OSees – 7th Level Music

Review: Thee Oh Sees – Live at Levitation (2012)

Thanks be to the Reverberation Appreciation Society for capturing Thee Oh Sees‘ first performance at the Levitation Music Festival back in 2012. As a result, we have Live At Levitation (2012). Thee Oh Sees / Oh Sees / OCS / OSees have since played Levitation many times, but this wild set featuring the band’s incarnation of Petey Dammit (bass), Brigid Dawson (keyboards, hand percussion, backing vocals), John Dwyer (lead guitar and vocals), Lars Finberg (drums), and Mike Shoun (drums) is a rare treat. They’d played in Austin, Texas (home of the Levitation festival) before, but not at the festival itself, so they were pumped.

It starts with one of their biggest fan-favorites, “The Dream,” and Dwyer’s guitar already sounds like it’s begging for mercy within the first few chords. Dammit’s bass on “Devil Again” (which is actually a guitar tuned to sound just like a bass) is relentless, and Dwyer sounds like he’s taking a belt sander to his guitar at one point.

The live version of “Tidal Wave” here is even faster than it normally sounds live, showing how amped the entire band was just three songs into their set. They take a moment or two to tune, and for everyone to take a couple deep breaths, before they stomp the gas pedal and launch into “Enemy Destruct,” sending the crowd into a wilder frenzy than just moments earlier.

You could almost call “Robber Barons” “Rubber Barons” because it has this slow bounce to it thanks to Dammit’s bass and Finberg and Shoun’s double-drumming that hits the heavy spots at just the right moments. The centerpiece is “Block of Ice,” which clocks in at over thirteen minutes in length and never relinquishes its groove. Dammit’s endurance on it is stunning, and every time you think the song has reached some kind of crescendo, Dwyer and his crew take it even further.

Dwyer assures the audience that he’s “mostly in tune” before they start the lively “Meat Step Lively,” which has this garage rock jangle to it that I love. The set ends with “Minotaur” and Dwyer singing about being stuck in the maze of a job that he hates but forces himself to wander through each day.

Then they’re off to “the Red Roof Inn” as they hand off the stage to Meat Puppets and The Brian Jonestown Massacre that year.

It’s a great addition to the “Live at Levitation” series and the Osees’ catalogue. Don’t miss it.

Keep your mind open.

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Top 25 live shows of 2022: #’s 10 – 6

It’s time for the top ten live shows I saw in 2022. These shows were mind-bending in multiple ways.

#10: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Levitation Austin / Stubb’s – October 29th

This was the second of two sold-out shows from KGATLW at Stubb’s. The line to get into this show stretched for almost three blocks. The crowd was fired up and the prolific psych-rock Aussies played everything from thrash metal to electro. It’s amazing that they can keep so many different types of songs in their heads.

#9: A Place to Bury Strangers – Chicago / Empty Bottle – May 30th

It’s always good to see APTBS. Their shows are like endurance workouts that push you into a runner’s high. This was the first time I saw them with the new lineup and they seemed even louder than they’d ever been. The Empty Bottle could barely contain them.

#8: Moon Duo – Levitation Austin / Feels So Good Records – October 30th

This was the loveliest show of the year, and the most hypnotizing. Playing in their “Lightship” projection box stage, Moon Duo would become lost in the light show that beamed from behind them, onto the screen around them, and into the audience. I’m not joking when I tell you it was trance-inducing. You had to be careful not to zone out and fall onto the floor.

#7: Osees – Levitation Austin / Hotel Vegas – October 28th

I’ve never seen Osees put on a bad show, and this one, albeit a shorter set than normal, was another solid performance. It was the second of their four-night residency at Austin’s Hotel Vegas, and the crowd was the perfect size – not so big you couldn’t stretch your arms, and not so small that you felt bad for the band. The weather was also about perfect. All you needed was a light coat, a hat, and a drink and you were ready for the mosh pit.

#6: Slift – Levitation Austin / Elysium – October 27th

This was the best set of the entire Levitation Austin festival last year. It was also the last show of Slift’s U.S. tour, and they unloaded everything they had left in the tank, and then borrowed from the audience’s tank, and then somehow still had enough to leave orbit. I was surprised Elysium was still standing afterwards. It spoiled us a bit for the rest of the weekend, because no one could top it.

Up next, the best five shows I saw last year, which include some legends.

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation Austin 2022 recap: Day Two

The second night of Levitation Austin 2022 started at Hotel Vegas. I hadn’t been to a show there since 2013 and was delighted to see the place hadn’t changed much. If anything, the outdoor stage area seemed a bit bigger.

Warm Drag were the first act we saw that night, putting on the sexiest show of the weekend with their blend of electro, fuzz, and spooky rock. Lead singer Vashti Windish owned the stage in her biker leather while percussionist / beat master Paul Quattrone got to work in his tank top. The crowd was hypnotized by them both by their set’s end.

Quattrone took a water break and then was back on stage with the rest of his Osees bandmates for the second night of their four-night residency at Hotel Vegas. They came out swinging, blasting through a lot of tracks in just an hour. Their raging punk set of material from their new album, A Foul Form, left the audience breathless multiple times.

We left Hotel Vegas for Elysium to catch the rare performance by The UFO Club – a sort of supergroup consisting of members of Night Beats and The Black Angels, who performed their (so far) only album from beginning to end. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to hear those songs live, so this set was one of the highlights of the festival for me.

The night ended with Mexican psych-rock legends Los Dug Dug’s. They played a fun blend of psych, surf, and border rock.

Up next would be a trio of Australian bands and doom metal in a blues bar.

Keep your mind open.

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Top 30 albums of 2021: #’s 10 – 6

Here we are at the top ten albums I reviewed last year. Who made the cut? Check it out below here.

#10: Liam Kazar – Due North

The songwriting on Due North is outstanding. That, and Kazar’s piano and guitar work, put him up there with Lindsey Buckingham and Joe Jackson in my opinion. This was one of the brightest spots of a gloomy year.

#9: The Besnard Lakes – The Besnard Lakes Are the Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings

This double-album is one of the most beautiful records about death that you’ve ever heard. It’s grand, glorious, and resonant after a year when all of us lost someone – either within our own homes, across the street, or on the other side of the globe.

#8: Dry Cleaning – New Long Leg

It’s no coincidence that Dry Cleaning’s first proper U.S. tour sold out at nearly every stop. They’re the queen and kings of British post-punk right now, and New Long Leg – their first full-length album – is a great follow-up to their multiple EPs (all of which were also excellent).

#7: Osees – Levitation Sessions II

The second Levitation Sessions album from Osees was somehow wilder than the first. Livestreaming it in our home at loud volume during lockdown was a blissful escape for the entire time. The set included plenty of deep cuts, including multiple Chrome covers.

#6: Osees – The Chapel, SF 10.2.19

Recorded during their set night at The Chapel music venue in San Francisco, and just before the pandemic shut down touring for everyone everywhere, this live album is one of Osees’ best. It captures the chaos of their shows, highlights some of their prog-rock love, and served as a reminder to stay healthy and take care of each other so we could get back to seeing concerts again.

Who tops the list? You’ll find out tomorrow!

Keep your mind open.

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Top 15 live shows of 2021: #’s 5 – 1

These are my top five shows of 2021. I hope to see more than 30 bands in 2022, but the future is now – so let’s get to it.

#5: Ty Segall – Psycho Music Festival – August 20th

Playing on a stage atop a wave pool, Ty Segall and his band put on one of the loudest, fiercest sets of the 2021 Psycho Music Festival. The power coming across the water was stunning.

#4: Clutch – Ft. Wayne’s Piere’s – September 29th

Clutch are always a top tier live band, and this show kept their reputation intact. They played a few new cuts and a lot of stuff from early in their catalogue they hadn’t played in a long while.

#3: Devo – Riot Fest – September 19th

I’m not sure I saw a more delighted crowd at any show in 2021. Everyone stopped caring about the heat and humidity, the overpriced food, and the terrible screamo bands on the lineup and started cheering, dancing, and singing.

#2: Frankie and the Witch Fingers – Psycho Music Festival – August 22nd

This set stunned everyone at the Mandalay House of Blues. It was my first time seeing FATW live, and the first time many in the crowd had heard them. It was their first gig in two years, and they came out gunning. I heard someone in another crowd later raving about them and telling everyone he could to listen to them. I can’t put it better than that.

#1: Osees – Psycho Music Festival – August 22nd

Holy crap. Osees closed the 2021 Psycho Music Festival’s outdoor stage on the last night of the four-night festival. They went bonkers. Yes, I know every Osees show is bonkers, but you could tell they had a lot of pent-up energy from not being able to play in front of a crowd for two years. People were charging through the wading pool in front of the stage, throwing beer buckets full of water on each other, or stumbling backwards on the beach as the wall of sound hit us like a bulldozer.

Everyone stay healthy in 2022 so we can see more shows.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Osees – The Chapel, SF 10.2.19

This live recording from the ever-prolific, ever-bonkers Osees, finds them on the last night of a set of gigs in one of their practical backyards – The Chapel in San Francisco – just before the pandemic fully hit the United States and shut down band tours for over a year. The band had no idea that shutdown was coming, of course, but they played (like they always do) like it might be their last show for a while.

The show starts with the instant mosh pit-inducing “Static God” with John Dwyer asking for a cigarette and wondering “What’s it like beneath the rubble?” while he and his bandmates go nuts. “Jettisoned” takes off into psychedelic territory with Dwyer’s soaring solo and Tom Dolan‘s trippy synths.

A shortened (yet still over seven minutes) version of “Henchlock” follows. It’s a brilliant psych. “Together Tomorrow” is a bit of a psych-rock appetizer to the massive, calorie-laden meal of “Animated Violence.” As if that weren’t crazy enough, along comes “Gholu,” during which drummers Dan Rincon and Paul Quattrone seem to challenge each other in a contest of who can be the first to beat their kit through the floor.

“Plastic Plant” is one that the Osees don’t often play live, but it’s always great when they do. Dolan’s fat synths compliment well with Tim Hellman‘s wicked bass riffs. “C” is a funky one, with Dolan’s synths again taking on a lead role, sometimes more than Dwyer’s guitar. “Nite Expo” goes from plucky synths to rowdy guitar in a nearly neck-wrenching moment. The closer, “Encrypted Bounce,” is over fourteen minutes of wild psych mixed with garage rock mixed with chaos (translation: It’s outstanding.).

Don’t miss this if you’re a fan of Osees, or even live music in general. They’re one of the best live bands on the planet right now, and this is a great recording of their energy.

Keep your mind open.

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Psycho Las Vegas 2021 recap: Day Four

We’d originally planned to start the final day of the 2021 Psycho Music Festival in Las Vegas at noon to see Warish, but they cancelled their performance before the festival started. So, we had nothing to do but lounge at the pool and spa after breakfast until we headed to the House of Blues venue to see Frankie and the Witch Fingers for the first time. I’d been keen on seeing them, as their last album is outstanding, and clips I’ve seen of their shows looked wild.

They didn’t disappoint. They practically flattened the House of Blues in “their first show in about two thousand years.” A lot of people in the crowd seemed to not know who they were, but were ardent fans by the end. Later in the day, I overheard a guy talking about them to friends: “Frankie and the Witch Fingers! I walked in not knowing what to expect! Holy shit!” He was right. They put on one of the best sets of the entire weekend.

Franke and the Witch Fingers casting Audible Glammer.

We had time for lunch and then headed to the beach stage to see Dengue Fever – a band we’d both wanted to see for a while. They play a neat version of Cambodian funk and disco and had a lot of the crowd dancing in the sand and the wave pool. Their saxophonist is top-notch as well.

We headed back inside to catch to the Rock & Rhythm Lounge, where Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears got on stage to bring some funky soul. Lewis is a sharp guitar player, and the crowd quickly picked up on what he was putting down.

Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears piling on even more funk.

My wife was exhausted by this point, so she went back to the hotel room while I returned to the beach to see Osees pound out one of the loudest sets I’ve seen them play. Part of the volume could’ve been from their usual power bouncing off the water of the beach and up at everyone standing on the beach, and part of it could be from them playing in front of a live audience again after so long. It was a wild set, with people in the pool kicking and splashing water everywhere and the security guards being somewhat dumbfounded by what was happening. Drummer Paul Quattrone was especially on-point during the whole set.

Osees bowling us over with the power of rock.

I also managed to catch some partial sets from Howling Giant, Sasquatch, Mothership, and Black Sabbitch during the festival – all of whom had large, happy crowds in front of them.

The entire festival had a happy vibe to it. Everyone was happy to be seeing live music again and partying with friends again.

Plus, it was nice to lounge at an outdoor pool for a while.

Tickets for the 2022 festival are already on sa le, and they’ve announced some of the bands already confirmed, including metal giants like Mercyful Fate, Emperor, and Boris, as well as prog-metal heavyweights Year of No Light.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Osees – Levitation Sessions II

Never ones to rest on their laurels, or seemingly to rest at all, Osees put together another live-streamed show, Levitation Sessions II, and wowed everyone again with a great set of deep cuts and obscure cover tunes.

The show, recorded in an empty factory that front man John Dwyer describes as like “a fight scene set from Point Blank or the John Wick trilogy,” starts with the rockin’, swingin’ fan-favorite “Tidal Wave.” It’s hard to choose which part you like best. Dwyer’s fun guitar riffs? Dan Rincon and Paul Quattrone‘s double-drumming? Tim Hellman‘s rock solid bass line? Tom Dolas‘ sneaky synths? Dolas’ synths take the forefront on the weird, wonky “Grown in a Graveyard” – a tune that keeps you guessing for its entire length. Then, once you kind of, sort of figure it out, they unleash a raucous version of “The Dream” – which might cause you to trash whatever room you’re in when you hear it, or stomp the gas pedal if you’re driving at the time…until it drifts into psychedelic bliss around the five-minute mark and give you a chance to breathe (but only for a moment). Dwyer absolutely shreds for the last two minutes of it.

“Stinking Cloud” is a jolly tune about death and heavy on synths from Dolas and Dwyer. The garage rock swing of “Enemy Destruct” is outstanding. “Poisoned Stones” sounds as gritty and grungy as you hope it will. “Spider Cider” is silly and fun (with Dolas putting his big synth rig aside to play rhythm guitar, no less). Hellman’s bass seems to hit extra heavy (without overwhelming his bandmates) on “It Killed Mom.”

Another deep cut treat is “Meat Step Lively,” which could almost fit onto an episode of Shindig with its groovy swing. “Snickersnee” is trippy bliss, which Rincon and Quattrone in perfect step as Dwyer stabs at ghosts with his guitar. “Destroyed Fortress Reappears” drifts into heavy synth psychedelia by Dolas and Dwyer and the entire rhythm section produces a hypnotizing beat.

“Web” is another great cut that builds up to a wicked beat and doesn’t let go of you. Hellman’s bass groove is outstanding on it. “Encrypted Bounce” is the longest song on the album, coming in at almost nine minutes, and it’s full of wild garage rock guitar from Dwyer and great fills from both drummers. “Beat Quest” adds heavy 1980s, and then 1970s, synths to the mix.

The encore was a set of Chrome covers: “Chromosome Damage > T.V. As Eyes,” “ST37,” “Looking for Your Door,” and “SS CYGNI.” The first is a fun, upbeat splash of driving beats and warping synths that melts into a lava lamp haze. “ST37” could almost be a Devo track with it’s goofy guitar and weird lyrics. Hellman’s bass takes on a sexy panther tone in “Looking for Your Door.” The final track is a hypnotic repetition of beats and riffs that slowly backs out of the room and drifts away.

Levitation Sessions II does a great job of making you want to see Osees live again as soon as possible. They’re starting to announce tour dates for the fall, so don’t miss out if they’re near you.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Osees – Live at Big Sur

Because they apparently are incurable insomniacs, Osees recently performed a full live set at the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur, California. They later live-streamed the show and released it in digital format and limited edition vinyl as Live at Big Sur. It was a neat set that included a lot of material they don’t play often and an encore of cover tunes.

Starting off with the garage-punk “Rogue Planet,” the band (Tom Dolas – synths, John Dwyer – guitars and vocals, Tim Hellman – bass, Paul Quattrone – drums, and Dan Rincon – drums) shake the ground right away and get you moving in your living room, car, office, or wherever. “I Can’t Pay You to Disappear” has Dolas’ keyboards happily skipping around the front of the wild track. The double drumming on “Opposition” is so good that you can’t tell where Quattrone’s stuff ends and Rincon’s begins (which is pretty much the standard whenever they play together).

The thumping, grooving “Crushed Grass” is the first song over two minutes. Dwyer’s guitar sounds like a ticking doomsday clock and Hellman’s bass is the soothing voice keeping us from falling into oblivion. “Heavy Doctor” is another fun garage rocker. They nail it so well that Dwyer gives himself and the band a guttural cheer at the end and proclaims, “Fuck you, song.”

“Ticklish Warrior” pounds out the fuzz, nearly melting your eardrums in the process. As always, any live version of “Gholü” is bonkers and ferocious. Dolas’ synths on “Withered Hand” sound like the wind coming in from the sea at Big Sur. Dwyer’s additional synths and effects are the sounds of ghostly gulls…until the whole band kicks in with the fury of the ocean hitting sharp rocks.

Dwyer’s guitar on “Voice in the Mirror” sounds like a pissed-off praying mantis. Hellman cuts loose on “Tunnel Time,” and band runs along trying to keep up with him (which they do, by the way, much to our delight). Another fan favorite, “Gelatinous Cube,” follows and I’m sure the Henry Miller Library’s grounds would’ve been a complete mess by this point if a crowd had been there, as a mosh pit would’ve already been up to full power and this song would’ve been like a collective Red Bull shot for everyone. Hellman takes the lead again on “Poor Queen,” putting down a cool bass walk that lasts the entire song.

A personal favorite, “Lupine Ossuary,” follows. That song always shreds and this live version is no exception. Dwyer seems to be exorcising demons with his guitar and Rincon and Quattrone sound like they’re shooting down German WWII bombers over France. The main set ends with “Dead Medic” – a wild jam that lasts over ten minutes.

The encore consists of four Black Flag covers (“Nervous Breakdown,” “Wasted,” “Jealous Again,” and “Fix Me), a rare Liket Lever cover (“Levande Begravd”) that absolutely kills, and a Faust cover (“J’ai Mal Aux Dents”). They have a blast playing these tunes, and their energy and enthusiasm is infectious.

It’s a fun record and, by the way, they released another album after they released this. They’re unstoppable.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Oh Sees – Protean Threat

If you’re thinking, “Wait…John Dwyer put out another Oh Sees record and a new Damaged Bug album in the same year?”, well, you don’t know the half of it. Dwyer is one of the most prolific musicians out there and the COVID-19 pandemic gave him plenty of time to create and release new music. Protean Threat is one of six releases from Oh Sees / Osees this year, starting with this album, then the live Levitation Sessions album, then an EP (Metamorphosed), two singles (“Dark Weald” and “Blood on Your Boots”), and a remix of Protean Threat called Panther Rotate. They’re also doing another live session on December 19th, 2020 that will be recorded and released before the year’s end – so that brings their total to seven (and, again, eight for Dwyer thanks to Bug on Yonkers). Much like a live Oh Sees show, they don’t give you much time to rest.

The first track alone on Protean Threat, “Scramble Suit II,” is a machine gun attack right out of the gate with wild beats, weird synths, and wuzzy-fuzzy guitars that knock you off balance before you realize what’s happening. “Dreary Nonsense” is like something you’d hear while barreling down the street in Dick Dastardly’s race car. Dwyer’s guitars are like security alarms blaring after a break-in at a munitions depot. “Upbeat Ritual” adds a sprinkle of jazz-psych to the mix as Paul Quattrone and Dan Rincon‘s double-drumming moves to front and center and Tim Hellman puts down a simple bass line that is deceptively masterful. Hellman knows when to push the fuzz and when to keep it simple in order to produce maximum effect.

On “Red Study,” for example, his bass work gets more complex as Dwyer’s guitar comes in like a curious hornet (sometimes sounding like a saxophone) and Tim Dolas‘ synths sound like an Indian snake charmer coaxing a cobra out of a basket. “Terminal Jape” pushes the fuzz to the limit as Dwyer yells / sings, “The system has been thrown around…The system has been broken down.” That’s among the truest lyrics of 2020. “Wing Ruin” is a cool instrumental track that reminds me of some of Frank Zapppa‘s work with some early Genesis thrown in for good measure.

“Said the Shovel” starts off with a sweet groove from Hellman and the Rincon-Quattrone duo getting all jazzy on us, which is pretty damn cool. “Mizmuth” dollops bloopy synths atop angry praying mantis guitar sounds. “If I Had My Way” is a fun jam with the whole band locking into a tight groove and bringing us along for a fun ride. “Toadstool” swaggers like a drunk vampire.

Someone ringing the “Gong of Catastrophe” could explain the debacle that is 2020. Dwyer sings about “the crumbling of the spires that you thought you knew so well.” COVID-19 has forced many to confront impermanency, whether they like it or not. “Canopnr ’74” has a weird rhythm that is hard to explain. It’s a fine example of Rincon and Quattrone’s complimentary percussion. The album ends with the raucous “Persuaders Up!” I’m not sure how the band keeps up with each other, because each member seems to be trying to outrace everyone else.

Thee Oh Sees are firing on all cylinders right now. Their future live shows in front of crowds are going to be even more off the chain than before if this album is any indication.

Keep your mind open.

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