Amyl & the Sniffers, Beach Fossils, the Veldt, and More Reviews From Levitation’s Saturday and Sunday

Amyl & the Sniffers at Stubb's on Oct. 28 (Photo by Isabella Martinez)

From packing into the dusty Stubb’s mosh pit to rain sheltering under the big Empire tent, the Chronicle team found much to love during the final half of Levitation.

Tour pairings like Australian crew Amyl & the Sniffers and Austin rising stars Die Spitz delighted alongside Halloween disguises and a typically Texan 40-degree weekend temperature drop. Read up on our standout sets below, and revisit our Thursday and Friday festival coverage here.

Amyl & the Sniffers Prompt Mosh Pit Poetry

For the punk-averse, a full-fledged mosh circle appears meaningless – little more than a sea of flailing limbs, flying drinks, and concussion liabilities. Though, for the lucky crowd members of Aussie exports Amyl & the Sniffers’ vigorous Saturday night set, the pure poetry of the pit was palpable. Donning her trademark two-piece set and platinum shag, tornadic vocalist Amy Taylor laid down the ground rules for slam-dancing etiquette: “If anybody falls down, you help them up! Don’t touch anybody who does not want to be touched!” Her crash course quickly advanced into crashing bodies upon the first punchy power chords of “Mole (Sniff Sniff),” a nod to the boisterous quartet’s alkyl nitrites-inspired namesake. Devoid of punk pretension and with optimism to spare, Amyl & the Sniffers’ Levitation set proved life-affirming. Led through anti-capitalistic societal critiques (“Capital”) or free-spirited anthems (“Guided by Angels”) by Taylor’s whoops and oi’s, the multigenerational Stubb’s crowd relentlessly kicked and thrashed, physically at odds with one another but ultimately aligned. – Genevieve Wood

The Veldt (Photo by David Brendan Hall)

The Veldt Returns Fully Illuminated

Though part of the first wave of shoegaze, North Carolina’s the Veldt found their first album Illuminated produced by Cocteau Twins’ Robin Guthrie, but shelved by Capitol Records in 1989. Back then, being Black and not playing what was expected of you was the kiss of death for twin brothers Danny and Daniel Chavis. Despite continuing to release albums, even on majors, they struggled to regain momentum – until being sampled by Drake and hailed as a key influence on folks like the Weeknd and TV on the Radio put them on the comeback trail. Though the group’s played Levitation before, Saturday at the Far Out felt like their true coming-out party. Expanded to a sevenpiece, with four guitars and Burnt Sugar saxophonist Micah Gaugh, the Veldt enveloped the crowd in waves of jangle, shimmer, and crunch. Despite the delicacy they’ve shown on record, they were goddamn loud, which allowed singer Daniel to push his manly baritone and soulful falsetto far outside the bounds of the cooing and mumbling ‘gaze tradition. Indeed, on “Slave Ship Serenade” and “Everlasting Gobstopper” (from the upcoming, belated release of Illuminated), Daniel channeled enough passion to cut through the impressive din. Closing with an especially intense pair of new tunes, “Forever Green” and “Joy,” the Veldt brought the kind of whoops and hollers that normally accompany headline acts. Next year? – Michael Toland

Die Spitz (Photo by Isabella Martinez)

Die Spitz Bring Their Grunge Acrobatics Home

Nearly finished with their 18-stop romp across the country alongside fellow Levitation first-timers Amyl & the Sniffers, Austin-born grunge deviants Die Spitz showed no signs of fatigue at their Saturday night Stubb’s set. If physically possible, the already-rowdy quartet appeared more energized than usual by their equally eager hometown crowd, delivering their onstage acrobatics with more conviction than ever. Head-banging in a ruffled pink gown like a demented Princess Peach, vocalist/guitar-slinger Ellie Livingston unleashed her signature growl on opening scorchers “Slater” and “Kill Mr. Jones,” sending wig-clad crowd surfers flying headfirst into an open-armed crowd. Midway through the set, the band teased two excellent unreleased tracks, the second of which saw an overall-clad Chloe Andrews trade drumsticks for a feedback-twinged acoustic guitar. Paying homage to Mia Goth’s magnum opus/Gen Z favorite Pearl, Andrews adjusted her headpiece in between sweat-soaked songs: "Let me tell y'all, drumming in a wig is hard!" Wielding her bass more like a weapon, Kate Halter’s thunderous string slaps emphasized Livingston’s praise for their Texan crowd: "Austin, you treat us so fucking well. We’re so grateful to call this home!” – Genevieve Wood

The Brian Jonestown Massacre Stays on Track

Let’s face it. Ever since the documentary Dig!, anyone standing in front of the Brian Jonestown Massacre’s stage is waiting for the shoe to drop. Rightly or wrongly, the band has a reputation for messy shows with gaps to allow leader Anton Newcombe to berate the musicians, crew, sound mixer, audience, or whoever’s pissing him off at that moment. Indeed, on Saturday at the Far Out Lounge, the mercurial singer/songwriter/guitarist stopped the first song before the intro was complete to curse at someone before starting over from the top. After that, though, the eightpiece BJM performed each track (of 13) with no interruptions. The time between songs boasted some gems – “Hi-ho armageddio,” “Whoops, somebody set off their bullshit detector” (in response to a passing siren), and “less lubrication, more grit” (which deserves its own T-shirt) being favorites. But when the music started, Newcombe got down to business, leading the group through a batch of crowd-pleasers and a smattering of new tunes from latest album Your Future Is the Past. While a lack of variety encouraged a sense of repetition, when the BJM was on – particularly for dreamy “Sailor” or fan favorite single “Anemone” – they were on. – Michael Toland

Altin Gün (Photo by Isabella Martinez)

Altin Gün’s Psychedelic-ized Turkish Folk Delights

Beginning Thursday in T-shirt and shorts, crossing a full moon and another partial eclipse Saturday, the Downtown umbrella of Levitation shows ended Sunday in freezing rain, scything winds, and 30 degrees colder than the day began. Outside at Empire Garage, under the parking lot-sized tent, the full house might as well have crowded an ancient bath. Turkish/Dutch psych sextet Altin Gün whipped up a Levitation moment lived time and again throughout the event’s inclement history: Turkish delight. Plucking a universal chord Austin embraced since the millennium, from Cambodian possessions by Dengue Fever to Zambian sorcery from WITCH, folkloric traditions from around the globe psychedelic-ize well and often, and Altin Gün’s hypnotics owned the people, the moment, the town. Double drums, fat bass, dual strings snaking serpentine leads inside a second percussive layer – maracas, tambourines, percussive objects unseen – all twanged at hashish tempos for sandal-wearing crowd surfers. Tracer riffs, reggae over/undertones, and skittering upshifts pulsed for 60 minutes in the blink of an eye with a two-song encore. South by Southwest Saturday night ended in precisely such weather following Tangerine Dream – seven brief months ago. Weather fuses to music experientially, but memorably so. – Raoul Hernandez

Beach Fossils (Photo by Isabella Martinez)

Turnover and Beach Fossils Swap Decade-Built Styles

Ten years ago, when Turnover churned out high-octane emo-pop-punk and solo-project era Beach Fossils defined the sound of lo-fi-indie lethargy, a touring package bringing together the two bands would have made as little sense as the average Being Dead song. (The latter Austin weirdos rocked the house playing one of their biggest shows ever opening at Stubb’s.) Today, with both groups having since built catalogs that converge around dreamy, jangle-fied guitar pop, they seem perfectly matched. But, watching them share the same Sunday night platform revealed the opposite. If anything, Turnover and Beach Fossils have swapped their original positions. Spread across stage, lost in the jam, now it’s Turnover that brings the mellow vibes – players where they were once performers. Their latest music is a sort of psychedelic lounge-funk that’s perfect for Levitation. Unfortunately, the flat vocal affect it brought out of lead singer Austin Getz (looking like a hulked-out Travis Bickle with a shaved-sides mohawk and dark shades) makes the earlier material clearly craved by fans come off a bit undemonstrative. Beach Fossils, by contrast, had a mosh pit going by their second song, asked for repeated hell yeah’s, and brought an overwhelmingly lush sound dominated by the pummeling post-punk thwack of their snare drum. The crowd even cheered when Dustin Payseur cursed himself for forgetting song lyrics midway through. Call it the difference between “Austin thanks so much for spending time with us tonight” and “EVERY SINGLE TIME I COME TO AUSTIN DUDE IT’S THE BEST FUCKING PLACE WE PLAY, HOLY SHIT.” – Julian Towers

The crowd at Altin Gün (Photo by Isabella Martinez)