The Spin: Terrastock 7, Louisville
Damon and Naomi: Without Ghost. Photos by Brian Miles.
Psych solstice: The Spin trekked to Louisville to catch the four-day Terrastock festival, and after shuffling between two stages and 40 great bands, we may need to catch our breath. Thursday we were met with James Jackson Toth (aka Wooden Wand) sitting in with Hush Arbors, which was a very nice surprise. (Toth's new album, Waiting in Vain, is out on Ryko.)
On Friday, Black Forest/Black Sea played a rousing set that was mostly acoustic due to less-than-ideal sound techs. A short time later, we saw Plastic Crimewave Sound splinter a guitar and get fined for it—rumored to be $500 for damage to the stage. Also on Friday, after a dinner break, we hurried to see Damon & Naomi, but were sorry to find there was no Kurihara anywhere to be found. We were still treated to Helena Espvall and Masaki Batoh (the main man behind the Japanese ensemble Ghost) sitting in with them. After Damon & Naomi and some more sound catastrophes, Helena and Masaki did their own set covering pretty much their whole new record, which is out now on Drag City.
We woke up early on Saturday to catch the mighty Oneida. They will be in Nashville in August, and it will not be a show to miss. Oneida put the psychosis back in psychedelia, and they had tension to spare. They were simply amazing. Wooden Ships followed with a run through their singles collection and oozed a very fine West Coast coolness. If you were in Louisville, tell us in the comments about the sets you saw. We saw a lot of Nashville natives there.
Major Stars.
Oneida.
Black Forest.
Comments
great fest. great music. great vibe. great location.
phil is a saint, makoto made my ears bleed and windy could have a second career as a stand up comic.
lets also not forget how awesome united bible studies, grails, mono, paik and pelt were.
and nashville represented proper. especially, in the campground.
oh yeah, and thanks to everybody who checked out my solo set on the third stage. i was stupid nervous playing after windy.
Posted 06/25/2008 at 12:00:06 PMMet some great people saw some old friends, but what a mentally taxing weekend of swirling rain, sunshine, smoke, and booze all set to one hell of a soundtrack. The concept of seeing 40 psychedelic rock bands in four days looked great on paper, but after two days of intense sets I was a lump of flesh with dulled senses and completely oblivious to existence.
Through the haze of music that was Terrastock a few bands seemed to shine above the rest and a few got lost in the shuffle. For me Grails, Linus Pauling Quartet, Wooden Shijps, Bardo Pond, Parlour, and Pelt seem to stick out in the memory.
Grails were amazing they seemed to be extremely focused and surgical in delivering their music which was a total contrast from the laid back vibe of most the other bands over the weekend. Linus Pauling Quartet and Bardo Pond produced a whirlwind
of loud psyched out guitars that I could have listened to for days. Pelt set me into a womb like trance with their vibrations and breathy drones. Louisville native Parlour took me to one of the darkest places I saw all weekend comparable to the highs and lows of a methadone buzz. Too many great bands for one to absorb in so little time, but a great experience nonetheless.
As far as the less than ideal sound techs, I thought they did an extremely good job based on being overworked and underpaid.
Posted 06/25/2008 at 01:05:04 PMI forgot Ira and Georgia from Yo La Tengo as Sleeping Pill wasn't half bad either.
Posted 06/25/2008 at 02:27:01 PMCopied from my post on the DroneOn list
I did more face time w/ folks than usual, but for me the standouts were:
Dead Maids - they didn't really seem to go anywhere interesting during the quiet parts, but the loud parts were pretty explosive.
Hush Arbors - the songs were new & I thought he sounded a little half-baked until J & J Toth joined in.
UBS/Sharon Kraus - UBS had a rather large posse, I counted 10 incl. Scott from Kohoutek lending tub work. I love that s/t disc & the contribution to the 'Bound With Skin' set. They leaned more toward the trad side...not quite so smoke tinged, but very good. Upon reflection, the sound sucked so hard, maybe I just couldn't hear
the chime-y, scrape-y parts. Sharon's voice continues to chop me off at the ankles, but then I'm a sucker for murder ballads. Well turned sets from both.
Ignatz - one of the few sets that I was looking forward to & I wasn't disappointed. I dig his discs & I thought he nailed it live.
BF/BS - always bring it
Plastic Crimewave Sound - I include them on this list 'cause I love 'em & Steve is fucking righteous, but sound was amazingly bad. He
smashed his gtr at the end. Sorta. It took a while.
Major Stars - you all know the drill here...they blew the place up. And...I promise not to threaten to kick anyone's ass, as I did after
the last Terrastock, defending Sandra Barrett...but...she's a rock action vocal Goddess cut from fuck-me-now era Grace Slick cloth AND
beautiful & that's more than enough to win me over for good. I'll stop there 'cause I'm gettin' a bit steamed thinkin' 'bout folks sayin' otherwise.
Espvall & Batoh - complete collapse of the sound at this point. They somehow pulled it together & took us all to a very good place. I didn't get the disc, but the songs were great, plus 2 Ghost songs that brought the house down.
Oneida - spacerocked.
Wooden Shjips - another set that I was keen to see & again, no tears. The sound was improved (temporarily).
Tara Jane Oneil - I don't know what I expected, but I really liked what I got.
MV/EE Golden Road - fuckin' killed. This edition of the Golden Road incl. the killer Canadians Matt Doc Dunn & Mike Smith & Tim Barnes.
I've seen many MV variants, but this line-up was way deep in thee pocket it stands out as one of the best MV EE shows I've seen.
Bardo Pond - natch.
Grails - fucking killed. They have really got it dialed in at this point. Sound was done by a guy they brought in (Chris Murphy, does live sound for CA Guitar Trio) & it was a shame he didn't do the whole 4 days. They sounded amazing & were as tight as a turban.
Sapat - just a taste of what many take for granted down here. A sort of hillbilly Arkestra. We will all miss Aaron Rosenblum & wish him love & happiness in Canada.
Kohoutek - pulled out a plum of a set. A nice mix of improv sideways shuffle & forward motion (kraut)rockin'.
Insect factory - Scott for Kohoutek puts in appearance # 4 w/ Jeff & it was moving up fast when Tamburo joined & they really took off.
Goddamn well done & a super nice guy.
Simply Saucer - impressed. They were really gettin' it on good when the sky burst open.
Pelt - one word-Gangloff.
MV EE Golden Road - raga set on the open mic stage while the Saucer resumed it's flight on the big stage. I was torn, but I made the right choice. Willie Lane is otherworldly good. No shit. Check it out.
Jack Rose/Black Twig Pickers - I usually prefer Jack solo, & we get a lot of stuff like this down here, but it was a great, playful set.
Paik - I was pretty much done at his point, but these Detroit steamrollers got me going again. Thanks.
Kawabata - solo solar flare. Perfect way to stopper the bottle on it all.
after parties - always ice the cake. Despite the Baptists & getting shut down Sunday night. Why weren't we down at that campsite where we could have gone till dawn?
ribs - from that joint on Frankfort.
Right on to the organizers & such.
Posted 06/26/2008 at 08:10:38 PM