Live music review: LEVITATION Fest got off to a visually psychedelic start Thursday

After almost two years of uncertainty and turmoil in the music festival sector, one of Austin’s most beloved mid-tier music fests returned Thursday to venues primarily located in the downtown-adjacent Red River Cultural District. The music festival that began as Austin Psych Fest has since rebranded to LEVITATION to expand to other markets. Organizers partner with folks in France and Vancouver, Canada for independent music festivals in addition to the flagship Austin event that once attracted fans from over 60 countries.

Thursday’s launch of LEVITATION’s 2021 edition began at the largest venue host of the fest, Stubb’s BBQ for a decidedly jazzy set by Crumb, the quartet who met at Tufts University in Boston then relocated to bandleader, Lila Ramani’s native Brooklyn. The band recorded their most recent album in Los Angeles, gaining a wider audience after critics lauded the release.

The indie-psych act presented a performance that was most definitely that but to a larger degree, became jazzier as the show went on. Highlighted by Bri Aronow’s exceptional work on keys and sax, in addition to Jesse Brotter (bass) and Jonathan Gilad’s (drums) subtle playing. The set was the perfect way to begin LEVITATION in many ways; it was a sundown set which felt just right for the type of music Crumb makes, Ramani’s voice is sneaky, sort of creeping in on the audience in a way that initially feels unobtrusive then pleasantly evolves to pull in the listener; once it was dark, swirling psychedelic lights and patterns appeared on the screen behind the band and Stubb’s now-famous stage awning.

The diminutive singer, Ramani has charisma for days. Clearly she is working in the profession she should be. It is both Ramani’s exceptional songwriting and her ability to “sell” the performance the way a good front-person should that sets this indie-rock-jazz outfit apart. 

Austin psych-metal band, The Well opened up the show at Mohawk following Crumb’s pleasing performance across the street amid a mind-boggling amount of psychedelic visual projections on every available surface at the venue. Multicolored lights even lit the tree line above the stage. It was difficult to determine where to look besides the band who were killing it on the Mohawk stage.

The Well’s music is best described as psych / hard rock or metal. One fan commented he heard shades of Black Sabbath on an early-in-the-setlist song. He’s not wrong but The Well actually make music more sophisticated than the UK band led by Ozzy Osbourne. The Well uses way less shtick and lots more substance than Sabbath. And the band has gotten better in the nearly four years since The Cosmic Clash has seen the trio’s show.

The lineup consists of Ian Graham (guitar, vocals) Lisa Alley (bass, vocals), and Jason Sullivan (drums). They’re a power trio with panache combining psych rock and doom metal with progressive rock elements. It all boils down into the best kind of sonic stew. This power trio set the bar high for Ty Segall’s Fuzz project which followed.

LEVITATION must have decided Mohawk’s Thursday evening lineup would focus on power trios because both acts leading off the main portion of the bill fall into that category. Fuzz’s music, while similar to The Well stood in somewhat in contrast to the headliners.

To say that Fuzz is entirely a Ty Segall project is not entirely accurate. The truth is, Fuzz is a dual project that began between Charles Moothart (who played in Segall’s band) and Segall as an outlet for Moothart’s predilection for hard rock riffs. What that means in practical terms is Fuzz’s catalog isn’t nearly as extensive as Segall’s own and the band doesn’t tour as often. Those facts played into Fuzz’s Mohawk performance being the hot ticket Thursday.

Fuzz kicked off a few minutes early at 10:27 p.m. During the set break, an already crowded Mohawk got even more packed with music fans frothing at the mouth for Segall and company who delivered heavy, loud, distorted riffs from Moothart and delicious drum fills from Segall as he appeared to match his band mate’s startling riffs with his own, intense, drum riffs. It was akin to watching a fleshed out live performance of the best possible jam sesh a rock n roll fan could imagine.

Musically the sonic textures Fuzz creates on stage are ideal to a LEVITATION bill. The songs highlight the virtuosity of the musicians over songwriting chops. That doesn’t mean the tracks aren’t good, it just means fans can see where Fuzz’s priorities lie. For live music lovers, that’s a good thing.

After catching what turned out to be the most visceral performance of the evening with Fuzz, day one of LEVITATION drew to a close with a more intimate set at Scholz Garten with perhaps Austin’s most original band, The Octopus Project. Former University of Texas film students, Octopus Project employs delicious, eye-candy film visuals synchronized to the band’s incredible, dance-punk, electro-theremin music.  It may be hard to describe, but the sonic textures are impressive. There is no other show like The Octopus Project as you’ll see in the clip below. 

We spoke to Yvonne (keys, guitar, theremin, vocals,) and Josh (guitar, drums, vocals) after the show. The couple reminded us the gig was their first since October 2019. Yvonne mentioned how great it felt to play again. The group of fans who eschewed Red River District in favor of the Octopus Project were rewarded with a stellar performance by the foursome. Currently the band doesn’t have any dates listed. So if you made over to Scholz, congrats on being there for The Octopus Project’s return to the live stage. You witnessed a special show for sure.

Night Two recommendations:

• The Black Angels, Kikgaku Moyo, A Place to Bury Strangers, Ringo Deathstarr, Ami Dang at Stubb’s BBQ. Tickets are still available.
• Black Midi at Mohawk – Sold out. Watch Mohawk social accounts for last minute tickets.
• Daiistar at The Green Jay – FREE – midnight