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Wo Fat & High Desert Queen at Lonestar Unleashed

June 26, 2022 by A.S. Van Dorston

The day long Lonestar Unleashed festival at the amazing Far Out Lounge & Stage featured all Texan bands including Wo Fat, High Desert Queen, Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, Thunder Horse, Warlung, PETH and more.

The site of the Far Out Lounge & Stage in South Austin has a long history going back to 1908. In 1920s the train robbing gang The Newton Boys allegedly hid out there. Willie Nelson and Janis Joplin played there, and in the 80s it was a biker bar called Beverly’s. Since it opened in November 2019, the outdoor area has been enhanced with a second stage, five food trucks, and a row of well over a dozen bathrooms. Yes, real bathrooms with sinks and running water, not port-a-potties. Definitely an ideal place to host a heavy rock festival like Lonestar Unleashed.

Despite starting at the heat of the day when it was on it’s way to triple digits at 1 PM , I would have loved to have been there for the whole thing, if it wasn’t for the fact that I had to get up at 5:30 am to bring the last two kittens we’ve been fostering to Kittypalooza at Austin Animal Center. The event was a success, with all 33 kittens adopted, including our fosters Iggy and Polly. Hydration, recovery and a doom nap or two were required for me to recharge to head back out.

Half of the day’s lineup played inside the air conditioned bar, which during this heatwave, was a good idea. However, once the sun was setting, it might have been better to make use of the second outdoor stage, which was not used. I saw pictures of a previous fest that had a large canopied area to protect against the sun, which would have been useful too. Unfortunately, the lack of a large crowd didn’t make it worthwhile for them. Ticket sales were a little disappointing for this event, as there was a lot of competition from Austin’s other venues with more popular bands. But this all-Texan band lineup was without a doubt the best in town on a peak summer Saturday.

I was gutted to miss PETH, a heavy psych/doom/proto-metal band from Lago Vista, who’s debut Merchant of Death (#8 on the May Doom Chart) I’ve been listening to since it was released last month. Reports from the crowd were that they were a standout of the day so far. Other crowd favorites were Warlung from Houston, and Thunder Horse from San Antonio. I’ve been a fan of Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol for a few years, and was looking forward to seeing them for the first time. They have been playing pretty regularly in Austin this spring and summer, but the planets didn’t align for me until now. I have to say it was disappointing to hear them contained in the small indoor venue, where the acoustics weren’t ideal. It would have been much better if they played in the expansive outdoor area. The band were predictably unfazed and gave a top notch performance. I look forward to hearing them again many times. Check out the recent feature on them from the Austin Chronicle.

High Desert Queen benefitted from the outdoor venue. By 9:40 an almost-cool breeze came through, and their fuzzy psych rock filled the air with heaviosity without being overwhelming or harsh. Formed in 2019, they locked into their signature sound, a mix of desert rock, fuzzy psych and subtle touches of grunge, Southern Rock and Americana (the band cites Kyuss, Alice in Chains, The Allman Brothers Band and Tom Waits as touch points). They recorded their debut, Secrets of the Black Moon with Duel’s Jeff Hensen at his legendary Red Nova Ranch studio, located somewhere outside of Austin on a wooded five acre property with a lake and cabin for bands to stay in. I’m not sure, but it might be not far from me in Cedar Creek, and hopefully I can visit it soon. Released in October 2021, the band has gotten extremely positive reactions from the scene, placing #3 in the Doom Charts, and #17 for 2021 overall. The band exuded positive energy, clearly stoked to be there, with singer Ryan Garney jumping off stage and hugging nearly all the audience members. Their enthusiasm must be working, because along with playing near top of the bill at Lonestar Unleashed, they got a great slot just below legends Truckfighters, Dozer and Greenleaf at Fuzz Festival #3 in Stockholm, Sweden in December. Very impressive — I wish I could see that.

Headliners Wo Fat drew many of the people I met to the festival. They hadn’t played in Austin since 2019, despite being not too far away in Dallas, and I hadn’t seen them since I saw them at Reggie’s in Chicago in 2017. The band seems to have played more European dates, like the prestigious Desert Fests, than the U.S. Their popularity overseas is well deserved, as their seven albums released since 2006 have made a huge impact on the international stoner psych/doom scene. From the beginning, they were a cut above, ambitiously incorporating bits of jazz fusion and swamp blues into their sludgy space rock sound. This show as as sublime as expected, with the band roaring out the gate, well rehearsed after recently recording a new album, and frisky as baby elephants. Yeah, that’s a weird analogy, but what can I say, I saw some footage of baby elephants frolicking in water earlier that day and I can’t get it out of my head. Anyway, one of my favorite parts was “Overworlder” from the new album (see my review of The Singularity), where bassist Tim Wilson’s fleet fingers bang out a monstrously chooglin’ bassline, with Kent Stump and Matt Watkins layering some fantastically phazer enhanced space guitar riffs. Wo Fat delivered a satisfying cap to an action packed day.

Talking about Thunder Horse with someone, they were reminded of a legendary Houston metal band Dead Horse, who was one of the best around back in 1989-90s. Just as an aside, a new discover for me!

I’m even more excited to have finally experienced The Far Out Lounge & Stage, and look forward to going back there for the four day long Ripple Fest 2022, July 21-24.

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