I saw The Black Angels and Darker My Love bear witness during the South By Southwest Music and Film Interactive Conference in the seat of Travis County Texas, Austin, during their evening performance at the Relix Magazine Party on The Galaxy Room Patio. By all accounts, the final night of SXSW was fucking cold. I didn’t know Austin got cold. So, of course, I elect to end my evening with a show that was outdoors. No matter, though, Galaxy Room is a comfy spot, and I was in it to win it.

Hey, it’s a Pitchfork-quality super blurry photo!

I loved Darker My Love’s first self-titled record. Packed with classic stoner metal and mod punk, it was a definitive collection of psych rock anthems spanning three decades. I had not heard a lot of what they’d been up to since that 2006 debut, so I figured catching a little of their set before The Black Angels was a good call. It was not a good call. Darker My Love has seemingly transformed from supreme acid rock into more of an alt-country/power pop singalong. I mean, The Byrds did the same thing I suppose, but they pulled that off better. That’s not to say it was bad – the band maintained great energy. It just wasn’t my bag. Hearing “Summer is Here” was rad. Ironic that it was well below freezing. Oh well. Vocalist Tim Presley’s new solo project, White Fences, is fucking great, though.

Due to sound troubles, The Black Angels didn’t get started until 1:30 a.m. or so. And that was to be expected, The Black Angels have a lot of gear. Big 8 x 12 cabs, vintage organs, multiple guitar racks, and I think I counted something to the tune of 23 – 25 effects pedals amongst the guys. Also, as expected, they were powerful and awe-inspiring live, especially playing on their home turf. And the home turf rolled through quite hard. As a matter of fact, I had no idea how rabid the local support was for The Black Angels. I learned quickly when, two songs in, the band started the first bar of “Black Grease” and there was a rush to the front. And then, shit you not, slam dancing. And it wasn’t just a small minority – there was a large faction of the inner crowd that was slam dancing… to, umm, mid-tempo psychedelic rock. I guess that’s one way to Keep Austin Weird.