Dispatch from SonicBlast 2023: The Pre-Show
08.09.23 – Wed. – Festival site
Before show
Good to know I started this coverage off yesterday by getting the day wrong in the header. It’s Wednesday now. That was Tuesday. Like a fine-toothed comb, my editorial eye.
Shade is at a premium in Âncora as Ruff Majik soundcheck. “All You Need is Speed,” “Mourning Wood,” and so on. I was hoping to get here to see that, and I trekked from the hotel where I’m staying across the beach with the Atlantic Ocean on what felt to me like the wrong side to get here. It’s beautiful. Sand in the sneakers. Families playing in tide pools. The odd tom check ringing out into the ether. I’m on a bench by a couple of the food stalls. Still need to go backstage if I can and get a bottle of water since the one I had from the airport was too big to fit in my new bag. I already met Mariana from High Priestess. And I took a nap before I came, so I was almost coherent, if it of breath from the walk up and over the dunes to the grounds here. Mariana said she followed the river. Might try giving that a shot on the way back.
It’s calm here, which beats pacing back and forth in the room being anxious for the show to start. Tonight is the pre-show, with four bands and a DJ set from the poster/cover artist Branca Studio. I don’t know how long for it I am, as it goes to almost half-past 3AM and I feel like I got hit by a truck, but fun will be had or the beatings will continue. Or something like that.
Doors aren’t open yet, but sooner or later. Nonetheless, here’s how the evening unfolded in front of the smaller Stage 3 while the two main stages loomed off to the left like giant sleeping tortoises:
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Plastic Woods
Plastic Woods asked before I think the third song, “Who wants some fucking doom?” And then they delivered on that promise with a stonerly roll duly thick and at a slower tempo than the frenetic boogie of their opening (the fest) salvo. Andalusion power trio (with an asterisk), and a powerful sound. I knew next to nothing about them before they went on — to wit, I knew they were playing — but you go into these things with a certain sense of adventure and finding a band you didn’t know about and want to hear more from is the best-case outcome from that. Then they broke out the flute, and grooved Tull-y for a bit before launching into the next largesse-bent riffer plod and then breaking out an acoustic to add shuffle to a classic rocker. A lot there to like — a lot there period; one might call them stylistically restless, in and out of the bounds of heavy — and they’re young, so they played like it even when they threw in a handful of sudden-stop jazz skronk chops, giving SonicBlast a surprising, eclectic and energetic launch from which the entire weekend can only benefit. All over the place but cohesive, plus flamenco vocals, guitar and even a bit of dancing. Will not be the opener forever. I bought 2021’s Dragonfruit on CD, will probably close a week with it at some point. I can’t wait to dig in and to follow them and see the band they become, because at least based on this first impression, they could grow into something very special.
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Ruff Majik
Easily one of my most anticipated bands of the entire weekend, and this year’s Elektrik Ram (review here) — which I put on during the flight over here because, well, it had been a couple days — is a huge part of why. “Rave to the Grave,” “She’s Still a Goth,” “Delirium Tremors” and “Hillbilly Fight Song” mixed in among “All You Need is Speed,” “Jolly Rodger,” “Gregory,” “Lead Pills and Thrills” and “Swine Tooth Grin” from 2020’s The Devil’s Cattle (review here) and the deep cut “Wax Wizard” from their 2016 EP, The Fox, for a more rolling, jammier vibe. Honestly, I wouldn’t have minded if they did the new record in full, but the older grooves were a treat and a reminder to my brain very much consumed by their latest work — Elektrik Ram is my most listened to album of the year so far, no question — that their other stuff is righteous as all hell too. I tried to stay up front after taking pictures but there wasn’t even room to get into the crowd, which is fair because people have been telling me all day about their show at SonicBlast 2018. I ran into Johni Holiday and Jimmy Glass earlier and got to hang out a bit. They drove 27 hours to be here, after a 12-hour flight from South Africa to wherever they played first in Germany. Marauders, they are. They had strobes going hard for most of their set, completing the multi-sensory blowout. I’m willing to admit it probably would’ve taken some effort on their part for me to be left cold, but that they actually killed was a bonus. Some of the best 45 minutes I’ve spent in 2023. I’d say they should come play the States, but outside the odd festival — lookin’ hard at you, Monolith on the Mesa and/or Desertfest NYC 2024 — I’d have to wonder if my home country is ready for that. West Coast, probably. Their time finished with a sing-along to the slower riff at the end of “Delirium Tremors,” which the crowd kept going after they stopped. They earned that.
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Scatterbrainiac
Classic-style heavy hardcore punk, which is reasonable ground for a fest to cover that counts OFF! among its headliners. Not my thing, but they’re local-ish being from Porto — I fell asleep on the ride from the airport, but it wasn’t so far; I was basically falling asleep anyway by noon — and had the crowd that was hanging out igniting a circle mosh near the front of the stage. They tore it up, but I find I don’t have much more than that kind of generic praise, as I lack the background to know which specific root influences they’re working from — though the singer has a Black Flag tattoo on his wrist, and that’s definitely relevant to the discussion — but tonight seems to be all about having a good time, lineup-wise, and Scatterbrainiac delivered hard without taking away from that. I probably won’t buy the record, but they were up there putting the work in to do it right, and I can respect that in just about any situation, regardless of style.
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After show/next morning
Nagasaki Sunrise were closing out with the aforementioned Branca Studio DJ set after, but headed toward 1AM, my ability to withstand WWII-themed d-beat declines sharply, plus I had the walk back to the hotel ahead of me, so I chickened out. Lame, I know, but Deathchant are slated for 1:35AM tomorrow and if I want to see any of it, that means planning ahead. I’ll take being lame now as a trade for being cool later.
It ended up not really mattering, since I could hear the band just fine on my excursion back across the boardwalk and on the beach at night, phone flashlight shining, and from my room I got to listen to the Branca DJ set which started off with Witchcraft and plunged from there into heavy ’70s and stoner glories of various stripes. “Sunrise (Come My Way)” by Buffalo, always a standout, and no less so circa 3AM bleeding through the window as I crawled into bed as one lost in the desert might crawl toward water. Also water. Need more water.
Because apparently I made it a thing — whoops; thanks for nothing, honesty — I’ll note that I did so, so, so much socializing today, and it was alright. Enjoyable even. I met people I’ve known on social media and various characters from the Euro underground — Stoner Johnny, Roberto Lucas of Denpa Fuzz, Tom Van de Sande who was keeping calm during Ruff Majik’s set and who DJ’ed at Freak Valley this year, Claire from Purple Sage PR whom I’ve not seen in an actual decade but to whom I speak at least three times a week, Berto from Spinda Records, Ricardo who runs the fest, the one and only Scott “Dr. Space” Heller, plus Johni and Jimmy from Ruff Majik whose friendship and ease in each other’s presence transcends the band and is indicative of a lifelong partnership, Diogo Miguel who has sent me awesome music, a couple dudes from Monarch (who play Friday), a photog named Daniel who said very nice things about the site in the photo pit, Mariana from High Priestess and fuggin’ Vape Warlök both of whom should have new music manifest soon, on and on. The proverbial butterfly, me.
And that was exhausting as only that kind of thing can be when you’re as out of practice as I am — most of the talking I do in a day is to my kid — everybody has been kind and generous and in addition to the perfect weather, the warmth of the welcome I’ve received has only underscored how fortunate I am to be here.
Thanks for reading. The fest-proper begins in a few hours and today, tomorrow and Saturday are a full-on assault. I’ll spend a lot of time writing on my phone and taking pictures, and the resulting posts will hopefully look like this in their basic structure. Stay tuned for more to come, I suppose. And thanks again.
More pics after the jump.
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Plastic Woods
Ruff Majik
Scatterbrainiac
