Desertfest-London
There are moments in your life when you loose yourself in a moment or times when you feel you are the only person on the planet. Never before have I had so many of these moments in one weekend. It was not to be blamed on the Jager (except for late on Friday) but simply a festival which assembled such an arsenal of stoner sludge and doom jugernauts, the likes never before seen.
So when putting pen to paper (so to speak) to review such a festival I begin with an apology. To all the bands I missed, I am sorry. It was a weekend of clashes and some bands for me were non negotiable. Other bands I had to take the (they'll be back) stance. So here we go.
FRIDAY
Having picked up wristbands and settled into a few chilled ales at The Black Heart, I chose to start the Desertfest 2013 with a personal favorite of the Morsel. The wonderfully named Admiral Sir Cloudsley Shovell. Now, having heard this band before is not a substitute for seeing them live. Visually somewhere between The Goodies and Spinal Tap, these guys are all about fun, however don't for a second think this is at any expense of the music. Hard and fast rock 'n roll dripping with 70's riffage, they opened with Mark of the Beast and set to ripping through some great tracks from their debut album including iDeath and dropped in a few new ones which suggest the the future is very bright for this English power trio. Great start to Desertfest. Back to The Black Heart.
Sweden's Deville are fairly new to my collection but with the backing of Small Stone Records and with a few listens to their new album Hydra, I was pretty keen to check them out. So upstairs to the Black Heart it was to a very impressive crowd for this smaller venue. Deville, with lead singer (Andreas Bengtsson) armed with a white Explorer tore through a great opening 30 mins with a few big tracks from Hydra including stand out track Lava. Regrettably I had to cut this one short as one of my most anticipated gigs of the weekend was about to start back at the Jazz Cafe. (cool venue by the way)
Fresh off a US tour Kadavar are one band that have really stood out for me this year. Visually all members of this band stand close to 7 feet tall and with hair and beards to match they were some what of an imposing vision upon arrival. After a few sound issues, they launched into an hour of Sabbath-esque power chords and spooky running riffs. Now to compare this band to Sabbath is fine, however to not appreciate this band on its merits is also a mistake. Original, downtuned and interesting from start to finish, Kadavar won over a lot of new fans this very evening. Black Sun and Purple Sage were highlights and I'll be looking out from them next time they head this way but they truly justified my decision with one of the clashes of the weekend with a rather big band holding down the headline act at The Underworld. (Highlight of the set, an over zealous bouncer pouring a bucket on water over many of us from the top balcony mid set as a way to alert a girl to my left that she was to put out her spliff. Classic)
From here, all roads lead back to the Black Heart and London's own, the mighty Steak! A band I have seen many times before but on a boozey Friday night as a closing set to night one of Desertfest it simply just made sense. What was great about Steak this evening was the inclusion of several new tracks off the new EP. This is not to say that the place did not go completely off the hook when the haunting sounds of Machine rang out (it did) but the new stuff really stood out. A set which was not event free with a broken drum pedal (i think, it was getting late) and event organiser Reece, finally standing still for the first and probably last time for the weekend, on guitar,Steak played a blinder. The new EP is going to be a break out moment for this band I hope. They deserve it.
So that was it for Day 1. Should have gone home at this point. Didn't. After party downstairs was an obvious, if not VERY unnecessary stop over but with Camden Hells Ale on tap it is a hard ask. It was now going to be a VERY long weekend.
SATURDAY
Saturday was going to be a day of missed opportunity with so many bands on offer but one had to be selfish and for me it was a Ballroom Blitz! It is hard to say whether there has ever been or there ever will be a better single line up on one day of a festival ever. (Maybe tomorrow) So lets look at it properly. Turbowolf unfortunately fell by the wayside of Jagermister on Friday and just was not able to be made. I had seen them last month at Cancer Bats so I was OK about this.
So my day started a little shakily but right back at the bar at the Black Heart for a cleanser and a recap of what did or did not happen on the previous night. (Interesting to find I was in the pit for the majority of Steak's set. A memory I was not blessed with 24 hours on.)
Having made the decision, or so I thought, to be at the Ballroom all day, a great start to the day was going to be House of Broken Promises. I have had their debut album Using the Useless for a while now and was pretty keen to see their energetic loud straight up rock attack on a sunny Saturday afternoon. With 2/3's of Unida out their in Arthur Seay and Mike Cancino it was a bit like watching stoner royalty and as they rushed from airport to stage they simply went to work. Amusingly they pointed out early on that they were the only band here today actually from the desert. (Desertfest?) Seay being to guitar face and cock thrust king they certainly got the crowd up and about early as they charged through tracks including Highway Grit (review on the Morsel), Obey the Snake and the stand out The Hurt (Paid my Dues) Desertfest Day 2 and off and running and any dustiness from previous night were lost amongst a wall of fuzz and a chest beating double kick!
Now every once in a while we are presented with seeing and being a part of things which we simple thought might never happen. Today was one of those days and for the next 3.5 hours I simply could not believe what I was seeing.
Enter Lowrider. A band that I have loved for the best part of 10 years and never really understood how 1 album could have so much impact. There are plenty of other stoner bands out their with a similar discography (Floodgate for one) who simply never made it.
Lowrider were unbelievable. Playing mostly (as expected) songs from the colossal "Ode to Io" but dipping into the Split Nebula EP for Shivaree and Lameneshma, they took the stage to a fairly packed out room and tore through all the huge songs with new found energy, power, subtly and a somewhat sense of thanks to every person in the room. They really seemed overwhelmed by their reception and by the time they finished with Ode to Io (title track) there was a sense amongst the crowd that we had indeed just witnessed something very special. So far this was going to be a moment of Desertest that was going to be tough to beat.
Dozer! If you don't mind. Just as we had gathered out collective shit (having lost my shit conclusively during the Lowrider set) Red Stripe cans in hand Dozer hit the stage. Another moment in time I truly never thought I would ever see. At this point I would like to put out a huge apology to Wo Fat. The clash of the weekend and one that I had trouble reconciling but PLEASE come back to the UK.
Many moons ago I was played a song by a Swedish stoner band called Dozer. The track The Hills have Eyes. Now here I was seeing that very band and what do they open with..... That very song. Dozer (after some early vocal level trouble) were ferocious. From the opening track through to The Flood, Exoskeleton (Stand out Track) to The Rising, Fredrik Nordin (vocals, rhythm guitar) and Tommi Holappa (lead guitar) where a force to be reckoned with. The crowd lapped up every second and the Dozer boys tore through a serious greatest hits hour. This was building to be quite the day and as a euphoric crowd headed back to the bar and merch stand after Dozer, many could have been forgiven for thinking it was a great day and it was time to head home. No, this had just been the warm up. Enter Unida!!!!!
Now if Arthur Seay and Mike Cancino were stoner royalty then John Garcia is God! He was welcomed to the stage accordingly. Unida, being one of the offspring of Kyuss (Scott Reeder a previous member) and being a band that just never seemed to get a break, are finally getting what they deserve with a world tour. (Of to Aus and NZ as I write) Bearing in mind many of the songs played and sung along to like grown man karaoke are from an album that was never actually released, Unida are some what of an enigma Featuring 3 original members and (Arthur) Seay's nephew on bass, Unida lit up the Electric Ballroom like not many other bands could considering what had come before them. Opening with Wet Pussycat and closing with the mighty Black Woman, Unida just did everything right. Garcia in classic form with his two handed mic swagger and understated presence (as with Seay surprisingly after his HOBP performance), Cancino with military precision drumming, Unida ripped through hit after hit that was lapped up by a disbelieving crowd who simply could not really comprehend what they were seeing.
As I heard described by one punter after the ugly lights came on "it was the greatest single day of live music ever assembled." I happen to agree and so it seemed did everyone else and the line back to the Black Heart proved this. No one wanted the day to end. Unfortunately the Electric Ballroom does simply not fit inside the Black Heart so it was off to the Worlds End for a debrief and reality check. A few quiet ales and an air of expectancy toward tomorrow. Desertfest Day 2 done!
Sunday
Well this was it. Day 3 of a festival which was, put simply, a platinum collection of the worlds best stoner, phosphorescent kaliedioscopic rock on the planet (minus Sungrazer, The Machine and Vista Chino.)
Now to be honest, arriving at the Electric Ballroom at 3pm, I was shattered. But a swift cider and the over excitement of seeing 2 of my top 3 all time favourite bands on the same day, not to mention back to back, this was all but forgotten.
Prior to Desertfest I said on this website that I thought Glowsun might be a dark horse at this year's Desertfest. Being a big fan and having not seen them live before I was keen to head in early and see what they were all about. In a word.......LOUD!!! Holy shit. Where did that come from. I have listened to both The Sundering and Eternal Season on high rotation for most of this year but nothing I heard on either of those albums prepared me for the all out assault on the ears and chest courtesy of some seriously heavy groove and power from this trio from Lille. They opened with the Death's Face and proceeded to carve their wonderful mix of psychedelia, power and sludge to truly reward the early starters on day three. Rarely do you see a band when your ears actually hurt after the set. Glowsun are such band. Best surprise of the weekend. (if not completely unexpected.)
Next up as was New York fuzz merchants, Naam. Now I didn't know a lot about this band coming into today other than a few listens to their offering Kingdom. Leaning very much towards the prog side of stoner with some very trippy keyboards and spaced out jams, Naam grooved through a great set of heavy, psycadelic, doom laced jams with highlights Star Child and the title track Kingdom. There was some very keen fans of this band around me who were lapping this up and this added to the atmosphere. Combined with Glowsun, this was a very heavy start to what was going to be a truly epic day.
What was evident this Sunday afternoon was that people were tired!! In between bands their were bodies strewn across the Ballroom wooden floor like a battle field of wounded soldiers. The promise of things to come seemed to be enough to bring them to their feet time after time.
After such an incredible start, it was time to sit back and enjoy what the festival had to offer. Over the next hour or so we nursed or ears (bleeding from Glowsun) and passed on Victor Griffin's In-Graved and spent some time having a few Sunday ales in both the Black Heart and the Underworld and reliving the epic night we had witnessed prior to today's hangovers. This break also allowed time for me to take in the fact that over the next 3 hours I would see 2 of my top 3 bands back to back.
Enter Truckfighters! Simply put, I love this band and I challenge anyone who has seen this band live to not share my admiration. Live, these guys are on another level. With with permanent members of Ozo and Dango front and centre and new drummer Poncho rounding out the trio, they took to the stage with the ever impressive inevitable extended opener Desert Cruiser. From the moment the crowd launched into "I'm running out of fueeeeellllll! " new fans knew they were in for something special. Within seconds of starting both Dango and Ozo were itching to get forward of the monitors and bridge the gap between stage and crowd. (Ozo would eventually stage dive and Dando would walk of the stage and into the crowd after feeling a little uncomfortable being separated from the adoring throng)
Ripping through Majestic, Chamelion and even a few new tracks the Truckfighters trully lived up to their reputation as one of the best live bands on the planet. As Desertfest billed them "It just would not be the same without them." Agreed!
So, anyone who knows me, knows I hold Colourhaze in a classification all on their own. For me, this was always going to be the headline act of Desertfest. No offence to Pentagram, but for me Colourhaze can not be headlined over (with the exception of Kyuss).
My biggest worry of this set was "How on earth will Colourhaze fit a set into 1 hour?" The pleasure I had on this occasion was that I was with 3 other Morsel readers (Matty, Chris and Bec's) who had never seen these guys live and were relatively new to the band. What an introduction. From the moment the three professors of swirling, phosphorescent pools of kaleidoscopic psychedelica took the stage (with their own visuals) it was clear that we were about to be taken on a seriously long trip. The most pleasing thing about this set was the inclusion of Temple, Love and the behemothic Brothers and Sisters. Only Colourhaze would dare drop a 28 min song into a 1 hr set. In short, this was as good and tight as I have ever seen Colourhaze and the roar when they finished and subsequent roars everytime they took the stage to pack up surely suggested that this was in deed the final climatic moment of Desertfest for many including me. My highlight of the set was being awoken from my closed eyes daze during Brothers and Sister by a euphoric punter (Chappy) next to me who threw his arms in the air and just started screaming at the top of his voice, to no one in particular, "This is Fucking Awesome!!!!!" I couldn't agree more.
So for me, this was really a fitting end of Desertfest. It was always going to be, and although we headed upstairs to recover and regroup with "another" Red Stripe can and watched the first two songs of Pentagram from the balcony, I was cooked.
It was over. It was epic. It WAS the musical highlight of my life. Desertscene.co.uk take a fucking bow. Reece Tee get some sleep and may I shake your hand. To the fellow Desertfester's cheers for a great vibe and incredibly chilled crowd. I meet some great people this weekend and sorry if I thrust another sticker in your direction. This will go down in history and will be talked about for a very long time. I feel privileged to have been in this city at this moment in time.
For now I leave you with this and will see you all at the next Desertscene.co.uk gig. Steak EP launch at the Black Heart.
"I'm running, running out of Fueeeellllll!!!!!"
