Day Three of Levitation Festival had the most crowd interaction, the performers kept us on our toes as they dissolved the boundary between fan and artist.
A Place to Bury Strangers
Since 2007, APTBS have released seven studio albums including their most recent, Synthesizer. Their beats and bass lines make it easy for your feet to move before your brain can overthink. The show felt out-of-body, like walking into a dream. Midway through the set, the band uplifted their stage and continued the show from the middle of the crowd. It was shocking to see the band stand inches away all of a sudden.
Once back on stage, frontman Oliver Ackerman flailed his guitar around, truly adding to the distortion and noise they chased. He even swung around a stage light which illuminated drummer Sandra Fedowitz each time it passed her face, like headlights on a roundabout. I can still feel myself comfortably lost in their crowd.
Upchuck
Atlanta punk band Upchuck recently released their album, I’m Nice Now, which has all the charm of their skate park beginnings with just enough refinement to emphasize their dedication to the sound. Upchuck reinvents punk and laughs at fake borders while blending latin and psych elements into their sound. Sunday, Upchuck had a swarm of listeners packed in tight to listen to band leader KT Thompson sing like she was reciting gospel. The sharp boxes of her outfit complimented the softness in her smile. She and Chris Salado took turns on the mic, bouncing between english and spanish.
“Forgotten Token” had to be my favorite to hear live, I could feel all her justified anger. She moved to the middle of the crowd, commanding the mosh pit to spin, and as the crowd began to boil, she gently took them off the heat just in time. They ended the set with their self-titled single to wrap it all up as the dust began to fall down.
Frankie and the Witch Fingers
Frankie and The Witch fingers dropped Trash Classic this past June, giving them new ammo to continue their Live At Levitation legacy. “WHAT’S UP WEIRDOS?” screamed frontman Dylan Sizemore as he ran right into “T.V. Baby”, the second song off their new album. My eyes went wide and I felt a wave of comfort wash over me when they began “Conducting Experiments”.
I’d listened to the song so many times in my headphones that hearing it live felt like meeting an online friend in person for the first time, familiar but new. My neck was sore from thrashing around, but now everytime I listen to Trash Classic, I get to imagine Dylan Sizemore singing inches away from my face and Pickle’s expression as she threw her bass pick into the crowd after the show.
Pavement
Pavement closed out the festival on the third day to a massive crowd of die-hards. I looked back at one point to realize I had become a drop in the sea. Built to Spill performed right before Pavement and the ven diagram of people seeing both was a single circle. As soon as Pavement began, the guy next to me jolted up like something had hit him. He sang every lyric and jumped around to each song. I imagined him as a teenager, thrashing around in his 1994 room.
There were several songs that begged to be sung in unison like “Range Life” and “Date with Ikea” (which they sang in honor of Built To Spill). After the show, the stage crew decided the fate of the setlist. “Here, I like your glasses, you win,” heard the girl beside me. She was so overjoyed that she took a victory lap, skipping with all the joy in the world in the palm of her hands.
Levitation’s first time being hosted at Palmer Events Center was a success and multiple bands acknowledged their appreciation for the new space. I’m honestly still electrified from the festival and have already found myself so nostalgic for the weekend.
I am a student at Texas State studying Digital Media and Psychology. I am always carrying my camera with me, it feels like my true voice. Some of my favorite artists are Courtney Barnett, Tainy, Frank Ocean, Art Lown, Fleshwater, Turnover, SZA and Wynton Kelly. Central Texas always has talented people passing through and I try to catch as many shows I can. I really love fashion, part of the fun of going to a concert is seeing what the artists wear on stage and everyone's outfits in the crowd. I tend to use musical elements in my fashion photography, the two are so intertwined to me. I also love to read and run, but not always at the same time.
