Report

Converse/Thrasher’s Death Match Included Doom Acts Goatsnake and Om

SXSW attendees spent the last day of the festival trying to stay dry. Fortunately, the Gypsy Lounge erected a giant tent to keep the crowd dry. The rain forced the staff running Converse/Thrasher’s Death Match to shut down the skate ramp.

I missed the first two bands, Blasting Concept and American Sharks and came in during instrumental jam band, Arctic. This Southern California band is making a name for their selves playing skate parks and skate festivals. Their guitarist, Figgy looked like Mikael Åkerfeldt from Opeth and played solos like him too, even though the band sounds nothing like Opeth. He was fun to watch and his solos were excellent but he and his band didn’t bring a lot in terms of riffs.

The Shrine offered more in terms of riffing. This group also hails from Southern California, Venice Beach to be precise. They played a diverse style of rock and roll that was part punk, part psychedelic and stoner rock. The band played a song called “Acid Drop” that was full of meaty riffs. Even though the two bands don’t sound the same, their mix of punk and stoner recalls The Obsessed.

This was the second day in a row watching The Skull. As previously reported, The Skull is made up of two ex-members of Trouble. They especially sound liked Trouble since Eric Wagner, was the voice of early Trouble, is their vocalist. They played a shorter set this time and didn’t play both the Trouble songs of the night before. The one Trouble song I identified, I think they only played one, was “Psychotic Reaction.” The song opened in a trippy, Doors-like fashion. Near the end, the band played a big jam session while Eric Wagner sat on the side of the stage smoking a cigarette.

Goatsnake made a rare appearance. Guitarist Greg Anderson produced huge grooves. Singer Pete Stahl was a bundle of energy acting out nearly every lyric. In addition to singing, Stahl also played the tambourine. The band played several songs from their forthcoming album “Black Age Blues” including “Another River to Cross,” which is a continuation of the last song on their last album “The River.” More fuzzed out blues songs came by way of the title track, “A Killing Blues” and “Coffee & Whiskey.” The band is still working out some of the kinks to these songs as it took the band three tries to get one song started. Stahl joked about it being a new song hence their mess up. I don’t think anyone in the crowd minded, either, as they were enthralled by the band’s infectious rhythms.

Even though Om played a large part of their set with no guitars, the band’s sound was full and huge. Sleep member Al Cisneros produced distorted bass riffs heavy enough to pass off as guitar. Om’s sound was very mellow and meditative, though. Cisneros often closed his eyes and let the music seep into his soul. Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe had a large set up of wires and electronics covering a full table. He also brought along a guitar and often picked up a tambourine. His keys were enchanting and he sang high pitched backing vocals that further added to the band’s meditative quality. They were an excellent group to end the festival for me.