NIK: Roadburn festival

[Jon Jarrett]

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005, Henderson Keith wrote:

> Lineup...see roadburn.com for more details.
> NIK TURNER'S SPACE RITUAL
> BRANT BJORK & THE BROS
> ASTROSONIQ
> LITMUS
> ELECTRIC WIZARD
> SUNN 0)))
> ALABAMA THUNDERPUSSY
> HULK
> GORILLA
> JOSIAH
> [2 more bands to be confirmed]

        Urk. I think I'm going to need a passport. I've no idea what Brant
Bjork's current project is like (it's *not* like Kyuss, I'll guess from
the last album he did under the moniker of Brant Bjork and The Operators),
Josiah are, well, underwhelming,[1] and Electric Wizard are apparently not
the same thing at all since the rhythm section changed but Nik's lot are
always at least entertaining, I've been meaning to see Sunn 0))) for a
long time (is this outdoors? Can't see how that would work at all but I'd
give it a go) and Litmus and Gorilla will both kick arse
automatically. And I only know one Astrosoniq track but it's great and
they seem to have a sense of humour. Also good to see the space scene and
the stoner one meeting so readily, that's been needing to happen for a
long long time. If this festival's name is derived from the old (and
possibly revenant?) webzine of the same name that would explain this, they
always had a rather broader church of stoner than their US counterparts,
good to see they can put something like this together. I shall make plans
if I can. Thanks for the extra details Keith! Yours,
                                                      Jon

[1] Richard Allen running a `heavy' label worries me. This is a man who
once told me he preferred Grand Funk Railroad to Blue Öyster Cult, which
does not I feel bode well for interesting and individual bands. I saw
Josiah back in 2001 and then again just before Christmas just gone and
they're not really very lively. Gorilla are a whole different thing,
completely over-the-top overdriven 60s-style stoner, ranging from MC5 to
Blue Cheer but combing all their excess and clichés and a whole lot more.


--
                Jonathan Jarrett, Birkbeck College, London
    jjarrett at chiark.greenend.org.uk/ejarr01 at students.bbk.ac.uk
  "As much as the vision of the blind man improves with the rising sun,
       So too does the intelligence of the fool after good advice."
       (Bishop Theodulf of Orleans, late-eight/early-ninth century)