Apparently not needing sleep like other human beings, Australian psychedelic juggernauts King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have announced spring 2020 tour dates through the U.S. and Canada. Tickets are already on sale. As you can see from the poster, these shows include three three-hour marathon sets – two in Colorado (one of which is already sold out) and one in California. Don’t miss your chance to see them live. KGATLW never disappoint.
“If you’ve never been to Burger Boogaloo, you’re missing out on what it means to truly revel in the glory of music.” – SF Weekly
“Burger Boogaloo is the perfect cult gathering of young and old music rebels who hate everybody in the world except each other.” – John Waters
It’s a holiday miracle! Oakland’sBurger Boogaloo is announcing the first round of artists on its 2020 lineup with a ticket special that’s perfect for everyone on your naughty list! This year’s fest features Bikini Kill (1st Bay Area show in 25 years), Circle Jerks (1st Bay Area show in 10 years), Plastic Bertrand (1st Bay Area show ever), Carbonas (1st Bay Area show in 10 years), Bleached, and more, with additional acts being announced in early 2020. Of course, the Boogaloo wouldn’t be complete without its lawless leader, John Waters, who will return to host for the 6th year in a row! Burger Boogaloo will be back in Oakland’s Mosswood Park on Saturday, July 11th and Sunday, July 12th.
The Boogaloo’s Holiday Ticket Special is going on now, with GA Weekend Passes for $109 and VIP Weekend Passes for $159. But don’t go waiting ‘til the last minute to grab your passes; discounted tickets are only available while supplies last!
Ring in the new year with some Boogaloo holiday magic via the ticket link below:
BURGER BOOGALOO 2020 INITIAL LINEUP HOSTED BY JOHN WATERS BIKINI KILL (1st Bay Area show in 25 years) CIRCLE JERKS (1st Bay Area show in 10 years) PLASTIC BERTRAND (1st Bay Area show ever) CARBONAS (1st Bay Area show in 10 years) BLEACHED ALICE BAG (of the Bags) FLIPPER THE FEVERS PANSY DIVISION THE YOUNGER LOVERS PANTY RAID MIDNITE SNAXXX
HOLIDAY SPECIAL TICKET PRICES Day 1 – $79 (Full Price: $99) Day 2 – $59 (Full Price: $69) Weekend Pass – $109 (Full Price: $129) VIP Day 1 – $129 (Full Price: $149) VIP Day 2 – $99 (Full Price: $109) VIP Weekend Pass – $159 (Full Price: $199)
Austin trioThe Well announce yet another round of North American, EU and UK tour dates in support of their critically acclaimed new album Death and Consolation (RidingEasy Records.) The band has spent much of the year on tour, and now continue the trek into 2020, sharing some US dates with label mates Zig-Zags and R.I.P. These will be The Well’s first ever tour in the UK, having only played London’s DesertFest in 2019, and fans’ first opportunity to see the band performing songs from the new album. Please see all dates below. The band also recently shared a new video via Brooklyn Vegan. Watch & share the 4K UHD video for album track “Raven” which was directed, shot and edited by William Orendorff HERE. (YouTube.) Death and Consolation is without a doubt a weighty album title. And, The Well is among the heaviest heavy psych bands in existence. So when we say that there’s even more darkness and intensity to the band’s third album than previous efforts, take heed. It’s a deep sea diving bell of enveloping heaviness and longing.
“This one is a little more personal,” says guitarist/vocalist Ian Graham. “2018 was a strange, dark year. A lot of change going on in my life, there was a lot of depression and coming out of it over the last year. I wanted to call this Death and Consolation, because in life that’s a constant.” While The Well continue to walk an intriguing line between authentic early 70s doom/heavy psych and frayed weirdness of dark folk – especially with their haunting unison male/female vocals – the new album also adds the stark vibe of post-punk acts like Joy Division and early The Cure. “I feel like this album is almost more gothic. We’re big fans of post-punk,” Graham says. There’s also much less jamming, the songs are tight and concise. And, did we mention, heavy? The band tuned down a full step to C-standard tuning for this album, which gives the proceedings its monstrous sound.
Sonically, Death and Consolation picks up where The Well — Graham, bassist/vocalist Lisa Alley and drummer Jason Sullivan — left off with their widely heralded 2016 RidingEasy album Pagan Science. The band once again recorded with longtime producer/engineer Chico Jones at Estuary Studio in 2018, who has turned the knobs for all three of their albums (Jones engineered the band’s debut album Samsara with producer Mark Deutrom [Melvins, Sunn0)))] in 2013.) Samsara, released late September 2014 was ranked the #1 debut album of 2014 by The Obelisk and Pagan Science among the Best of 2016 from the Doom Charts collective. Likewise, the band’s intense — some even say “possessed” — live performances have earned them featured slots at Austin’s Levitation Fest, as well as tours with Kadavar, All Them Witches, Black Tusk and more.
“This album might be a little less produced, because I didn’t want to push technical stuff as much,” Graham says. “I’m so scared of getting too complicated when getting better at guitar. This is still kind of punk rock.”
Death and Consolation is available on LP, CD and download via RidingEasy Records. Orders are available HERE.
THE WELL TOUR 2020: 01/22 – Milan, IT @ Ligera 01/23 – Bologna, IT @ Freakout 01/24 – Turin, IT @ Ziggy 01/26 – Lille, FR @ La Bulle Cafe 01/27 – Tours, FR @ Le Canadian Cafe 01/28 – Nantes, FR @ La Scene Michelet 01/29 – Bordeaux, FR @ Les Voutes 01/30 – Dijon, FR @ Peniche Cancale 01/31 – Rennes, FR @ Le Melies 02/01 – Paris, FR @ Espace B 02/03 – Brighton, UK @ Hope & Ruin 02/04 – Milton Keyes, UK @ The Craufurd Arms 02/05 – Glasgow, UK @ Broadcast 02/07 – London, UK @ Black Heart 02/08 – Bree, BE @ Ragnarok 02/09 – Berlin, DE @ Zukunft am Ostkreuz 02/10 – Salzburg, AT @ Rockhouse 02/19 – El Paso, TX @ Monarch 02/20 – Phoenix, AZ @ Yucca Tap Room 02/21 – San Diego, CA @ Til Two Club *02/22 – Oceanside, CA @ The Pourhouse *02/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ Permanent Records Roadhouse *02/25 – San Francisco, CA @ The Knockout 02/26 – Nevada City, CA @ The Brick 02/27 – Portland, OR @ High Water Mark +02/28 – Seattle, WA @ Substation +02/29 – Vancouver, BC @ TBA +03/02 – Kalispell, MT @ Old School Records 03/03 – Missoula, MT @ TBA 03/04 – Boise, ID @ The Shredder 03/05 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court 03/06 – Denver, CO @ Streets of London 03/07 – Albuquerque, NM @ The Launchpad * w/ Zig-Zags+ w/ R.I.P.
It had been well over a decade since I’d seen Reverend Horton Heat, New Bomb Turks, or Voodoo Glow Skulls live, so buying a ticket to their show at Chicago’s House of Blues was a no-brainer. New Bomb Turks are one of my favorite punk bands of all time, and Reverend Horton Heat is an unstoppable touring machine. VGS are bonkers ska punks whose blood is probably the formula for Red Bull. The icing on the cake was learning that punk / psychobilly legend Dave Alvin was going to be playing a half-hour set with Reverend Horton Heat during the show (which was called the “Holiday Hayride”).
Voodoo Glow Skulls opened the show, getting the crowd jumping and moshing and bouncing. They played new and older tracks, including a fun cover of “Charlie Brown” and their blistering new song, “Generation Genocide.”
New Bomb Turks were up next and threw down a fiery, raucous set that left a lot of people dumbfounded. Lead singer Eric Davidson did his best to keep the crowd fired up, including trying to pull people onstage. Only four people, me included, took him up on the offer (Me during their classic “Dress Up the Naked Truth,” which resulted in Mr. Davidson violating my mouth with his microphone while I knelt before him). The set was so quick and furious that the crowd seemed stunned into silence by the time they were done.
Reverend Horton Heat opened with an instrumental version of “We Three Kings” and then switched back and forth between fan-favorites like “400 Bucks” and “Bales of Cocaine” and Christmas tunes like “Silver and Gold” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” The whole band are top-notch musicians. A nice addition for the home crowd was the pianist, a Texan by birth, but a Chicago theatre veteran who played Jerry Lee Lewis in the local production of Million Dollar Quartet.
The whipped cream on the holiday pumpkin pie was a half-hour set by Dave Alvin (singer-songwriter, founding member of The Blasters and The Flesh Eaters) with the Reverend Horton Heat band backing him. Alvin commanded the stage as soon as he set foot on it and put on a guitar clinic, often leaving Jim Heath (AKA Rev. Heat) grinning and saying, “Well, I guess we have to follow that.” after Alvin exited stage left.
Dave Alvin takes center stage.
It’s a fun tour and was a jolly way to start the holiday season. It might be the last show I see in 2019, and it’s a good way to end my year of live music if that’s the case.
The Beths will tour the U.S. in Spring 2020 to preview new music from their forthcoming album out next year on Carpark Records. After selling out shows at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg, Washington, DC’s Union Stage and Chicago’s Lincoln Hall on previous tours, the band will play more intimate venues on this run. They recently sat down with Paste while in the studio to discuss the forthcoming album and tour. Read the feature here.
The Beths earned praise from critics and fans alike for their debut full length, Future Me Hates Me. In addition to being ranked #42 in Paste’s “50 Best Indie Rock Albums of the 2010s,” the album received glowing reviews from NPR Music, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, The A.V. Club, Stereogum, and more. The band recently won Best Alternative Artist and Best Group at the 2019 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards while also being nominated for Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Single of the Year.
Tickets for the band’s Spring 2020 U.S. tour are on salenow. The Beths Tour Dates: Sat. March 7 – Auckland, NZ @ Villa Maria* Thu. March 12 – Marlborough, NZ @ Framingham Harvest Concert Wed. April 15 – Seattle, WA @ Laserdome Thu. April 16 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge (tickets) Fri. April 17 – Bend, OR @ Volcanic Theatre Pub (tickets) Sat. April 18 – Oakland, CA @ The New Parish (tickets) Sun. April 19 – Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon (tickets) Mon. April 20 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar (tickets) Wed. April 22 – Austin, TX @ The Parish (tickets) Thu. April 23 – Dallas, TX @ Three Links (tickets) Fri. April 24 – Houston, TX @ Satellite Bar (tickets) Sat. April 25 – New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa (tickets) Sun. April 26 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement (tickets) Tue. April 28 – Washington, DC @ Pearl Street Warehouse (tickets) Wed. April 29 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie (tickets) Thu. April 30 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade NYC (tickets) Fri. May 1 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Smiling Moose (tickets) Tue. May 2 – Cleveland Heights, OH @ Grog Shop (tickets) Wed. May 3 – Chicago, IL @ Cobra Lounge (tickets)
We began our fourth and final day of Levitation Austin 2019 by attending the downtown record show at the Palmer Event Center. The show was a gold mine for vinyl record collectors. I managed to score three CD’s there – a live Goblin bootleg of a show from 1975, a copy of Husker Du‘s Zen Arcade, and a copy of Duran Duran‘s Arena (the cassette of which I wore out years ago).
We had a nice dinner at one of our yearly stops – Daruma Ramen – and then headed back to Barracuda for the Death by Audio showcase. This was one of the first tickets I bought for the festival when I saw one of my favorite bands, A Place to Bury Strangers, was playing along with The KVB, who I’ve wanted to see live for a while now. APTBS were selling earplugs at their merchandise table for $2.00 a pair. I had brought my own, but in case you’ve never seen them before, this is $2.00 well spent. Trust me on this. First up for us at the DBA showcase was Numb.er, who put on a cool set of shoegaze noise.
Up next, and outside were The KVB, who were excited to finally be playing in Austin and to a welcoming crowd. They sounded great and showed how much evocative music two people can make with the right chemistry, guitar pedals, and synth / drum machine set-up.
We went back inside to catch most of the set by Austin’s own Ringo Deathstarr. They played a mix of new (some played for the first time that night) and older material and filled the inside stage area with fuzzy rock.
I then went back outside for APTBS’ set. My wife stayed inside to wait for Christian Bland and the Revelators and to avoid the sonic assault provided by an APTBS show. This isn’t a crack on my wife. Not everyone can handle their shows. I’ve seen metal heads, screamo fanatics, and hardcore goths wither under their power. Sure enough, they unleashed fury on the outdoor stage, with Oliver Ackermann’s guitar and Dion Lunadon’s bass both being hammered onto the stage within two songs (and multiple times thereafter).
APTBS with members of Ringo Deathstarr and Cryogeyser
Every band from the Death By Audio showcase came out to play with them during the set, which included members of Cryogeyser, the KVB, Numb.er, and Ringo Deathstarr. Their was so much fog machine fog rolling off the stage at one point that the band, bathed in strobe lights as well, took on the appearance of ghosts. I was near the front of the stage and facing Dion Lunadon for most of the set and he went through two bass guitars, and all of the strings on the second were broken by the end. In other words, it was another great APTBS show and a great finish to the festival.
Christian Bland and the Revelators, meanwhile, were putting on a cool show of early Pink Floyd-influenced blues-psych inside Barracuda, and it was a nice way to send our latest Levitation Austin Festival out on a groovy note with one of its curators.
Christian Bland (left) and the Revelators
Levitation weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the year. It’s always a good time, the crowds are always cool (I’ve yet to have run-ins with jerks at the festival.), and the music (and food) is always great. Thanks again to the Reverb Appreciation Society for making it happen. See you next year, Austin.
We would spend about twelve hours in downtown Austin on the third day of Levitation Austin 2019. We had tickets to see a lot of bands, and it was the busiest day of the festival for everyone involved.
We began at, once again, Barracuda, where the RidingEasy Records showcase started off the afternoon. We missed the opening of Warish‘s set due to having to eat lunch beforehand at a nearby Thai restaurant. We knew we’d need fuel for the day. Warish was blaring on the inside stage, making my wife say, “There’s nothing ‘ish’ about it!” Their cover of Nirvana‘s “Negative Creep” was solid and much-appreciated.
Next up, and outside, were Here Lies Man, whose last two albums have been in the top ten of their respective years for me. They put on a groovy set to a crowd that was loving their heavy “Black Sabbath plays Afrobeat” sound and the warmer weather.
My wife became a fan of Blackwater Holylight after we went back inside to see their set. It was a cool, trippy, and sexy mix of psychedelia.
She also appreciated the killer set by The Well, who were among the band’s I was most excited to see at the festival. They threw down one of the best sets I’ve seen all year. It was hard-hitting, solid groove stoner-doom metal and a great mid-day lift.
We kept that theme going with Acid King, who flattened what little was left of the outside stage by now. It was great to see and hear these legends live. They still shred.
It was a quick walk to Stubb’s BBQ to see the Black Angels and John Cale. The Black Angels put on another fine set. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen them live now, and they never put on a bad show.
“I think we’re more excited than you are,” said the Black Angels’ lead singer, Alex Maas, before John Cale took the stage to play tracks that ranged from fun to creepy and covered his solo work and Velvet Underground cuts. The Black Angels joined him and his band onstage for an encore performance of “Sister Ray” that was a thrill for everyone on stage and in front of it.
The Black Angels (left) and John Cale and his band perform “Sister Ray.”
As cool as that was to see and hear, we still had more sets to catch. We zipped back to Barracuda to see Night Beats and Cosmonauts. Night Beats were first, with Danny Blackwell rocking his awesome hat as usual, and they put on a great show on the outdoor stage. Blackwell is a gunslinger with his guitar. I’d almost forgotten how much he shreds.
I’d heard good things about Cosmonauts’ live sets, mostly that they were guitar onslaughts. That description wasn’t far off, because they shook the walls of the building and were a great end cap to a long, wild day.
We were exhausted by the time we got back to the garage apartment we were renting in Austin, but it was a fun day. The next would bring death by audio.
We started off the second night of Levitation Austin 2019 at Stubb’s BBQ, where the Flaming Lips were playing the outdoor stage along with Holy Wave and Mercury Rev. We got there in time for the last two songs of Mercury Rev’s set, which sounded good. The night was cold, but not as cold as the first. Plus, there were more bodies around to block the wind when it would whip through the outdoor stage area.
The Flaming Lips, as always, put on a fun show to an enthusiastic crowd reveling in balloons, confetti, and Jell-O shots being shot from a slingshot wielded by a man on a surfboard that took him through the crowd. Lead singer Wayne Coyne was in a playful mood and frequently chatted with the crowd. The Flaming Lips are my wife’s new favorite band after seeing them live twice. “I always feel happy,” she said about seeing their shows. That’s one of the best reviews you can get.
We zipped back over to Barracuda to catch Death Valley Girls and Elephant Stone. We hadn’t seen Elephant Stone in a long while and were eager to hear some of their new material. I’d also heard good things about Death Valley Girls’ live sets. They were first and as fun as we’d hoped.
“Hell’s house band” – Death Valley GirlsElephant Stone
We then walked over to Elysium to catch David J‘s intimate acoustic set. He was accompanied by a pianist and played tracks from his new solo record as well as a Love and Rockets track (“Shelf Life”). It was a mellow way to end the night. My wife rested her head on my shoulder and a bouncer told her, “You can’t fall asleep here.” like it was a dire warning against the dangers of the goth club’s vampires devouring her if she did.
The set might be the closest I ever get to seeing Bauhaus or Love and Rockets live, so it was nice to see and hear.
The next day would be a marathon, but it would be worth it.
It was our fifth year attending Levitation Austinsince 2013. The festival had been moved to the autumn from the spring this year, so I was interested to see if the change on the calendar would affect the size of the crowds at some of the venues.
The four-day festival started for us at Barracuda – the club where we would end up spending most of the next four nights. Nearly all the bands we wanted to see were playing there over the course of the festival, and the first show there was sold out. First up were Hoover iiifrom Los Angeles, who played a good set of psychedelia mixed with some shoegaze elements.
Hoover iii
Next were a band I was really keen on seeing – Minami Deutsch. A Japanese band that makes krautrock? I’m there. They put on my favorite set of the night. We later met lead singer / guitarist, Kyotaro Miula, outside Barracuda at a food truck where we all complained about the unseasonably cold weather (for Austin, at least) and I convinced him to try the chicken shawarma wrap.
Minami Deutsch
Another California band, Jjuujjuu, was next. I hadn’t seen them since a trip to Arizona years ago when they were part of the Desert Daze tour. They still sound great with their heavy psychedelic tunes.
Coming all the way from Melbourne, Australia were Stonefield, who were good to hear after I arrived too late to catch them in Chicago with ORB and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard a few months ago.
Stonefield
Austin’s own Holy Wave soon followed, and they put on a good set of stoner psych to a happy hometown crowd.
Holy Wave
The night ended with Kikagaku Moyo, the second Japanese band of the night. I stayed for the first half of their set and then had to call it quits due to being exhausted from a long day of travel and the cold weather at the outdoor stage that was almost to the point of chilling me to the bone. Regardless, what I heard was good. Anything involving sitar shredding is fine by me.
Kikagaku Moyo
It was a cold, but good start to the festival. The next day would bring confetti, Hell’s house band, more sitar shredding, and warnings against falling asleep.
It was the first of two sold-out shows at Chicago’s Thalia Hall for Thee Oh Sees and Prettiest Eyes. Joining them was Chicago’s Jimmy Whispers. I had yet to see Mr. Whispers, and I hadn’t seen Oh Sees since Levitation Austin last year in a small outdoor venue and Prettiest Eyes since Levitation France last year win a multi-purpose performance center.
Jimmy Whispers played a quirky set of bedroom / lounge rock that had one guy behind me saying, “I feel like I’m in a John Hughes movie.” Mr. Whispers sang songs about love and making love, taking on a sound and groove not unlike a Gary Wilson show.
Jimmy Whispers (center) and crew
Prettiest Eyes were up next and a complete switch from Jimmy Whispers’ set. They unleashed controlled chaos with wild tracks off their new album, Volume 3. Keyboards shrieked, bass thundered, and drums crashed. The Latino psych-rockers sang most of their tunes in English, unlike when we saw them in France and they kept the lyrics in Spanish for the most part. The songs are good either way, and they’re always energetic performers.
Prettiest Eyes
Speaking of energy, there’s always plenty of it during an Oh Sees show. You could probably power the air conditioning system in a Tucson ice cream parlor with the energy they create. They played a great mix of older and new material from their current album, Face Stabber. The mosh pit erupted immediately with “The Static God” and rarely stopped after that.
Oh Sees
Other highlights included “The Dream,” “Tidal Wave,” “I Come from the Mountain,” and “Animated Violence.”
A treat and a surprise for me was when they played all twenty-plus minutes of “Henchlock” from the new album. It was even better than I hoped it would be.
It was another excellent performance. Both drummers played in unison and in different time signatures without tripping over each other. Frontman John Dwyer shredded the whole set. Beer was thrown, a lost shoe was held up by someone in the pit, I found an Oh Sees shirt that no one claimed as I held it up (and it was even my size), and I returned a man’s house keys to him I found in the pit during a brief break in the action.
As I said after I first saw them, everything you’ve heard about an Oh Sees show is 100% true. Don’t miss this tour.
