I'm not sure whether it's the weather, this being the first weekend of the Christmas markets or the draw of the undercard; but Gorilla is absolutely heaving from the get-go. Reopen after a nine-month hiatus for urgent renovation work, there are people spilling out all every orifices of the venue from the moment the doors swing open. There is certainly anticipation in the air and it becomes very clear that this is not just for the headline act.

Openers Steak hail from London but their musical template is exclusively from across the Atlantic. They trade in a dry and sophisticated form of Stoner rock. Their sound recalls barren horizons and scorched deserts. As each blues-drenched riff hurtles forward you can taste the desolate dust in your mouth. 

They do not stray from the Stoner Rock primer but the music they do produce is rendered well and immaculately constructed. The lead guitarist Reece Tee is one of the founding fathers of the juggernaut that is Desertfest. It is therefore not particularly surprising that his exquisite guitar work screams desert rock in all its varied varieties.

The audience are rapt from the first note to the last and it is obvious that Gorilla has been pumped full of a connoisseur Stoner rock audience that is more than happy to stand back and just let the lethargic riffs roll over them. A mature and articulate set with just the right balance of passion and laid-back detachment.

It becomes abundantly clear that one of the reasons why the venue is so full so early on is that there is an almighty buzz about Slomosa. Steak take particular pains to call out their brilliance earlier on and the reaction that greets them is on par with what would be rolled out for a headline act. Whilst it is still firmly in the Stoner Rock fraternity, they have a much fuller and more euphoric sound than that belched forward by Steak. For me, their musical touchstones stretch well beyond the boundaries of desert rock and out into the Urban sprawls occupied by Sonic Youth and The Pixies.

The Laid-back ambiance has been replaced by rhythmic urgency. The riffs ushered forth by Benjamin Berdous and Tor Erik Bye are wrought with primal blues, but Marie Moe’s bass has a warmth to it that could almost be described as pop sensibilities. Recent single ‘Cabin Fever’ certainly bodes of a subtle shift in direction away from gnarly guitars and towards something that is lighter in tone.

It is those melodic interludes that make their sound so enticing. There is a spontaneous groove at play that is usually devoid within this genre. Hailing from Bergen up there in the frozen north, they describe themselves as desert rock from a cold country, and that sums it up beautifully. There is a lightness of touch to the songwriting that makes even the most angular of riffs feel buoyant and optimistic.

They certainly live up to the crowd's expectation and the now ecstatic throng bounces away to their heart's content. Closing number ‘Horses’ sees Benjamin and Tor duel away with the former on bended knee thrusting his instrument towards his adversary. A stunningly mature performance that promises much much more to come.

As befitting an American band based in Berlin, Elder do Stoner rock in a very Eurocentric way. Theirs is a nexus between organic southern rock and ornate elaborate prog. Everything sprawls. By my count, we get eight tracks (give or take) all of which clock in at well over the eight-minute mark. Their tracks certainly have legroom, allowing each member's individual musical contributions to flourish and to be showcased.

There are vocals but they are purposely low down in the mix so as not to deter from the rich textures of instrumentation. Even for those, like myself, who are familiar with their material, the amount of improvisation at play gives the whole thing the impression of an elongated jam session. Within tracks like ‘Lore’ and ‘Embers’, there are passages that head into The Allman Brothers Band territory, the air thick with swirling organ-driven country-tinged blues. However, ‘Merged in Dreams - Ne Plus Ultra’ takes us in a completely different direction, recalling the psychedelic meanderings of the embryonic Pink Floyd.

All the way through the set they expertly traverse that boundary between emotive prog and emotionally detached country. Everything feels highly charged and laced with continental passion. An art form that can usually feel rather removed and remote, is instead bathed in crescendoing emotion. It is also one of those shows that just races by and the groans are audioable when Nick DiSalvo announces that there are only two songs left. Though with the length of their ditties that still means another twenty minutes worth of music.

Elder are too emotionally literate to be full on Stoners, but they possess too much of country’s stringent simplicity to be full on prog. Instead, they have found a glorious inversion of both musical types that wraps wanton musicality with a desire to be experimental envelope pushers. Basically, this is sumptuous freeform blues with enough self-awareness not to become overindulgent and pompous. A masterclass in how to build cathedrals of sound that retain a real-life grounding.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Elder, Slomosa, Steak