I attended Psyched! Fest 2023 show at the Knockout on October 27th, one of multiple shows sponsored by Psyched! Radio SF. This was the sixth show in their series of shows in San Francisco. This was the smallest of all the shows, showcasing bands in a smaller and more intimate venue, where they could interact with the crowd in all their Halloween costumes. There was a DJ set by 13 Angels, playing some good standards like The Smiths and others, to set the mood of the show in between sets, “spinning melodic enchantments that will transport you to otherworldly dimensions,” but it’s also hard to hear the DJ at the Knockout sometimes.
The band Wife started off the night, a local SF band. Composed of all women, these punks felt right at home at the Knockout. The lead singer screamed primal screams in the microphone, and the drums had an old-school punk vibe going in different directions with each chorus to verse change. I liked their “not giving a shit attitude,” and it warmed up the audience really nice for the acts to follow. The lead singer was covered in gold paint, perhaps for this Halloween show, and I heard she fell ill backstage due to an allergic reaction to all the paint? This is a punk band with Prog rock problems. Peter Gabriel would very much understand.
The Grizzled Mighty from Seattle hit the stage next, a solid three piece. A three piece is great on stage, every one of the band members has plenty of sonic space and leg room to jump around, and they took advantage of that aspect. The bass was loud and fuzzy, with the bass player getting down on her knees and rocking out like a true rock star. Photographers were rushing up to the band taking photos, almost inches in front of their faces with flash bulbs. It seemed kind of brazen on their part, but I later heard they were friends with the band and really wanted to get some closeups of the band playing. The knockout is such a small stage though, with two photographers right in front the whole time, and it seemed like more of a photo session than a show, but the band played well. There was some serious shredding on guitar, and I would love to check out some of their studio work to see how it compares to the band’s live set. They all seemed very comfortable onstage with great presence. I have a feeling a lot of these bands are used to playing bigger venues.
Daydream Twins, from Austin Texas came on next. This five piece came on next, and I’m not sure if they were in costume or in their normal stage attire. There was no talking to the audience or even eye contact for that matter, which is a hard thing to accomplish at such a small venue. They had a great traditional shoegaze wall of sound and really nice ethereal feminine vocals that rested nicely on top of the music on a cloud. There was no light show at this performance, even though there was a visual artist who was supposed to be on the bill, and I feel it would have really made up for the band’s lack of energy. I love music like this, but it seemed out of place with the other bands, where the energy was much higher with everyone jumping around. The crowd practically came to a complete stand still with “Ladies and Gentlemen Floating in Space.” Perhaps this band could have gone on earlier in the evening while everyone was still getting warmed up. A five band bill is kind of tight sometimes with lots of equipment and turnover, but everyone seemed to pull it off.
Annabelle Chairlegs drove into town also straight from Austin, Texas. They literally drove right in and walked on the stage an hour or so later after driving over the Bay Bridge. Now that is dedication! Another three piece band, you could really hear the distinct musicianship brought to the table from each member. They fell into some nice grooves, and the audience was really liking it. The drummer in particular was outstanding, like he could play drums in his sleep. After each song, he would stand up from the drum set, almost saying, “The song is over!” It was cool to see so many bands in town from various places to play in San Francisco. You could tell they were all really into it, and giving it their all. The sound is not the best at the Knockout, and all bands sound punk anyway by default. Some bands can lean into it better than others, and this band sure did. If you can sound good at The Knockout, you can sound good anywhere in my opinion.
Reckling, a 4-piece from Los Angeles finished off the show. They had some good medium-paced songs, and then all of the sudden they played more songs with more of a hardcore punk beat. Out of nowhere, a huge mosh pit erupted, with people in costumes jumping around: Devils, Witches, and a crowd of surfers wearing tin foil hats. Everyone was standing next to each other, and all of the sudden everyone was pushing and jumping around, like going from 0 – 100 mph in about 10 seconds. The social aspect of a mosh pit is kind of fascinating. One minute the audience is staring at the stage, not really acknowledging the other audience members, and the next minute, some young man dressed in a sailor outfit got just completely checked twice into the wooden bar by the stage, with an audible loud thud heard over the already loud music. He stood up and completely shook it off like no big deal. The lead singer was wearing Devil horns at this point with her outfit. The band played real tight, and everyone always goes “all out” when you know there are only a few songs left before last call. I wasn’t expecting to see a mix of Rock, Shoegaze, and punk bands, I thought this was a psych rock show, but then again, the word “psych” is really used loosely nowadays. I wouldn’t say there was anything in any way psychedelic about this concert, but I like all those other genres enough, so it was a good time overall. There are also $3 beers at The Knockout, and I’m not sure you can get a beer any cheaper at any show in this city. The streets outside in Bernal Heights are kind of wild late at night, as the bands and audience all smoke and talk after the show. I like that comradely that you don’t get at shows with a backstage area where you can’t say, “Good show” to the band members after they play. Also, if a band is going to play a show, you have to stay for the whole show and see your fellow peers play. I saw two bands loading out their gear through the audience during the sets of the other bands, and I’ve always found that kind of thinking kind of amateur. If you play a show, you have to stay to load out at the end of the show! Other than that, there was a nice meeting of the minds at this event, and there will always be bands touring and playing music no matter how little money there is to be made in the music business anymore. People just like playing music live, looking cool on stage, and people will always like going to shows to see that.
If you think SF is dead musically, or not what it used to be, you are not looking in the right places, or perhaps you are just getting old, wanting to stay in and not have to “go all the way out to a show!” Ha. I very much look forward to future events put on by Psyched! Radio SF. They went hard with this festival doing many events back to back, and the bigger shows in the series at bigger venues also had great artists and good attendance. I like how they play new bands like this on their radio show as well, where you can hear and be introduced to all these new musical artists.
