Is Austin no longer the “music capital of the world”? Or, as Mark Twain would say, have rumors of its death been greatly exaggerated?
That’s a question much discussed by Central Texas music lovers after a succession of alarming announcements that could soon drastically change the city’s cultural landscape, particularly its Red River district.
Seen as the arterial vein pumping blood into the heart of its music scene, the Red River has come under existential threat. First, Empire Control Room and Garage closed down earlier this summer. Then, two weeks ago, music fans got another shock to the system when metal haven Valhalla announced its impending closure. And last week, the blows continued with the revelation that the building that houses both goth haunt Elysium and psychedelic mecca The 13th Floor is also up for sale.
Though much of its fate is still up in the air, Austin’s music scene has one simple declaration:
We’re not dead yet.
At least, that was the prevailing feeling at last weekend’s psychedelic and experimental music festival Levitation, which has been held annually for almost two decades.
The fact remains that people are still working tirelessly to make the music scene run. This is achieved not just by booking large, touring bands but by elevating the buzzy local bands that have to pack out small clubs before they can draw crowds of 1,000.
That’s how Levitation’s Marketing Specialist Aaron Owens sees his role in the real work of cultivating a scene from the ground up.
“There’s just not a lot of people doing what we do, because it’s fucking hard,” Owens told the Current between sets at the Far Out Lounge’s main stage.
The festival moved locations a little over a week before the event. Although originally scheduled to occur at Radio East, that changed after a permitting issue blocked an expansion for the event, according to Owens. But since the Levitation crew already hosts its annual spring gathering — Austin Psych Fest — at Far Out on South Congress Avenue, this year’s fest was able to pivot without a hitch.
As it does every year, the festival held its afterparties in the now-contested territory of Red River, with late shows at the Mohawk, Stubb’s, 13th Floor, Elysium and more. The strip was alive with energy, and fans hopped from club to club, overflowing into its other lively venues and bars. With a goth club next to a psych club and across the street from the headbangers, different scenes mingled together on the sidewalks in an eclectic and electric menagerie.
That blending of scenes is fundamental to the vitality and history of Austin music, dating back even to when hippies and cowboys got close at the Armadillo. Losing any one of these Red River venues would disrupt that delicate ecosystem.
As usual, the Red River after-shows were some of the best performances of the festival, including powerful sets from Temples and Monolord at Mohawk, a sold-out performance by microtonal maniacs Angine de Poitrine at Stubb’s, Nitzer Ebb at Elysium and a bombastic set by Iguana Death Cult and locals Gus Baldwin & The Sketch at 13th Floor.
But some attendees and participants worried, even amid the kaleidoscopic psychedelia of the festival, that all of that could disappear.
“I hate to be super-cynical but it’s hard to watch the slow death of Austin music,” said Ziggy Gonzo, a local DJ and member of psychedelic cumbia band En Orbito, which regularly plays 13th Floor.
The recent rapid changes on its strip have prompted the Austin’s Red River Cultural District board of directors to release an open letter on September 8, urging city leaders to take immediate action to protect the area’s live music venues.
But at Levitation, many in the crowd transcended all of those worries of the outside world, which is what they have been coming to do for years.
“The independent live music industry — including artists, venues, promoters and festivals, is more culturally vibrant, diverse and nourishing than ever before,” Cody Cowan, business development director of Levitation, said in a statement to the Current.
“Live music experiences bring us together in powerful ways that free us from our trials, our tribulations and the distinctions and differences that divide us,” Cowan continued. “We live in difficult times where everyone is feeling the squeeze, and it should be no surprise that our music community is also going through those same challenges. That’s why it’s so important now — perhaps more than ever — that we keep coming together and celebrating live music with joy, as community, and to feel and know the hope and beauty in life. Levitation has been a key facilitator of this in our community for 18 years and counting — and we have no plans of stopping.”
Friday
Psych-punk troublemakers Grocery Bag kicked off the first day of main programming at the Far Out Lounge & Stage. After their Austin Psych Fest set was rained out in May, the quartet retained their bombastic status as one of Austin’s most beloved rising acts. The group was originally formed in San Antonio by guitarist and vocalist Isabella “Bella” Martinez and later relocated to Austin.
San Antonio and Austin legend Gibby Haynes took the stage early in the day with “Butthole Surfers Mania,” an occasion that proved to be a massive draw for Levitation’s Fall installment.
With a setlist dominated by hits from the legendary Central Texas band, an emotional moment came with guest appearances by Butthole Surfers drummer King Coffey and guitarist Paul Leary. Those too young to have seen the band in its ’80s heyday got to hear “Pepper” and “Lady Sniff” live, passing on the band’s chaotic legacy.
Japan’s Melt Banana delivered an onslaught of noise for its Friday afternoon set, bringing unbridled madness to a Texas crowd well acquainted with the act through repeated appearances at underground festivals and beyond.
Hometown heroes Die Spitz came in hot after a marathon stint on the road, an overdue Austin appearance nearly a year after the release of their debut album Something to Consume. After having to cancel a string of performances last month, including an appearance at King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s Field of Vision Festival, local fans got their fill in the dust-filled mosh pit for the long-awaited homecoming.
Pacific Northwest riot grrrl innovators Bikini Kill delivered a set stacked with hits and then some. Vocalist and feminist icon Kathleen Hanna made good on the band’s legacy with a relentless set full of the punk rock honesty that’s won over generations of fans.
Saturday
The party continued Saturday with a post-punk heavy set. Fans of the genre got their fix with headliners Molchat Doma, who exploded in popularity just a couple years after their 2017 formation thanks to a viral meme of bats looking like they were haunting the dance floor of a goth club.
Post-punks and goths were also treated to a set by Peter Hook, a driving force behind Joy Division and New Order. Beyond being a founding member of both groups, he is known to use the instrument in a lead role. Hook and his band the Light delivered such Joy Division classics as “Disorder,” “Transmission” and “She’s Lost Control” — as well as New Order’s “Ceremony.” And to close out the set, they offered up “Love Will Tear Us Apart” with the same tender, aching desire of a doomed romance — the perfect encapsulation of post-punk as a foundation of goth.
Hook also made a later appearance onstage with foundational 1970s English electronic and industrial group Cabaret Voltaire, currently on its final U.S. tour. Other standouts of the lineup included a ferocious set by Ditz and an irreverent pop set by Automatic on the smaller stage. During Automatic’s set, the screen flashed a message of “No Genocide – Free Palestine” — one of few reminders of the cares of the world.
During Molchat’s dark and dancy set, the crowd — delayed a half hour by the rain — rushed to Red River for Monolord and the sold-out Angine de Poitrine-Man or Astro Man ticket. The highly anticipated, and highly polkadotted, set by French-Canadian duo Angine de Poitrine was a sensation. As the cult-like crowd chanted “Holy Shit” and held their hands up to form the band’s signature triangle symbol, it was easy to wonder if music once considered “too challenging,” such as Primus, is now mainstream.
Hell, the only “words” uttered during the instrumental set were alien gibberish spewed by guitarist-bassist Khn de Poitrine. In a post-truth society dominated by AI, maybe this is the only thing that makes sense anymore.
Microtones, employed for centuries in Middle Eastern music, are nothing new, as even Angine attests. But it’s hard to imagine a time when the music intervals have ever been more popular in North America.
Sunday
The lineup remained stacked on Sunday, with powerful sets by Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Earth Tongue, Primitive Ring and local powerhouse The Well.
The headliner for Sunday was stoner band Sleep, which announced the departure of founding guitarist Matt Pike in June shortly before they were revealed as a secret headliner.
Fans were curious to see how the band would perform without Pike, and feedback after the concert was divided. Some in the crowd said, “Yeah, it’s still Sleep.” Others insisted Pike was Sleep.
The band mostly stuck to the new album Hemispheres, released this month through Third Man Records. However, the eight-song set did include the classics “Holy Mountain,” its opener, and “Dragonaut,” which closed out the night. Music from the band’s cherished 2012 album Dopesmoker made no appearance at all.
However, the festival’s plant-slinging czar Zak Peters did close out the weekend with a customary bong rip onstage at 13th Floor. “Fuck Dan Patrick,” he said through a billow of smoke, calling out Texas’ lieutenant governor and most vehement anti-weed crusader.
It seems the Austin music scene — and Red River — has some fight left in it yet.
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