So Psycho...Sorry for the novel, I tried to make it as condensed as possible but this weekend was fucking KILLER.
So let me just start by saying, this was probably the best run festival Ive ever been to. From staff, to security, things ran well (despite the few line up changes I didnt get bc I rarely use Facebook) and security was super laxed. Smoking weed inside wasnt an issue which made things fucking perfect. This was my first Thief event, and I hope nothing but good things to come for him, hes putting on some really REALLY epic shit and doing it right.
So Friday first band I saw was Conan. 40 minutes was a decent amount of time, but frankly they were not loud enough. Its fucking Conan, my ears need to be bleeding. At this point I was getting pretty saucey. I bought VIP so I had unlimited alcohol, so with bands I didnt care about I was getting beers for me and my friends. They did not play Krull which I was a bit bummed about, but good performance nonetheless. Plus I see them in a few days again anyway.
Next band I checked out was Bedemon. Wino was asked to do vocals since the lead singer isnt around, so that was cool to witness. Wasnt exactly my cup of tea, but it was hard to say if it was Wino or the music or both. Still wanted to check em out, it ws a big deal they were playing.
After them, I saw Old Man Gloom. Man, they imo, stole the show for Friday, they were HEAVY as fuck. Never really heard of them before this fest, definitely checking more into them.
Then it was Bell Witch and Cough. Both bands were outside. Cool atmosphere for an outside stage, but yet again the volume needed to go up. Bell Witch was sick live and going from them to Cough was perfect. Some asshole ruined Coughs set cause on 288 Years of Sin, he got up on stage and was tryubg to sing the song. Parker was annoyed as fuck, but for some reason let him do it. In anycase, spoke to Parker and kept bugging him if they are gonna release new material soon and he said yeah, probably beginning of 2016. Stoked for that.
Ended the night with Russian Circles. Been wantin to see them for a few years now, so I was really looking forward to their set. I was fucking shitfaced at this point and dont remember much other than hearing a few songs of Geneva and Memorial. Left towards the end cause I was tired as fuck.
Saturday:
Got there right when it started to see my buddy's band Lords of Beacon House. Pretty cool psych rock stuff, but did not fully grab me. Cool to show support though.
After them Acid Witch, always fun to see these guys (Even if they mistakenly called Santa Ana "Hollywood"). When I arrived Friday I ran into Slasher Dave and I was talking to him, and in the middle of our convo he stops and goes"...hey man, Im sorry but wheres the shitter? I gotta fucking shit like right fucking now". Ever since then, Id always run into him and wed be so fucking drunk that wed talk and laugh about how we met. He was very grateful for the directions. Sabbath of the Undead and Swamp Spells tore the roof off. They even did Evil off their split with Nunslaughter. That was sick too.
After them it was time to get my drink on again. This time they wouldnt let me take drinks out because they saw me taking them to people, so I was forced to slam my beers and get back inside. Fucking bullshit that I couldnt enjoy my beers inside, but I get it. Its because of people like me those rules are broken. Yolo.
Electric Citizen was definitely one of the best, if not the best set of the weekend. They fucking brought down the house. That chicks energy on stage was perfect and their sound was spot on. Ended up smoking a bowl with her later that night. Total babe.
Mammatus was another band that I heard a little of before going, but not enough to know their shit. Still checked em out and man, these guys had the cleanest sound out of every band that weekend. Really good show, definitely checking more into them.
Dead Meadow was fucking incredible. Ive heard MANY people tell me they fucking suck live, but man, maybe they just went on a wrong night because they did not disappoint in the least. Even played Such Hawks, Such Hounds <3
After them it was beer runs and dipping in and out of Pallbearer. This was probably my 4th time seeing them, and I actually didnt hate it. They might be growing on me, but my friend said thats probably because the songs we heard were theyre really old shit. Sounded good, just cant hang with those vocals...Maybe ill give their demo a shot soon.
Earth was next. Always a pleasure to see them. They ended with fucking High Command. A song they havnt played live since it came out almost 20 years ago. That was fucking SICK. Also played Torn By The Fox Of The Crescent Moon and The Bees Made Honey In The Lions Skull. Very very pleased.
Kylesa was next. They were cool. Drummers were on point and sound was good. One of the few bands to do visuals which was a nice touch. Had some funny fucking shit going on too. Was in and out of their set to get beers and rest for Sleep coming up.
Sleep. Another band thats always a pleasure to see. Al comes out on stage by himself just playing some riffs, but nothing is playing...Does this for like 5 minutes, then Matt comes out and strikes the first note and HOLY FUCK was it loud. The place was now being hot boxed from that first note til the end of their set. Played a lot off Dopesmoker and some new material. They went 45 minutes over their set, they were supposed to play an hour but went an extra 45 because they were fucking killing it and no one wanted to leave. Fucking badass.
Sunday:
This personally was my favorite and most anticipated day. I wanted to get there early to catch Tumbleweed Dealer because theyre a fairly newer band, that hasnt done a lot of shows and I really like their material. Well the lineup changed and apparently they didnt show up. Still need to get the full story on that bc I got it from a security guard who doesnt know shit about anything other than what another security guard tells him to do.
This however was perfect time to see Wo Fat. Was right up front and center. Opened with The Black Code and proceeded to rip the place apart. Sounded excellent, but was so short man. Only had time for 3 songs. Still stoked as fuck to see them. They rarely play outside of Dallas, so I made sure to taken in every second.
This is where shit gets awesome. I ended up being dosed with the best LSD Ive ever had in my life. I was shooting the shit with an old timer outside eating some tacos, talking about the Grateful Dead (he was a deadhead too) and he had some really amazing, clean shit from legitamte Dead Family. So he dosed me and one of my friends with 1 each, and my other 2 friends splt 1 and boom, off to the races. Good to finally experience what real 1 hit wonder LSD is like. Holy shit.
So back top lineup...The days lineup changed and I had no idea, so I missed Truckfighters. Was super fucking bummed about that, but I didnt even know til later cause..I was fucking high on acid.
Tombs was cool, but I was over it. I wanted to save my energy for the rest of the night so we went and kicked it until Bongzilla came on. Wasnt a big fan of their material before going, but fuck they won me over. Awesome live show and fun as fuck. Eyehategod meets Weedeater. After them was Earthless. One of the main bands I came there for. I was peaking right when went on and I honestly dont remember a fucking thing of their set because I was so high. I have no doubt they killed it and my friends (who were sober) vouched for me and said I was indeed there the entire time and raging my face off, so I atleast know I was there. But I was not in my body at all, that was very apparent.
After that mind melting experience was the best set of the fest. Fucking OM. I remember looking at Al when he was on stage and behind his head was a flowering of sacred geometry that linked with Emil and Robert. It was then I realized Al is in God Mode and he is conducting my spiritual journey. After the first song, he blew his amp and had to get a new one, which was promptly hooked up and he continued. (Seems fitting, last time I saw them Emil broke a symbal). That fucking band is seriously on some next level shit. I havnt had that spiritual of a experience ever. My buddy said he saw them playing in a Pyramid in Egypt with Hieroglyphics all around us. Regardless, that was a very special special set.
After that I look at my friends and were all like. FUCK. Were tripping HARD. We also realized that was the perfect ending to the fest. None of us were Pentagram fans so I went to go get my merch and leave.
So another perk of being VIP was anything you bought, they would store it for you until after the fest. Well I bought a few records and came to pick em up. After waiting around for 15 minutes and no one able to find my shit Im starting to panic. Fuck not having my ID I need these records! And then bam, a beautiful lady calls out my name and delivers me my merch all wrapped up and packaged neatly. Fucking great service and was a perfect example of how on top of their game everyone was.
To sum up, this was one of the best festivals Ive ever been to with one of the most historic lineups to come out and its only going to keep growing and getting better.
Good job, Thief.
