weird to see J. Mascis in the back on the kit, and I don’t know how he had time to do this because he’s also touring his solo album. They sounded great, and my ears perked up when they said they had a couple new tunes, including “Devil’s Night.” Now we’re cookin’! What’s that smell in Witch’s cauldron? I do believe it’s mah brains, and chunks of others as they laid waste to their enemies, witch hats whizzing by like bats. Here’s hoping for a new Witch album in the future.
With apologies to L.A. Witch, I had to miss seeing them because Far Out did away with the in-house food trucks and picnic tables to make room for, uh, a Ford Mustang pop-up dealership. Lame. I don’t go to a rock festival to shop for cars, FFS. If that’s what they need to keep the lights on, do what they gotta do I guess, but spare us the test engine rev-ups, spewing carbon monoxide on us. Anyway, there was a Plaintain Bar food truck with tasty options and picnic tables outside in the parking lot, behind the Janis Joplin stage where L.A. Witch played, so I could kind of hear them. I don’t know what self-respecting witches would admit to being from L.A., but these womyn wear it proudly. Their two garage psych albums are promising, and they’re due for something new, as it’s been four years.
Now we’ve got the big guns. All Them Witches win this occult rumble not just because they literally have all the witches, but they were simply born to play festivals. When I first saw them in teeny tiny bars in 2012-14 (I think three different occasions), they had really great separation and dynamics and juicy bass tones you could lie on like a futon, and I knew they’d sound great at an outdoor festival. I was not wrong, and am stoked to see them reaching larger audiences for the most part. They strike a great balance of jammy blues-rock grooves, fuzzy desert rock tones, but also interesting experimental arrangements that could potentially connect them to a truly massive audience. But they do need to cough up another album, because it’s been a minute since their sixth album, Nothing as the Ideal (2020).
Hovering over the kerfuffle of witches with the baleful eyes of pitiless overlords were Earthless and The Black Angels. Led by the virtuosic chops of Isaiah Mitchell since 2001, Earthless have achieved godhood status among stoner psych jam community over the past couple decades, touring like relentless road dogs. Their mostly instrumental psych pretty much set the bar for all others to strive for in this area.
One would assume Austin’s The Black Angels would continue to show up at their own fest, but I’ve learned not to take anything for granted. Their double album, Wilderness of Mirrors was a highlight of 2022, and strangely slept on. Hopefully all these folks enjoying their live appearances will check it out. Another stellar psychedelic night in Texas in the books.
I would have liked to have seen Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Levitation Room and Still Corners, but not enough to pay the full price and feel obliged to spend three consecutive 12 hour days outside, no matter how agreeable the weather was (cloudy was a surprisingly cool breeze). I’m grateful that the fest is going strong, and look forward to seeing what Levitation has in store.
Candidates for future Witch battles: Witchcraft, Witch Mountain, Wytch Hazel, Witch Cross, Axewitch, Wytch, Witchskull, White Witch, Witch Ripper, The Wytches, Stormwitch, Witchwood, Purple Hill Witch, Burning Witch, Hellwitch, Margarita Witch Cult, Bell Witch, Occult Witches, Witch ‘n’ Monk, Devil’s Witches, Shadow Witch, Witchrider, Holy Witch, King Witch, Witchsorrow, Closet Witch, Mountain Witch, Witchburn, Witchfugger, Esben and the Witch, Acid Witch, Witchfinder, Kitchen Witch, Witchsnake, Witch Trail, Sexwitch, Witchthroat Serpent, Temple of the Fuzz Witch, Witchwood, Witchrot, Witchhunter, Witch Prophet, Jurassic Witch, Elk Witch, Arkham Witch, Skeletonwitch, Witch Fever, Witches of God, Deadwitches, Swamp Witch, Stone Witch, Witching, Witchbanger, Witchstone, Angel Witch, Witchcryer, Witchfynde, Witch Hazel.
March 25, 2024
Hell’s Heroes VI
September 25, 2023
Ripplefest Texas 2023
March 28, 2023
Hell’s Heroes V
