Austin Psych Fest Live (Sunday): Panda Bear

Three years have passed since Tomboy, and seven since his masterwork Person Pitch. Later this year, Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper swings a scythe. If you don’t know what that means, then you just don’t know Panda Bear.

What it is about those Animal Collective kids? Maybe they’re constantly bored or enjoy putting their fans through the paces, but they categorically refuse to play old songs. Avey Tare demonstrated that at APF aptly enough on Saturday.

Those simple pleasures simply don’t interest them. Eyes fixed to the horizon, and fuck anyone who isn’t down. Which means that Sunday night fans got to hear all of PB’s upcoming disc. It was dark, heavy, even dubby in places, and its creator stuck to his trademark ethereal coo – the sound of a thousand voices coming from one.

And yet, Noah Lennox is just one man summoning otherworldly samples from his very physical hard drive. Diehards did their best to dance and swoon and be okay to live this day without hearing “Bros.” When part of an act’s legacy is defined by an angular, crowd-subduing philosophy of nonconformist live performances, fans tend to keep their guards up.

Was I happy I got to hear the new material? Absolutely. Would I be happier if I got to dance to “Last Night at the Jetty?” Without question.