Night Beats - Scala, London, 19/9/2011

by Anthony Strutt

published: 3 / 10 / 2011

Anthony Strutt enjoys a fantastic set of traditional psychedelic garage rock from Austin, Texas-based group Night Beats in support of the Black Angels at the Scala in London

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Night Beats play a stunning thirty eight minutes set tonight. They hail from Austin, Texas, home of the Black Angels whom they are supporting. While the Black Angels are the headliners, Night Beats are equally sublime. They are a mere three piece of drums, guitar and bass and vocal. Their sound is massive, and, while these days getting to a gig on a Monday can be a real hassle for me, it was worth getting there early for this. The 13th Floor Elevators also came from Austin and Night Beats share their traditional psychedelic garage sound, but also have a huge chunk of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd magic thrown in. Their music is primitive, raw and fiery. Singer and guitarist Lee Blackwell sounds a lot like 13th Floor Elevators’ front man Roky Erickson, but would also please fans of the Kings of Leon too. They cover the Velvet Underground’s ‘I'm Not a Young Man Anymore’ and end their set with another cover of Tom Petty’s ‘Psychotic Reaction’. They are the perfect opening act for the headliners.