Desertfest 15 Review

Bigger, bolder, better. Simply put, Desertfest15 took a big step forward this year and now has placed itself at the very top of the pile in the crowded stoner festival landscape. Expanding to include 6 venues over the 3 days and taking in a more musically diverse line up, the bearded throng came from far and wide. Whereas in early days of the festival it was more of a London scene reunion, this year, above all others, felt that the London dweller, who just so happened to vibe lucky enough to live in the same city as the festival, was certainly a minority group. Accents from Spain, Italy, Sweden, France, Germany, Brazil and even Australia were filling the beer soaked, greenish tinged air space that hung heavy over the NW1 postcode for most of the weekend. With this diversity bought a great union on kindred souls and the whole vibe for the festival was nothing but positive. Be it not for “licensing laws,” I am pretty confident as a festival crowd, we could govern and police the whole thing ourselves. This year’s addition of the road closure outside The Black Heart was a revelation and as the London weather held, it was a great place to have a beer, burger and a catch-up with new and old friends alike. It was however this great area that probably led to me seeing fewer bands than planned this year. So onto the review.

 

Day 1 Friday 24th April

The only down side to working and living in the same town as the festival is the slightly later start to the Friday festivities. (Got to pay for the beer somehow). So with work packed away for the weekend, all roads led to Camden. Meeting outside the Black Heart (is there any other plan?), ticket exchange expertly run and wristbands securely in place, we settled into our first Hells of the weekend. With work scuttling the plan to get their early to catch Dopethrone, (I heard a lot of buzz that they were colossal and one to follow up on) coming and going and then the plan to catch Floor (also coming and going) we finally get our shit together and mooch over to the Electric Ballroom for some Atomic Bitchwax.

 

Exchanging a Hells for a Red Stripe we settle in for some good old fashion guitar worship. The three piece from New Jersey brought a greatest hits set with them and the VERY full, early crowd lapped it up. The set kind of came and went for me with some great moments including the Pink Floyd cover ”One of These Days” but other moments that were lost on me. A fair start to the weekend but not the show I was expecting.

 

If you ever needed a lift on a Friday night in a live band environment, Enter Orange Goblin playing a 20th Anniversary set of “The Big Black” from start to finish. It was obvious that there were many people here this weekend for 2 things. Orange Goblin and Sleep. And did the Goblin deliver.....? You bet they did! Tight, loud, thriving out the crowd and with a set list to die for, this was the start to the festival I had craved. Orange Goblin absolutely smashed it and left the Ballroom crowd firing on all cylinders awaiting the arrival of Red Fang.

 

As it turns out, for me anyway, I would have preferred to see these two bands reversed. Although the masses would probably disagree with me, Red Fang had moments, Prehistoric Dog and Blood like Cream amongst others, it wasn’t the full aural assault Ben Ward and his merry men left us with. Maybe it was the crowd, maybe it was the scheduling but Red Fang were not the band I saw at Download a few years back and I found myself settling in at the back bar with some old pals cruising out the final third of the set with a few frosty Red Stripes. A solid start to the festival and the last train looming, we high tailed it home (against the will and moral dilemma of hitting an afterparty) via some “dirty chicken,” completely content, after all, tomorrow was going to be a BIG day!.

 

Day 2 Saturday 25th April

So with the first day locked away and the head a little shabby (partly due to the 6.30am start from my kids,) by the time 11am arrived and we headed up on the DF pilgrimage north, I felt like last night was about a week ago. Upon arriving a Kentish Town and taking the leisurely stroll down to Desertfest HQ, I mused with my buddy that we had completely overlooked the fact that it was Brant Bjork tonight. This had been taken as a given as a lot of discussion had centred around how to fit everything else in. So you can imagine my surprise when I arrived at the corner of The Worlds End and the “Sky Valley Shaman” himself is cruising past. A quick chat and a shake of the hand and well let’s just say, any thought of a quiet pint and a civilised lunch were out the window. Straight to the Black Heart, a round of Hells and a few sobering moments coming to grips with the fact that I had just met the legend himself. Thank You DF for making this possible. In hindsight, quiet lunch may have been a better idea as arriving at the Black Heart we are dropped into the middle of an Aussie maelstrom.

 

Don Fernando from Melbourne were first up and in sound check when we arrived. We soon met up with their associated entourage and were talkin’ footy, Melbourne and all things Oz. Good times. It was then, to my absolute pleasure, when I staggered (yes literally, a furious early pace was on) upstairs to a packed Black Heart, that the DF faithful had heard the word and packed in for what turned out to be one of the sets of the weekend. Don Fernando absolutely crushed it. It was evidently clear these guys were tailing of a Euro tour as they were precise, incredibly tight, monumentally heavy and incredibly humbled by the turn out.  If the number of Don Fernando T-shirts floating around on the Sunday were any type of measure, I would say the reception was pretty two way. A true stoner band in every sense and a more down to earth bunch of lads you’ll not meet. Baby C’mon!

The Black Heart laneway strikes again.

 

More sun, beers and great vibe meant Vintage Caravan will have to wait til Freak Valley and it was then just a short shuffle upstairs for one of my most anticipated bands of the weekend. Jeremy Irons and the Rat Gang Malibu’s have been on pretty high rotation since I came across Spirit Knife.  Simply put, I had to hear this guy sing. In another packed Black Heart band room, they took the stage and delivered an incredibly powerful and diversely mesmerising set. The first “eyes closed and rock back” moment of the weekend and a band that well and truly cemented themselves as one of the most musically interesting and innovative sounds going around. My only criticism is not of the band but of the blistering volume at which the gig was played. This meant to vocals were slightly lost and a more cavernous venue may have suited their sound better.

 

 Time for one of those pulled pork burgers from the Black Heart (minus the napkin Tom) and its one Small Stone stalemate to another and Lo Pan. Having listened to Colossal and Salvador quite a bit, I was pretty keen to check out these Ohio fuzz-facilitators. These guys bought they US style stoner jams to a fairly full Ballroom but fell decidedly flat for me. Having had back to back engaging, unifying and intimate gigs at the Black Heart the sound and stage presence just seemed a bit lost. However gauging from the reaction up the front, I may be on my own there.

 

Anyway time was needed to prepare for the arrival for Brant Bjork. Out to the “Iron Lung” read Ballroom beer garden then deciding to take our business out to the street “Hey, they can’t kick you in”, all was in readiness to the arrival and crown jewel of the Saturday. Mr Bjork. Opening with 4 of my favourite BB tracks back to back including Automatic Fantastic and Too Many Chiefs, the groove was definitely ON! This is a big call, but it was probably the best I have ever seen him. Maybe it was a perfect storm; maybe my levels were perfect, whatever the case, by the time I was seconded into the pit for some low desert skunk by an unnamed Desertfest brother, the place was going off tap. Great show, great set and just another reminder that there are bands that have a groove and then there is Brant Bjork!  

 

Our party at this point was split in two, some remaining for Eyehategod and myself and others cruising over to catch War Drum. (A more logical progression for me from BB) The Black Heart was packed and starting to get very messy, (or was that me) and by the time the three piece Californian Deserts rockers hit the stage, the heat in the top room was intense. War Drum rocked out their psych jams and fuzz laden hooks to an adoring full house and really captured to mood and vibe of the place. A really cool booking and great slot. Well played Desertscene.

So from here I had three choices, Eyehategod (end), Amplifier, Hang the Bastard or settle at the bar with another Hells and recap on the day with Becky and Tommy! Option 3 was taken but only after the floodgates opened and the entire Electric Ballroom tried to get into Hang the Bastard. There was a queue down the stairs. Our party never found each other again but after a midday start, this was hardly surprising. The wheels were starting to come off! (Chris) Kebab, Train, Bed!

 

Day 3 Sunday 26th April

So this year’s Sunday was always going to have a very different feel. No Black Heart for one. Relocating the stoner rock crowd down to Mornington Crescent meant incorporating KOKO and the Purple Turtle into the Desertfest venue list. Firstly, have you ever seen a more beautiful venue than KOKO (drink prices aside)? This was very evident on the faces of My Sleeping Karma as they truly appeared overwhelmed by not only the venue but the thunderous reception these German pioneers received. (Let’s be honest, they had a pretty large hand in this whole Desertfest shindig in the first place) I for one was blown away. Close to the set of the weekend for me and exactly what was needed on the Sunday of Desertfest. Hypnotic, powerful and immensely heavy dreamscapes washed over the large early crowd and blew any sign of a hangover right back out the big red velvety doors whence we arrived. My Sleeping Karma! Enough said. If you saw it, you’ll never forget it.

 

A round of drinks, a recap on what actually happened last night and where the hell everyone actually went and we are ready to go again for Karma to Burn. Now let’s get the record straight. If this was not the loudest set of the weekend, nah, decade, then my ears aren’t still ringing! What a sound. Pummelling, relentless and in ya face riff after riff, Karma to Burn (like MSK before them) seemed completely blow away by the reception and the KOKO faithful did not let them down. Drawing from tracks from most of their back catalogue and a few from Arch Stanton, Karma to Burn ripped through track after track with uncompromising precision that left frontal lobes and ear drums beaten and defeated. Power at its purest. Earplugs next time anyone?

 

So with food demanding attention and a trip over to catch Order of Israfel required, we packed up camp and headed out into the daylight. Having been given the tip on Order of Israfel from a Swedish Desertfest-ling?? (thanks Lisa) following the above mentioned Jeremy Irons gig, I was keen to see what they were all about. After all, it is rare a band from Sweden lets you down in this genre. After some initial gear problems resulting in a less than fluid start, the boys got their groove on and showed they had plenty to offer in the post seventies, sabbathy rock category and the small but appreciative crowd in the Turtle certainly gave them quite the reception.  One to check out next time.

 

So we continue the pilgrimage back to KOKO, whose attendance seems to have somewhat doubled since leaving, and there is an air of anticipation (and weed) filling the venue. Thousands of Sleep t-shirts have arrived and are ready. First up UFOmammut whose powerfully complex and heavy droning chords (post pedal board gremlins) seems to go down well with the masses although it was clear that there was one band and one band only that many were here to see.

 

Enter SLEEP. Now in my preview of this event HERE I said I was looking forward to seeing these guys with a more “So many of you can’t be wrong” scepticism. So it was much eagerness I saw for myself what SLEEP bring to the table. Well, I will say this. You can’t not get excited about a band that creates so much energy and buzz in a room before they strike their first 3 chords. To see the KOKO throng still losing their minds 20 minutes later to the same 3 chords of the opening to the iconic Dopesmoker/Jerusalem is something else. This band is worshiped and although not entirely my thing, I get it. As the opening to Dragonaut woke us from our drone induced “sleep,” it was clear to see this band well and truly deserved their headline status and what a special event the whole thing turned out to be with the imposing KOKO bathed completely in green lights.  With the afterparty just not doable (sorry STEAK) this one was over.

 

So another Desertfest done. The best yet? For an organisational view point, yes. Reece and Jake and the whole Desertscene team truly delivered a world class festival, from line up to logistics. Musically I had a great weekend with hidden and obvious highlights a plenty. Great to meet so many of you over the weekend and catch up with so many familiar faces. I look forward, with great anticipation, for the drip feeding of next year’s line-up to start in the next few months. Until then it’s Garcia/Elder and Samsara in London and a little pilgrimage to the Black Forest known as Freak Valley. Until then.... Bloody Fuzz f’n Tastic.