The Black Angels + DJ Joel Gion + The Laurels – Metro Theatre (01.07.11)

Having had the opportunity to catch back in March, supporting Queens of the Stone Age at the Rolling Stone party at SXSW, I knew I was in for something special tonight at the Metro. But having caught them in the haze of delirium that SXSW induces, I think I must have either a) forgotten or b) not been conscious enough to realise just how truly wonderful this band are. But more on this in a moment…

Sydney band The Laurels have been raved about on the AU review for years now. Together since 2006, the only thing that has seen the light of day until now has been a 7″. But in just a matter of days, the band will finally be releasing their debut EP Mesozoic to the world – which, having already listened to it to death, is a cracker of an album. To my ear, they played pretty much the entire album, alongside a couple of live favourites. “Black Cathedral” and “Merry Go Round” were two of my personal highlights.

They sounded as good as ever tonight, though it was strange to see them on a larger stage. The band was spread out, having to find a spot in and amongst The Black Angels’ equipment. There was certainly something lost in this for the band – they didn’t seem to quite know what to do with themselves at times – but they never let on musically, sounding as tight as ever… while police dogs came in and busted people for having weed on them. Really guys!? A psychedelic music gig is a priority these days?

Anyway…. A brilliant set from The Laurels that was well adored by their hometown crowd, while they no doubt won a few new fans in the process. Next up was Joel Gion from The Brian Jonestown Massacre, playing a DJ set to pass the time in between bands. It was a bit of a waste of time in my opinion. Plagued with sound problems, what may have otherwise been an interesting set was rendered background noise. Playing some of his favourite tracks off vinyl, it was quite a diverse mix, so there was certainly an air of intrigue about it all… when you could hear it anyway. Things brightened up a bit when the sound seemed to be back to normal and he gave us a bit of Spaghetti Western music, a quick shake of the tambourine, and we were quickly back on his side.

But then the volume issue returned and we were back at square one, twiddling our thumbs until the main attraction arrived. Thankfully, the Austin, Texas based group were worth the wait. The Black Angels absolutely killed it, delivering a gig that I heard one blazy eyed punter exclaim “that was the best thing I’ve ever seen in my life man…”

He wasn’t far off. It was definitely one of the best gigs I’ve been to in recent memory. This is a band who are so tight as a unit that it’s nothing short of extraordinary. They feed off each other in a way that I’ve ever quite seen a band do so well… at least within the genre. On one hand it was well rehearsed, yet on the other hand it was like they were jamming in their parents basement, rarely letting on whether they knew if it was one or the other.

Lead vocalist Alex Maas voice was impeccable, often to the point of it being jaw dropping. “Haunting at 1300 McKinley” off of their latest record Phosphene Dream was an early highlight, and indeed Phosphene… made up the majority of the set. With it being their first time in Australia, however, they definitely gave us a good taste of their entire catalogue. As they digressed, even Phosphene is an old record for them – having been released in the US in September last year – so I guess it didn’t make much difference at this point which album they were playing off of.

A few last notes on the gig: Joel Gion joined for the last two songs before the encore, and Alex donned a guitar for the encore. It was always most epic when the Nate Ryan would join the gorgeous Stephanie Bailey on drums. There is little more than can be said about their performance that doesn’t delve into a world of hyperbole. This tribe of Texans are the kings of modern psychedelia. Velvet Underground (their namesake, inspiration) would indeed be proud.

Larry Heath

Founding Editor and Publisher of the AU review. Currently based in Toronto, Canada. You can follow him on Twitter @larry_heath or on Instagram @larryheath.