Terrastock, the bands

We didn’t get to Terrastock until Friday afternoon, so the first act we saw was Sleeping Pill, comprised of Georgia and Ira. The less said about it that the better. We somehow missed Tanakh (we were eating I think), which is too bad, because I was curious about them. Plastic Crimewave Sound had a pretty cool set, including a Dead C cover, but Mr. PS proceeded to smash his guitar at the end, which in the words of my friend Oakley “was completely unearned and negated everything that came before.” Harsh, but there was some truth to that.

Next up was for me one of the great surprises of the festival, The Linus Pauling Quartet. I know these guys have been around a while, but I’ve never heard them. I’m glad I heard them in a live setting, because my guess is I’d be largely indifferent to their records without seeing what they’re all abut live. A great understanding and command of various strains of psych, anchored in one of the strongest song-based rock sets at the fest. And I have to admit part of their charm came from seeing this group of nerdy, middle-aged white guys with guitars raise such a ruckus. It was loud and proud, but their closing Satanic number had me and several other people fleeing from the room it was so abrasive.

Major Stars were another surprise. Guitar wankery to the nth degree, with some over the top rock schtick from Wayne Rogers and the ladies of MS. The sun was setting as their set concluded around 9:30, and it added a nice touch to the whole thing. They invited everybody back to their hotel room later, but when we went by nothing seemed to be going on.

Damon and Naomi had an okay set, opening with Tim Buckley’s “Song to the Siren” and closing with two numbers assisted by Helena Espvall and Masaki Batoh. The latter two were up next as a duo, playing songs from their Drag City album. It was lovely music, and Batoh singing Son House’s “Death Letter” was a high point of the day.

Saturday began with Oneida performing at noon, which seemed especially early following the previous night’s festivities. They woke everybody up, though, first with a nearly 20-minute long “Sheets of Easter,” next with a run through of their new album, Preteen Weaponry. Excellent extended drones and riffs, and one of my favorite shows all weekend. Wooden Shjips were great, of course, playing some songs off their new record. But fatigue and hunger caused some distraction, and we left a little over halfway through their set in search of food.

Came back, surprised that it was Kinski making the beautiful racket on stage, until we saw Makoto Kawabata on stage with, which explains the AMT-style sounds we could hear in the distance. I’m used to Kinski’s slower, more mellow stuff, so this was another of the surprises. I’ll admit I was nodding off during MV+EE’s set, but that didn’t have so much to do with the music as it did the consumption of libations.

Fortunately I was in better shape for Bardo Pond, again joined by Kawabata. Previous BP shows have left me underwhelmed, but this one was a bit more inspired, and louder. Grails had a great set indoors. Not the biggest fan of their albums, live the songs worked much better for me. That drummer is ridiculously good, a little intimidating, and he even stepped up to play 12-string guitar on one song, more or less shaming everyone else in the band. If that guy doesn’t have a side project or two going, he’ll probably leave his band mates in the dust soon. Was so not in the mood for Motorpsycho, a highly-anticipated group that were fine, but by that time you’d heard so much blues-based psych rock it was a bit numbing. I think we ate during Sapat. Mono drew the biggest crowd and played an inspired set. Again, the sun was setting as they went on, and their music was a nice soundtrack as the colorful clouds and horizon gave way to a sky full of stars. Scores of people were laid out on the lawn staring at the sky as the band played. By no means my favorite performance, it still provided one of the most memorable moments of the weekend. Kohoutek sounded promising, but we left 15 minutes in due to fatigue and general music overload.

Explored Louisville early in the day, arrived at Terrastock just in time for Simply Saucer to be rained out. Pelt got a late start due to sound problems, but played a wonderful drone piece that brought the first standing ovation of the fest. Jack Rose and the Black Twig Pickers played a fun, well-received set of old time music. Another highlight for me. The Entrance Band delivered possibly the most controversial set. Nothing serious, just the amazing guitar leads and swinging rhythm section were nearly spoiled by the sub-high school journal entry quality of the lyrics. Dude also brought the only full-blown hippie vibe, as he warned us not to trust the Internet or our cell phones, and asked for someone to smoke him up with some ganja. Anyway, they rocked. Not in the mood for the mellow sounds of Windy and Carl after all the rock, so grabbed some food and showed up for Paik, who bombarded us with a sonic maelstrom. Another great sunset set.

The grand finale was a Kawabata solo set, and it blew minds and ears all over the place. A bowed guitar intro followed by a solo “Pink Lady Lemonade,” looped, and accompanied by a Kawabata playing over his main theme. It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve every heard, even if I and most everyone else did have to hold our hands over our ears. The last half of his set was more of a pure noise piece, which actually drove me out of the room. The loudest thing I’ve ever heard, even louder than Black Dice at Pilot Light or Atari Teenage Riot at Emo’s.

Though a Terrastock newbie, I was actually sad and a little emotional when Phil McMullen got up to thank everybody and say goodbye. Good times never last, but I wish these could have lasted a little longer, and I wish it weren’t another two or possibly three years until the next Terrastock.