3 day levitation review.
the venue: palmer events center
the good...convenient location with ample parking for $10, easy security, cold AC, restrooms- never a line, bars- never a line, decent food trucks, ample outdoor spaces to chill, nice view of the city.
the bad...sound at the indoor stage was mostly very bad. there were a handful of bands that sounded good but overall it was terrible. it was also absurdly dark in there even between bands. turning on the house lights between sets would have been helpful. the outdoor stage wasn't large enough and it was baking in the sun for most of the afternoon.
friday:
castle rat- medieval fantasy doom metal. they had a whole theatrical theme with costumes and a storyline...sort of like gwar but not as big of a production. they were entertaining, definitely enjoyed their set.
skloss- 2nd time seeing them, their live show has improved since last year. instrumental droning, sludgy psych rock. they were good.
blood incantation- they used 20 minutes of their set doing soundcheck and then still sounded like shit when they finally started. sound was so bad i couldn't listen to more than a song before i bailed.
rickshaw billies burger patrol- lots of energy on the outdoor stage. played a couple of new songs that i didn't immediately love, otherwise pretty much their standard fun set.
the sword- plagued by terrible sound. there was a speaker crackling the whole time, couldn't hear vocals, couldn't hear lead guitar. a real shame. setlist was good, did a cover of space oddity that i hadn't heard them play before.
acid bath- somehow the sound for this set was incredible. i was only somewhat familiar with their music but they fucking crushed it. this was absolutely the best set of the weekend for me. extremely good.
the armed- didn't catch much of their set but they did a really good cover of nin somewhat damaged that stopped me as i was heading to the food court.
mastodon- the sound was decent, not my favorite setlist. once the lasers kicked, the visuals were excellent.
saturday:
wednesday- new album is good, sounded fine live. good start to the day.
blonde redhead- one of the few bands that sounded really good on the indoor stage. had never listened to them before but i reallly liked their set.
swervedriver- another band i wasn't really familiar with. didn't like the vocals but they sounded good when they got to jamming.
raveonettes- danish psych duo. have seen them a handful of times but i think this was the best one yet. not sure who the additional guitarist was but he added a lot to their sound. one of my favorite sets of the weekend.
unknown mortal orchestra- maybe the worst sound of any band the entire weekend. a muddy fucking mess. truly unlistenable. listened to 2 songs and bailed.
tv on the radio- sound was great, setlist was great, energy was great. very good set.
sunday:
population II- canadian psych rock trio. had some heavy jams and good energy. nice way to start the day.
a place to bury strangers- a wall of noise and strobe lights and awesomeness. did their normal thing where they play a few songs in the middle of the floor. love those guys.
diles que no me maten- psych rock band from mexico city. it all seemed like improv, not sure they had any real songs. didn't love it.
frankie and the witch fingers- another set with sound problems...the sound completely cut out a couple of times. they had insane energy and the crowd went absolutely nuts.
black angels- more sound issues. couldn't hear the guitar, vocals were extremely loud. they played a new song that i liked a lot. wish the sound would've been better.
built to spill- they fucked up a couple songs but mostly sounded great. would've liked something off of you in reverse. i would hurt a fly and carry the zero made up for any shortcomings. two of my favorite songs ever.
struggled to make it through built to spill because i was fucking beat after 3 days of festival. didn't catch destroyer or pavement. fun weekend, if they can sort out the sound issues i would gladly go back to the palmer events center next year.