By: Victor Van Ommen
Desertfest Belgium
2015 was my sixth Desertfest. I don’t say this to brag, I say this because I
feel this is an important factor to keep into account when I say that I wasn’t
blown away by Desertfest Belgium. Orange Goblin, Fatso
Jetson, Dozer, Ufomammut, Causa Sui, Mars Red Sky, Monomyth, Stoned Jesus, and
The Machine? Well, I’ve seen them all live before, at Desertfest. That’s not to say that this line-up was sub-par
– quite the contrary, the line-up was incredible – but I’m beginning to think
that every time I go to the fest, I’m stepping into the same party, again and
again. Nonetheless, I was able to set that feeling aside and dive into Day 2 of
Desertfest Belgium with some degree of excitement. After
all, Mars Red Sky and Causa Sui
would be closing out my festival experience – I needed to head out early – so
this was going to turn into a pretty good Saturday.
I pulled up at
the venue nice and early because in my Fine Print feature I talked trash about
you guys needing to get up and at ‘em, so it was only appropriate if I did the
same. For me, however, being there early had to do with running interviews with
some bands so I couldn’t catch any of the early shows. What I did manage was to
catch !Pendejo!’s soundcheck, which sounded pretty
tough, as well as a quick glimpse of The Progerians, who,
due to their time slot, had to play to a lukewarm crowd but managed to bludgeon
with their doom rock just the same. Belzebong’s set passed
me by, too, which keeps them up top on my catch-ya-later list.
But there’s no
sense mulling about what I missed because I also saw plenty of magic
happen on the fest’s three stages.As was the case
with Monomyth. Even though I’ve seen this band
live more times than I can count, their brand of space-rock is one of
guaranteed quality, so it was a no-brainer to go see their set. Good thing,
too. It was incredible. Their build-ups were spot on and as the light show
pierced through the low hanging marijuana smoke the band traveled through a
multitude of dimensions, taking off on a first class flight of space-rock
virtuosity. The tempos shifted in such a way that only Monomyth
can do, and despite having seen them before, their grip on atmosphere kept me
mesmerized, once again. They're already confirmed for Desertfest Berlin
in April, and I’ll undoubtedly catch their show then, too.
A quick stop at
the Beer Garden was necessary after a show like Monomyth’s.
I threw back a cold one and took a gander at what food the fest had on offer.
There was choice between vegetarian, Eastern European, fries, cocktails, and
what I dubbed “The Meat House.” The day was young so I needed a solid
foundation to build upon, so The Meat House it was. One Pulled Pork Sandwich
and a Johnny Cash burger later and I was ready to take on Greenleaf.
Greenleaf is a band that I want to like considering Tommi Holappa’s
involvement, but on record they just don’t do it for me. There’s no click. I’m
willing to lay the blame for that on myself because up on stage the band nailed
it. Holappa threw himself around like a bull in a china shop, strumming out
riffs that reminded of Dozer but drew from a
deep blues. His sound was thick and raw, which is something that doesn’t
translate for me on their recorded efforts. The biggest surprise, however, was
how singer Arvid Jonsson took the role of frontman to heart, putting on one of
the most interesting performances of the fest. He’s got the pipes and the looks
to do so with, and though he missed a note here and there, it was his passion
before perfection attitude that had me hooked. All these elements came together
best in “Ocean Deep,” which resulted
in winning me over as a fan of their live show.
Greenleaf turned into Mars Red Sky, a band
that has a special place in my record collection. From the moment I heard the
album teaser for their debut, I was hooked. Their appearance at the inaugural Desertfest in Berlin played a huge role in why I went to
Germany that April, and I still talk about that show to this day. The fuzz, the
heft, the melody, the tempo, the thematics – it’s all there, and these factors
are accentuated in a live setting. Their show at Desertfest Belgium
may not have been as impressive as that in Berlin, but that has more to do with
the power of first impressions than the band’s performance. They were in good
form on the Canyon Stage, extremely confident, and slowed their songs down to a
snail’s pace, melting our brains in the process.
Considering how
Mars Red Sky turned my brain to mush, I skipped out on Orange Goblin.
I saw them headline in Berlin last April, which made my decision to check out USA Out of Vietnam easier. Turns out I wouldn’t be able to
watch USA Out of Vietnam after all due to some
internal scheduling conflict, so up the stairs I went for Causa Sui.
Causa Sui was, as expected, right on. They tore off with some cuts
from 2013’s “Euporie Tide” before
bending our minds with a new cut. Even though Causa Sui have
moved onto some improvisational projects since “Euporie Tide,” the new stuff seems to be in line with the classic
songs from their 2013 album, perhaps with a little more edge. Causa Sui jammed until the stage manager told them to stop,
which they responded to by playing another new song that made my mind ‘pop.’ I
expected the house lights to go up some time during this last song because the
band was way over time. Luckily that didn’t happen and Causa Sui
was allowed to close out my Desertfest Belgium
experience in a state of psychedelic bliss.
That’s right, I
left without seeing the day’s headliner, Earth, destroy the main
stage. One part of me wanted to hang around for that but considering the three
hour drive ahead of me and a 9am role call at work, the voice of
reason convinced me to get my ass in the car. A good Desertfest
nonetheless, but in the future I would like to see a little more diversity in
the line-ups.
I’d like to
send a shout out to Claire and Dimitri at Desertfest for
providing me with the opportunity to check out the festival as a Sludgelord representative. Thanks to Aaron Pickford, too,
for coordinating this whole thing.
