Day three proved eventful. The Amyl and the Sniffers gig made the entire trip worth it, and the conversation we had with them beforehand ranks among the most hilarious interviews we’ve ever conducted. The Black Angels killed it; and we finally squashed our beef with Anton Newcombe. Stay tuned for more. —Jackson Todd

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The Black Angels

For a band that takes their name from a Velvet Underground song, the Black Angels are about as sonically distant from Lou and co. as any of their 21st century psych rock contemporaries. That being said, their cover of the Velvet’s “Sister Ray” - featuring the entire Brian Jonestown Massacre on backup duties, obscured beyond recognition by an arsenal of fuzz boxes - was a festival highlight for me. This is a band that places as much importance on acknowledging the past as they do the future, pairing vintage jangle-pop guitars with space-age effects and analog synthesizers, while meanwhile, drummer Stephanie Bailey invokes the spirit of White Light/White Heat-era Moe Tucker.

Amyl and the Sniffers

I recently listened to a podcast with Billy Corgan in which he casually dubbed Amy Taylor of Amyl and the Sniffers “the next Iggy Pop,” which, not knowing much about the band, kind of sounded like bullshit to me. But the hype is real: Amyl and the Sniffers are one of the best live bands we’ve seen in recent memory. No matter that the venue botched the house mix about halfway through, rendering the guitar inaudible; the entire crowd remained in motion, from the stage railing all the way to the outhouses.

Pelican

I left post-metal Pelican’s show at Empire Garage with more questions than actual notes about the band. Who are these guys? Where are they from? What is this kind of music called? Their instagram bio provided little help: “post-everything since 2000.” Regardless, the show ripped. For fans of bands like Unwound, the Melvins, and Karate, listen to their latest release here.