It would seem that in the new social media algorithmic rich-white-people-claiming-to-reshape-paradigms-everyone-else-when-all-they’re-really-doing-is-ripping-everyone-off universe of social media, somewhere along the line I stopped getting updates from Sound of Liberation. As someone who actively enjoys keeping up with a host of European events throughout the Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, that’s a shitter to be sure. Already the lauded booking agency has started announcing lineups for two fall festivals: Up in Smoke 2018, held in Pratteln, Switzerland, and Keep it Low 2018, held in Munich, both in October. Needless to say, I’ve chased down the code like Neo in The Matrix or like whatever more up-to-date reference would apply and fixed the fucking problem for myself, social media overlords be damned.

Here’s me getting caught up with Up in Smoke 2018’s first four bands: Acid King, Naxatras, Sasquatch and John Garcia. Hell of a starting four, frankly, and of course there’s more to come. I wouldn’t actually put much stock in my technical prowess, but hopefully I should be able to do a better job keeping up from here on out.

An amalgam of the first and second announcements follows:

UP IN SMOKE 2018

Z7 I PRATTELN I OCT. 5TH-6TH 2018

Here we go, the 6th edition of UP in SMOKE indoor festival in Z7 is on its way! Our dear graphic designers from Elvisdead are bent over the desk and working like maniacs on our poster which we will be glad to introduce very soon!

But for now, as we know you want to hear fresh and crispy news, we are glad to lift the veil today of our first names:

– Acid King (USA). Bathed in distortion and baptized in a plume of smoke, the Bay Area trio fronted by talented Lori S. is rocking the heavy scene for more than 2 decades and we are just thrilled to host them for this edition of the festival.

– Naxatras (GR). Very much attached to the roots of psychedelia, paying tributes to masters like Pink Floyd & Hawkwind, while also praising Black Sabbath Doom lords, the trio is still forging very fresh tunes out of those influences and creating very sweet and fine music.

– John Garcia (USA). Yes, desert crooner and former Kyuss, Slo-Burn, Unida, Hermano, Vista Chino frontman John Garcia may rightfully be considered the ultimate incarnation of stoner rock! His first solo album and opus eponymous from 2014 was followed roughly three years later by “The Coyote Who Spoke In Tongues”, a comparatively relaxed and purely acoustic affair! He is now about to release a new one, and will be presenting it at Up In Smoke this year! We’re so looking forward to hearing his new tunes!

– Sasquatch (USA). Next, if we say “All is fair in Love and Doom”, you say ? SASQUATCH, right?! The trio, whose music has been featured on numbers of movies, games soundtracks is FUZZ! Those Californian Dudes are riffrockers to the core: mixing elements of 70s rock, metal and psychelia…we’re all in for a hell of a party!

Heavy-Rock-Doom-Psych-Stoner Indoor Festival. 2 Days of Volume Worshipping in Switzerlands best Rock Venue Z-7 in Pratteln (Basel).
2 big stages, 20+ bands and the chance for fans to sleep over in the venue. The festival is sold out since 2016, the 6th edition takes part on Oct 5th and 6th 2018.

Line Up 2018:
JOHN GARCIA / ACID KING / NAXATRAS / SASQUATCH

www.upinsmoke.de
https://www.facebook.com/UpInSmokeIndoorFestivalInZ7/
https://www.sol-tickets.com/produkte

Acid King, Live in St. Petersburg, Russia, July 19, 2017

With the inclusion of Sweden’s Troubled Horse, the lineup for Up in Smoke 2017 is finished. A total of 21 bands will play the two-day festival in Pratteln, Switzerland, as part of a busy Fall festival season across Europe, and Troubled Horse join the likes of Graveyard, Saint Vitus, Brant Bjork, Orange Goblin, Lowrider, Church of Misery, Toner Low, Stoned Jesus, Beastmaker, Ufomammut and Radio Moscow — among others, obviously — as they step out to support their sophomore outing, Revolution on Repeat (review here), released earlier this year by the venerable Rise Above Records.

Info on how the lineup is split over the two days is due out any second now (will probably go live about two minutes after this post, which is my usual luck with such things), but here’s the announcement for Troubled Horse as posted by the fest:

Happy summer to all of you “Up in Smokers” !!!

Before leaving the office for a small August break, we are happy to announce today one more great band for our event. Troubled Horse, the swedish Pioneers of Heavy-Garage-Rock are joining the UP in SMOKE indoor festival in Z7. With this last name, our line up is now complete.

The daily split of bands and the daytickets will be announced this Thursday at 6 pm /18 H.

Due to the fact that we plan improvements on the stages,the outdoor area, the line up and the general higher costs every year for staff, infrastructure, etc. we hope for your understanding that the ticket price for the 2 day pass will raise a bit from August 10 th on. So if you don´t have your 2 Days Pass yet, take your chance and grab it now for the still reduced price.

More information also for the much demanded “sleep over” situation is coming along with the posting of the day split of the bands/day tickets on thursday. Our outstanding line up will now feature 21 bands on 2 days. The bands are playing on 2 big stages ( indoor and outdoor) with no overlapping set times.

Presales for UP in SMOKE 2017 are very good, the last year edition was sold out, so don´t hesitate any longer to get your ticket and go Up In Smoke with us.
The 2 Days Passes are available here:

http://www.z-7.ch/event.php?eventid=130

https://www.upinsmoke.de/tickets
http://www.z-7.ch/event.php?eventid=1306
https://www.facebook.com/UpInSmokeIndoorFestivalInZ7
https://www.facebook.com/events/466424317082118/
https://www.upinsmoke.de/

Troubled Horse, “Track 7”

Up in Smoke 2017 continues to make a compelling case for travel plans by adding the likes of Lowrider, Church of Misery, My Home on Trees, Jack Slamer and The Necromancers to its was-already-formidable bill featuring Graveyard, Saint Vitus, Brant Bjork, Orange Goblin, Toner Low, Stoned Jesus, Beastmaker, on and on. Seriously, I don’t even know why I feel like I need to write an intro for this post. Just look at the list of names in the poster. Isn’t that really all you need to know about the entire thing? What more is there to say? If you can get there, get there. Duh.

Honestly, just look at this thing. Can you believe this shit happens like every weekend in Europe this Fall, going from country to country, badass lineup to badass lineup? It’s wild. Fucking Lowrider are showing up.

Check it out and be jealous:

Here we go! We are thrilled to add 5 more bands to this year’s UP in SMOKE indoor festival in Z7 line-up!

Lowrider (Exclusive CH show)
Church of Misery Official (Exclusive CH show)
MY HOME ON TREES
Jack Slamer
The Necromancers

This 5th edition of the festival features now 20 bands!

Get your tickets on https://www.upinsmoke.de/tickets as soon as you can (they are selling fast) or share this post (public) to try to win another 2-day pass (probably the last for this year)!

IMPORTANT: the daily split of bands, the daytickets and the address to reserve your sleep-over/breakfast will be announced on August 1. Stay Tuned!

Located Pratteln, in Switzerland’s best rock venue, Z7 Konzertfabrik, only a few kilometres from the German and French borders, Up In Smoke is an indoor festival for fans of Heavy Rock – Doom – Psych – Stoner… easily reachable by plane via the Euro-Airport (Basel/Muhouse) or by public transportations (train, bus) via Basel Main Station. There are plenty of affordable Hotels and Hostels located in Basel and for “budget savers” we are also offering to sleep over + breakfast (Coffee and bread rolls) in the venue for a small fee!

How does this work? After the last concert of the day, we ask everybody to step out of the venue for a few minutes. During that time, the venue and toilets are cleaned and the floor covered with a plastic sheet. (people have to bring their sleeping bags and air mattresses)

https://www.upinsmoke.de/tickets
http://www.z-7.ch/event.php?eventid=1306
https://www.facebook.com/UpInSmokeIndoorFestivalInZ7
https://www.facebook.com/events/466424317082118/
https://www.upinsmoke.de/

Lowrider, Ode to Io Deluxe Edition (2017)

I was fortunate enough to see Toner Low once in my life, and though it sounds greedy to even think I’d like to do so again, yeah, that would be pretty frickin’ awesome. At least that’s how it went last time around. Theirs is just one of the considerable names added to the Swiss-based Up in Smoke 2017 festival in this update, and one finds the Netherlands trio in the company of desert legend Brant Bjork, doom legends Saint Vitus, and YouTube legends Stoned Jesus, as well as Beastmaker — one assumes they’re soon to announce a full European tour for this fall — Usnea and Finland’s Kaleidobolt. All told it’s seven new bands for Up in Smoke 2017, which wasn’t exactly hurting before, with the likes of Orange Goblin and Graveyard, Ufommamut, Windhand and so on.

Bottom line? Awesome bill. Here’s the latest:

Up In Smoke 2017 – 7 New Bands : Brant Bjork (with Special Guest Sean Wheeler), Saint Vitus, Stoned Jesus & more added to the bill!

We are thrilled to announce 7 new bands confirmed for Up In Smoke 2017! BRANT BJORK (coming with Special Guest Sean Wheeler), SAINT VITUS, STONED JESUS, TONER LOW, BEASTMAKER, USNEA & KALEIDOBOLT! Our 5th edition will feature at least 20 bands on two stages with no overlapping set times, to guarantee you two days of Volume Worshipping!

BRANT BJORK (USA)
SAINT VITUS (USA)
STONED JESUS (UKR)
TONER LOW (NL)
BEASTMAKER (USA)
USNEA (USA)
KALEIDOBOLT (FIN)

Located Pratteln, in Switzerland’s best rock venue, Z7 Konzertfabrik, only a few kilometres from the German and French borders, Up In Smoke is an indoor festival for fans of Heavy Rock – Doom – Psych – Stoner… easily reachable by plane via the Euro-Airport (Basel/Muhouse) or by public transportations (train, bus) via Basel Main Station. There are plenty of affordable Hotels and Hostels located in Basel and for “budget savers” we are also offering to sleep over + breakfast (Coffee and bread rolls) in the venue for a small fee!

How does this work? After the last concert of the day, we ask everybody to step out of the venue for a few minutes. During that time, the venue and toilets are cleaned and the floor covered with a plastic sheet. (people have to bring their sleeping bags and air mattresses)

https://www.upinsmoke.de/tickets
http://www.z-7.ch/event.php?eventid=1306
https://www.facebook.com/UpInSmokeIndoorFestivalInZ7
https://www.facebook.com/events/466424317082118/
https://www.upinsmoke.de/

Brant Bjork, Live at Desert Generator 2017

Up in Smoke 2017 has made its first lineup announcements for this October. It’s the fifth anniversary of the Swiss-based fest put together by Sound of Liberation, and they’re immediately giving it due ceremony by putting word out that the just-broke-up-oh-wait-they’re-back-together-again Graveyard will headline. Will they have a new record out? Who will play drums? These are questions still to be answered, but there are seven months between now and then, so fair to expect it’ll all be worked out in the interim.

Along with Graveyard, putting the formidable likes of Orange Goblin, Radio Moscow (who will have a new album out), Ufomammut (who just might as well), Windhand and their tourmates in Satan’s Satyrs, as well as Swiss acts Zatokrev and Sons of Morpheus on the bill certainly doesn’t hurt it any either. Eight bands in the first batch to be announced and I’m already looking forward to the second. We’re not even really into the Spring season yet and Fall is starting to rear its head.

Festus fugit, my friends.

From the PR wire:

Up In Smoke 2017 – First 8 Bands confirmed: GRAVEYARD to Headline!

We are now finally ready to unveiled the official Up In Smoke 2017 poster, and the first bands confirmed for this outstanding 5th edition! Located as usual in Switzerland’s best rock venue, Z7 Konzertfabrik, only a few kilometres from the German and French borders, our festival will feature about 20 bands on two stages with no overlapping set times, to guarantee you two days of Volume Worshipping!

So mark October 6th & 7th in your calendar, and get your 2-pass as soon as you can here or here! Up In Smoke 2016 was sold out, so better be quick, and to help you make your decision, we are proud to give you the first 8 bands we have confirmed!

GRAVEYARD (SWE)
ORANGE GOBLIN (UK)
RADIO MOSCOW (USA)
UFOMAMMUT (I)
WINDHAND (USA)
SATAN’S SATYRS (USA)
ZATOKREV (CH)
SONS OF MORPHEUS (CH)

Up In Smoke is an indoor festival for fans of Heavy Rock – Doom – Psych – Stoner… easily reachable by plane via the Euro-Airport (Basel/Muhouse) or by public transportations (train, bus) via Basel Main Station. There are plenty of affordable Hotels and Hostels located in Basel and for “budget savers” we are also offering to sleep over + breakfast (Coffee and bread rolls) in the venue for a small fee!

How does this work? After the last concert of the day, we ask everybody to step out of the venue for a few minutes. During that time, the venue and toilets are cleaned and the floor covered with a plastic sheet. (people have to bring their sleeping bags and air mattresses)

https://www.upinsmoke.de/tickets
http://www.z-7.ch/event.php?eventid=1306
https://www.facebook.com/UpInSmokeIndoorFestivalInZ7
https://www.facebook.com/events/466424317082118/
https://www.upinsmoke.de/

Graveyard, “The Apple and the Tree” official video

Orange Goblin, Live at Freak Valley 2016

The final addition to the lineup for Up in Smoke 2016, which starts this Friday at Z7 in Pratteln, Switzerland? Camping space. Namely the floor of the venue, which will be cleaned after the last band finishes each night so that fest goers can grab their sleeping bags and bed down for the night, only to find breakfast waiting when they roll back to consciousness the next morning. I’ve never slept on a venue floor before. That would be a new one. But provided they get the beer/other fluids up, which I’ve no doubt they’ll be able to do because it’s Switzerland and things like that increase the likelihood that anyone gives a shit about what they’re doing, it seems like a cool way to achieve total immersion in a festival atmosphere. I’ve never gone camping either, though, so don’t necessarily take my word as an expert or anything.

With the festival’s most massive lineup yet, Up in Smoke 2016 kicks off this Friday. A new trailer for the fest with some 1000mods in it has been posted and you can find that under the camping info and complete billing below:

SOUND OF LIBERATION and Z7 KONZERTFABRIK PRATTELN proudly present the 4th edition of UP IN SMOKE INDOOR FESTIVAL on September 30th and October 1st 2016! Musical Highlights include Electric Wizard, Yob, Truckfighters, Pentagram and many many more.

Many of you asked for the chance to sleep over in the venue, like we offered in the last editions. Here´s the procedure:

After the last band is done playing, we will go on partying with Dj music for another hour. Then afterwards, we will ask everybody to step out of the main hall for a few minutes. The floor will be cleaned and covered with a sheet so that the place gets clean for all our “in site – campers”. If you want to sleep over in the venue, you should bring your sleeping bag and camping mat. Upon your arrival on the festival site you can store your belongings in the wardrobe and get it back for the night.

In the morning, we will offer you a nice breakfast with coffee/tea, bread and breadrolls, meat and cheese and sweet stuff to get you in shape for the next festival day! The price for sleep over and breakfast is 15.- CHF per person/night. There´s no option of separate bookings like ” only sleep over and no breakfast” or “only breakfast”.

Up in Smoke 2016 Final Line Up
Electric Wizard
Pentagram
Truckfighters
YOB
Elder
Greenleaf
Monkey 3
Cough
Black Cobra
1000mods
Yawning Man
Fatso Jetson
Dyse
Wucan
Desert Mountain Tribe
Giobia
High Fighter
Mother’s Cake
Ephedra

Also not to forget: No overlapping set times, sleep over/breakfast possibiity in the venue + some more specials to be announced soon to sweeten you the “TWO NOT TO BE MISSED DAYS OF VOLUME WORSHIP” !!! Grab your ticket (2-day passes) right now on our website, on www.z-7.ch and on our Facebook (tab ‘Buy Tickets’). If you prefer to buy an original, real hard-ticket, our partner Woolheads is selling them!

http://woolheads.com/cms/shop-2/festivalmerchandise/up-in-smoke-the-indoor-festival-vol-iv-ticket/
http://www.upinsmoke.de/eventinfo-indoor-festival
https://www.facebook.com/UpInSmokeIndoorFestivalInZ7
https://www.soundofliberation.com

Up in Smoke 2016, festival trailer

With the additions of Black Cobra, Dÿse, Mother’s Cake and High Fighter, the lineup for Up in Smoke 2016 is complete. The Pratteln, Switzerland-based festival runs for two nights, Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, and will be headlined by Electric Wizard, John Garcia, Pentagram and Truckfighters, with YOB, Elder, Yawning Man, Fatso Jetson and more listed below on the bill.

Black Cobra and High Fighter are particularly interesting of this final batch of adds. I’m not an expert on Desert Mountain Tribe or Ephedra to say for sure, but it would seem the San Francisco heavy thrash duo and the German sludgecore rockers are the two most aggressive acts playing. I guess you could make an argument for Cough, but they’re more about drowning you in tone than getting a pit going, where it doesn’t seem unreasonable to think that in the right setting Black Cobra or High Fighter would do just that.

The PR wire has this:

UP IN SMOKE 2016! Sept. 30th / Oct. 1st … Black Cobra, Dÿse, Mother’s Cake & High Fighter complete the line-up!

Summer is here, and before you all go on vacation trying to find the sun far, far away (…), we’d like to give you the last bands confirmed for our Up In Smoke Indoor Festival 2016! We are thrilled to welcome San Francisco’s Hardcore-fueled Sludge Metal duo Black Cobra, Berlin’s incredible Noiserock stage freaks Dÿse, Austrian Alternative Space Rock outfit Mother’s Cake (touring with John Garcia next fall) and Hamburg’s rising Heavy Stoner Bluescore band High Fighter (who just released their debut album ‘Scars & Crosses’ on Svart Records)!!

Taking place on September 30th and October 1st 2016, in our dear Z7 Konzertfabrik (Pratteln / near Basel / Dreiländereck) this year’s edition also features Electric Wizard, John Garcia, Pentagram, Truckfighters, Yob, Elder, Cough, Greenleaf, Monkey3, 1000Mods, Yawning Man, Fatso Jetson, Wucan, Giöbia, Desert Mountain Tribe and Ephedra.

Unfortunately, the Italian band Noon had to cancel their appearance for medical reason.

Also not to forget: No overlapping set times, sleep over/breakfast possibiity in the venue + some more specials to be announced soon to sweeten you the “TWO NOT TO BE MISSED DAYS OF VOLUME WORSHIP” !!! Grab your ticket (2-day passes) right now on our website, on www.z-7.ch and on our Facebook (tab ‘Buy Tickets’). If you prefer to buy an original, real hard-ticket, our partner Woolheads is selling them!

http://woolheads.com/cms/shop-2/festivalmerchandise/up-in-smoke-the-indoor-festival-vol-iv-ticket/
http://www.upinsmoke.de/eventinfo-indoor-festival
https://www.facebook.com/UpInSmokeIndoorFestivalInZ7
https://www.soundofliberation.com

Black Cobra, “Imperium Simulacra”

The European fall festival scene continues to develop with the news that Up in Smoke 2016 in Switzerland has brought YOB, John Garcia, Fatso Jetson and Giöbia to its already-considerable lineup with Electric Wizard, Pentagram, Truckfighters, Greenleaf and so on. Similar to watching the spring Desertfests in Berlin and London take shape, it continues to be fascinating to watch Up in Smoke 2016 and the several fests on weekends in close proximity — Desertfest in Athens and Belgium as well as Keep it Low in Munich — as they come together, which bands will be shared between them, whose tours are we waiting to see announced (looking at you, Fatso Jetson), and what ultimately will be the crux of each.

Interesting to have it work out like this, with fests on consecutive weekends in different areas throughout Europe. I think it only makes everybody’s product stronger, and I just hope that an indoor two-dayer like Up in Smoke 2016 can continue to distinguish itself as it has thus far.

From the PR wire:

UP IN SMOKE 2016! Sept. 30th / Oct. 1st … John Garcia, Yob, Fatso Jetson & Giöbia added to the line-up!

Here we go, the next 4 bands added to the most outstanding Heavy Rock Line-up Switzerland have ever seen before!!!

Taking place on September 30th and October 1st 2016, in our dear Z7 Konzertfabrik (Pratteln / near Basel / Dreiländereck) this year’s edition will feature John Garcia (X Kyuss with full band show, new album and surely some Kuyss classics in the pocket), the crushing doom metal trio Yob, the legendary Desert Rock Godfather Mario Lalli with his Fatso Jetson and Italian acid/space rock outfit Giöbia, alongside previously announced Electric Wizard, Pentagram, Truckfighters, Elder, Cough, Greenleaf, Monkey3, 1000Mods, Yawning Man, Wucan, Desert Mountain Tribe, Noon and Ephedra.

Also not to forget: No overlapping set times, sleep over/breakfast possibiity in the venue + some more specials to be announced soon to sweeten you the “TWO NOT TO BE MISSED DAYS OF VOLUME WORSHIP” !!! Grab your ticket (2-day passes) right now on our website, on www.z-7.ch and on our Facebook (tab ‘Buy Tickets’). If you prefer to buy an original, real hard-ticket, our partner Woolheads is selling them!

http://woolheads.com/cms/shop-2/festivalmerchandise/up-in-smoke-the-indoor-festival-vol-iv-ticket/
http://www.upinsmoke.de/eventinfo-indoor-festival
https://www.facebook.com/UpInSmokeIndoorFestivalInZ7
https://www.soundofliberation.com

John Garcia, “Pilot the Dune” live in Stockholm, 2014