Saturday evening’s LEVITATION lineup was the centerpiece of the festival. The Black Angels performed with their idol, John Cale. A founding member of The Velvet Underground, Cale’s song, “The Black Angel’s Death Song” is the inspiration for the local neo-psych rock heroes’ moniker. The band was perhaps more excited about finally booking Cale for the festival as fans not had the opportunity to see the legend play Austin. It was a seminal moment both for the band and LEVITATION goers.
As if to underscore the point, musicians both performing at the event and local artists, flocked to Stubb’s for the show. We spotted members of Spoon, A Place to Bury Strangers, Har Mar Superstar and more in the audience. It was clear a special moment was about to take place. Knowing one of their musical heroes was in the house it The Black Angels took their opening set to new heights.
Stubb’s massive awning and backdrop provided the ideal space for The Mustachio Light Show to impress fans while the band laid down a powerful set that included new songs and favorites like “Entrance Song.”
As impressive as that set was, Cale took the stage with his band and topped it with a slate of his solo material that ran the gamut with selections from his catalog that ranged from the 1970s to his most recent recordings. The silver-haired Welshman looked regal on stage, wielding a vintage Stratocaster with flair. While Cale’s solo songs are good (we particularly liked “Leaving It Up To You”, the second song in the set), it was the cover songs that struck home. Velvet Underground tune, “I’m Waiting for the Man” followed by Modern Lovers’ track, “Pablo Picasso” ended the set to cheers from the LEVITATION faithful.
After a prolonged changeover, The Black Angels set up on the left side of the stage with Cale’s band for a stunning rendition of VU hit, “Sister Ray.” The avant-garde track might not have been the most obvious selection, but it worked well for the first-time union of bands. The look on the faces of TBA’s members told the rest of the story. They were elated to have the opportunity to share the stage with Cale.
Following that mind-blowing one-two punch at Stubb’s, we hustled over to Empire Garage to catch the end of Tobacco’s set. The performer is the founding member of Black Moth Super Rainbow who were also on the LEVITATION bill. Tobacco is the strange, uber-weird alter-ego of Thomas Fec. The artist’s sets are punctuated by equally odd video loops.
Tobacco’s performance set the stage for the UK’s Beak, which features Geoff Barrow, a member of Portishead and an accomplished recording producer. His bandmates Billy Fuller (Robert Plant) and Matt Williams (Moon Gangs) round out the trio that stands in stark contrast to Barrow’s work in Portishead or as a film score composer. While Portishead saw 11 years go by between albums, ever the perfectionists, Beak by contrast records without overdubs, laying down their debut record in 12 short days. The result is music related to Portishead in its eerie intention but less structured and more rock n roll in its approach.
That angle lent itself to a mind-blowing performance. The group led off with their best-known song, “The Brazilian,” after which Barrow joked to the fan who yelled for the track that he “can fuck off now” that the song had been played. Barrow was self-deprecating and humorous between songs, which added an air of levity to the performance. That humble attitude came later when Barrow introduced Austin drummer Thor Harris (Swans) as being a much better player than himself. Harris manned bongos as Beak closed out a shockingly good performance.
Photos by April Riggs.
