Freak Valley Festival 2022 – Day 1

Wed. – 2:59PM – Front of house aka on the lawn

There is a wonderfulness to being in a place where you don’t speak the language. People around you conversing, sorting things out, all this and that, where stuff needs to go and so on. I’m sitting in a smoker’s tent off to the side of the grass in front of the stage, Purple Dawn or somebody doing a soundcheck. It’s probably techs for Baroness, now that I think of it. But around me, between the riffs, I can hear the conversations, laughter floating in the air, peole who haven’t seen each other in a year or two and a half years. It’s beautiful.

And the setting is beautiful. It really is a valley. The little industrial-ish-feeling area where the fest takes place is surrounded on all sides by wooded hills, some of the trees eaten by a bug that apparently likes that kind of tree — I heard about it on the way in — and the warm air, blue sky dotted with some passing clouds, and green vegetation add to the idyllic feel. I got to go back to my hotel a bit ago, find out I didn’t then did have a room — magic! — change my clothes, do a quick cold water hobo bath, eat a thankfully not melted protein bar and abandon my adiletten in favor of actual socks and shoes, such as those shoes are at this point.

Doors are open. People are taking their picture with the Welcome to Freak Valley sign — I hope to do the same; a ritual with preserving — and I think the first band is on at 5PM. That works for me. At some point I’m going to crash from the travel, adrenaline, etc., but maybe I can find some coffee around here and stave that off for a while.

Lo-Fi Merchandise is here selling stuff and I want to buy all of it just to save on shipping to the US. Ditto the hippie pants place next door. The actual band area isn’t up yet. I’ve been back and forth, in and out of shade, finding a spot to be, etc. Saw the Duel guys when I got here, and Geezer have shown up at this point as well. The lineup for today has changed with Witchcraft dropping off. K bye. Purple Dawn will open and everybody else is pushed later accordingly from where they were. I’m bummed I won’t see My Sleeping Karma like I thought I might when I got here, but I’ll be alright.

First band in about 40 minutes. I’m here. It’s real. I made it. And I have a place to crash when the night is over. Mark that a win.

Here’s notes on the day:

Purple Dawn

A significant rumble from Cologne’s Purple Dawn, who did precisely what you’re supposed to do when you’re opening a festival and you bust a bass head on the first song. They covered it with a jam. That is how to do it, and they were back up and running soon enough. Their stuff was pretty fresh in my head from writing about the Peace & Doom Session Vol. II (review here) and the highlight “Old Fashioned Black Madness” seemed to be the moment where the crowd woke up. The quiet start of “The Moon Song” after led to some post-High on Fire gallip mixed in with the nod that would seem to be the trio’s stock and trade. I got my photos and went out front to watch them on the grass. I’m also falling asleep sitting up. I need to find some coffee like now.

—

Duel

Duel play like headliners. They’re in their songs, moving, professional, playing dynamic, heavy material that has yet to really get its due. They’re a band win people over, though as they hit into “Children of the Fire” after “Strike and Disappear,” it seemed like the crowd was well enough familiar with their wares. Either way, they destroy. This is my first time seeing them with this drummer and even the Rockpalast film crew had their work cut out for them in keeping up. But the thing is, they’re not sloppy at all. Even the three-part-vocal hook of “Children of the Fire,” they absolutely nailed it every time and didn’t look back. I’m very, very curious to hear the kind of band they are like seven or eight years from now, what their next few records might bring. A 50-minute set gave them some time to dig into their songs and get a flow going, and fucking a, of course that’s what they did. This cements them as reliable in my mind. I also downed three cups of coffee between the bands and that helped too. Fears of the fucking dead. Children of the fucking fire.

—

Geezer

I’ve got sentimental attachment here, but so good to see this band own such a large stage in front of this crowd. The NY-based three-piece did well by their new album, Stoned Blues Machine (review here), with the title-track, “Cold Black Heart,” and if I’m not mistaken the rest of side A represented. They’ve been over here for a couple weeks at this point, this is near the end of their tour, and sure enough they sounded like a band who’ve been playing every night for the last 14 — whether or not they have is beside the point and you’ll pardon me if I spare myself looking up the amount of days off they have or haven’t had — but they’re an absolute joy and I know from looking around that I was by no means the only one with a big smile on my face as they hit it. The lawn was grooving on “Atomic Moronic.” Pat introduced a mini-set of songs from 2020’s Groovy (review here) — he also introduced Steve and Richie — then hit inti the title-track with a finger plucked solo. “Dig” followed and shifted into a finale of “Awake,” ending on a hopeful note every bit worthy of the occasion, and Geezer got the biggest response of the day so far.

—

Villagers of Ioannina City

A whole bunch of people just showed up and I can’t say I blame them. I’ve never seen Greece’s Villagers of Ioannina City, but many of Freak Valley denizens plainly have — they were here six years ago — but between the meditative heavy psych vibe and the folk touch brought by their use of tsabouna and what might just be a clarinet alongside keys and the weighted roll of their riffs. They’re pushing atmosphere to the forefront in a way that no one has yet — you could probably call it post-something-or-other if you worked hard at it — but then they break out a bluesy organ solo and you realize Age of Aquarius is a story they’re telling in chapters, and its complexity goes beyond trading between loud and quiet parts. Their songs and style are thoughtful, melodic, rich in tone and purposeful in their delivery. I don’t know how it would go over in the States — they’d have to be supporting someone on tour their first time out and a lot would depend on who — but there’s a full on audience engagement happening here, and they have the audience to show for it. And I suspect once they make up the two years of road time they lost supporting that album, that audience will only continue to grow.

—

Black Mountain

Vibe in a can. Or at least a deep-running blend of classic, psychedelic, progressive and space rocks. It’s all the same when Black Mountain take the stage. I’ll admit to being more than a little distracted during their set as one of my camera lenses broke, leaving me with the wide angle option that will probably do really well for me all day tomorrow taking pictures of the stage monitors, but one way or the other, Black Mountain’s synthy brew will lift the spirit and soothe the soul if apparently not the contact sensor on that lens. Even before I inevitably have to shell out some stupid amount of cash to have that fixed, I’m going to be bummed out if I can’t get that thing to work. Black Mountain’s mellower vibe, despite being heavy and loud and the many, many other things they are as a band, seemed to be expanding on the more immersive end of Villagers of Ioannina City’s set, but this band is their own thing. The assembled heads are ready for it. The Freaks. As for me, I’m distracted by even in such a tizzy I’ve still got room in my heart for Mellotron. Nothing else sounds like that. And I guess that’s true of Black Mountain too, but individual as they are, but their sound still has an immediate familiarity to it, whether you know the songs or they know you. Also it’s nighttime now. Apparently that happened recently.

—

Baroness

Seems to me that if I really was dead set on becoming a real Baroness fan, the thing to do would be to see them play live every couple of weeks between now and whenever I eventually get on board. They deliver live. The set was similar to when I saw them a few weeks ago at Desertfest New York (review here), but there wasn’t even a question as to whether or not they were going to nail it, because yes, they were. And so it went. It had been a long day, and it was only with the help of respected-photog Falk-Hagen Bernshausen that I managed to make that seemingly-busted lens work for long enough to shoot a couple songs of the Baroness set, but the band’s energy was infectious, their rhythm a physical urging, like they’re trying to tell you it’s time to go for a run, except I guess without the running on the audience’s part. I honestly don’t know Baroness’ songs well enough to say whether the performance was flawless, and if it was, I suppose that’s nice in the way of such things, but from my silly little spot in the grass I was just happy to appreciate the headliner headlining (again) and a performance by a band who have so clearly mastered their craft.

—

06.16.22 – Thursday – 10:56AM – Hotel

A little after I get back last night someone knocks on my door. I open it and a dude is there, absolutely smashed, wearing some death metal shirt. I don’t remember who it was now, but it was someone decent. He starts talking and even though I don’t speak German I could tell his words were slurred. I slowed him down, apologized for not speaking his beautiful language in his beautiful country, and eventually he seemed to recall that he spoke perfect English.

He needed stairs, which seemed like a terrible idea to me given his state. Dude could hardly stand. I showed him where the stairs were but then he said he wanted his room and kept walking. It was the one with the stuff on the floor outside in the hallway. Room 29. Fair enough. Turned out he’d lost his room key. He told me to find it. In his pockets. No dice, bro, sorry. He empties his own pockets and discovers various stuff but no key. He is grumbling, agitated. For one brief second, he looks like he’s about to give up. He’s speaking syllables, in and out of German and English — the human brain is amazing, even addled — and kind of says “bwuh?” and shrugs his shoulders.

I ask if he has back pockets, and a few seconds later, tucked into a respectable wad of Euros emerges his room key. His eyes light up. I open his door for him and usher him inside. His relief is palpable. I tell him to sleep and he nods. Freak Valley is small enough that I could probably run into Mr. Roomtwentynine 100 times today. I don’t think I’d recognize him if I did. Festival life.

More pics after the jump.

Read more »

Today’s episode of The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal is a tribute to and a look at the lineup for this year’s Freak Valley Festival, taking place next week in Siegen, Germany. Freak Valley has been hosting bands for over a decade and I’m proud to say that this will be my first year attending after many, many more wanting to do so, doing writing for the festival, etc.

Should probably point out even if I d don’t necessarily need to that this isn’t the full lineup of the festival, just as much as I could effectively pack into two hours while also managing to play a 20-minute Endless Boogie track. Could I have hunted out shorter cuts and maybe been able to fit another band or two? Probably, but it doesn’t feel like The Obelisk Show in my brain if it doesn’t end with a jam, so it is what it needs to be.

I should be in the chat this time if you want to say hi. I was doing live factoids about the bands for a while because the Gimme Bot doesn’t always know this stuff if it’s new, or weird, or not at all metal, and so on, but it just kind of got sad after a while so I stopped. Lesson learned.

Thanks if you listen, thanks if you’re reading. Thanks in general.

The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at: http://gimmemetal.com.

Full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 06.10.22

Psychlona	Blast Off	Venus Skytrip
Fu Manchu	Strange Plan	Fu30 Pt. 2
Duel	Wave of Your Hand	In Carne Persona
Green Lung	Leaders of the Blind	Black Harvest
VT1
Red Fang	Wires	Murder the Mountains
The Midnight Ghost Train	Foxhole	Buffalo
Villagers of Ioannina City	Part V	Age of Aquarius
Pelican	Arteries of Blacktop	Nighttime Stories
Djiin	Warmth of Death	Meandering Soul
Toundra	Danubio	II
Geezer	Atomic Moronic	Stoned Blues Machine
Slomatics	Cosmic Guilt	Canyons
IAH	Naga	Omines
Kosmodome	Hypersonic	Kosmodome
Madmess	Rebirth	Rebirth
VT2
Endless Boogie	Jim Tully	Admonitions

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is June 25 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.

Gimme Metal website

The Obelisk on Facebook

[Click play above to stream Geezer’s Stoned Blues Machine in full. Album is out Friday on Heavy Psych Sounds.]

Now we know what to call Geezer. They’re a Stoned Blues Machine. The Kingston, New York, three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Pat Harrington, bassist Richie Touseull and drummer Steve Markota have never been more so than on their latest collection. In mid-2020, the heavy, bluesy, intermittently-jammed-out-but-nearly-always-rocking trio issued the righteous Groovy (review here), which was a lockdown-era lifeline to a better time if also a reminder of the kind of party that absolutely at that point couldn’t happen. It may be that record’s fate to have never gotten its due in terms of being celebrated live, but Geezer knew even as that was coming out that they would press forward and continue to write, rather than sit on their hands and wait for the pandemic to abate.

Stoned Blues Machine answers the boogie and the ass-shake of Groovy, and with the lineup solidified around these three players since 2019’s Spiral Fires EP (review here), but pushes further and works on multiple levels — perhaps best emphasized in the title-track itself, which has a huge swinging nod as its foundation but also brings in finer details like some addled-sounding mumbles along with its verse lines before the hook, “Stoned blues machine/Living is my thing/When things ain’t what they seem/When you’re stoned, baby, don’t want to think about it,” is fleshed out with what might be a guitar effect that sounds like a dolphin chirrup, like they’re just screwing with you.

But that perspective is essential to understanding where Geezer are coming from especially early on. Working with producer Chris Bittner at Applehead Recording — I was fortunate enough to be there for the basic tracks of much of the record (in-studio posted here and here) — they’ve never sounded bigger, clearer or more professional, and that progression is natural from Groovy, 2021’s recorded-in-the-practice-space jam single Solstice (review here) filling the long, show-less gap between with its expansive, synth-laden exploration as an immersive holdover.

It doesn’t always work out this way, but the elaborate production is what allows Geezer to flesh out their songs. The dual-channel vocal layering for the “ooh” in opener “Atomic Moronic,” for example, or the tambourine adding to the crescendo of the penultimate “Saviours” ahead of the seven-minute finale, which sees them loosen the reins structurally and roll out a mellow jam in the midsection topped with effects-laced vocals and, after five minutes in, give over to a languid solo that’s a highlight in terms of its fuzzy tone and the just-holding-to-the-beat bassline that accompanies.

These songs have been worked on, to be sure, but are not overwrought, and they offer a point of view of which the title-track is emblematic. Considering sociopolitical turmoil, a raging virus (which I’ll note for my own posterity that I have right now; thankfully a seemingly mild variant thus far), and whatever other apocalyptic visions one might cast over the last few years — can’t help but think of watching an insurrection in progress when I see the title “Broken Glass,” even though the song’s an uptempo strut-and-stomper with handclaps in its chorus, but certainly second cut “Logan’s Run” applies as well with its immediate shuffle-chug, more tambourine, big-room crash and final repetitions of “Do not resist” — there’s been no shortage of reasons to feel overwhelmed.

And Stoned Blues Machine doesn’t shy away from expressing confusion, dismay or judgment. “Atomic Moronic” is a song for the Trump years — the line, “You put your faith in stupid,” is as succinct a summary of American anti-intellectualism as one could ever hope to hear — but there’s no sense of preach either. “Atomic Moronic” and “Stoned Blues Machine” aren’t campaigning, and neither is “Broken Glass,” they’re just trying to get through it. That, too, is deeply relatable. It’s a kind of helplessness answered both by essentially saying ‘screw it’ and going to get high, and of course by writing these songs themselves, the act of creating them, arranging, recording, etc., which side B’s “Eleven” seems to engage directly. Turn up and get away, even if just in your own brain. Who would begrudge them that?

Especially when the material is so tight. Side A moves from “Atomic Moronic” into “Logan’s Run” into the maddeningly catchy “A Cold Black Heart” and “Stoned Blues Machine” with a build of propulsion that loses not a step as “Broken Glass” picks up with its bouncing snare and “Eleven” finds salvation in its volume — “The walls are closing in again/And I ain’t leaving/And I don’t want to think about it again” — and “Saviours” begins a more tempered shove en route to “The Diamond Rain of Saturn,” which for its first two minutes (until the countdown ends) rocks like all is normal and then spends the next four minutes tripping out until building back to the album’s last apex. All told, it’s eight tracks and 42 minutes that live up to the ethic they espouse and answer chaos with cohesion, setting the proverbial bar higher for themselves while discovering a way to both be in the moment lyrically and to get out of it.

Being their sixth album in less than a decade, Stoned Blues Machine continues to show forward growth on the part of the band, and the lineup of Harrington, Touseull and Markota deliver the songs with organic-feeling chemistry and an energy that having been there I’ll tell you is sincere. They worked hard to make the best Geezer album yet, and they made the best Geezer album yet. I’ll readily cop to being a fan of their work in general, but if one considers Groovy as a second debut for the band since it was their first with this incarnation (Harrington is the lone remaining founder), then Stoned Blues Machine is beyond a worthy follow-up. You can either get on board or not, it’s up to you, but the ability of Geezer to find good times in dark times isn’t to be understated, and if a Stoned Blues Machine is what they are, one only hopes there are wheels on the bottom so they can keep this creative momentum rolling.

Geezer, “Logan’s Run” official video

Geezer on Instagram

Geezer on Facebook

Geezer on Bandcamp

Heavy Psych Sounds on Bandcamp

Heavy Psych Sounds website

Heavy Psych Sounds on Facebook

Doors are in about half an hour. From the cursory reconnaissance I’ve done at this point, it’s easy to think the Knockdown Center could become a multi-year home for Desertfest New York. It’s big, which certainly helps, and there’s more space than is being used right now. The second stage room is tiny — the sense I get is that by the time Sasquatch go on that will be an issue, but no one’s here yet except for bands and I’ve got basically a warehouse room to myself to write this.

Got in last night at 1AM, woke up around 7AM, so not the worst night of sleep ever. I was destroyed last night by the end of that show. Utterly bludgeoned. But I made it home and I expect I’ll do the same tonight. Hydrate. Advil. Who wants to hear my litany of old man complaints about my plannar fasciitis in my right foot? Nobody, I know. But it’s there. A presence in my life.

Sasquatch are here, and Mothership, John Garcia and the Band of Gold are soundchecking. Geezer and Howling Giant and various others, some I know and some I don’t. It looks like a show. I still have no idea how I’ll cover it but I’ll write when I can while bouncing back and forth between stages and see as much as I can see. That’s pretty much always the plan anyway. With the support of the egg and cheese on chaffle sandwich The Patient Mrs. made me this morning and the bit of pecan butter I finished up on the ride in, I should buy myself a couple hours of go. After that, will need coffee.

But alas, one crisis at a time.

Leather Lung

They had some new songs and asked if there were sleazy motherfuckers in here or not. If not, I think the general humidity in this room should provide some before the night’s out. Leather Lung were one of the last bands I saw before lockdown, and their heavy swinging sludge-rock-plus-extreme-this-and-that remains as nasty as I remembered. They’ve filled the room and heads are nodding, more and more coming in. I can feel the rumbling of the low end in the concrete floor, so take from that what you will. The start of a fest like this is always nerve-racking. You have to find the groove of the place, the groove of the crowd, the groove of the timing and the groove of your own mindset. Fortunately, Leather Lung have plenty of groove to spare to aid that process, and their taking stage isn’t so much a wading into the river of riffs — the riffver??? — as a full-on crazy old-timey Southern church baptismal dunk. Who says you can’t have aggro songs about getting fucked up?

—

Black Tusk

I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this band before, but I’m also pretty sure it’s been at least a decade, if not longer. They’ve had their ups and some real-life tragedies along the way — like everybody — but they’re a pro-shop metal band and they play like it. First act on the big stage and similar to Leather Lung, The intent seems to have been to roll out with something meaner rather than a languid style. Hey man, mean works. They’re piping them outside to where the food trucks are through a separate P.A., and I guess if you want furious riffs with your souvlaki, that’s a go. I will abscond momentarily to the smaller room again for Howling Giant, whom I’ve only seen at Psycho Las Vegas, but whose shenanigans are already legion in my brain. I’ve been looking forward to it, as I’ve been looking forward to all of this. Black Tusk though, digging that ferocity. Pummeling. And very much in that way of bands who’ve spent forever touring that they could just plug in wherever and make that happen.

—

Howling Giant

These guys are a riot. A lot of bands can goof off and visibly have fun while playing their songs. Howling Giant can do that, play at a humbling level, and base it around killer material. They might be the only even vaguely prog-leaning heavy band out there who balance that against not taking themselves too seriously, and they absolutely refuse to leave their audience behind. Yeah, it was pretty god damned packed in that little room — they call it the Texas Stage, which is a little ironic considering the proportions — but my reason for walking out before Howling Giant were done had less to do ultimately with the heat and humidity and more with the sudden, very powerful urge I felt to buy a Howling Giant t-shirt. So I did that. Then, because there was no getting in whatsoever as the space was slammed with hoo-mans, I scootched over to the main stage again and chatted to some folks about this and that. Trying to remember to do that. There’s something like 1,400 people here this weekend. I feel like everybody’s everybody’s friend. That’s easier to think while Howling Giant play.

—

Mothership

Doesn’t matter who you think of from that infinite set of list ’70s heavy rock bands, Mothership do it better. Texas trio, trip on the ship, all that. Just a great time. I guess they’ve been off tour for a while — who hasn’t? — but they made the big stage feel small with just the three of them and a vitality that few in whichever microgenre can match, and that energy is infectious, particularly from Kelley Juett on guitar, who is the classic wildman on stage. I have seen them three times now, at Maryland Doom Fest, in Boston with C.O.C., and here, and in this big room and that small one, they filled the space with sound and a genuine feeling of celebrating rock and roll. Kyle Juett on bass and vocals is more subdued, and drummer Judge Smith sits back there like he’s about to start laughing his ass off any minute. And then he does. Even better. You gotta be doing something right when Orange Goblin are on this stage next and people are asking for one more song.

—

Geezer

Seems silly because I’ve seen them a bunch of times over their years — not much recently, duh — but I was really looking forward to Geezer’s set. It’s okay to like a band, right? I feel like I know their new album, Stoned Blues Machine, pretty well, since I was there when most of the basics were recorded and don’t tell anyone but I’m streaming it this coming Wednesday, but it was nothing but a pleasure to hear those songs come to life on stage. “Cold Black Heart,” “Atomic Moronic,” “Logan’s Run.” That’s a good-ass time. And they seemed in high spirits, no implication intended as to lucidity. Kind of a release show for them, since the record’s out next week, but I still haven’t seen any merch from them around. So it goes. The smaller room — I’ve heard a few complaints; it is what it is; be earlier — has a kind of raised floor along stage left and I went up there for a bit and watched. They’re not quite hometown heroes in NYC, but they draw a good crowd and deliver to them. That made it a little extra satisfying to watch them kill as they did.

—

Orange Goblin

Orange Goblin. I mean, what do you say about a band like that? This was my first time seeing them with Harry Armstrong — apparently also his first time in New York, as was declared from the stage — but come on, was there any way it was going to be anything less than stellar? My real question is whether Ben Ward will come out for a guest spot with John Garcia later. But I’ve been seeing this band live for well over a decade and a half and I’ve not once been underwhelmed. I’ve seen them here, in London, elsewhere, and all they do is rock and roll. I feel like there are so many other bands I don’t need to see because I’ve seen Orange Goblin, and that’s not a slag on anybody, but god damn. You never know when they’re not gonna come back (to take the living), so I feel like every set should be treasured, and this one certainly will be. That sounds corny as shit, but I mean it. I read they’ve got new material in the works too. How hard will they tour? How feasible is it? I don’t think it’s a question of how much they have in the tank, because watching them play, the answer is plenty, but with all they’ve done, the influence they’ve had, they still get on stage and bring it like a hungry band. They’re one of a kind, much to the chagrin of the many pretenders out there.

—

Holy Death Trio

It certainly did get dark in that little room. And I guess not so much with turning lights on. Okay, you make do. Holy Death Trio came up from Texas to play this show, and they played like a next-generation act, like they’ve got it together, have a plan when they go on stage and have put in the work to make their presentation as engaging as possible. One assumes it would’ve been even more so with lights on, but you know, sometimes it can be like a secret. Hey this band is super-cool but shh. Their record came out through Ripple last year in the label’s Blasko-curated splurge and if they’re going to tour for real life, it seems like they’re the kind of act where people are going to ask if you’ve seen them yet. I have now, and I’ll hope to again. They’ve got a party atmosphere — if you want to keep it to Austin bands, they’re like a less frenetic Amplified Heat — but they’re all the more exciting since they seem to be finding and still developing their approach. And make no mistake, asses were kicked. All I’m saying is that if they keep on the way they’re going, more will be in the years to come.

—

John Garcia and the Band of Gold

A good mix of John Garcia solo stuff and the requisite Kyuss tunes. “July” from Slo Burn. How could you fit everything from such a career? He said from the stage that they hadn’t done anything in two and a half years. Me neither, dude, one YOB show and a couple outdoor Sun Voyager gigs notwithstanding. Perhaps the weekend’s most brutal conflict is John Garcia on the same time as Sasquatch. That’s a hard one to live through, though not like there’s a wrong answer, except leaving. “Whitewater” felt duly like a watershed moment, the band by then totally warmed up and killing it. I guess you’d say Garcia’s stage presence is quiet. He has his moves but doesn’t go nuts or anything. He thanked the crowd and the Desertfest crew though respectfully and even when Sasquatch went on in the smaller room it was packed. Less all-charge than Orange Goblin, because that’s the music they play, but they tore up that jam in “Whitewater” and earned that whole Band of Gold moniker, even before they kicked into an uptempo take on “Green Machine” to close out. I saw Vista Chino play that song. That was cool too. This is a drunk crowd. Maybe I’m not the only one for whom this is pandemic-breakout, which inevitably is more fun than an outbreak, also happening but let’s not talk about it.

—

Sasquatch

I know it’s been a long day because I had to look up whether Sasquatch’s new album, Fever Fantasy, had been announced yet and I’m the one who wrote the announcement. You want rock and roll? There it is. That band. Keith Gibbs, Jason Casanova, Craig Riggs. Holy shit. They are the American heavy rock ideal, unstoppable in their momentum until they pull the rug out from under and lock in another killer groove. They opened with “Just Couldn’t Stand the Weather.” I fucking love “Just Couldn’t Stand the Weather!” How did they know? And I kind of feel like people holding up their cellphone flashlights when the band asked for more light on the stage was as close as the universe was going to come to doing me personal favors tonight, beyond simply being here. But Sasquatch have already been back on tour and they’ve got more in the works as I understand it, but god damn, just go see them. Just go. How many bands pass 20 years since they started and still deliver like that? There are a couple on the bill tonight, actually, but outside this building it’s far rarer. It was packed in the room 15 minutes before they went on, and the lights were low again, but whatever, it’s fucking Sasquatch. Bullshit need not apply.

—

Corrosion of Conformity

They went on 15 minutes late, which, you know, so it goes when there’s no one else playing behind you. Plenty of Judas Priest to listen to in the meantime. By the time they were through the jammmy take on “Paranoid Opioid” that opened the set, Mike Dean starting it off quiet on bass — fucking rad — time didn’t matter. Plenty of the standards in the set, including “Vote with a Bullet,” which I wondered if they’d break out (Pepper Keenan said something about it on stage but I didn’t catch what), but I guess it’s been a year since there was an insurrection on the Capitol Hill, so, fair game. Highlight for me might’ve been “Born Again for the Last Time,” which will be stuck in my head forever and that’s just fine, but there was plenty of competition there, and I was just really, really happy to see them again. I wonder if they’ll do another record. That’d be interesting. They probably don’t need to yet, really — I don’t think there was anything from the latest album in the set — but I’d be curious what they came up with after a few quiet years and the road time they put in before and apparently after the covid era, such as it is. Bottom line though is new album or not, I’ve been listening to this band since before I hit puberty and every chance I get to watch them play I’m happy to do it. More so as time goes on.

—

Other Random Observations:

– Dude in the Ween shirt wins shirts. In general there’s a bit of deviance from the black-shirt-blue-jeans norm. I support that.

– I have good friends here, new and old. It’s important to remember that. I have been and continue to be pretty isolated in regular life.

– Lot of couples attending.

– Knockdown Center could have four stages going, easy, and that’s before you put anything outside other than the food trucks.

– I have hugged and been hugged more this evening than in the last two and a half years.

– I’m still not 100 percent sure if I’m in Brooklyn or Queens. Life, huh?

– Still feels a little weird being out, but I brought a mask and I haven’t felt compelled to wear it as yet, so that’s… progress?

– Thanks for reading.

More pics after the jump.

Read more »

Gadzooks! You’d almost think I planned these things out in advance. Please rest assured that this 84th episode of The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal is as conceptually haphazard as usual — I’d say it’s as haphazard in execution as well, but Dean Rispler does a banger job putting it all together, editing, etc. — so it’s really just my end that’s a wreck. In any case, today begins Desertfest New York 2022 proper at the Knockdown Center in Brooklyn, and I’m thrilled to have this playlist as a selection from among the bands playing it.

Some are New York or area natives — Geezer, King Buffalo from Upstate, Somnuri from Brooklyn itself — but whether it’s WarHorse coming down from Boston to play or High on Fire, Brume, Red Fang, Dead Meadow, Sasquatch and others coming from the other side of the country to Orange Goblin making the trip from the UK, it’s a rager. The playlist is killer because the fest is killer. Simple as that.

I won’t be in the chat this time because, well, I’ll be at the fest, but I’ll check in if I can. Thanks if you listen, and thanks for reading.

The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at: http://gimmemetal.com.

Full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 05.13.22

Corrosion of Conformity	Deliverance	Deliverance
Torche	Mentor	Torche
High on Fire	Hung, Drawn & Quartered	Surrounded by Thieves
VT1
John Garcia	Chicken Delight	John Garcia & The Band of Gold
Sasquatch	It Lies Beyond the Bay	Fever Fantasy
Dead Meadow	Sleepy Silver Door	Live at Roadburn 2011
Brume	Despondence	Rabbits
Red Fang	Number Thirteen	Murder the Mountains
Somnuri	Watch the Lights Go Out	Nefarious Wave
King Buffalo	The Knocks	The Burden of Restlessness
Orange Goblin	They Come Back (Harvest of Skulls)	Healing Through Fire
VT2
Inter Arma	A Waxen Sea	Sulphur English
WarHorse	Lysergic Communion	As Heaven Turns to Ash
Yatra	Terminate by the Sword	Born Into Chaos
Valley of the Sun	The Chariot	The Chariot
Druids	Path to R	Shadow Work
High Reeper	Plague Hag	Higher Reeper
Greenbeard	Diamond in the Devil’s Grinder	Variant
VT3
Geezer	Atomic Moronic	Stoned Blues Machine
Howling Giant	Nomad	The Space Between Worlds

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is May 27 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.

Gimme Metal website

The Obelisk on Facebook

This is my favorite kind of news these days. Band makes good record, is going abroad to tour. It’s been known for some time that New York’s Geezer would head overseas to play in support of their forthcoming LP, Stoned Blues Machine — I’ll be streaming it in full on May 18; tune in — as the three-piece were announced early on for Heavy Psych Sounds Fest in Switzerland and Austria. They’ll also be at Freak Valley and GockelScream, which makes this a pretty efficient run. There are still a couple TBA dates, so if you happen to live between Salzburg and Mannheim or between Mannheim and Berlin — or at least somewhere nearby — and can help out, maybe hit up Total Volume Agency to let them know, but even if they end up with two days off, seems like this one is well worth the journey. Stay safe, gents. I’ll see you at Freak Valley.

As such, I can only hope they’ll bring their bong spaceship as depicted in this most righteous poster art below by Steven Yoyada. Imagine a nug-powered FTL engine rolling lazily out of drydock and crossing the subspace threshold while expanding your mind. Think of the aliens you’d meet in that thing. We on Pluto, and so forth. Right on.

Pack your bags:

Total Volume Agency presents

*** Geezer – ATOMIC MORONIC EUROPEAN TOUR 2022 ***

01/06 Nantes FR: Little Atlantique Brewery
02/06 Chambéry FR: Brin De Zinc
03/06 Winterthur SW: Heavy Psych Sounds Fest
04/06 Luzern SW: Bruch Brothers
05/06 Salzburg AT: Heavy Psych Sounds Fest
06/06 TBA
08/06 Mannheim DE: Alter
09/06 TBA
10/06 Berlin DE: Wild at Heart
11/06 Dresden DE: GockelScream Festival
12/06 Karlsruhe DE: P8
14/06 Strasbourg FR: Molodoi
15/06 Netphen DE: Freak Valley Festival
16/06 Ghent BE: Kinky Star
17/06 Liège BE: KulturA
18/06 Paris FR: Supersonic

NEW ALBUM Stoned Blues Machine coming out May 20th on Heavy Psych Sounds !!!

ALBUM PRESALE:
https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/shop.htm#HPS229

USA PRESALE:
https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/shop-usa.htm

GEEZER is
Pat Harrington – vocals/guitar
Richie Touseull – bass
Steve Markota – drums

https://www.instagram.com/geezertown/
https://www.facebook.com/geezerNY/
http://geezertown.bandcamp.com/

heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com
www.heavypsychsounds.com
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/

Geezer, Stoned Blues Machine (2022)

That’s a hell of a lineup for a birthday party. As you no doubt figured, GockelScream #3 is the third edition of the festival, which is based somewhere — no, I don’t know where — near Dresden in Germany and has an international pull enough to get Heavy Psych Sounds denizens like Duel and Geezer on board during their European tours, as well as to supplement with acts like Cities of Mars, Acid Rooster, Bantoriak, Poland’s Black Smoke and so on. It’s a two-dayer, so let’s assume that the birthday presumably for somebody, perhaps even Gockel, from ElbSludgeBooking will be duly celebrated. In screaming fashion.

If you’re in the region and able to attend, it’s a private festival (then why the press?), so you need to reach out to ElbSludge and ask them where to go, when, how much it costs, and so on. In my mind, that only makes this cooler. A rager with some good friends in the who-knows-where, righteous tunes, laid-back hangs, yeah. That’s about my speed.

Here’s the details that are public:

“In 2022 the notorious booking crew ElbSludgeBooking from Dresden/East-Germany will host the 3rd edition of its Stoner Rock festival „GockelScream“. What started as an excessive birthday party evolved into a proper fest with a special selection of international bands from Stoner to Doom, from Sludge to Krautian Psychedelia. This year will feature illustrious musical presentations by touring bands as Geezer, Duel and Cities of Mars and one-off shows by RRRAGS, Speck and Black Smoke. The whole line-up is of highest caliber, accompanied by a psychedelic light crew, massive PA, good food and German Punkerbier at a very special location, just 30 minutes east of downtown Dresden. If you dig the Stoner scene in its pure and cozy DIY-form this one’s for you. “.

Full line-up:

GEEZER (US)
DUEL (US)
RRRAGS (NL)
CITIES OF MARS (SWE)
ACID ROOSTER (GER)
CANNABINEROS (GER)
BANTORIAK (IT)
SPECK (AUT)
ANDROMEDA SPACE RITUAL (POL)
BLACK SMOKE (POL)
KOMBYNAT ROBOTRON (GER)
ALLIGATOR RODEO (GER)
ACACIA & MAGNOLIA (GER)

All the details like admission fee and the exact location are only available after writing to gockelscream@elbsludge.de.

https://www.facebook.com/Elbsludgebooking/
https://www.instagram.com/elbsludgebooking/

Duel, In Carne Persona (2021)

The more I think about it, the more impressed I am all around by what Geezer accomplished yesterday. If you, like most people, have never been in a studio setting either to record or just sit there and be weird while someone else does, you might not know just how rare it is for a band to roll in, throw down for about 11 hours with one relatively minimal dinner break, and come out of it with the better part of an album recorded.

Of course there’s more work to do. Four more songs, to start with, and then overdubs, non-scratch vocals, and so on, but even so. The work-hard-work-smart nature of the band’s hitting it yesterday — and more, their down-to-business-but-cool-about-it attitude — was what you would hope a best case scenario would be for a group going into their sixth full-length and then some. Everybody has their insecurities, and recording can be and inherently is a push on that — was it good enough that time? is it ever? — but the way they kept focused on the work, even when the work was jamming out the start of “Stoned Blues Machine.”

I wound up staying after the session at the Super 8 in Kingston, about 15 minutes away from Applehead Studio. Maybe I could have driven home the 90-plus minutes, but I was tired and it’s not like there’s a surging global pandemic on or anything. The morning coffee is pretty rough — I’ve still had three cups — but I’ll admit to some nostalgia looking around the room and thinking of the Super 8 in Frederick, Maryland, and Maryland Doom Fest. It’s all pretty standardized.

Shower, some other work, then maybe a bit of exploring around Woodstock if it’s not too cold before I go back to the studio for day two. It’s been a long time since I was last up here for a long weekend broke-honeymoon, right after I got married. If nothing else, it’s the kind of place where I might expect to find some better coffee.

There’s a stream that runs behind the studio, a big open field next door. The tea shop down the way is badass (yes I said that), and I took a few minutes to drive through Woodstock’s main drag before coming back here. Hippie tourists and hippie locals, yuppies with a passing interest in counterculture met head-on by Free Tibet-types and tie-dye shops. My only regret is having neither the time nor the funds to shop. First one to tie-dye a pair of sweatpants wins my heart forever. And probably whatever they’re charging for them.

I’ve got until about 4PM here today, so hopefully that’s enough for them to bang out the basics on the other four songs.

Notes from day two:

12.19.21 – 11:50AM – Applehead Recording – Woodstock, NY

“Stoned Blues Machine”

Pat’s a bit late. Sick kids at home. They decide to roll out with a revisit to “Stoned Blues Machine,” but if their warmup jam doesn’t end up on the record, I’ll be personally disappointed. Dudes walked in and hit it like they never left, except better rested.

The solo’s a scorcher. Unmixed, it reminds me of Chocolate & Cheese-era Ween in that combination of dreamy warm tone and punk rock fuckoff. There was a hiccup at the start, but the listen-back sounds right on, and yes, Bittner saved that initial jam.

Little fixes. Tom at the start, two guitar things, and a retake on the solo. Steve has drum stuff. Richie has a couple bass things. Pat will go last and I assume put down the scratch vocals at the same time. This is the process. Do the song, listen to the song, tweak what needs tweaking. It’s not an uncommon tack. What differentiates this experience for me being here is the mood and the vibe. Smoke weed. Calm down.

Applehead Recording is — have I mentioned this? — a beautiful looking, beautiful sounding place to exist for whatever measure of time. But it’s also relaxed. It’s not so pro that, unless you’re me, you’re afraid to sit on the couch for fear of something exploding. It’s pro-shop, no question — the board’s as big as my living room — and I imagine every session is different, but with Geezer here, the prevailing spirit is mellow, unrushed, despite a universal need for coffee. Everybody’s waiting on the pot to finish.

I very purposefully didn’t send the band the stuff I wrote yesterday, because the last thing I want to do is mess with the atmosphere here. When you come to do things like this, you’re a guest, but you also have to walk on eggshells a little bit. You try to make yourself small, to not impose yourself on things. Generally, no one will ask your opinion on anything, and if you have one, you’re probably better keeping it to yourself. It’s not that you’re an intruder, but if you were on the inside of the experience, you’d be in the band or behind the board, and you’re neither of those things. Be thankful for the coffee and the tunes.

Richie finishes quick, Pat’s next. Redoes the solo, tries some weird phase stuff on top. The door’s open the whole time. Super casual. Vocals follow, a little more of a spoken take in the verse to go with the roll, reminds me of the first album. Hook opens up fluidly, lyric about the world being a wreck, saying screw it, moving to the mountains and getting high. I mean, yeah. There’s 90 acres listed down the way I drove past on the way here. Wonder what that’s going for. Steve calls it “trucker vibes” when Pat comes back into the control room — my head immediately starts spinning with visuals playing off the Burn One Up comp. Geezer’s got some big shoes to fill in terms of cover art after Groovy, as it happens.

In any case, if this song is the title-track, it will have earned it.

12.19.21 – 1:30PM – Applehead Recording – Woodstock, NY

“A Cold Black Heart”

“Stoned Blues Machine” took a while, but it seemed like everyone was having a pretty good time with it.

An impromptu sing-along to Poison’s “Every Rose Has its Thorn” — sans Harrington, sans me — gives way to “A Cold Black Heart,” for which they do a couple takes of the intro first. It’s nothing so outlandish, but just a timing thing it seems.

The verse riff is a chug and a wind, reminding me of something I’ll probably need to hear it 15 more times to put my finger on, but it’s easy enough to hear where the chorus is going to be even hearing it run through the first time, and that’s probably a good sign. The solo take live sounds really solid, and there’s a turn into a different, slower chug for what I’d guess is a bridge that leads to another solo, they kind of jam on it with Richie’s bassline holding the tension of a build that tells me they’re bringing it back around, which they do, if just to finish.

Another take to work on the transition into that slower part, have some trouble getting it going, but do. The slower part seems to be a little faster, but the transition into it sounds more natural — it’s a split-second thing, but Steve got it — and in that later solo I hear a little “Heaven and Hell” between the bass and guitar. I will not complain about that, probably ever, though who knows if it’ll still be there after the mix, overdubs, etc. are done.

One more take. They sound more comfortable, like they’re locking in. That change again is no problem. I wonder if there will be vocals over this part, or some other trippy whatnot. Could hear keys there, easily. It’s pretty open before the lead line kicks in.

Third take was the best one. Hilarious as to how smoothly things have gone that that many times through a song seems like a lot. Drum mic broke. So it goes, probably expensively.

It takes some time to fix, which might honestly be the difference between my being able to be here for the other three songs and leaving before they’re done, but like anything, it’s a part of what happens when you’re in a studio.

12.19.21 – 3:07PM – Applehead Recording – Woodstock, NY

Work is still being done on “A Cold Black Heart,” putting some funkified bass parts in with what Chris Bittner calls the “Purple Haze” part, which is as good a name for it certainly as anything I’ve got. It’s swagger on swagger, in any case.

I think this’ll probably be the last song I hear while I’m at Applehead, by the time this gets done and the scratch vocals are done. I’ll take comfort in knowing that even though I’m not here until the end I’ve heard most of the record, whatever it ends up being called, unless they decide to leave some of what they did yesterday off. I won’t get to hear “Diamond Rain of Saturn,” which I was looking forward to just given the title, but I’ll look forward to hearing it when it’s done instead.

Today is colder but gorgeous and bright. I’m looking forward to seeing the sunset on my way back south, the mountains of doom that are the Catskill Appalachians — old, slow-rolling, eroded by time and a little sad about it — alongside the Thruway. I don’t get up here a lot.

3:15PM, Pat hits the vocals. “Late at night, I feel no pain/In the morning, I feel no shame.” Chris moves to one of the several key instruments around — an organ — to feel out ideas for that part. Seems reasonable.

Next song is “Little Voices.”

Today hasn’t been the crazy-productive jaunt that yesterday was, but I won’t be the least bit surprised when they finish the basics by the time they’re out of here tonight. I don’t know what the plan is for following up on the work they’ve done here, but if they came here to work with Chris Bittner and to work in that room — both pretty solid reasons from what I’ve been able to tell — then they’ve made a lot out of that opportunity. I guess whatever will happen from here will happen.

They’re talking food, which means it’s probably time I started packing up.