Party in the desert, right? Certainly looks that way as the inaugural and maybe-one-time-only Burque Rock City Fest adds Dead Meadow, Greenbeard, Abrams, SuperGiant, Violet Rising and THC Worm to complete its lineup. SuperGiant are local to Albuquerque — which is the ‘Burque’ in ‘Burque City,’ where the fest is happening — this Aug. 4-5, and the first three names are familiar, but I admit I can’t find any info on Violet Rising and as this is my first time hearing/hearing of THC Worm, I’ve included the Bandcamp stream of their Dec. 2022 debut, Dead Horse Incubator, in case you’d also like to be introduced. As one might expect, it’s pretty over the top.

In the end — and I’ll note that there’s still two months to go before the festival actually takes place, so ‘end’ is relative — the lineup here is pretty solid for a lower-key take on what the same crew normally puts together for Monolith on the Mesa. A representative showing set in a different context. If this is a pivot to building something new, they certainly have the contacts, infrastructure and reach to do so, but if it’s a placeholder until 2024, it’s a badass one just the same. If you headed out, I think you probably know what’s coming, and if not, please see the first sentence above.

From the PR wire:

BURQUE ROCK CITY ANNOUNCE FINAL LINEUP!

Burque Rock City Is Happy To Announce The Full Lineup Of Bands For August 4th & 5th Downtown ABQ At The Historic El Rey Theater & Insideout Bar

Burque Rock City Would Love to Welcome: Dead Meadow * Greenbeard * Abrams * Supergiant * Violet Rising * THC Worm

Completing the Amazing Lineup with Previously Announced Bands:

Weedeater * Pike Vs The Automaton * Belzebong * Early Moods * High Desert Queen * Thunder Horse * Sorcia * Prism Bitch * Coma Revovery * Brant Bjork * Yawning Balch * Year of the Cobra * Fatso Jetson * Electric Citizen * Tenderizor * Street Tombs * Red Mesa * Ojo Malo * Nomestomper

Get Your Early Bird Tickets NOW while you can!

Early Bird Day Pass-$100: https://holdmyticket.com/event/412535

Early Bird 2 Day Pass-$200: https://holdmyticket.com/event/412537

Roman Barham, co-founder of Monolith on the Mesa, has been quietly working on Burque Rock City Fest.

Barham says:

“Monolith On The Mesa crew would love to thank everyone who helped make Monolith 2022 an awesome fest. Huge thanks from The Taos Mesa Brewery crew, the Hotel Luna Mystica crew and to all the very respectful patrons that came out and made Monolith On The Mesa 2022 an amazing tribute to our fallen brother Dano Sanchez (deceased Monolith co-founder).

We have decided to take a year off from Monolith and bring it back in 2024 to Taos Mesa Brewery.

Branching south from the Monolith On The Mesa tree is Burque Rock City Fest in Albuquerque, NM At The Historic El Rey Theater & Insideout Bar On Friday August 4th & Saturday August 5th 2023.

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THC Worm, Dead Horse Incubator (2022)

Dead Meadow, Live at Heavy Psych Sounds Fest 2022, San Francisco, CA

Early

It’s a kind of radical self-determinism. There is no rescue or guiding hand coming. The whole time I’ve been in Vegas, and really since Psycho got rolling here in 2016, I think I’m not the only one who’s been trying to understand just what the hell it’s all supposed to be about. I won’t lie, getting my head around it and seeing what Psycho has become as it’s gotten bigger and more encompassing is part of why I’m here. I acknowledge that for a good many people that’s just the wrong approach, but that’s the idea too.

You know how Americans think we don’t have a culture and that’s our culture? Well, consider a festival as a “we” experience. There is a collective of people all in the same place for a similar basic reason — this is the foundation of community. Psycho isn’t about the “we.” Certainly there are people here with fest-friends and all that, but it’s more the individualized experience. The ‘you’ in it is singular. You choose your adventure.

For the most part you can move around freely as you do so — local statutes and constabulary permitting — and what you see, who you’re with and why is up to you. Psycho isn’t about bringing everybody together in a lump and presenting a vision. It’s letting attendees handle their own curation. Between that and the brass-coated male-gaze consumerism happening all around the music, this becomes a distinctly American idea. The narrative becomes one of searching out your own way through the huge tangle of lineups, discovering where you need to be and when as you go. It’s thrilling in a way. Pioneer spirit. You’re here, you figure it out.

That is not an experience for everyone, nor is it everyone’s experience of America, but that too is a part of the culture of this country and a part of the story Psycho Las Vegas is telling about it. I don’t know if I feel like I’ve figured it out, but everybody who for years has been comparing Psycho to other fests, in Europe or not, is doing it wrong. That giant chrome ball in the middle of the mall space at Resorts World? That’s your answer. It doesn’t have to justify itself. You are here. Now go get wrecked. Psycho Las Vegas is a different animal. Use its teeth to carve out your own good time.

For many, I expect the ‘mad musical odyssey’ aspect means last night’s, or Thursday’s, party is still going. So be it. It’s eight in the morning. My alarm was set for this time, but I got up and out early. I might sit outside Starbucks in this chair until someone either shoos me away or I actually finish both these coffees, which are what they are. I imagine there are people’s whose chosen adventures lead to places outside this billions-and-billions-of-dollars hotel complex. I’m not so brave, apart from that one trip the first night to the dispensary.

Later, after coffee

Maybe I got up too early. I feel like there’s a lot of very famous hair around right now. I wonder how many other festivals are going on?

Seeing Kings Destroy was a trip. Every time I’m anywhere those guys are, it’s a good day. A bit sentimental, but let’s be honest, I don’t have a lot of friends. That’s my own fault more than anything. They played “Green Diamonds” though, which is loved, and “Old Yeller.” “I know your people they hang out at this club.”

There is no place to sit in the Dawg House, save for $25-minimum tables. I’ve got a leaning spot and might just have to stay here for the duration, since this is where most of what I want to see is happening. Choose your adventure and I stand still and complain about no chairs. That sounds about right.

But about Kings Destroy. I’ve written a ton of shit on the subject over the last 12 years. A lot. And I feel pretty comfortable in saying that I’ve barely scratched the surface in what’s going on in that band. The two-guitar dynamic, the different personalities of the players coming through on stage. There’s a ton there, influence-wise, pulling from classic rock more than I ever have them credit for, and it’s been a minute since I put on those records, but hearing songs from Fantasma Nera had almost nostalgic vibes, even though they’re not actually that old. Oh yeah, seeing Kings Destroy. That’s a thing I used to do before the world fell apart.

And goodness gracious Greenbeard rock. That’s kind of their thing, right? Well it holds up. Even after what I’ll call an excess of coffee, I feel a bit like I’m dragging ass, but neither Kings Destroy — C-wolf and Carl in sunglasses like the Blues Brothers on either side of the stage — nor Greenbeard were in similar straits. For the best. I stayed up front for Kings Destroy, like you do, and moved back for Greenbeard, but man, the groove is statistically significant. I don’t want to say it’s a surprise, since I saw them like two and a half months ago, but it is hitting the spot vibe-wise. Belzebong after this is going to be crusty fun.

Later again

I feel guilty as shit for being here. You know what my wife did today? She painted the ceiling of our fucking kitchen. After driving back from dropping the kid off in Connecticut to stay with his aunt for an overnight. God damn I’m selfish. Painted the ceiling. And what was I doing? Daring to see Blood Incantation instead of Rifflord, who I saw two days ago? Yes, look at my bold and unpredictable action. Surely worthy of my apparent station in life.

As Tom G. Warrior tells us, “Ough.”

But I did go see Blood Incantation after Belzebong’s ultra-stoner riff onslaught, because sometimes a bit of kicking around is good for the ol’ soul, and I needed it. Nothing against Rifflord, mind you. I just needed to be where I was.

And Blood Incantation provided the shove I needed as well, that ur-groove that only death metal has. Technical but fun to watch in a look-at-what-people-can-do-with-noise kind of way. You’ll pardon me if I try and push back on the imaginary obligations I invent for myself. Occasionally.

Duel, Blackwater Holylight, and Stinking Lizaveta (yes, again), in quick succession. It wound up I checked out Duel — ripper, duh — and went up to the Event Center to get in the photo pit for Blackwater Holylight, didn’t get my requisite email out soon enough and so didn’t get in. I took pictures from the crowd. Who cares? Like I gotta make deadline for The Daily Bugle or some shit. Heads up though, Blackwater Holylight are a prog band. And I’m pretty sure they know it. They had a violinist on stage and I guess that’s part of the impression, but what was psych bliss in their sound has evaporated and left behind a much darker exploratory ambience. Don’t let me get all critic, because I’m pretty sure that’s not in the spirit of the thing, but the turn in their sound on their last record isn’t over yet.

I left there to get back to Dawg House — the security know me here now and make fun of me because I keep coming and going — and Duel were still on, so I got to watch more of their set as well as their Warriors of the World-worthy big rock finish, which, again, duh.

Stinking Lizaveta as revival music. I don’t know how many people were there to see them because I didn’t turn around but holy crap can that band play. They’re the heavy jazz of everything. Absolutely on fire, yesterday and today, and and suited to the kind of box effect of the Dawg House stage in a way not everyone has been. Interesting to think of both them and Blood Incantation as restorative in a way, but they have been, as kind of mirror set up to the anxiousness, pushing ahead if not breaking through. I don’t know. I had a couple decent conversations today with people who I have no idea why they’d want to talk to me. Amy Johnson brought me presents. Stinking Lizaveta played. Clearly things for a moment were their most perfect selves.

I’ve been trying to avoid reviewing. Did you notice? Did you notice me failing? Doesn’t that strike you as kind of sad? Or maybe it’s what I’m here for? A not-really-all-that-druggy journey of self-discovery in the desert? Could even I be so mild and cliché? I mean, yeah, probably. Easily. Twice today, and that’s my review of the review. Shit sandwich.

Later, getting late

Ruby the Hatchet could’ve played any stage of this festival. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen them all at this point. And they’d have killed everywhere they went. Just a rock band locked in, that’s all. Seems to happen a lot today.

I hung around for a few songs, lack of water had me feeling kind of stuck; I’d lost my bottle and had yet to replace it. This would be rectified in due time, but I was in no rush whatsoever to leave Ruby the Hatchet’s set, some new, some old, delivered by a band in a continuing process of finding their sound but with veteran confidence and professionalism. It still feels like shows are a thing that used to happen, but last time I saw Ruby the Hatchet was 2019, and on the warped scale of time the last few years have wrought, that’s not all that long ago. It doesn’t make any fucking sense.

Was talking with a friend today (not namedropping) about our children, about trying to raise them to be aware of the world around them, their place in it, the changing planet and all of these generally awful things that human beings have done and continue to do to this world in which right now we’re complicit right here every day all the time, and while I agreed with him that this was the proper course of bringing up a human being to not be a complete tool, there was also a part of me that would be okay if my kid skipped the baggage that seems to come tacked onto consciousness of self, floated through life unconcerned. The trouble is you can’t do it. How’s the kid gonna know who the fascists are if he doesn’t know it used to snow in December? These things are all interconnected, and I want little more out of parenting than to not raise a fucking fascist.

But thinking about time up and down had me in a good frame of mind for Ruby the Hatchet, improbably. I walked past Psychlona on my way to get another hamburger salad — no pickle, no onion, no cherry tomatoes — and they were right on, had shenanigans afoot in front of the stage. Spaceface played after them in the same spot and were on when I got back from dinner. I knew nothing about them but sat and watched about half their set ahead of Church of the Cosmic Skull and parts reminded me of spacier, young Ween, but it was the melodies that took me. They had a multicolored parachute out the crowd was playing with when I rolled in, people came and went, dancing all the while. They pre-closed with a cover of “You Sexy Thing” by Hot Chocolate, and they were pretty loyal to the original, which is a song I happen to know fairly well because that’s just who I am. Didn’t see that one coming.

Dinner was eaten, by the way, sitting in a giant egg at the breakfast place and that was a thing I didn’t expect to say when I signed on for this trip. I take back whatever I said before, eating a sans-onion salad in a cracked-egg chair is exactly the kind of adventure I would choose. Have chosen.

Church of the Cosmic Skull have a new record out. I haven’t reviewed it yet, but I will, hopefully before the adjacent-project Dystopian Future Movies put out their next album and I’m even further behind. I’d say it was guilt that kept me watching them in Famous Foods for the entirety of their set, but really it was just another extension of being where I needed to be. The tradeoff was missing Mondo Drag, who are fantastic, but Church of the Cosmic Skull got going late anyway owing to persistent technical issues and what seemed to be a general lack of mics. And when you’re a seven-piece band and just about everybody sings, that really makes a difference.

They got it going though. All was well. Couple hiccups, some feedback, but whatever. Even with all that, the room was on their side from before they even started playing, myself included, and once they were able to dig in, it was a perfect end to my night. They played “Everybody’s Going to Die” and the only thing that kept me from singing along was I was so choked up. They didn’t close with that, but they could have. “Evil in Your Eye” did just fine though. I eventually wound up in back with a couple of the Kings Destroy guys — not Aaron, who made his feelings known earlier in the photo above — and that brought the day to reasonable bit of full circle. At least I knew I’d been on the right path.

Tomorrow is the last day of the festival. I know that means I’ll spend at least half of it thinking about getting to the airport on Monday, because that’s my kind of neurotic, but like I’ve been rolling without a real, written-out plan, I’m gonna do my best to live in Psycho Sunday while it’s happening, because airlines permitting I’m going to be back in New Jersey on Monday evening and I’m going to have to stand under that newly painted kitchen ceiling and hold my head up to look at it. I feel like that might be easier if I’ve actually let myself have the good time I came here to have. Crazy, I know.

Thanks for reading.

It was raining last night when I left the Knockdown Center. Pouring, actually. I had parked in the venue’s lot, which I may or may not be allowed to do, but no one said no, so there it is. Two cars were parked in tight formation behind me and on either side.

Got that picture? Looking at it from above, you had two cards that were like the top of a Y, but straight, and I was the bottom. I walked out behind two dudes and asked them for the massive favor of guiding me out of that spot, which they did, in the rain. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. Completely above and beyond. They stood there in the rain and made sure I got out without hitting either of the other cars. If it was you, and you’re reading this, get in touch, because I can’t even tell you how much that meant to me. Nothing says community more than shit like that.

Slept an extra hour or so this morning, though my body still thinks 6:30 is sleeping in even though it was nearly 2AM by the time I went to bed. Coffee, shower, shave the nascent neckbeard, water, protein bar, try to feel human. As refreshing as it’s been to live music for a couple full days, I don’t feel out of line saying I’m exhausted and will appreciate the earlier finish tonight. I finished the macadamia butter yesterday, but ground up a bunch of hazelnuts and brought that in some tupperware for the car, had a few bites on the way in. Life-giving. No salt, no nothing. Just dry roasted nuts, smoother than not — enough to bring out the oil — but still with a bit of natural texture. Beautiful.

It’s summer today. Sun’s out, it’s hot, and I’m sitting outside at the Knockdown Center by the food trucks, kind of half in the shade. I managed yesterday to hydrate really well. Today that will be even more important. I woke up this morning with a sorer throat than I expected, gave myself two covid home tests, both decidedly negative. Nice to know for sure.

Doors in about 20 minutes, first band an hour after that.

Greenbeard

This might be the perfect weather for a Greenbeard show. Sun’s out, it’s warm and humid enough to sweat but not totally overbearing, and up from Austin, the four-piece were an immediate rager. Their new record has a good mix of melodic and harder-driving stuff, riff-led but branching out in the way of desert-style heavy and soul, and they brought some of that to what was a pretty quick set, but along the way had time to list “some of their favorite things” in “Don’t Get Too Desperate,” including queso in a list that would do “Feel Good Hit of the Summer” proud. The party vibe was immediate, really even before they went on, but when they hit it, there was no warmup, no give-it-a-minute-and-see-where-it-goes. Greenbeard play heavy rock and roll like it’s this crazy new thing they just made up and you need to hear it right now. And it felt good to recognize songs from their new album, Variant, even if they were considerably rawer live.

—

Left Lane Cruiser

Other than a few basic factoids like they’re signed to Alive Records and they’re from Indiana and having seen their name around a bunch, I knew very little going into Left Lane Cruiser’s set. I expected bluesy, given the chair on stage and the low drums. Washboard, slide guitar, dude rambling between songs most unintelligible. So yes, bluesy, in a hard-boogie kind of way. Fiery energy, light on frills but with a marked lean into cultural appropriation. Maybe just not my thing, but I felt like guitarist/vocalist Fredrick “Joe” Evans IV laid on the Bayou banter a little thick. Wabba dabba baggle clabby. They hit it though, and I’ll give respect to both the energy and the washboard, which was soon enough used to crash through cymbals on the drum kit. It was what it was, and maybe I’ve got race on my mind because of that terrorist shooting in Buffalo, but for as much as they burned, I was left kind of cold. It’s a packed weekend. They aren’t all going to resonate.

—

Mother Iron Horse

These guys jumped from Electric Valley Records to Ripple Music for last year’s ‘Under the Blood Moon,’ and very much compatriot to Leather Lung in my mind perhaps because I saw the two together in 2019 at the much-missed Ode to Doom in Manhattan. Maybe they’re friends. Maybe they hang out on weekends, I don’t know. Even their soundcheck drew people in though, and that crowd did not dissipate when the actual set started. The band plays both kind of music, sludge and rock, and they’re unrepentant in their aggression. They made it easy though to get down with that in the side room, which grew more and more crowded as the set went on, until, finally, the heat reminded me that I very much needed to refill my water bottle. They introduced themselves though by saying, “We’re Mother Iron Horse and a woman’s body is her own fucking business.” Both true, even if the latter was less immediately relevant to the set. I have to think Samuel Alito probably wouldn’t get it had he shown up for Desertfest, but fuck him anyway. Good to know where Mother Iron Horse stand though, and more heavy bands need to be unafraid to say shit like that.

—

Big Business

On the other hand, Big Business started their set by asking who was ready for a pizza party. Duh, everyone. A very West Coast foreshadow of Red Fang to come. I couldn’t tell you the last time I saw Big Business live, but it was probably a Melvins show, if that gives you a general idea. Jared and Coady — which I call them because they’re buds; we talk sometimes, and no that is not at all true — have their thing, and they’re veterans, and they played like it. I was dragging ass, admittedly, but I don’t think I’ve heard Big Business in the last decade and not felt like I need to listen to them more. Today is no different, and thinking of bands who came up around the same time in the early to mid ’00s, they’ve held up better than many and remained true to their ethic. You got an awesome bassist and an awesome drummer and if the central thesis is that’s all you need, well, there are probably a few two-guitar acts in this lineup who’d argue, but I wouldn’t, especially not after watching them play. Good band. Maybe a bit taken for granted, but they’ve only busted their ass for the last 20 years.

—

Stinking Lizaveta

The band I was most looking forward to today. Knew what I was getting, have seen them on multiple prior occasions, and was still astonished. They played as a four-piece with Paul Webb on second guitar, which let Yanni Papadopoulos shred and bounce and move wherever the very precise plan that’s in a language no one else quite understands called for him to go. They’re instrumental, but he, bassist Alexi Papadopoulos and drummer Cheshire Agusta all got on mic at some point between songs. Beyond that, the only vocals were through Yanni’s pickups and various woops and shouts while they played, and they were unreal. Radiating joy all the while, they proceeded to shred common concepts like what’s a song and which way is up and who’s rock and roll anyhow like they were so much fog from the smoke machine, each of them a genuine hero on their instrument and so tight together and so dynamic that each change brought new wonders. The word is unfuckwithable, and that is what they are. Not a single second was misspent, and they were so fucking good and their energy was so infectious that by the time they were done I wasn’t even tired anymore.

—

Dead Meadow

Feels wrong to think of Dead Meadow as the kings of mellow psych, if only because I doubt mellow psych is a monarchy. Whatever system of government the genre might be and whether you tag them as shoegaze or heavy psych or drift psych or anything else that might apply to a given languid measure, they’re masters of it. They eased their way into the proceedings with a jam and had some sound issues — bass cut out early, was fixed quickly — but they got into it with their trademark style, a kind of fascinated serenity set to groove. It’s still daylight, which feels weird somehow, and the weather remains gorgeous, but the crowd filed in once they got going and it was dead quiet in between the songs (after the applause, etc.) as those in front of the stage eagerly awaited the next dose of sweet fuzz that would emanate from it. Another act who’ve stood time’s test by understanding who they are and what they want to do in stage and in their songwriting. Mostly they want you to chill the hell out. And to aid in that cause, Dead Meadow are totally willing to close with “Sleepy Silver Door,” which is only right and proper. A band you always expect to be kind of a wreck based on how they sound but who are sneaky reliable. And oh, that jam…

—

High Reeper

If the phrase “fucking a” was a band, it’d be High Reeper. My first time seeing them live, and they were nastier than on their records but that’s certainly not a problem at this point in the weekend. A good kick in the ass is certainly justified. Crazy one two three to this part of the day, with Stinking Lizaveta, Dead Meadow and High Reeper, who play heavy rock but have a metal middle finger in the air just the same. Hot and humid in that room even with the door open and that suited High Reeper well, as one of my earplugs came partway out and the result was immediately painful. They’re of a whole cohort on Heavy Psych Sounds — see also: Duel, maybe Hippie Death Cult who signed around the same time — and you can hear their point of view taking shape in their sound. That is to say, it has taken shape and while “refine” isn’t the right word for something so brazen, after seeing them I’m left with no doubt they’ll continue to push themselves deeper into the emergent definition of their approach. If Greenbeard were the party — and they were — then High Reeper were the fight that breaks out after everyone is smashed.

—

Red Fang

Two and a half pandemic years later, you can still set your watch by Red Fang’s ability to kick ass. They launched their set with a barrage from across multiple albums and even when they “settled” into it they were explosive. Like Torche, High on Fire still to come, like Big Business earlier, this is an established act, professional, and they put on a professional show. They played “Number Thirteen,” which even with “Wires” and the requisite closer “Prehistoric Dog” would’ve been enough for me on its own, and the place went off. Of course it did. Not at all a surprise, but a definite reaffirmation of their place, which has always been on a stage. I don’t mind telling you that on an existential level, I am very much feeling the early finish tonight, but even so, having Red Fang on right before High on Fire on the main stage makes sense in a way the world hasn’t made sense in what feels like even longer than it actually has been. They’re a band that indoctrinated people into this sound in the first place, and as veterans, they reminded me at least of what a force they can be at their best.

—

Telekinetic Yeti

Oh my. You like tone? Telekinetic Yeti has some tone, and I’m fairly certain it was coming through three Orange full stacks. Statistically significant weight in those riffs. Obviously that’s the idea, and the Midwestern duo, who had an ugly split after their first record that seems to have abated with the addition of a new drummer, play it chunky style. They’re signed to Tee Pee, so there’s a New York connection, and they brought flood lights to counter the encroaching night. I’ve heard a lot of heavy shit this weekend — a lot — but beyond Torche’s bomb string, I’m not sure there’s much to stand up to Telekinetic Yeti in terms of sheer heft. Gonna need a forklift for those riffs, bro. New album in July will be one to dig into. If they managed to capture half of what they used to fill that side room for their headlining spot, it’ll be the kind of thing that’ll blow your speakers. “Stoned & Feathered,” man. Frickin’ “Abominable.” Goodness.

—

High on Fire

There is likely no hyperbole left that has not been said at some point in their more-than-20-year career. They are a juggernaut, they are marauders, they are both the unstoppable force and the immovable object. They are the single axe swing that takes your head off clean, first time. Speaking of first time, I’d yet to see them with Coady Willis on drums. I was always a Des Kensel fan. Dude had a style of play that was all his own. Willis, though, is a fucking monster. He not only handles the older parts but owns them, makes them his own, and executes the material with a vitality that pushes into aerobics. He and Jeff Matz as a rhythm section are well matched and crushing in kind. And what of Matt “For President” Pike? He is the master of ceremonies at the Red Wedding. High on Fire were so intense they were in a league completely of their own. Genre doesn’t matter. Nothing matters. Their volume was consuming — loudest of the day, I think, which may be by design — and their ferocity unmatched. As extreme as Desertfest got with some of the more death metal-style stuff, I feel like High on Fire added extra blast to their attack tonight and it was every bit as glorious as one could hope. The perfect ending in that nothing could hope to follow it.

—

Other Random Observations:

– Good music makes life better. Great music makes life great.

– The Yankees have been away all weekend and I suspect that’s made the drives in from NJ easier. Fortunate.

– Lunar eclipse tonight. Feels about right.

– I think I might end everything I ever write about Dead Meadow from here on out with an ellipses.

– Counted no fewer than four Obelisk shirts today, including one on Yanni from Stinking Lizaveta, which was truly humbling. Sleeveless, no less.

– Thanks for reading.

I did get to watch some of that eclipse on my way home. Imagine that for a second. Incredible. 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.

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Austin, Texas, heavy rockers Greenbeard will release their new album, Variant, April 1 through Sailor Records and Kozmik Artifactz. It is their third full-length behind 2015 debut, Stoned at the Throne (discussed here), 2017’s Lödarödböl (review here) and the 2019 EP, Onward, Pillager (review here), and despite much of the narrative — blessings and peace upon it — surrounding the outing being about how it’s taken nearly four years for Variant to come together and the fact that doing so has involved a revamped lineup with bassist Pat Seals and second guitarist Joe Samson joining guitarist/vocalist Chance Parker and drummer Buddy Hachar, what’s lost in that storyline is how righteously the album flows, and just how friggin’ good Greenbeard are at making difficult things sound easy.

For an example, look no further than the sub-three-and-a-half-minute opener “Creatures of the Night” (video premiering below, directed by Daniel Fried). The first of Variant‘s seven component tracks in its 33-minute, don’t-take-any-more-time-than-you-need run, the song finds Greenbeard off at a run, executing creative rhythmic turns and inventive melodicism that will shortly become a running theme for the record as a whole. It’s a sprint, careening in desert rock down-the-highway fashion, but Greenbeard handle the corners smoothly, Parker‘s voice commanding without being any showier than any other element — for an album that will shortly to feature as much saxophone as Variant does throughout “Diamond in the Devil’s Grinder” and the highlight “Sanitario de la Soul,” the level of swag throughout defies logic in remaining understated — surfing the riff in “Creatures of the Night” to craft the first of the offering’s ace hooks and delving into Chris Goss-style patterning on the chunkier second track “Burns Like Basketweave.” That is not a comparison lightly made, but the chic moan and dense fuzz that accompanies more than justify it.

The lead duo are a salvo unto themselves, but as further demonstration of their mastery of their approach, the more tempo-moderate “Burns Like Basketweave” shifts deftly into “Get in the Car. No Time to Explain.,” which in its tail end introduces the aforementioned saxophone that will go on to play a larger role in the subsequent one-two punch of “Diamond in the Devil’s Grinder” and “Sanitario de la Soul,” Greenbeard making a clear effort to carry their listener across from one stage of Variant to the next. Melodies out of classic soul-informed rock make their way into “Get in the Car. No Time to Explain.,” even as the five-minute cut lets the guitar lead through twisting hook en route to what seems to be a sampled chorus in the background that will, sure enough, return in the song’s apex. “Diamond in the Devil’s Grinder” is mellower in parts but works with a broader dynamic in its volume changes and layering, sax and guitar working together across crescendos and comedowns, build-ups and let-gos before the kick-into-shuffle in the final third gives a faster ending before the organ-laced start of “Sanitario de la Soul.”

All throughout Variant, Greenbeard deliver performances that drip with class and still feel natural enough to present them as the band who just happened to come to town that night and will be onto another town, another venue, tomorrow. Right up to its shredding solo, “Sanitario de la Soul” might be the song that most summarizes everything that Variant has to offer — that lead work seems to be setting up the finale of closer “Bare Bones”; the manner in which the tracks communicate with each other already established but working across multiple avenues — and accordingly it’s fitting that the penultimate “Exodus” should follow in something of a return to the mindset of “Creatures of the Night” ahead of “Bare Bones,” the emphasis invariably on dynamic and just how far Greenbeard have brought their audience as the capper taps more classic vibes, lyrical references and clever aphorism twists complementing a last chorus before a solo, a break and a final shove bring Variant to its end, unpretentious and every bit earned.

However long it was in progress at one stage or another, Variant — and perhaps the title itself has taken on a new meaning from the time it was given to the record, I don’t actually know when it was bestowed — would seem to answer the wait in the sheer quality of the work the band has done building from their stoner-rock-is-as-stoner-rock-does foundation and finding an identity of their own in exploring a broader depth of influence. At the center of Greenbeard circa 2022 is a pervasive sense of craft, and the feeling of accomplishment in these seven songs — front to back, no frills need apply — is not to be understated. The “rock is dead” crowd, those who think there’s nothing left to be done with straightforward, kick-your-ass-and-split heavy rock and roll, or that something can’t be exciting to hear without being dumbed down, should start lining up for lessons. If this is indicative of the band Greenbeard are becoming, Variant is all the more a win.

The “Creatures of the Night” video follows here.

Please enjoy:

Greenbeard, “Creatures of the Night” video premiere

GREENBEARD:
Chance Parker – guitar/vocals
Buddy Hachar – drums
Pat Seals – bass
Joe Samson – guitar

Greenbeard, “Get in the Car. No Time to Explain.” official video

Greenbeard, “Exodus” official video

Greenbeard website

Greenbeard on Facebook

Greenbeard on Instagram

Greenbeard on Bandcamp

Sailor Records website

Sailor Records on Bandcamp

Sailor Records on Facebook

Kozmik Artifactz store

Kozmik Artifactz on Facebook

Oh, Greenbeard. You do persist in being rad. New record? First single? That’s good news. And I’m pretty sure I’m catching Misfits references in the lyrics to the song, so right on. What I’m digging even more than the reassuringly riff-led groove of “Exodus,” though is the breadth of the song itself. Think of spacious rock like Snail, or some of Masters of Reality‘s weirder stuff (though this is clearer-headed), and Greenbeard seem to be finding a balance between good-vibes and more complex fare. In the PR wire info accompanying the album announcement the making-plain that the title Variant was chosen prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the band talk about getting weirder. I’m on board for weird. Let’s find out where it goes.

Sailor Records has the domestic release, Kozmik Artifactz has Europe, and you’ll find the aforementioned info below, in blue as ever and followed by the video:

GREENBEARD: Austin Stoner Rock Unit To Release New Full-Length, Variant, on April 1st Via Sailor Records/Kozmik Artifactz; Teaser Video Now Playing

Nearly three years since first setting foot in the studio, Austin, Texas stoner rocker frontrunners GREENBEARD will unveil their long-awaited new full-length, Variant, on April 1st via Sailor Records in the US and Kozmik Artifactz in Europe.

The serendipitously named album was subject to a long incubation period, due largely to Covid-related challenges, as well as lineup changes and industry-wide delays in vinyl production. Nevertheless, Variant emerges as a valiant tribute to new directions, creative experimentation, and engagement with the wider musical community. The album represents a departure in sound for the group, which has traditionally been situated squarely at the intersection of desert and stoner rock. Songs incorporate significant soul and R&B influences, with crooning vocal interludes and surprise instrumentation, while still tapping into their heavy stoner roots.

“Wanting to blend stoner rock and soul, we entered into the recording process with a collaborative mindset, leaving room for the process to unfold in the studio,” remarks GREENBEARD frontman, Chance Parker.

In advance of the record’s release, the band unveils, “Exodus,” the first in a trilogy of singles leading up to Variant’s drop date. Notes Parker, “We chose ‘Exodus’ as the first single because it works as a Trojan horse for all the weird stuff we are about to unload on this album.”

Having begun production in 2018, GREENBEARD set forth wanting to depart from the stereotypical derivatives of stoner rock and chose to take elements of soul music with them into the studio. They brought in layers of strings, slide guitar, horns, and sonorous melodies to realize this vision.

Suddenly Covid-19 struck. The band was unable to play live shows, and their support tour with Texas legends …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead was cancelled. Their former bassist departed, another was hired, then left to look for work in Hawaii. However, in the midst of all these changes, Pat Seals (Flyleaf, Kimberly Dunn, Belle & The Dragon) joined the band, bringing signature energy to their stage performances. The band then brought on Joe Samson as second guitarist, rounding out their lineup. The new album represents an openness to change and a melding of minds.

Stand by for Variant artwork, preorders, and further info to be announced in the coming weeks.

GREENBEARD:
Chance Parker – guitar/vocals
Buddy Hachar – drums
Pat Seals – bass
Joe Samson – guitar

http://www.greenbeardtheband.com
http://www.facebook.com/greenbeardthenband
http://www.instagram.com/greenbeardtheband
http://www.greenbeardtheband.bandcamp.com
https://www.sailorrecords.com/
https://sailor-records.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/sailorrecords/
http://shop.bilocationrecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/kozmikartifactz

Greenbeard, “Exodus” official video

Are you paying attention here? I certainly hope so, because this is some world-class-festival shit that’s happening in Brooklyn. After a successful initial public offering in 2019, Desertfest NYC 2022 has upped the stakes to a staggering degree. Look at those headliners. Shit, look at the fact that they’re bringing Stoned Jesus from the Ukraine and Planet of Zeus from Greece to play. That alone. Then you get into cross-continental fare like Brume and Dead Meadow and Big Business and so on, and the broader ambitions of Desertfest‘s New York incarnation seem clear. This is a festival that’s still building and still looking to reach out, get bigger. Staggering. Pay attention. Bands will start because the people in them go to this.

The day splits have been announced and the righteous likes of Geezer, Howling Giant, Warhorse and the aforementioned Brume, among others, have been added.

Four day passes are gone. I wouldn’t expect any of the others to last.

From the PR wire:

Desertfest New York announces day splits for 2022 edition, plus adds Cloakroom, Warhorse, Black Tusk and more to line-up

Europe’s leading stoner rock collective Desertfest returns to New York in 2022.

Taking place in the unique arts space of the Knockdown Center from May 13th – May 15th, with an exclusive pre-party at Saint Vitus Bar on May 12th.

Following a momentous first announcement, which saw the festival welcome the likes of BARONESS, HIGH ON FIRE, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, TORCHE, ORANGE GOBLIN, DEAD MEADOW, INTER ARMA & GREEN LUNG, Desertfest New York now announces day-splits & day tickets, plus the final few acts to complete the second edition of the transatlantic heavy rock bacchanal.

Joining the bill on Saturday will be genre defying dream-gazer’s CLOAKROOM alongside doom legends WARHORSE. Whereas Friday’s main-stage will host the guttural thud of BLACK TUSK. Plus, revellers can expect to see BRUME, GEEZER, MOTHER IRON HORSE, HOWLING GIANT, GREEN DRUID & GREENBEARD all storm the Knockdown Center.

Unfortunately, Fatso Jetson are no longer able to play the pre-party & are replaced by riff demons FREEDOM HAWK.

Day tickets & 3-day passes for Desertfest New York 2022 are on sale NOW via the following link – https://desertfest.eventbrite.com

4-day passes (includes access to Saint Vitus pre-party on Thursday 12th May) are SOLD OUT, there will be no single day tickets available for the pre-party.

Full Line-Up:
Knockdown Centre May 13th – May 15th 2022
Baroness | High on Fire | Monster Magnet | Red Fang | Corrosion of Conformity | Torche | Orange Goblin | Dead Meadow | Cloakroom | Inter Arma | Big Business | Warhorse| Green Lung | Stoned Jesus | Black Tusk | Left Lane Cruiser | Sasquatch | Silvertomb | Telekinetic Yeti | Stinking Lizaveta | High Reeper | Yatra | Holy Death Trio | Geezer | Brume | Somnuri | Mother Iron Horse | Green Druid | Leather Lung | Greenbeard

Saint Vitus Bar May 12th 2022
The Atomic Bitchwax | Planet of Zeus | Freedom Hawk | Druids

https://facebook.com/Desertfestnyc/
https://www.instagram.com/desertfest_nyc/
http://www.desertfestnewyork.com

Brume, Rabbits (2019)

Yeah, I know, Maryland Doom Fest 2019 was like a month ago. Quit livin’ in the past and all that. Well, this show was supposed to air July 5, so whatever. It got pushed back because apparently July 4 is some kind of holiday now — what.ever. — and it was kicked down the line to two weeks later with re-runs on in the interim. Did anyone notice? Did anyone care? I did. But I’m glad to have had the chance to pay homage to MDDF one way or the other, since it was such a killer time and boasted a lineup of so many good bands.

Of course I had to lead off with Beelzefuzz and Foghound, two staples of the Frederick diet, and the show unfolds from there with new stuff from Zed and Lo-Pan and Kings Destroy amid the likes of Devil to Pay and Earthride and Backwoods Payback and Greenbeard. I made sure to put Solace and Freedom Hawk and Horehound and Toke and Witchkiss in here because their sets were particularly righteous — not to mention Year of the Cobra! — and in addition to representing the headliners in Conan, Mothership and Earthride, I had to include WarHorse since their reunion set was something so particularly special and such a huge part of the festival.

For those who didn’t hear the show, Gimme Radio runs the ‘Gimme Brigade’ which you can sign up for. I think it’s $5 a month or something like that, but you get access to their full archive and help them with hosting costs, etc., so fair enough. If you got to hear this one, thanks. If not, the basic point of the thing was that Maryland Doom Fest 2019 kicked ass, which I sincerely hope also came across in the reviews.

Here’s the full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 07.19.19

Beelzefuzz	All the Feeling Returns	Beelzefuzz (2013)
Foghound	Known Wolves	Awaken to Destroy (2018)
Zed	Chingus	Volume*
Lo-Pan	Savage Heart	Subtle*
BREAK
Devil to Pay	Ten Lizardmen and One Pocketknife	Fate is Your Muse (2013)
Kings Destroy	Yonkers Ceiling Collapse	Fantasma Nera*
Earthride	Vampire Circus	Vampire Circus (2005)
Witchkiss	Seer	The Austere Curtains of Our Eyes (2018)
Year of the Cobra	Cold	Burn Your Dead (2017)
BREAK
Solace	Khan (World of Fire)	The Black Black (2007)
Backwoods Payback	Whatever	Future Slum (2018)
Toke	Blackened	Orange (2017)
Greenbeard	WCCQ	Onward, Pillager (2018)
Conan	Battle in the Swamp	Monnos (2012)
Apostle of Solitude	Ruination Be Thy Name	From Gold to Ash (2018)
The Age of Truth	Come Back a God	Threshold (2017)
BREAK
Horehound	Dier’s Dirge	Holocene (2018)
Freedom Hawk	Danger	Beast Remains (2018)
Mothership	Midnight Express	High Strangeness (2017)
Warhorse	Lysergic Communion	As Heaven Turns to Ash (2001)

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio airs every other Friday at 1PM Eastern, with replays every Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next show is Aug. 2. Thanks for listening if you do.

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