Desertfest New York 2024 – Saturday
It’s now Saturday at Desertfest New York, Kadabra was the first band to play The Ruins, the outdoor stage and once again the sound engineer was doing a fantastic job. The group played a great psych infused doom set with unholy amounts of fuzz. The sound was just loud enough near the back of the crowd that I could actually pop out my earplugs and enjoy a little break.
Returning to the Texas Stage, I caught the tail end of Beinn. The first thing I noticed was Chris Enriquez on drums so I was pretty sure I would enjoy what I heard. They were a bit on the grunge/garage rock side and had some anthem style sections which made me wish I knew the songs so that I could sing along.
I only caught a few of Gozu’s songs as they were sandwiched between Beinn and Spaceslug. They are definitely a band I will be listening to in the future. The guitar solos were my favorite parts, which were blisteringly fast with heavy psych influence. The heavier moments had some massive groovy riffs that I think would have been fitting to have harsh vocals accompany them.
Spaceslug one was another favorite set of mine. I had spent the last couple of weeks getting more acquainted with their music so was anticipating seeing these Polish rockers live. They brought in a wide variety of influence amongst genres, with a great balance of heavy and psychedelic. I later spoke to their guitarist, Bart, and we had a great discussion about our love of black metal and he explained how much influence it has on his writing style.
All three members also provided vocals, with their drummer and bassist providing clean and Bart providing the harsh bits. Having multiple vocalists each with their own sound reminded me a bit of Mastodon, who Bart also quoted as an influence. My favorite song of the set was Half-Moon Burns which was one of those songs that they could have played twice back-to-back and I wouldn’t have been the least bit upset. I really hope this band returns to the states soon so I can catch them again!
I was walking towards the outdoor stage when I heard heavy industrial pouring forth from the Texas Stage. I was curious to see what it was all about and was very glad I did. It was by far the loudest set (somehow more so than Primitive Man) of the weekend and certainly one of the most intense. The pulsing bass thundered so loudly I was expecting windows to start breaking at any moment.
The only person on stage was Brooklyn based Brandon Gallagher under the moniker Trace Amount and he held nothing back in his performance. He howled into the microphone and often left the stage to pace around like a cage beast drenched in sweat. This was like Author & Punisher on steroids without any of the pretty parts; just absolutely punishing heavy industrial with no let up. I stayed until the end of his set and left the room feeling as though I had just had my brain dropped into a meat grinder. AWESOME set.
Eagle Twin was one of the more unique moments of the weekend. I was curious as to how they were going to sound in a live setting, especially those vocals. As I walked into the Main Stage, the duo were setting up and the first thing I noticed was not just one or two amps, but THREE. With a single instrument being played through a Sunn, a Peavey, and an Ampeg bass amp at once, you know it is going to sound massive.
The second thing I noticed was the guitar itself: a through-body aluminum neck which was the first of its kind I have seen. The sound was indeed MASSIVE, with monster fuzzed out riffs just about bringing the building down. This wasn’t just doom though, this was the heaviest blues performance I have ever seen. Yes, there were plenty of doom and sludge riffs, but the entire set felt like a blues man playing metal. The lyrics, the blues style licks, the slow moments, and the vocals just had so much soul.
I was not ready for The Infinity Ring’s set at all. I had never heard them so had I no frame of reference as to what they would sound like. They ended up being my favorite set of the weekend. The unique gothic folk style felt as though it stripped away any facade I had and exposed my very soul. I spent a good deal of the show sitting on the ledge with my head lowered.
The times I did spend looking up, I saw a band playing with absolute conviction. The vocals provided by Camerson were a rich and smokey bass, that at times were nearly a hoarse whisper. Following the performance, I had to take a few minutes outside to collect myself.
After taking a few moments, I hurried over to the main stage to catch the remainder of Green Lung. I arrived as the band began Song Of The Stones, and it was such a perfect song to lift me up after being crushed by the previous band.
Once again, the live mix was perfect; with the keys cutting through with just the right amount, and the vocals soaring over all. I was very impressed with how well Tom nailed the vocal performance as absolutely hit every high note. One of the best moments was when he announced ‘this song goes out to anyone suffering from depression, at least we have heavy metal to drown it out!’ Amen, brother!
So I will admit, I have never actually listened to Acid King before (I know, I know). They were just one of those bands that has been on my list to listen to for years, but it never happened. A live setting is the perfect way to be introduced to a Sabbath-style doom band.
The endless riffs, the amp bloom and the reverb in the venue were all perfect. The bass tone was absolutely phenomenal, and the drummer brought creative fills to nearly every measure. I look forward to finally digging into their discography and hope to catch another live show in the future.
I attempted to catch Tower, but the room had overflowed so far into the merch area that it just wasn’t going to happen. I took this time to grab a bite to eat and sit down for a while in preparation for the final band and the close of the festival.
Russian Circles is always a treat to catch live, and tonight they once again showed just how professional they are. Fog began to roll in well before Mike Sullivan, Brian Cook and Dave Turncrantz took the stage. Something I have always appreciated about Russian Circles is that there are no vocal microphones on stage. Many instrumental bands still have a vocal mic to address the crowd between songs, or at least say their goodbyes at the end, but not Russian Circles.
They are an instrumental band, and they own it like no other. Besides an amp issue midway through the set, the trio captivated the audience the entire time. Cook bringing the thunder on bass while also occasionally playing synth with his feet, Turncrantz bringing an absolutely mental groove on the drums, and Sullivan being an absolute wizard of looping taps, riffs, and licks. The band also has an intense light show to compliment the music, further captivating the audience. This is one of those bands that simply must be experienced live at some point.
In conclusion it an awesome two days of music without a dull moment. Every band was absolutely on point, and the sound engineers did an amazing job of making sure us in the audience could hear everything that they were doing. My first Desertfest will certainly not be my last!
Scribed by: Ben Brackin
Photos by: Tim Bugbee