Now in its seventh year, Milwaukee Psych Fest has really hit its stride. Big names like Night Beats, Psychic Ills, and Acid Mothers Temple graced the stage this year and were definite highlights but what makes the festival truly special is the amount of local and Midwestern acts that gather to bring the community of psych-minded folks together in one place.
If I can get nostalgic for a minute here, I remember the first year Midwest Action made the trek down to Austin Psych Fest (now known as Levitation) back in 2013. It was at a gorgeous outdoor ranch, we met and interviewed a ton of great bands and people from all over the world, and it quickly became our favorite festival of the year. As the years went on, like all festivals do, Levitation grew and expanded to include bigger touring artists and many of the unknown and emerging acts in the genre didn’t seem to have a place on the lineup any longer. In the meantime, Milwaukee Psych Fest continued to grow in a different way—sure there were still a handful of big names at the top of the bill but what made MPF special for us was being able to see all of our favorite local and Midwestern psych acts in one place. This year’s MPF brought us back to that feeling we experienced at that 2013 Austin festival and–not that we’re an authority on the subject or anything–in our book, the psych fest torch has been passed to Milwaukee. (Plus, it’s a helluva lot closer than Austin, TX)
The air was a little cooler this year, but the vibes inside The Cooperage were warm and toasty. Locals Brief Candles kicked the fest off in the Tent Stage late in the afternoon and did their best to stay warm under the breezy canopy. Frozen fingertips didn’t stop them from making some sweet noise. Airy vocals and poppy guitar melodies combine with washy shoegaze chords to create a dichotomy that works beautifully for the band.
Festival founder, Andrew Shelp, took the Main Stage next with his ever-evolving drone rock project, Moss Folk. This iteration included locals Dan Dahl (Astral Hand, Calliope, Old Prospectors) on drums, Kendra Amelie (Names Divine) on 12-string guitar, Kevin Dixon (Brief Candles) on bass and even a special guest appearance. A good Moss Folk set lulls you in with trancelike repetition until you’ve let your guard down enough for the band to make a complete 180 and change the energy. By the end of this set, it felt like a reverb heavy version of Stereolab was on-stage.
Back out on the Tent Stage, massive propane heaters were turned on and Chicago-favorites Plastic Crimewave Syndicate took the stage. Steven Krakow (AKA Plastic Crimewave) and his gang ripped through a set of heavy-psych jams culminating in an explosive Yoko Ono cover. I guess now we know why they call that guitar a “Flying” V.
Back inside, New York’s Sunwatchers took the stage and kept the energy going with the use of saxophone, keys, and even an electric Phin guitar from Thailand.
Montreal’s Red Mass were the first of a handful of Canadian acts to hit the MPF stages Friday night. The three-piece played upbeat psych-punk that paired perfectly with the colorful liquid light visuals provided by A. Bill Miller.
The sun had set by the time Asheville, NC’s Nest Egg hit the Main Stage, which meant it was dark enough for the Mad Alchemy Light Show to begin. This was not our first time experiencing Mad Alchemy, but their visuals are awe-inspiring every time. When paired with Nest Egg’s never-ending groove, the evening felt like it had officially begun.
All the way from Boston, Magic Shoppe make the sort of hypnotic, reverb-drenched, psych that we’ve come to know and love from a fest like this.
Even though art and music collective Yamantaka // Sonic Titan hail from Canada their live set feels like a psychedelic kabuki theater from another world. The band is a massive wall of guitars, drums, and energetic vocal harmonies that blur the line between heavy metal riffs and psych drones.
New Candys are Venice, Italy’s answer to polished indie-psych. Imagine a more “put together” version of the Jesus & Mary Chain. The heat lamps were in full force, and even though the temperatures dropped outside, the Tent Stage was warm and packed full of people.
How can you even begin to sum up Acid Mothers Temple? The band are legends in the psychedelic community and somehow keep getting better and better every time they make their way to America. This set was no different. Every piece of the band came together to create one massive experience but guitarist Makoto Kawabata, the Speed Guru himself, was hard to take our eyes off of—triumphantly lifting his guitar into the air by the headstock to close our their set.
It was well after midnight by the time Psychic Ills took the stage, and even though sleepiness and lower back pain began to set in, we were lulled back to full strength by the performance. They played all of our favorites from their most recent album Inner Journey Out and even tossed in a few of their earlier psych tunes. Complete with drums, organ, and pedal steel guitar, the band brought album tracks like “I Don’t Mind” and “Another Change” to life brilliantly. It was the perfect come down from Acid Mothers Temple’s raucous set and a cathartic end to day one of the fest.
…and that was just day 1. Stay tuned for photos and take-aways from day 2 of the fest once we catch our breath. Go listen to some of these bands while you’re waiting. We’ll be back with more MPF VII very soon!
Live Photos by Dan Jarvis
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