Posted in Whathaveyou on March 17th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Surprise, here’s a new King Buffalo live record. Well, here’s the link to preorder one, anyhow. Well, the link will be active on Friday. So what’s this? An excuse for me to put on “Balrog” again, I guess? And notification of the existence of a thing? Yeah, that sounds about right.
Not to be confused with 2020’s Live at Freak Valley (discussed here), the impending sequel, Live at Freak Valley Vol. 2 — and here’s hoping they make it a trilogy at some point — will launch vinyl preorders this week in the test-press edition (pictured below) and others available direct from the band. I was there for this set (review here), and I’m glad it’s being released. By no means is it the band’s first live album, but if King Buffalo want to normalize putting out a bunch of records from the tours they do and that helps sustain the band, then as far as I’m concerned the more the merrier.
For the first time available on vinyl, our full 2023 Live at Freak Valley performance. These tracks have been mixed and mastered for vinyl and feature a completely different set from the 2019 version. NO SONGS REPEATED!
FVV2 Test Presses – Available this Friday at 12pm EST. Limited to 25, hand numbered, and ship immediately! They include a poly bag, a signed “thank you” from the band, a hand numbered insert, and an exclusive alt art poster.
FVV2 Deluxe Edition – Limited to 500 units and pressed to 12″ Puke Green vinyl. The Deluxe Edition includes a Gatefold Double LP with a hand numbered insert and polybag.
FVV2 Standard Edition – Limited to 1500 units and pressed to 12″ Metallic Silver vinyl. The Standard Edition includes a Gatefold Double LP and comes shrink wrapped.
27.6 – Deventer, NL @ Open Air 28.6 – Wiesbaden, DE @ SOL Sonic Ride 29.6 – Larz, DE @ Fusion Festival 30.6 – Dresden, DE @ Beatpol 3.7 – Feldkich, AT @ Poolbar Festival 4.7 – Salzburg, AT @ Rockhouse 5.7 – Donje Primislje, HR @ Bearstone Festival 7.7 – Athens, GR @ Floyd 8.7 – Thessaloniki, GR @ Eightball Club 9.7 – Sofia, BG @ Mixtape5 11.7 – Erfurt, DE @ Stoned From the Underground 30.7 – Tubingen, DE @ Waldbuhne 31.7 – Zurich, CH @ Plaza 1.8 – Munchen, DE @ Free & Easy 2.8 – Segrate, IT @ Magnolia Stone 5.8 – Karlsruhe, DE @ P8 6.8 – Dortmund, DE @ Piano 8.8 – Kortrijk, BE @ Alcatraz Festival 9.8 – Moledo, PT @ Sonic Blast 11.8 – Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms 12.8 – Glasgow, UK @ Classic Grand 13.8 – Manchester, UK @ Gorilla 14.8 – Bristol, UK @ Thekla 15.8 – London, UK @ The Garage 16.8 – Wasquehal, FR @ The Black Lab 17.8 – Carhaix, FR @ Motocultor Festival
King Buffalo is: Sean McVay – Guitar, Vocals, & Synth Dan Reynolds – Bass & Synth Scott Donaldson – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 11th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
To my limited knowledge, the first of the tour stops below to be announced was Bear Stone Festival in Croatia, and that was last November, just over four months ago. If another fest was earlier than that, fine. I think the point stands it was a while back. Not that I’ve been up at night wondering when King Buffalo would announce their summer plans — not that I… havent? — or anything, but I know this is a band with fans in no small part because I am one, so their doings are of interest either way, and my big question about the tour is if they’ll go supporting a new album.
If so, that announcement would probably also need to be pretty soon. King Buffalo aren’t slouches when it comes to getting word out ahead of a record, so unless they wanted to make a point of a surprise drop — which, on the off-chance that somebody from the band sees this, would be fun too and maybe save some time — one would expect a heads up well in advance, at least to the Bandcamp email list, which is where I got this tour announcement from.
You can see for yourself in the run, the lineup of festivals is like a festival lineup in itself the names are so killer. Of these, my plan is to see King Buffalo at Bear Stone Festival and I’ll consider myself lucky to do so. If you’ll see them here or there, no doubt you’ll share that sentiment:
**TOUR ANNOUNCE** More European dates are incoming but, here’s some to wet your whistle.
27.6 – Deventer, NL @ Open Air 28.6 – Wiesbaden, DE @ SOL Sonic Ride 29.6 – Larz, DE @ Fusion Festival 30.6 – Dresden, DE @ Beatpol 3.7 – Feldkich, AT @ Poolbar Festival 4.7 – Salzburg, AT @ Rockhouse 5.7 – Donje Primislje, HR @ Bearstone Festival 7.7 – Athens, GR @ Floyd 8.7 – Thessaloniki, GR @ Eightball Club 9.7 – Sofia, BG @ Mixtape5 11.7 – Erfurt, DE @ Stoned From the Underground 30.7 – Tubingen, DE @ Waldbuhne 31.7 – Zurich, CH @ Plaza 1.8 – Munchen, DE @ Free & Easy 2.8 – Segrate, IT @ Magnolia Stone 5.8 – Karlsruhe, DE @ P8 6.8 – Dortmund, DE @ Piano 8.8 – Kortrijk, BE @ Alcatraz Festival 9.8 – Moledo, PT @ Sonic Blast 11.8 – Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms 12.8 – Glasgow, UK @ Classic Grand 13.8 – Manchester, UK @ Gorilla 14.8 – Bristol, UK @ Thekla 15.8 – London, UK @ The Garage 16.8 – Wasquehal, FR @ The Black Lab 17.8 – Carhaix, FR @ Motocultor Festival
King Buffalo is: Sean McVay – Guitar, Vocals, & Synth Dan Reynolds – Bass & Synth Scott Donaldson – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 11th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
No question King Buffalo are among the US’ foremost heavy psychedelic rock bands. I’ll entertain suggestions if you have any for others to top them, but mostly because I can’t think of any names off the top of my head. If you were lucky enough to see them out with Parks from All Them Witches supporting on their recent tour, kudos. I caught them in Brooklyn (review here) at the start of the tour with Sun Voyager on the bill. The band they’ve become is, frankly, astonishing.
I could go on at some length with plaudits for their chemistry, aural heft and dynamic — sorry, but talking specifically about Dan Reynolds‘ basswork requires more space than the internet can hold — but I’ll spare you in the name of their likely being more to come from them in terms of summer tour dates. Note that these shows are booked with Route One (run by Ben Ward of Orange Goblin), Desertscene London, who do Desertfest London, and the esteemed Sound of Liberation, whose 20th anniversary party King Buffalo will also play in June, and the band have also been confirmed for Croatia’s Bear Stone Festival — see you there — and the long-running Stoned From the Underground in Germany on the first two weekends in July. To me this says a significant summer tour announcement is incoming.
You know what I’d like to go with it? Word of an album. King Buffalo don’t owe anybody anything after the ‘Pandemic Trilogy,’ but they’re not ones to rest on laurels, and if the December single “Balrog” was a herald, I’m ready for what’s coming. Fingers crossed for sometime soon.
And King Buffalo supported by The Atomic Bitchwax rules. Great pairing. From socials:
We are stoked to welcome NY heavy psych sires King Buffalo back for a full UK tour this Summer! Joining them will be very special guests – stoner fuzz lords The Atomic Bitchwax 💥
11th August 2025 – Nottingham – Rescue Rooms 12th August 2025 – Glasgow – Classic Grand 13th August 2025 – Manchester – Gorilla 14th August 2025 – Bristol – Thekla 15th August 2025 – London – The Garage
Posted in Reviews on January 17th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
First night of the tour, and the first of two nights in NYC for King Buffalo, who pick up more or less where they left off show-wise in December. They played Asbury Park in my beloved Garden State last month and a scheduling conflict had me elsewhere, so I knew I didn’t want to miss them this time. Also in December, the trio of guitarist/vocalist/synthesist Sean McVay, bassist/keyboardist Dan Reynolds and drummer Scott Donaldson posted “Balrog,” a new standalone single, which I took as a sign they’re beginning to move forward from the three-album cycle that has defined their last few years — 2022’s Regenerator (review here) and 2021’s Acheron (review here) and The Burden of Restlessness (review here) — and in addition to wanting to hear a new song live, wanting to hear songs from what fans have dubbed the ‘Pandemic Trilogy’ was a big factor in the decision to drive to TV Eye, which is buried so deep in Ridgewood that it almost feels like gatekeeping.
It took me less time to get there than when last I made the journey, which was a relief. I was enticed to leave the house early by the prospect of a couple hours’ writing time in the car — it’s time I’d have spent in traffic otherwise and just been stressed out to get here later — and no regrets. I get pretty anxious for going to shows these days anyhow. Most of the time, my solution to that is to not, which, though invariably cheaper, is probably not the correct answer, even if this venue just happens to be so deep in Ridgewood you’d have an easier time getting to the city by train from Connecticut.
May a two-band-max bill forever be the law of the land on weeknights. This being the first night of the tour — with Sun Voyager opening, no less; it’s been since Grim Reefer Fest in 2023 — it was something of an occasion, and though if all goes according to my evil plans for summer festivals, this wouldn’t be the only time I’d see the band in 2025, well, I’d been looking forward to seeing them in New York since I missed them in Asbury Park last month, and a month is even longer than it took me to drive to the venue, which is so deep in Ridgewood that dicks like me from Jersey call it “upstate.”
I have a million of ’em. Hang tight.
Doors were at 7:00, which to me spoke of an 8PM start. But I know I’m not the only person who likes these bands, so I went in at doors instead of hanging back, was the first one other than the sound guy and the bands setting up in the room. Fine. I said hi to Sun Voyager and some of King Buffalo’s expanding and loyal following, Bill Kerls and Amanda Jayne Vee, and others whose names I didn’t know but who knew each other. Found a spot on the floor to write, read, wait. The curtain was drawn, so not much to look at anyway. Sun Voyager went on at eight.
But not really. I don’t know what the deal was, but shit happens and sometimes it happens half an hour after you think it’s going to. I was up front for the duration, hanging out with a swath of good people local and otherwise. The two who had the horse masks on at the Slomosa show in Jersey were there, once again showcasing good taste. When Sun Voyager went on, it was with some new material, an extended take on “God is Dead” drawing from their 2022 self-titled (review here) and 2018’s Seismic Vibes (review here), “Caves of Steel” from the self-titled and some new material that showed how they’ve grown with bassist Stefan Mersch and guitarist Christian Lopez (also of Heavy Temple) both contributing vocals.
The band were set up on stage in a line with Lopez at stage right, Mersch in the middle and Kyle Beach pounding and swinging away stage left, providing outbound propulsion. Careening through the divide between hard driving psych and space rock, their groove was both well known to the crowd, subdued but appreciative on a Thursday, and welcomed, and Lopez was a blast on stage. No surprise there, I suppose, if you’ve watched him play a set on a given night, but a needed reminder that when you’re tearing holes in the galaxy with your 13th solo, you’re probably also having a really good time. I was having a good time watching it, I know, and now I have new Sun Voyager to look forward to, which I didn’t when I left the house to drive to TV EYE, which is so deep in Ridgewood something something blah blah okay I admit it I got nothing. But it sneakily got to be too long since I saw Sun Voyager and I was glad to rectify that in such face-liquefying style.
People were stoked for King Buffalo. This is a band with fans. They have inspired loyalty. A community is building right now, as we speak.. That’s not an inconsiderable achievement. I mean, yeah, people show up to shows for bands all the time, but I was up front before the band went on, and it was a deep passion on display as folks were swapping stories of past gigs — apparently Asbury was the best ever; so it goes — as they waited. The curtain parted eventually and the band came out and went into “Hours” and “Mercury,” both from Regenerator, for a mellower start ahead of “Grifter” from The Burden of Restlessness and “Shadows” from Acheron. Set-wise, I showed up for the Pandemic Trilogy, and I got it, plus the new song “Balrog” heralding an album in who-kn0ws-what state of completion, “Goliath Part 2” and a jammy stretched out “Kerosene” from 2016’s Orion (review here), “Eye of the Beholder” from 2018’s Longing to Be the Mountain (review here).
“Centurion” from the same record led into the closing pair of “The Knocks” and “Firmament.” It would have been hard to find two songs to better summarize the emotional catharsis between The Burden of Restlessness and Regenerator than those. “The Knocks” is intense and dug in, sharp in its stops and I hit my head on the monitor headbanging which I hadn’t done since seeing Lo-Pan at Roadburn 2014. It is the hardest, arguably the darkest place emotionally on any of those three records. “Firmament,” on the other hand, is the release, and the two are complementary in their builds and rhythm.
And what to say about King Buffalo at this point except they’re among the best the US has to offer in heavy psych and among the best heavy psych has to offer, period. McVay is a somewhat reluctant frontman, but a frontman nonetheless. He can shred, he can sing, he can play guitar and keyboard at the same time if the song calls for it. I don’t know what time Donaldson was playing in for “Grifter,” but I know I can still hear those three-in-a-row snare pops in my head. And Reynolds? Shit. King Buffalo have a lot going for them as a band, but the character and fluidity Dan Reynolds brings to their songs on bass is second to none. I mean it. Anytime you want to lock yourself into the vibe? Key in on Reynolds. He’s over there taking “Shadows” for a walk, dropping the bottom out from the floor in “Centurion,” and giving “Balrog” a little bit of funk, which you didn’t even know it needed but hell yes it absolutely did.
You know, the thing of it is, you can kind of imagine King Buffalo in it for the long haul. I mean, it’s already going on 12 years since their demo (review here) came out, and they’re established headliners. Among the best of the bands to have emerged in the heavy ’10s. But they don’t feel like they’re done growing, and they’re dedicated to what they do, both on stage and in the studio. Am I still going to be going to King Buffalo shows in 15 years? You can kind of imagine it. I look forward to what their future brings, in both the short and long term. That’s been the case all along.
I got home from Queens like 12:15, which wasn’t bad. Thanks to Scott and King Buffalo for having me out, to TV Eye for existing and hosting shows, to you for reading and to everyone I was talking to at the venue for being kind and welcoming. King Buffalo’s fanbase, as you likely know if you’re part of it, is full of sweethearts. May it continue to flourish. If you’re headed to night two, enjoy. As you may be aware, the venue’s pretty deep in Ridgewood.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 11th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
This past weekend, Rochester, New York, heavy progressive-psychedelic rockers King Buffalo embarked on their latest stretch of touring, setting out along the East Coast ahead of heading west in December with support from Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol. There are more dates this week — today’s the 11th; they had a couple nights off and will pick up tomorrow — ending off in Asbury Park, NJ, which is as good a place as any. That the band are touring isn’t news — these shows were announced a while back and they tour plenty — but that they’re bringing out new material is.
The song is called “Balrog,” and the studio version is out today. Banger of a build. I’m obviously still getting to know it, but to my knowledge this is the first output from King Buffalo since they built their new studio in Rochester, in addition to being the first new material since 2022’s Regenerator (review here) wrapped up their pandemic trilogy. Two years isn’t such a long time, but on the scale of King Buffalo dropping either a full-length or an EP during the course of all but one year between 2015 and 2022, two full years since then feels significant. It’s a question of scale I guess.
Fortunately “Balrog” accounts for multiple sides of their sound. The live video below was from the first show of this tour, in Washington D.C., and was filmed by Jay “The Renaissance Blann” Blann. The studio version is name-your-price on Bandcamp ahead of hitting other streaming services. To be sure, King Buffalo could be charging you a buck or two for their first new song in two years. That they’re not is yet one more reason to put them on your holiday card list. New 2025 tour dates don’t hurt either. You’ve heard of Elf on the Shelf. Now get ready for King Buffalo, pretty much everywhere.
New album? EP? Standalone single? Hell if I know. Here’s what I’ve got from the PR wire:
KING BUFFALO ‘BALROG’ IS AVAILABLE NOW & NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES
Hey Friends,
We’ve just released a BRAND NEW song called “Balrog” and have announced some additional tour dates. You can download it FOR FREE at kingbuffalo.bandcamp.com right now! It will be available on all the streaming platforms in the coming weeks.
We’ve been hard at work on our studio and still have more to do. Even with things not quite complete we wanted to try tracking something to dial in the room.
What spawned is “Balrog” and we can’t wait for you to hear it! We will be playing it and some other album tracks we’ve never played live on all our remaining tour dates.
These will be our last shows in the US for the time being as we are going to finish the studio and continue working on new ideas. See you at the upcoming shows!
2024 – 2025 North America Tour Dates 11/12 Virginia Beach, VA @ The Bunker^ 11/14 Asheville, NC @ Eulogy^ 11/15 Charlottesville, VA @ The Southern^ 11/16 Asbury Park, NJ @ Wonder Bar^ (low tickets) 12/4 Omaha, NE @ Slowdown* 12/6 Colorado Springs, CO @ Black Sheep* 12/7 Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre* (selling fast) 12/8 Santa Fe, NM @ Tumbleroot* 12/10 Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole* 12/11 Las Vegas, NV @ Swan Dive* 12/12 San Diego, CA @ The Casbah* (low tickets) 12/13 Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room* (low tickets) 12/14 Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriet’s* (selling fast) 12/17 Fort Worth, TX @ Tulips* (selling fast) 12/18 Oklahoma City, OK @ Resonant Head* 12/19 Kansas City, MO @ Recordbar* 12/20 St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway* 12/28 Buffalo, NY @ Electric City w/ Handsome Jack 1/17 Brooklyn, NY @ TV Eye 1/24 Columbus, OH @ Skully’s 1/25 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle 1/28 St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club 1/29 Madison, WI @ High Noon 1/30 Milwaukee, WI @ Vivarium 1/31 Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue 2/1 Toledo, OH @ Frankie’s Inner City
^ w/ Ben Katzman * w/ Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol
BALROG STREAM: https://kingbuffalo.bandcamp.com
Rochester, New York-based trio King Buffalo will issue a single, Balrog, on Nov. 11, 2024. Balrog is available now via https://kingbuffalo.bandcamp.com.
Written and recorded by the band with mixing and engineering by guitarist/vocalist Sean McVay and mastering by Bernie Matthews, the single is the first song recorded at King Buffalo’s new studio. This is the first studio material since the ‘pandemic trilogy,’ following One of 2022’s Best Albums in Regenerator and Two of 2021’s Best Albums in The Burden of Restlessness and Acheron.
All of these albums – like 2018’s Longing to Be the Mountain, 2016’s debut, Orion, and the various EPs and other offerings they’ve made over the last eleven years – made bold declarations about who King Buffalo are as a band. As McVay, bassist/synthesist Dan Reynolds and drummer Scott Donaldson continue to explore the outer reaches of modern psychedelic songcraft, melding progressive rhythms, drifting atmospheres and accompanying surges of electricity, the new song only further establishes them as one of the brightest lights shining in underground rock today.
Balrog was written by King Buffalo in Rochester, NY at KB Studios in 2024. Produced, engineered and mixed by Sean McVay, and mastered by Bernie Matthews. The artwork was created by Thomas Tubiolo.
King Buffalo is: Sean McVay – Guitar, Vocals, & Synth Dan Reynolds – Bass & Synth Scott Donaldson – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 9th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
King Buffalo have, as I understand it, spent much of the last several months engaged in the process of building their own studio in their hometown of Rochester, New York. They’re no strangers to self-recording, and the prospect of their having a dedicated facility for that purpose (and maybe even tracking releases for other artists/bands) is an exciting one, but sometimes you gotta get out. They’ve got slots confirmed at Wallflower Fest in Vermont and Bumbershoot in Seattle within a week’s span as August gives over to September, and in November and December, the three-piece will follow that with stints along the East and West Coasts of the US, plus points in between.
The pairing with Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol is notable — I’m only sorry they won’t hit Asbury Park together, as that would be a show to see — but it is assuring to see King Buffalo hitting the road, and if that studio is actually done at this point, I wouldn’t be shocked if they had a new release at some level of ‘in the works’ as well. They remain one of the heavy underground’s most crucial bands, realizing potential as they continue to offer the promise of future exploration.
From their newsletter via the PR wire:
KING BUFFALO – TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT! We’re hitting the road this fall/winter.
We’re hitting the road this fall/winter for some shows! Tickets go on sale THIS FRIDAY, but you can grab them tomorrow at 10am local with the password “MAMMOTH”. See you soon friends!
Tickets for all dates at kingbuffalo.com/tour 8/25 Burlington, VT @ Wallflower Fest 8/29 Lexington, KY @ The Burl w/ ATW 8/30 Cincinnati, OH @ Fountain Square – FREE SHOW 9/1 Seattle, WA – Bumbershoot Festival 11/8 Washington, DC @ The Atlantis 11/9 Mechanicsburg, PA @ Lovedraft Brewing 11/12 Virginia Beach, VA @ The Bunker 11/14 Asheville, NC @ Eulogy 11/15 Charlottesville, VA @ The Southern 11/16 Asbury Park, NJ @ Wonder Bar 12/4 Omaha, NE @ Slowdown* 12/6 Colorado Springs, CO @ Black Sheep* 12/7 Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre* 12/8 Santa Fe, NM @ Tumbleroot* 12/10 Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole* 12/11 Las Vegas, NV @ Swan Dive* 12/12 San Diego, CA @ The Casbah* 12/13 Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room* 12/14 Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriet’s* 12/17 Fort Worth, TX @ Tulips* 12/18 Oklahoma City, OK @ Resonant Head* 12/19 Kansas City, MO @ Recordbar* 12/20 St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway*
* w/ Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol
King Buffalo is: Sean McVay – Guitar, Vocals, & Synth Dan Reynolds – Bass & Synth Scott Donaldson – Drums
Posted in Bootleg Theater on November 24th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Let the record show I was can-you-keep-this-moving-for-me stirring the base for a cheese sauce soon to go on cauliflower because my wife loves me when the email came in that King Buffalo had just released Live at Burning Man as a free download. And so, a little softshoe in front of the stove and my transformation to Old Weirdo Relative at Holiday is complete. I had it on after dinner too while I did dishes. For like four hours. Family milling about this way and that. I’m hunched over the white sink merrily scrubbing and singing along to “Orion.”
It was Thanksgiving in the US, and we hosted north of 20 people at the house, so it’s a good thing King Buffalo‘s set at the fabled Gen-X/Millennial do-art-and-maybe-drugs gathering was long. The edited video of Live at Burning Man — streaming free on YouTube (second player above) — is half an hour, but the audio of the full performance tops 93 minutes and was clearly put together with the idea of featuring a couple more sprawling jams. So you get “Longing to Be the Mountain,” as well as “Repeater” and “Red Star 1 & 2,” “Cerberus” and “Shadows” past or near 10 minutes, and if you’re an established fan of the band, any single one of them should be enough impetus to hear the thing.
Whether it’s the extra bit of sneer in Sean McVay‘s voice in “Grifter” or the burn of guitar in “Longing to Be the Mountain,” the shimmer prompting cheers at the start of “Orion,” the graceful build into “Repeater” with Dan Reynolds‘ e’er smooth basslines and Scott Donaldson‘s somehow-restless-and-unhurried drumming giving the push. “Silverfish” and “Grifter” are the gateway. From there, it’s a deep-dive, headline-style set recorded by engineer Grant Husselman, who also helmed 2021’s Acheron (review here), the middle installment of King Buffalo‘s ‘pandemic trilogy’ that began with the 2021 godsend The Burden of Restlessness (review here), Acheron, which found the trio (and Husselman, and me at least for a bit) recording in a roadside attraction cave off the New York Thruway, and 2022’s Regenerator (review here).
Whatever King Buffalo do from here — and they said the Winter US touring that of course follows the Fall European touring will be their last stint out until they at least write their next LP if not finish it — there’s no question that their ‘trilogy era’ stands as a thing unto itself. It’s the difference between a band with two records on the rise and beginning to capture and audience’s attention and headliners with five records under their belt, an increasingly progressive course and like three hours’ worth of material to change up any set you like to such a degree that, when tapped for a fest like Burning Man outside the heavy underground’s own conventional circuit, they can accommodate that audience by playing longer, jammier, more psychedelic songs. They can lean into “Repeater,” and roll “Cerberus” to a consuming, massive finish to leave blown minds in their wake. They not only have the flexibility as artists to do so, they have the professionalism to actually do it.
Live at Burning Man is the third live outing from King Buffalo behind 2016’s Live at Wicked Squid Studios (review here) and 2020’s Live at Freak Valley (discussed here), and one might look at that from a band who put out their first record in 2016 and be like, wow, that’s a lot, but each one of those captures them at a different point in their evolution, and Live at Burning Man feels no less like a realization than the three studio albums whose tracks comprise most of the set. “Loam” precedes “Cerberus” in closing, and the two — from The Burden of Restlessness and Acheron, respectively — complement each other well in crafting a build in intensity that begins with the second part of “Red Star 1 & 2.” And if you watch the video, it gets especially trippy right around there as well. Justifiably so. King Buffalo don’t go full-Hawkwind space rock very often, but they’ve got the synth for it when they do.
And I guess that is kind of the lesson of Live at Burning Man. It’s that whatever’s coming next, King Buffalo are ready for it. Those last shows in December and January linked above, and in a way this surprise release — at least I didn’t know it was coming — of Live at Burning Man as a name-your-price Bandcamp special Thanksgiving whathaveyou is perfectly timed as a capstone to the previously-noted ‘trilogy era.’ Considering the scope of the work and the progressive blossoming that their third, fourth and fifth albums wrought despite being issued in such relatively quick succession, to underscore the point that not only did King Buffalo launch the 2020s with three of its thus-far most essential heavy records, but that when it was possible for them to do so, they then went out and hand-delivered those songs to an established and growing audience.
As for Burning Man itself, well, you don’t record in a cave and you don’t chase down playing Lincoln Center in Manhattan as an ostensibly underground band if you’re not into creating an experience for yourself as well as your audience. I’ve no doubt this one was a trip, and I know I’ve been very glad to have caught them the couple times I have since the world started happening again — most recently was this past summer at Freak Valley (review here) — so despite not having been at the show, the documentation of this band playing these songs at this time is something to be appreciated now and in the future. I’m glad to count it as a fourth in that trilogy.
The dishes outlasted the set, but that chug at the end of “Cerberus” was a good rhythm for scrubbing, and the cauliflower was delicious. Thanksgiving — the narrative utterly ludicrous and atrocious in the true American tradition of racism — is celebrated in my house as a chance to be with family, cooking and eating and enjoying each other’s company. I know that maybe putting a record on while you try and shake that last bit of soap out of the bottle of Palmolive and fall completely into your own head thinking about the songs doesn’t scream ‘family togetherness’ in most situations, but speaking exclusively for my own brain, sometimes it feels like the one thing that helps the other happen.
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy. And if you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope it was a good one.
—
Next week is a Quarterly Review. Not going to be a lot of posts besides that, but there are a few news things and such I’ll want to post. But 10 records per day for at least five days. I’ll decide this weekend if I want to go longer than that. It’s a LOT of stuff I want to catch up on — David Eugene Edwards I’ve been trying to review since Spring — plus newer things like Primordial and Tortuga, Fuzz Evil, Dune Pilot, on and on, and I hope it’ll be a good mix. Last QR was tough. Sometimes without meaning to I’ll slate like, three or four psych records the same day. Can’t do that shit! My brain goes numb. “Duh, sounds like mushrooms?” Review over.
But anyway that’s the plan. Through the holiday, into the Quarterly Review. Then after that I’m digging into year-end time, trying not to let it go too long and end up posting it on Xmas Eve or something silly like that, which I’m pretty sure I’ve done in the past.
Thank you if you’ve contributed to the year-end poll. Thank you if you intend to. Thank you for reading. Thanks for being alive. I mean that shit. It’s work to get through a day. Thank you for whatever in your life led you to the end of this sentence.
Have a great and safe weekend. I think we’re mostly in recovery mode, but I’m sure we’ll find some silly shit to get up to while I also stress about the Quarterly Review in that special way that The Patient Mrs. loves so, so, so much. It’ll be fun.
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 28th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Starting tomorrow night at the Up in Smoke Festival in Switzerland, King Buffalo return to Europe for their second tour abroad of 2023, following up on a stint this past Spring that took them back to Freak Valley (review here) and elsewhere. In addition to Up in Smoke, the current run also boasts stops at Into the Void, Keep it Low, Desertfest Belgium and Lazy Bones Fests, which isn’t quite all of ’em — there are always more sneaking around — but it’s a lot.
And King Buffalo have been touring. A lot. Time for a new record? You know it. No, I don’t honestly think the Rochester, New York, trio — who emerged from the pandemic as one of the US’ brightest hopes in heavy psychedelia and have only furthered their case since — haven’t written a song in the last three years. Doesn’t seem feasible. But it makes sense that they might want to knuckle down and get everything ready to record. They’re following up an entire trilogy of albums, remember. Want to make sure your ducks are in a row.
And you’ll note they say there’s nothing else planned now. Plans change. Still, if you want to catch King Buffalo on this weird album-cycle-times-three — and I’ll gladly argue that you do — these shows might be your last chance. Fair warning.
These are our last planned shows for 2023 & 2024. If you want to see us before we hunker down to write a new record, THIS IS IT!
12/6 Portland, ME @ House of Music 12/7 Portsmouth, NH @ 3S Artspace 12/8 Fairfield, CT @ The Warehouse 12/9 Providence, RI @ FETE Lounge 12/30 Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom 1/12 Pittsburgh, PA @ Thunderbird 1/13 Detroit, MI @ El Club 1/14 Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme 1/16 Davenport, IA @ Raccoon Motel 1/17 Bloomington, IN @ Bishop Bar 1/18 Louisville, KY @ Whirling Tiger 1/19 Cincinnati, OH @ Woodward Theatre 1/20 Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
EUROPEAN TOUR DATES LAST SHOWS UNTIL 2025
29.9. (CH) Pratteln @ Up in Smoke Festival 30.9. (NL) Leeuwarden @ Into the Void 1.10. (DE) Lubeck @ Riders Café 3.10. (SWE) Gothenburg @ Musikens Hus 4.10. (DK) Copenhagen @ Loppen 5.10. (DE) Berlin @ Lido* 6.10. (DE) Munich @ Keep It Low* 7.10. (AT) Dornbirn @ Conrad Sohm* 8.10. (CH) Dudingen @ Bad Bonn 10.10. (ESP) Barcelona @ Razzmatazz3 11.10. (ESP) Madrid @ Nazca 12.10. (POR) Lisbon @ RCA Club 13.10. (POR) Porto @ Hard Club 14.10. (ESP) Hondarribia @ Psilocybenea 15.10. (FR) Toulouse @ Connexion Live 17.10. (UK) London @ The Dome 18.10. (UK) Leeds @ Brudenell Social Club 19.10. (UK) Nottingham @ Bodega 20.10. (UK) Brighton @ The Arch 21.10. (BE) Antwerp @ Desertfest 22.10. (NL) Deventer @ Burgerweeshuis 24.10. (DE) Cologne @ Club Volta 25.10. (NL) Amsterdam @ Melkweg 26.10. (NL) Eindhoven @ Effenaar 27.10. (DE) Frankfurt @ Zoom 28.10. (DE) Hamburg @ Lazy Bones Festival
