In 1966 in Austin, Texas, The 13th Floor Elevators with their hit track ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me’ set the psychedelic scene in motion.
More than forty years after this defining moment, The Black Angels flew all the way from the same hallucinogenic city (anchored at the core of the bible belt) to give us tonight in a heated venue a peaceful musical offering.
Since 2004 when the Angels’ story started, all of them decided to live under the same roof and while performing, what can strike any music aficionado is this feeling of closure that emerges from the band, same feeling that anybody would feel when surrounded by loving family members.
Their hypnotic rock and mesmerizing melodies are small prayers packed in tantalizing tunes that keep the audience moving like a gigantic uniformed human wave, sliding from one side of the venue to the other as if they were communing with the band.
The soft and well-adjusted (almost mechanical) voice of the lead singer, Alex Maas, soothes the crowd and collides with the insane drumming of Stephanie Bailey who keeps hitting the skins as hard as she can, it all resonates through the walls like a musical echo from another dimension.
From space lights to psychedelic shapes and forms, a projector illuminates the background propelling the band’s imaginarium for everyone to see.
At some point the entire venue turns into a spectacle for all the senses, like a synesthetic experience.
Whoever has arrived late tonight might well have thought that they had just fallen into a gigantic kaleidoscope.
As the night progresses, the atmosphere gets heavier and the band goes through their entire material methodically, from Passover to Indigo Meadow, every album is used.
Musically impeccable as an entity, the members switch instruments at times, showcasing how easy it is to multi-task with multiple talents.
Supersonic but slow at the same time, saturated but flawless, after ninety minutes The Black Angels leave an ecstatic crowd while the lead guitar still roars before finally vanishing in a blurry echo.
If music is a religion then tonight is not just a performance, but a communion between a band and its audience.
Outside the venue, most people look disconnected as if on drugs, as if The Black Angels had given them a taste of what it is like to be high on music…
Words: Jeremy Veyret
Photos: Michael Gallacher
