[Austin, TX] I’m ashamed to say this was a by-chance band. I’m not sure I need to review him. In all his old age frumpiness, he’s still a demon of garage psych. His backing band was the same one we’d seen him with in Houston. The SXSW gods were with us.

I go to a lot of shows I’m only minorly excited for, but this was a show I was majorly excited for. Roky’s music and I fell in love pretty much upon first hearing: dark, weird, and even supernatural but all with a pretty straightforward rock n roll foundation. In fact, I’ve come to realize that I may love The Hellacopters because they do a harder and louder version of Roky’s music. I wasn’t sure what to expect in a live show, though, with his long trail of mental troubles and advancing age. Well, he was awesome, awe-inspiring, and amazing – despite the fact that the only parts of his bodies that really moved were his lips and his strumming hand. Somehow he was able to emit the same raw rangy rock n roll voice with complete body containment. I almost cried when he opened with “Cold Night for Alligators” (a song that is covered magnificently by The Hellacopters). I hate fandom, but there are certain artists that I feel close to or whose music has spoken to me, and it’s so eerie to see them in the flesh that it makes me emotional. Or maybe I was overwrought from my mad summer. Or maybe it was because I was so happy to see a man with such a sad history able to be on stage doing what he loves. I imagine that a lot of his dark imagery (demons, vampires, zombies) is metaphorical for his mental troubles. Live, he sounded Texas garage sludge with a lot of psychedelia. The Hounds of Baskerville did a tremendous job backing him, in that their respect for him was clear, and they played without stealing the show. He was front and center, and they were clearly his backing band. The guitarist to his left in particular couldn’t seem to stop smiling shine on Roky. They were protective of him and made sure the progression of things suited him, asking him throughout the show if he approved of the next step. He closed with an encore – “You’re Gonna Miss Me” (one of the biggest hits from Roky’s band, the 13th Floor Elevators) – which was amusingly introduced as a new song none of us would know. Otherwise, he mostly played his solo material. It was amusing to see all of our freaky friends from the Roky signing earlier that day, milling about in the crowd, all freakily-like, and fittingly, when the crowd sang happy birthday to Roky (because it was his birthday), he looked more embarrassed than pleased.

We saw the band at Roky Erikson’s signing before the show. Among Roky’s motley crew of hippie, chubby, loony fans (who like him because they’re like him), they stood out with all their youth and cool. They were like Roky’s scenester wingmen plus one hot girl. It wasn’t clear whether they were backing Roky or if they were their own band – they were both. It was also confusing because there’s a band from the 60s called The Baskerville Hounds. They told us their music was similar to Roky’s to the extent that they were dark too. They were really good – had the spirit of a Jack White band but less minimalist. Keyboard, 2 guitarists, backup vocalist, drummer.

[Boulder, CO] This band was the closest thing to Tia Carrera (psych metal) I’d heard in so long and I was in ecstasy. A cacophony of sludge metal. They weren’t as good as Tia Carrera – less dynamic, passionate, interesting – but they have potential. This was only their second gig. The young front man (in a robe) said his main band is a prog band. Good name too.

[Tokyo, Japan] and right after their earthquake… it was three youngish guys and one older minuscule woman in bell-bottoms – they started off with what I’ve come to expect from hard Japanese bands: tight and explosive – it was mostly fast and furious but, with some 60s keyboard, they strayed into some psychy wailing (almost Doors-like) and even a little bit of dance rock – the lead singer was fantastically dynamic: flailing, fixing his broken guitar string mid-song, mouthing the microphone – I didn’t like the keyboard/psych stuff too much but enjoyed that they ended their one-long-song of a set with a guitar wail and a group bow

[Nashville, TN] psych rock n roll – sloppy rock n roll – we thought we were sitting next to a member of The Strange Attractors but it turned out he was a member of The Strange Boys which is perfect because this band was a little bit of both – they were also that dirty sort of rock n roll that I love (Vodka Tonic radio), maybe 70s post punk? – they were really good, although a little unpolished

this band plays the sort of music that settles the chaos within Dara – a more shoegaze version of Explosions in the Sky – saw them for but a moment but hope to see them again – (not as soothing on Myspace)

[New York, NY] only saw them for a few songs but they were striking – really pretty soul rock – like Jackson 5 on acid – every band member had long hair that was parted in the middle – and they would engage in moments of thrash like the kids do nowadays to pretend that their pop bands are hardcore

[Austin, TX] I wasn’t going to say anything about this show because I’ve already said way too much about them, but they’re too good not to promote – lots of echo effects and classic songwriting is the key to their superficial sheen of coolness – not to say that they’re only superficially good – they’re just so immediately striking that you worry they might be – I think that they’re actually pretty down to earth people who really love what they’re doing – they have a distinctive and modern sound of their own but also are definitively influenced by Spiritualized, The Doors, and Suicide – the record store was pack-ked and the young guys buying their record in line behind me discussed the band: Guy 1: So you’re buying their record?, Guy 2: Yeah, I mean, they might be influential someday, you know?, Guy 1: So where would you rank them on your list of all-time great bands?, Guy 2: uhhhh… uhhhh… 4th

[Chicago, IL] when I hear this band, I hear hugeness, stages, and screaming in my head, and I genuinely thought this band was HUGE – Double Vision is one of my favorite songs of the last few years and they sound HUGE and everytime one of their songs come on I think “I like this band so much,” but the crowd was modest and they were just average joes – apparently, this is achieved through the use of voice echoing, distorted guitars, walls of sound, and good musicianship – it’s a little contrived but it’s pretty effective – in person, they’re difficult for me to describe – although I had them classified in my head as garage punk, in person, they made me think of hard shoegaze and indie rock – I don’t know! they were cute and that song inspires me everytime and their sound pleases me immensely even if it’s kind of cheating – I particularly like the guy’s voice and their psychy-pop ethic – plus a female guitarist, always good, and she was appropriately detached and cool without being a hipster at all

[Austin, TX] we first saw them at a little record store, I love their recorded music and seeing them all big fancy band was exciting – I know the lead singer was posturing in his dark sunglasses but he deserves to with his big sexy voice – they do dark shimmering psychedelic blues rock that reminded me of a much slicker Brian Jonestown this time – they\”re gorgeous

[Montreal, Canada] repetitive lite indie rock band with psychedelic touches – I was unmoved but may have been the setting because they\”re pretty easy on the ear as per myspace

so here’s the story – I came to love one song (“Good Bye Mary Lou”), a punkish bluegrass song, by this no-name band called Angels of Light and propagated it through all mixes therewith – I had a vague notion of Akron/Family but didn’t know they’d been the backing band for Angels of Light until I read their show bio – the show bio also mentioned Michael Gira as the lead singer of Angels of Light which got Rockboy excited because he knew him as the lead singer of the Swans – anyway, we went to this show because of a string of distant associations – I was mostly pleased and the anti-anything-remotely-psychedelic Rockboy was not – they are in essence a jam band, tapping such a wide variety of sounds that I characterize them officially as a schizophrenic band – they literally have no distinguishing characteristic which, even if I am a girl who loves variety, may not be a good thing for a band looking to make a name for themselves – they began with a song that made me love them: a more psychedelic Songs: Ohia (melancholy folk) – suddenly it was thrash which firstly is a signature move of this generation (to intersperse loveliness with hardness) and secondly seemed an misguided attempt to prove they’re not soft or that they’re hip to all aspects of our culture – but in sum, it didn’t sound good and it didn’t sound organic – they then proceeded into the other tagsound of this generation of music, Afro pop, which they did very well, reminding me of Paul Simon – in the end, I believe that they will return, if they want to endure, to the sounds that are their strength: very pretty and sophisticated pop – if it matters, they dress like 70s road hippies with t-shirts and bandanas which seemed to me a lame attempt to suggest campfire jams

wrong band! wrong time! wrong audience! wrong place – maybe they’re good but maybe they’re not – I couldn’t get out of that audience of 60 year old guys bobbing their heads fast enough – typical 1960s jangle pop band – should you be proud that you’re decent after 40 years of practice?

I didn’t recall at the time why I was so committed to seeing this band but I was surprised when I saw the audience members who ended up being the band members: the freaky guy with a bald head with the exception of a stringy shoulder-length curtain of hair along the rim of his skull AND in a truly awful shirt with wide white and pink stripes underneath an old suit jacket AND those I-want-to-molest-you yellow-mellow 70s eyeglasses – otherwise, the drummer and bassist were cute young people and the other band members were average-joe older people – they’re from Detroit which is instant cred – despite my misgivings, they were instantly much more exciting than the last band – a stomping drum was matched with dark psych-infused garage rock – the freak’s vocals were particularly interesting a distinctive ponderous progression almost spoken or stumbling – I was not surprised at all that I had some memory remnant of really liking them – unfortunately, as usual, they were running late and I had to run and only saw a couple of songs – but I looked them up upon arriving home and these are the two songs that had led me to being subconsciously committed to them: “You’re Not a Nice Girl” and “A Song for Someone Sometimes”

I had just stopped in for a place to sit and gather myself but when the nice man from Amsterdam showed me the showcase label’s CD sampler and the influential bands listed all tended toward the stoner psych droning metal I love, I knew fate had stepped in and decided to stay – Amsterdam man told me his story while we waited – he was in America for a month traveling from New York to Austin to Phoenix (?) to San Francisco – he had a badge although he is no longer in the music industry – his job in the music industry was acting as the national music librarian for Holland, i.e., he kept track of all the Dutch bands – we agreed that there is no parallel position in the US – his former job makes me giggle for some reason – the band was fantastic but I’m an easy sell for music like this – woman with long black hair whaled on the bass and wailed the lead vocals – two guitarists and a drummer – had elements of Godspeed You in some of the noodling but a lot more metal – hardest of the hard with a big rich sound and just a little discordancy

This was the only band that I insisted on seeing today because I adore adore adore “Lottery Winners on Acid” (and that’s all I know from the band) and I dragged my poor friends away from downtown and was very embarrassed to arrive to hundreds of empty chairs and a lone sad singer/songwriter on a giant stage by himself. I was confused confused confused and heard him mumble something about The Crimea. Upon further investigation, it was determined that he was the only member of the band who had successfully arrived in the United States and he was carrying on with the show. It was terrible boring basic singer/songwriter material, but he was plucky and cute in his porkpie hat, and I tried to be impressed. And spent most of my time apologizing to and over-explaining to bitter friends. Then, upon further further investigation, it was determined that he was actually the bass player from the band! No wonder it sounded nothing like the band. In other notes of interest, his girlfriend was reported to be a heroin-addict looking woman which fits what I suspected were heroin references in the only song I know from them.

These kids today can’t get over the irony of including “clap” in the name of your band. I’m over it. We were there because WomanInCharge said that NPR had recommended them, though we eventually wondered why we were relying on popular music advice from NPR. 7 members in the band, with stand-outs being 1) the 40-something paisley-shirted, scraggly-hair lead guitarist (it was noted that his porno appearance suited the music); 2) his 70s soul brother in big sunglasses and a polyester shirt on the keyboards; and 3) their 2 barely-legal females in 80s garb. WomanInCharge was probably correct in her observation that the girls were the attractive foil for a somewhat older collection of better male musicians. The girls, per the demands of their generation, were in high-waisted jeans and one even had horrid horrid shoulder pads on – they remained cool and unmoved by the music throughout the set – playing their tambourines like girls in a Robert Palmer music video. They started off straight disco but then devolved into psychedelia with bright moments of funk. An indie electronic / dance rock band from Brooklyn which was only evident when one of the girls did an old-school rap over a funky backbeat. 70s vibe all over the place. Liked them.

the high quality of their sound was immediately apparent – rich and full despite it being an acoustic show, I take note of them because of the distinctive voice but that actually became annoying – seemed contrived – he does have a good voice but could change up on its nasally execution every now and then, very attractive band – appear serious and smart, did a short set of only three songs but with a wide range of sounds from psychy indie rock to hoppy dance hit “Something Is Not Right With Me” in which the drummer continued to play drums with his left hand while shaking the shaker with his right hand¦ which was terribly impressive to me

Rockboy discovered this band at SXSW this year and I’d come to like them a lot too – I kept telling him that she sounded like some 70s singer! Janis Joplin! but that wasn’t quite right – it became suddenly and blatantly apparent seeing them live: the round expansiveness and tone of every note of her voice is verbatim Jefferson Airplane/ Grace Slick – her voice is the band though the other aspects are just as appealing – she sits playing drums in the center while outputting this incredible voice flanked on each side by matching boys: lead and bass guitars – Rockboy describes them as a mix of White Stripes and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs which is accurate with the bluesy driving minimalism of the former and the feminine intensity of the latter – incredibly young crowd who of course could not understand in totality the greatness of this little band

good musicians with a shoegaze vibe, the shaggy haired guy’s voice just bored me to tears and annoyed me a little – made me think of slightly psychedelic-whining indie pop bands from the 90s whom I never liked THEN the guy with the 70s moustache sang and the band was transformed into a jangly 60s pop band with Marc Bolan from T Rex fronting and everybody was set to dancing – his high-pitched keen has some serious sort of magic

really liked songs I downloaded from them – diverse vocals, MySpace song selections made me doubt but enjoyed their live show, young hippie thrashers, the last endless song was a fantastic wave of a song

fantastic, their sound had a roundness and polish that you don\”t often hear in live music, lots of energy, diversity of sounds revolving around hopped-up rock country, from garage to psychedelia, very energetic show with lots of appealing personalities, I think there were two exchanging vocalist duty, stilly-moustached keyboard player, and a guitar player who kept leaping up to the microphone to yell out punk references, if all of that wasn\”t enough they claim Jay Reatard, Gun Club and Lee Hazlewood as influences

pop pop pop rock, then picked it up a little to “rock” as they said but it was more like pop pop rock then, I liked the lesser pop version but overall they were quite good, 60s jangly pop with psychedelic edges, I suspect that the gray-hair member of the band is behind their sound rather than the cutesy-voiced singer but who knows

Stylistically went from Creedence to Crosby Stills & Nash to Trans Siberian Orchestra. They managed to build up momentum in the half hour set so that by the time they hit the track Honestly and followed up with a nameless instrumental jam, they were on fire. Played a setlist of songs from their upcoming release. MySpace page they describe themselves as ” Psychedelic / Soul.” Sure. Whatever it was, absolutely, foot-stomping grand. Jesse Gallagher’s energy level is unreal.

triumphant stadium rock = The Who, red-suited leg-splitting-in-the-air guitarist turned around and had that very band written on the back of his red jacket, tad more psychedelic and dirty because of very rotund lead singer\”s gravelly voice and occasional moaning, their joyful rock star enthusiasm was contagious but never seemed to lack depth

pedal steel and drummer as before but this time accompanied by one or two guitars which possibly detracted from the purity and solemnity

fantastic, a head-bobbing repetitive drone in keeping with the theme of the night, drone overlaid by alt-country and then could expand into wailing psychedelia, female lead singer in calico sack dress without a bit of makeup (all shiny health) had a marvelous little spooky voice that could comfort and disturb, the shaggy guitarist would add fantastic quirky vocal accompaniment that was strikingly similar to The Pink Mountaintops because come to find out he is their leader!, dark stoner music that is kindred to me and made me want to be a stoner

pleasant surprise because have had their CD courtesy of BestGirlfriend\”s ExHusband for years and have always liked it, reminiscent of my personal gods: Godspeed You! Black Emperor, found their live show captivating though may have just been suiting my mood, baseball-hatted man crouched over his pedal steel and glancing at a laptop (the source of the undertone of wind and drone I guess) convinced me of the versatility of the pedal steel by making it whine and wail in ways very counter to last band, accompanied by a drummer who managed to make his slow slightly off-kilter tempo look intense, basically a more ambient version of the proggy psych-metal that I really enjoy, I spent the set daydreaming about the darkness that must inhabit these two men, they\”re probably frat boys.

fantastic, melodic droners in the tradition of Morphine and Beta Band with an undercurrent of Black Sabbath riffs and Tia Carrera depth, describe themselves as psychedelic – shoegazer – garage, sexy chick bassist, deceptively small-boy lead vocalist had powerful voice, maybe Brian Jonestown Massacre too

like rain, they are my religion — 30 minutes, 2 songs – the heaviest never-ending climax

the name of the band pretty much sums it up though I wasn’t paying enough attention to give them a fair review, remember a bearded young man and gentle dated music, they describe themselves as “experimental country”