We’ve reached the top ten of concerts I saw over the last five years, and it includes more bands I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see. Starting with…
#10: Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade – Kemba Live!, Columbus, OH – May 31st, 2022
Les Claypool’s side project, The Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, put out one album and a cool double-live album many years ago. I didn’t think he’d revive the project and knew I had to see this tour as soon as it was announced. Sure enough, it was a cool show full of weird psychedelic rock, Sean Lennon on lead guitar, and them covering Pink Floyd’s Animals in its entirety in the middle of the show.
#9: Viagra Boys – Salt Shed – Chicago – February 24, 2023
This was bonkers. It was, according to Viagra Boys’ lead singer Sebastian Murphy, their biggest show in the U.S. so far. It was packed, sweaty, loud, and crazy. The entire indoor stage at the Salt Shed felt like it was shaking and that a drug-fueled orgy might break out at any moment.
#8: TV on the Radio – September 27, 2025 – Levitation Austin – Austin, TX
Here’s the next band I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see. TVOTR didn’t have a new album to promote, but they were touring and headlining one night of the Levitation Music Festival. I would have gone to the festival just to see them, and they didn’t disappoint. They brought everything I wanted: Energy, fury, power, and joy.
#7: Orbital – Radius – Chicago – March 23, 2024
Here’s the third band in this part of the list I wasn’t sure I’d ever see. Orbital’s tour was another surprise and it was great to see them in a reasonably small venue. They sounded excellent, and the show felt like being transported back in time to a 1993 rave. I hadn’t danced that much in a long while.
#6: Elton John – Soldier Field – Chicago – August 05, 2022
It was a hot and humid night at Soldier Field when Sir Elton John played his final Chicago show on his final tour. It was a big, fun, and emotional show, and he and his band sounded great. In terms of sound quality, this probably is the best show I heard of the last five years. Every note was clear.
Up next, the top five, and they’re all bands I wasn’t sure I’d ever see.
The area around the Old National Centre in Indianapolis was full of people in energy dome hats in anticipation for Devo’s first concert in the city for decades. One of the best parts was seeing the wide age range of fans. My friend, Bill, brought his two young boys, Lexington and Phoenix, with him and they were as hyped for the show as old timers who’d been catching Devo shows since the 1970s.
They came out with energy that men twenty years younger than them wish they had, opening with “Don’t Shoot” and “Peek a Boo.” The crowd barely stopped jumping and dancing the entire time.
Peek-a-Boo, Devo can see you.
“Going Under” was a nice surprise, and Mark Mothersbaugh almost lost his voice by the time they got to “Girl U Want” and “Whip It,” but he had time to recover during “Planet Earth” – a song I didn’t expect but was delighted to hear.
“Blockhead” was another fun deep cut, and “Jocko Homo” shredded the stage. My friend said, “It sounds even more punk live.”
Are we not men?!
“Smart Patrol / Mr. DNA” was another bonkers track (Bob Mothersbaugh breaking all of his guitar strings at one point), with the triple whammy of “Freedom of Choice” (“Use it or lose it, spuds. It’s going fast,” said Bob Casale), “Gut Feeling,” and then “Beautiful World” (sang by Booji Boy) to wrap up the show. It left everyone out of breath by the end.
They’re the Smart Patrol.
Devo have still got it, and they were right all along. They saw all of everything you see today coming decades ago. They warned us. They still are.
Keep your mind open.
Thanks to the pro-photographer who let me snap a photo of this set list!
Ranking the shows I attended for the last five years into just twenty-give top concerts was difficult, and it was especially so for the middle of the list. Who’s in the top fifteen? Let’s find out.
#15: Moon Duo – Levitation Austin / Feels So Good Records – October 30, 2022
Moon Duo closed the 2022 Levitation Music Festival with one of their special “light ship” shows. They play inside a projection screen box with the psychedelic light show being projected from behind them onto the screens. They end up silhouetted and the visuals emerge from their music rather than being cast onto it. No joke, I went into a trance at one point during this show and it was a perfect ending to a great festival.
#14: Castle Rat – September 26, 2025 – Levitation Austin – Austin, TX
Castle Rat set a massively high bar to begin the 2025 Levitation Music Festival, combining stoner metal with a live-action Dungeons & Dragons campaign that included a battle with a death goddess, a druid playing drums, and all of us helping protect a book containing wayward souls. Their merch line after this show lasted twenty minutes per person for hours.
#13: Osees – Old National Centre – Indianapolis – October 22, 2025
This list would be incomplete without at least one Osees show, as they are perhaps the best touring rock band in the country. This show was in a small performance space no bigger than a wedding reception hall and had minimal air conditioning. I knew it was going to be loud and sweaty as soon as I walked into the place, and I was proven right. The mosh pit was surrounded by four stone pillars, one on each corner, and somehow I avoided being slammed into one of them. Osees blasted the place, leaving a lot of people who’d never seen them before in shock.
Speaking of blasting a place, Slift wrapped up their first U.S. tour at the 2022 Levitation Music Festival and left nothing in the tank. I don’t know how the stage didn’t collapse during their set, nor how any of us weren’t launched into orbit. Everyone knew we’d just seen, heard, and felt something transformative.
#11: Weird Al Yankovic – Lerner Theatre / Elkhart – July 26, 2022
This tour showcased Weird Al’s “non-parody” songs because he wanted to highlight his amazing band. It’s easy to forget how good they are. They can play multiple genres, sometimes in the same song, with ease. This was part-comedy show (with the great Emo Phillips opening), part-musical showcase. They didn’t play a single parody until the encore, and those were in a medley, and it was still one of the best shows I saw in all of 2022.
The top ten is looming! Come back tomorrow to see who made the list!
If you weren’t aware, The Black Angels are currently on tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut album, Passover. They’re playing the whole album front to back and a second set of favorites and new material. Their recent return to Chicago’s Thalia Hall was a sold-out affair with spooky psych-rockers L.A. Witch opening for them.
I think this kind of lighting follows L.A. Witch wherever they go.
L.A. Witch played a smoky, spooky set of psych-rock mixed with California garage rock and a bit of doom metal. Their drummer, Ellie English, is sharp and puts down heavy krautrock rhythms at times. They also have a cool wall-of-sound vibe to them that washes over you and can induce a hypnotic state.
Same thing with The Black Angels, really.
Passover launched the careers of the Austin, Texas psych-heavyweights, and the album is still powerful in its message of the insanity of war…which is, unfortunately, also still relevant twenty years later with even just the first two tracks: “Young Men Dead” and “The First Vietnam War.”
“Black Grease” has always been a favorite of mine, so it’s a treat to hear it live, and “Manipulation” has grown into one of their best live pieces as Christian Bland and Alex Maas trade lead vocals throughout it and everyone gets trippy with it. After seeing Stephanie Bailey pound her kit during the back-to-back endurance contests of “Empire” and “Better Off Alone,” my guess is that she carb-loads like a triathlete before each show. By the way, she came out on stage on crutches and still rocked the entire set.
After a brief break, they came back with the ever-cool “Bad Vibrations” and then multiple new tracks: “Push It” (not a Salt & Pepa cover), “Daisies,” and “Turkish” among them. Their new album is going to be a stunner if these are any indication of its sound.
The bad vibrations are actually pretty good.
Don’t skip this tour. The new edge to the Passover songs is heavy and sometimes menacing, and the new songs will amaze you.
The numbers get smaller, the concerts get bigger. Here are more of the best shows I attended in the last five years.
#20: Frankie and the Witch Fingers – The Brass Rail – October 08, 2021
FATW always brings the fire, and the small stage in Ft. Wayne, Indiana (a little over an hour drive from my house) could barely contain it. They were still somewhat unknown back then and are rocking major festivals and releasing double-albums by now.
#19: Deap Vally – Thalia Hall – Chicago – February 10, 2024
How could I not see Deap Vally’s final tour, let alone at one of my favorite venues? The duo unleashed a roaring set that left everyone wanting and hoping for more at some future date. Will it happen? No one but Deap Vally knows, but they left us with a great gift if that was the final curtain.
#18: LCD Soundsystem – Aragon Ballroom – Chicago – May 26, 2024
This wasn’t the first time I’d seen LCD Soundsystem, but it was the first time I’d seen them with my fiancé, who’d become a fan of them early in our dating life. Seeing them after a few years of absence and seeing her joyful reaction to their fun, danc beat-filled show was a lovely moment.
#17: Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Sleeping Village – Chicago – March 28, 2023
Holy crap. This was the first time Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs played in Chicago and I almost didn’t go to this show. I didn’t decide until a day before it, as I felt like I needed to be there. I’m glad I listened to my gut because this was such a strong set that I was surprised the back wall was still standing by the end. They were a bit surprised by how many showed up to see them and I became a big fan that night.
#16: The Damned – Concord Music Hall, Chicago, IL, June 02, 2024
Here’s another band I wasn’t sure I’d get to see live…enough though I’d seen them before this show. Confused? That’s because The Damned reunited their 1980s lineup that included Paul Gray and Rat Scabies for this tour. This lineup, with Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible, was the lineup of The Damned I’d heard when I discovered them back in high school. They put on a great set that had me smiling and moshing the entire time, and Rat Scabies’ heartfelt reaction to the crowd cheering for him was lovely.
We’re almost halfway through the list? Who lies ahead? Come back tomorrow!
Just like my list of the top 25 albums I reviewed over the last five years, I decided to create a list of the top 25 concerts I attended in the same time. It was a harder list to make, although the top five were fairly easy to choose. Who put on the best shows? Let’s find out.
#25: The The – Salt Shed, Chicago, IL, October 25, 2024
There are many bands on this list that I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see live. The The is one of them. This show included two sets. The first had them playing their newest album, Ensoulment, in its entirety. The second was a “time traveler” set that included all older material, starting with “Infected” and ending with “This Is the Day.”
This was Yin-Yin’s first show ever in the United States, and they won over the entire crowd at Levitation last year. Their blend of funk, Euro-disco, and psych-rock was an instant hit. Everyone on and off the stage had a great time.
#23: Jon Spencer – Stockroom East, South Bend, IN, July 11, 2024
Jon Spencer and his backing band featuring two members of The Bobby Lees played about forty minutes from my house in a tiny venue and in front of maybe fifty people. They completely shredded the place, hitting it as hard as they would a big theatre and leaving many who’d never seen his live show slack-jawed by the end of it.
#22: A Place to Bury Strangers – Empty Bottle – Chicago – May 30, 2022
Any APTBS show is an experience, and this one in my favorite Chicago dive bar was especially wild. They were feeding off the crowd’s energy and crushing everyone and everything in sight. A friend of mine, a bassist for a Chicago death metal band (Aphixiator), was impressed by the power they generated. I think the walls shook for hours afterwards.
#21: Gang of Four – Far Out Lounge – Levitation Austin, November 01, 2024
Here’s another band I wasn’t sure I’d ever see live. Gang of Four showed that they were still powerful, relevant, and sharp. Seeing so many other GOF fans going bonkers with me was a highlight of the Levitation Music Festival that year.
Whew. It’s already heavy and loud. Who makes the top twenty? Come back tomorrow to find out!
Leenalchi (EEE-nal-chi) — the seven-piece Seoul-based band led by bassist Jang Young Gyu — announce their Luaka Bop debut, a new EP entitled Here Comes That Crow, out June 12th, and a North American tour. In conjunction with today’s announcements, they present the video for lead single and title track, “Here Comes That Crow.” The music of Leenalchi is taken from pansori, a traditional Korean style of musical storytelling often compared to opera. Rooted in shamanism and developed during the Joseon Dynasty (17th century), these songs tell epic tales of love, virtue, sorrow, and dragon kings. As if reverberating in our ears from a spiritual plane, the sounds emitting from Leenalchi’s singers are transcendent. Their line-up, as singular as their sound, features two bassists, drums, keys, no guitar, and four singers.
The psychedelic riffs found in Leenalchi’s songs are courtesy of Jang, the band’s enigmatic leader, who looms large in the country’s small but dedicated indie music scene. An NPR Tiny Desk concert of one of his former bands, SsingSsing, racked up 9.9 million views on YouTube and was praised by Tiny Desk founder Bob Boilen as “one of my most memorable Tiny Desk Concerts of all time.” He’s also a prestigious film composer, scoring soundtracks for some of Korea’s most celebrated movies like Train to Busan, The Wailing, and The Good, the Bad, the Weird.
Jang’s work with pansori began in 2007, after composing for choreographer Ahn Eun-me’s piece, Bari. With musicians from that project, Jang went on to form groups such as BIBING, SsingSsing, and eventually Leenalchi.
On “Here Comes That Crow,” as on most Leenalchi songs, Jang wordlessly directs his vision of cross-cultural funk with a collaborative spirit. First comes the rhythm section, developed with drummer Oh Hyung Suk, which sets the foundation for a song, then, singers Park Soo Bum, Ahn Yi Ho, Ra Seo Jin, and Choi Su In draw from the repertoire of pansori songs to discover the most distinctive and fitting sounds.
Adapted from a pansori tale about the Chinese warlord Cao Cao’s most decisive battle, “Here Comes That Crow” is an allegory about life’s precariousness. Ahn, together with his fellow Leenalchi members, wrote a poem to help listeners interpret the song’s meaning:
도용도용은 작은 배가 물위를 떠가는 모양을 그린 말이다. 조조도 조자룡도 쫓기는 자도 쫓는 자도 멈출수는 없다. 판자때기 아래가 저승인데 어느 누가 멈춰 설 수 있겠는가!
Doyung doyung goes the small boat seen floating down the river. Whether the chased or the chaser, no one can stop—just beneath the boards lies the underworld!
As part of their training, pansori singers are required to spend time singing next to a waterfall, tasked to carefully observe and mimic the sonic nuances of water. The Korean language is full of onomatopoeias. The repetition in these words create their own rhythmic unit, each word functioning like a tiny song: Kwal-kwal (콸콸) is the sound of a running stream; gaegul-gaegul (개굴개굴) goes the frog; and mimetic words (a slippery floor is mikkeul-maekkeul (미끌매끌); sol-sol (솔솔) is a kind of gentle and subtle slowness).
The band counts many fellow artists as fans, including Brian Eno, Robyn, Japanese Breakfast, and Merrill Garbus (of Tune-Yards), who studied pansori while part of the group Roomful of Teeth.
This summer, Leenalchi will embark on their first-ever North American tour, making stops in Canada and the West coast, including Stern Grove Festival in San Francisco where they’ll support Japanese Breakfast, and a free show at The Getty in Los Angeles presented by KCRW. Tickets for all dates are on-sale now and available here.
Here Comes That Crow Tracklist: 1. Hihi Haha 2. Bird 3. Here Comes That Crow 4. Let’s Live for Today 5. Look At Me Look At Me 6. Ultimate Prescription
Leenalchi 2026 Tour Dates: Fri. May 29 – Incheon, SK @ Asian Pop Festival @ Paradise City Sun. June 21 – Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Jazz Thu. June 25 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace Fri. June 26 – Montreal, QC @ Montreal Jazz Festival Sat. June 27 – Vancouver, BC @ Vancouver Jazz Festival Sun. June 28 – San Francisco, CA @ Stern Grove Festival (w/ Japanese Breakfast) Wed. July 8 – Seattle, WA @ Vera Project (presented by KEXP) Sat. July 11 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Getty (presented by KCRW) Thu. Nov. 12 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Fri. Nov. 13 – Rotterdam, NL @ Grounds Sun. Nov. 15 – Berlin, DE @ Gretchen Tue. Nov. 17 – Hamburg, DE @ Knust Wed. Nov. 18 – Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA Musikkens Hus Fri. Nov. 20 – Aarhus, DK @ Turkis Sat. Nov. 21 – Groningen, NL @ VERA Tue. Nov. 24 – Dublin, IE @ Whelan’s Thu. Nov. 26 – London, UK @ Jazz Cafe Fri. Nov. 27 – Bristol, UK @ The Jam Jar Sat. Nov. 28 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club Sun. Nov. 29 – Manchester, UK @ Band on the Wall
I hadn’t heard of Dutch electro artist Joost Klein until a month ago when I heard him mentioned by a local high schooler. I asked my stepdaughter about him and she almost jumped out of her chair. “I love Joost!” she said and was even more thrilled when we learned he was playing in Chicago. The show was originally scheduled for Thalia Hall, but as you can see from that photo, they realized they needed a lot more space for the 3,000+ who showed up at The Salt Shed.
First on the bill was a DJ of sorts – ipadkid2001. I write “of sorts” because I’m not sure if this chap was a DJ or someone pretending to be a DJ. It might have been an act. The crowd was so jazzed that they screamed when ipadkid2001 just turned on the light above his turntables. He played an odd mix of songs, ranging from drum and bass bangers to The Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” Most of these songs weren’t played all the way through. They were usually snippets or perhaps two verses and a chorus. At one point he played vocal samples that stated, “This is my first time DJing. I don’t know what I’m doing.” and “Wow, ipadkid, that transition was terrible.” I was willing to believe the first statement, and the second was accurate. There were so many awkward transitions between tracks that I wasn’t sure if they were intentional or not. Again, was all this a parody? I don’t know, and by the end I don’t think the audience knew.
A DJ set? A clever joke? I’m still not sure.
Klein’s DJ, DJ Chool, played a set that was so short that I wondered why he even bothered. I mentioned this to my stepdaughter, who rightly stated, “He’s just warming up for Joost.” He was both a DJ and a hype man, who was having a blast dancing around the stage for the few moments he had it to himself.
You were going to try cramming all these people into Thalia Hall?
Klein ran out on stage as soon as DJ Chool got back to his decks and the crowd went bonkers as he began with “Ome Robert” (otherwise known as the lovely ballad “Suck My Ditch, Bitch.”).
SMD, bih!
The whole show was as crazy as the opening number. Klein twice told the audience to look out for each other in the crowd and stay hydrated, once stopping before he started a new song so someone could be removed from near the front due to them being overheated.
My stepdaughter was delighted to hear “1,” and the younger folks in the crowd went nuts when he played a version of Crazy Frog’s “Axel F” while this Gen X’er was amused and baffled. I later told my stepdaughter, “I feel like I should know the story of the crazy frog.” Her response was, “It’s an old YouTube video.” I later learned it’s a Swedish animated character from Eurodance.
My stepdaughter: “He’s gonna play 1!”
Other fun highlights were “Tetetetete” – a Spanish song as a salute to Cinco de Mayo, the “We can all relate to this” track “TRAFIK!” (about being stuck in traffic), and the “We can relate even more to this” cut “Capitalism :D” (about both hating and needing work).
The work hamster wheel / toilet paper roll never ends!
“Zonder Jou” and “Europapa” were other big hits for the crowd. It was a fun show, and one that hadn’t been on my radar. Klein was genuinely appreciative of the crowd and response, commenting multiple times on how he was stunned by the number of people who showed up.
Be prepared to dance, and laugh, if you can catch him. It’s a good time.
The final day of the 2026 Austin Psych Fest was the most humid of the three, and easily the most soulful. The festival bumped up all the sets by an hour, presumably to avoid the thunderstorms predicted to roll in around 10pm that night just as the final set was about to end.
As a result, I wasn’t able to get in a disco nap before the festival and trotted my slightly sunburned body to the Far Out Lounge just in time to catch Night Beats play a solid set of psychedelic, fuzzy soul rock. It had been a few years since I’d seen them, and they haven’t lost a step. They still deliver the goods.
Night Beats rocking day beats.
Up next were the funky Dumbo Gets Mad, who had everyone happily dancing in the hot sun without a care. Finding shade is a skill at this festival. You have to claim spots early or rely on the charity of others to squeeze you into a shady space. The occasional breeze elicited happy sighs from the crowds, and it kept hitting at good times during DGM’s set to make dancing all the easier.
No anger here, just fun vibes.
A big crowd had assembled for La Lom, who hit the first note exactly at the start of their set time. The Los Angeles trio played a fun set of instrumental cumbia, rockabilly, and border rock. Everyone was smiling during this set. Couples were dancing and making out. People were cheering their ancestry as La Lom announced the origin of several tracks (“We’re going to play a song from Columbia!”, “This is an old one from Mexico!”).
La Lom shaking hips everywhere.
Trish Toledo was the next artist on the bill, bringing her Latina soul siren vocals to the second stage with her killer backing band. She started with her version of Diana Ross’ “Bad Girls” and proceeded to win and break hearts from there. Everyone was spellbound by the end.
Trish Toledo wrapping everyone around her fingers.
The night, and the festival, ended with the big sounds of Thee Sacred Souls. Much like La Lom and Ms. Toledo’s sets, everyone was buzzing and happy during it. The heat and sun didn’t matter (“It’s like being in a club at 3am,” said lead singer Josh Lane). People all around me were dancing, cheering, smooching, and loving the opportunity to go out with dance grooves to carry them home.
The thunderstorms hit almost an hour later, preventing me from getting to the late night show downtown. That was a bummer, but overall it was a good time and, as always, an excellent blend of genres and bands from all over the map.
And now, my random Festival Awards!
Best set: The Flaming Lips. The sound engineering was top-notch and it was a fun set list. On a personal note, they were one of my late wife’s favorite bands and they played the night before our 29th wedding anniversary, so that was special. I got choked up during “The Golden Path.”
Heaviest set: The Black Angels. Good heavens, the modern versions of the songs from Passover somehow have even more fuzz and weight on them.
Shame on You if You Missed It set: Almost Heaven. They were the second set on the first day and put on a sharp, post-punky / electro-funky set that had a lot of people buzzing by the end of it and wearing their new band shirts over the next two days.
Wildest set: J’cuuzi. Absolutely bonkers and a ton of fun. Crazy costumes, exotic dancers, glam-punk riffs, a spinning chair substituting for a stripper’s pole, and more stuff I’ve forgotten were all crammed into it. They opened the festival and set a high bar for everyone to follow.
Loveliest set: Trish Toledo. This was like a cool breeze refreshing you after a long day. The soul ballads and psychedelic funk sounds were a great addition to the festival. This was another set you’ll kick yourself for missing if you weren’t there.
Sweatiest set: Night Beats. Lead singer and guitarist DannyLee Blackwell’s shirt was soaked enough for him to win a wet t-shirt contest by the end of this. The fuzzy, guitar-roar sounds were sweaty, too. Everyone in the crowd was sweating, at least a bit dehydrated, and yet ready for more by the end.
Happiest set: La Lom. Everyone was dancing and smiling the whole time, including the band. The back-and-forth cheering between La Lom and the crowd reflected how everyone was participating in a big party and not caring about the humidity.
Most Happy to Be There set: New Candys. I didn’t get to see every band at the festival, but of all the ones I did see, the Venetian trio seemed to be the happiest to be there and hanging out with the rowdy crowd and a bit surprised at how many people came to see them.
Trippiest set: Holy Wave. These guys do psych-rock very well and are local favorites. I usually see them in dark venues or at night, but the afternoon sun only seemed to make them sound brighter and dreamier.
Most Shredding in a Set: Ty Segall. There were a few times in his raucous set that he just unloaded a crate full of mega-riffs. How a mosh pit didn’t break out during this is beyond me. It must have been the heat.
Keep your mind open.
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[Thanks to Cheyenne Doerr for the press credentials and support.]
I heard the thunder rumbling as I started the walk to the Far Out Lounge for the second day of Austin Psych Fest. I got about three blocks when the rain started. My phone’s weather app said it was just an isolated storm that would soon pass. I put on the raincoat I’d packed and continued walking…
…into a full-on thunderstorm complete with flash flooding and rain hitting so hard that at one point I thought it was hail. I later learned there were funnel clouds in the area at the time. I sloshed my way back to the Air BNB place I was sleeping in for the weekend, wrung out my socks, and waited out the storm for at least another hour before making the trip in the now sunny, jungle-humid afternoon.
APF had been delayed for those two hours due to a couple lightning strikes. As a result, the first four bands of the day – Commercial Breaks, Strange Lot, The Dead Canyon Family Reunion, and Grocery Bag – ended up with canceled sets. Annabelle Chairlegs barely managed to squeeze in their set when the festival finally opened.
So, first on the bill for me was Ty Segall. I hadn’t seen him since the (unknown to everyone at the time) final Psycho Music Festival in Las Vegas in 2021. As one photographer in front of me said before the set, “You never know what you’re going to get with Ty.” That’s true. You could get a lot of shredding, acoustic ballads, or even electro-infused dance rock. For APF 2026, Segall and his band brought the rock.
Ty Segall and crew bringing another kind of thunder.
It was a fun set from him, and a ripper of a way to start my festival day. He included at least two new tracks which sound great. The set had a heavy 1970s garage rock sound to it, and I’m surprised mosh pits didn’t erupt throughout it.
Segall’s set was followed by a double-bill of psychedelia. Up first were world travelers Al Qasar who had everyone dancing and grooving with their neat mix of Dutch, Brazilian, Arabic, Jamaican, and several other nations’ sounds. They even ended with a wild reworking of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus.”
Al Qasar taking everyone on a trip.
Then, Melody’sEcho Chamber performed to a big crowd who fully embraced their mind-bending sound and light show. I saw a lot of, ahem, blissed-out people during their set having a great time.
Is it a jellyfish? A butterfly? A jellyfly? A butterfish? That edible kicking in?
Many of us zipped over to the smaller stage to catch New Candys’ set. The Italian trio (No longer a quartet?) roared for the whole performance, knocking out heavy riffs, shoegaze fuzz, and slapping beats. “Damn, those guys are really good,” said a guy behind me once they’d finished. He was right.
New Candys with a delicious set.
The day ended with our hosts, The Black Angels, performing their Passover album in its entirety as well as other tracks (including at least one new song). The crowd was packed for them. One group in front of me had some weird fire dance circle going with a couple lighters being waved near the ground. The Black Angels are currently touring to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Passover, so don’t miss them. It’s a good opportunity to hear a lot of deep cuts.
Don’t pass over a Black Angels show! See what I did there?
Up next: Latin psychobilly surf rock, psychedelic cumbia, and a lot of soul!
