Live music review: Everyday Isn’t Halloween, But it Was Levitation’s Freakend

I love The Far Out Lounge (FOL), I love the people who book the shows, bartend, run the door, and clean up after all of us. This spot opened up safely, from a distance, during the lockdown to give live-music hungry people a safe place to see a show. We were like Footloose and unable to dance, and we had to remain socially distant, but we could feel a sense of normalcy that was sorely missed. All this to say, I love that The Far Out Lounge gets to host Levitation events like Halloween Freakend. Two, easy-to-get-to stages, with zero band overlap, in a large gravel yard in far South Austin with food trucks, bars, merch area, poster museum, and more to keep you entertained between sets.

On Friday, Halloween, I had a long work day and made it to FOL just in time to see Stereolab, a band I really love. Most people my age discovered Stereolab in the 90s, but I was late to the party. Someone burned me a copy of their 1997 album, “Dots and Loops” in the early 2000s, and I thought back to a conversation I had with someone on the way to a friend’s college graduation, about how bizarre it was that I didn’t like them, when I was so into other adjacent bands. In my defense, a lot was happening in the 90s, and I picked a couple of lanes and just stayed there. I turned 21 in 1996, so age and maturity weren’t aligned any more than my music taste. I didn’t dislike them; I just didn’t know their music. 

Back to that burned CD in the early 2000s, I’d say it was life-changing. Harmonies, French lyrics, vibraphone? Yes, please. I started listening to their music out of order, but considering they’ve been making relevant, weird, and delightfully catchy tunes since I was in high school, I’ve made up for lost time. Going back through their history and discography for this review, I don’t think I realized that their sound was completely different, rather undynamic, one-dimensional, but the harmonies, and lo-fi sound were the same, even without the bossanova flare that came a few years later. 

I’ve seen Stereolab perform twice, the most recent was at Levitation’s Halloween Freakend. They were already into their first song, “Aerial Troubles” off their latest album, Instant Holograms On Metal Film, when I got into the show, and finally settled in by the time they launched into their third song, also from their latest album, “Vermona F Transistor”. The crowd was thick for the headlining Viagra Boys, and I was still able to spot the other Stereolab fans. 

A friend came over to say hello and we reveled in our shared excitement for the show, fall weather, Halloween, and seeing other aging weirdos out for a great night of music, and then we both went back to dancing. As happy and melodic as their songs tend to be, they’re equally as weird. The harmonies go hard in “The Flower Called Nowhere”, but the key changes and sing-songy sound of Lætitia Sadier’s voice are equally haunting and sweet-sounding. I hoped they’d lean into their psychedelic side for this particular psychedelic music event, and they didn’t disappoint. I only wish they could have played a much longer set. Stereolab did a solid smathering of songs from across three decades of music, which gave fans and new listeners alike an absolute Halloween treat.

Saturday night, aka Dia de los Muertos had me excited for Black Moth Super Rainbow and Lightning Bolt, and figured I’d see friends and get dinner during the bands playing in between, because I wasn’t feeling what I’d listened to leading up to the festival. 

I don’t remember when I started listening to Black Moth Super Rainbow, but I know that the first time I heard them live was a total trip. I’d been listening to them at work in headphones, so hearing them out loud, as a shared experience with a crowd was absolutely wild! Sometimes you forget that you’re not the only one having a singular experience with a band or musician, and all of that changes when you experience live music with a room or field full of other humans.

Here’s the other thing about BMSR, I can’t stand the autotune sound and I loathe Daft Punk for that reason, but for some reason vocoder is ok with me. Whatever Tobacco (Thomas Fec) wants to do is alright with me. Aside from his “Hungry Eyes” cover. 

I hadn’t seen BMSR in a few years and this set was a fantastic reminder of why I love them so much. As the set neared its end, they played what seemed like an extra-trippy version of my favorite song of theirs, “Forever Heavy”, which makes me feel quite the opposite when I’m listening to it. Try listening and not dancing, feeling as if you’re being lifted off to a place where it’s always summertime and the sunshine is beating down on you, but it’s ok because there’s a pool with 75 degree water glistening in the sun next to you. 

Black Moth Super Rainbow ended their set with a lovely Austin surprise; The Octopus Project came out to play a song they recorded together back in 2006 for their album, The House of Apples and Eyeballs. Do a quick search and give that album a listen. I promise, you’ll probably dig it. Probably. It was a great way to end an already perfectly marvelous set.

Now let’s dive right into the band that changed me as a person with one random set on a soggy Saturday night in the Universe. Clown Core. Say that again, out loud. Y’all, I fell in love with the weirdness that ensued on the stage. I gave this two-piece band a few seconds of a listen a while back and hated it so much, I turned it off immediately and decided I’d get food during their set. For whatever reason, when the time came for me to leave, I decided to strap in and give them a listen, if for no other reason than to be amused. I found the only chair in the entire area, dried it off, sat down, and braced myself.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I experienced next. Well, that’s a lie. If I hadn’t hated what I’d heard, and stuck with the song I was attempting to listen to, I’d have known it was a set that was worth strapping in for. Clown Core is made up of a dude playing drums and synth (Louis Cole), and another clown playing saxophone (Sam Gendel). I could have sworn a clarinet, and some kind of synthesizer. Am I sure of this? No. Am I sure I love it and want to be a part of their world? Yes. I love free jazz mixed with other genres, I love electronic music, and I have a preference for instrumental music, so it hits on so many levels. Listen to “Flat Earth” and then listen to “Tears of God”. The juxtaposition is grand. 

If you’re wondering about clown music, maybe you’ll have to find out for yourself. Look for me at the next Clown Core show in Austin.

All photos by Troy Gonzales except where noted

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