I found myself in the heart of horse country this weekend for Boomslang, the three-day experimental arts & musical festival in – of all places – Lexington, Kentucky.  I’ve already expressed my bewilderment and (pleasant) surprise that the city is hosting a pretty monumental lineup of experimental rock bands, but let me revisit one more time.  Mission of Burma, Faust, and Os Mutantes?! All three bands are legends in their own respect, and Os Mutantes is especially epic, considering the Brazilian psychedelic legends recently released their first album in 35 years.

When I reached Buster’s somewhat late Friday night, I was relieved to discover the first band was still setting up, so I hadn’t missed Atlas Sound‘s set.  Apparently, Faust’s three hour long sound check set the show behind over an hour, according to You Ain’t No Picasso.

Bradford Cox of Atlas Sound first took the stage to personally introduce electronic artist Casino vs. Japan, aka Erik Kowalksi.  Cox, who said he had waited 10 years to see Kowalksi play, ended his introduction by asking the audience to take it outside if they wanted to talk during the set.

While I enjoyed the serene ambience, Casino vs. Japan seemed too chill to watch onstage.  The crowd stood motionless as Kowalski quietly turned knobs on a mixer as he strummed a guitar (Cox later commented on the crowd’s reservation: “I can’t read you guys at all. You’re like a f***ing 1987 issue of ‘The Economist.’ ”). The show didn’t pick up until the Deerhunter frontman joined the stage a couple of songs in.   What started off as a jam session turned into a full collaboration between Cox and Kowalski.  Kowalksi eventually took a backseat as backup on electric guitar, with Cox on vocals and acoustic.  After a few songs, Kowalski quietly left the stage as the show transitioned into Atlas Sound‘s solo set.

While Cox’s set was highlighted by a stripped down version of “Sheila” and an acoustic version of “Logos”, it was obvious the artist was mildly frustrated with the crowd.  Between songs, Cox would repeatedly ask the crowd to stop talking during his set.

“Phil Elverum [of The Microphones] would not like you guys,” he said as he tuned his guitar, referring to Elverum’s intolerance to talking during his sets.  ”Phil Elverum would beat the sh** out of you.”

Mission of Burma took the stage next.  The band had taken a 20 year hiatus and only recently reformed in 2002, so like most of the crowd, I had no idea what I was in for.  As soon as Roger Miller hit the first chord, though, I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed.  Each song was saturated with explosive, fuzzed out guitar, gritty riffs and growling testosterone-charged choruses,  affirming to a new generation why they’re still ground breakers in post-punk.

I’m going to briefly interrupt the review for a rant on audience etiquette.  While Mission of Burma’s show had to be one of the best shows I’ve seen all year,  it could have been so much better without the ridiculously drunk dudes.  Don’t get me wrong;  loud, aggressive drunks are the cornerstone of punk rock, and you’ll most always find me beer in hand at almost any show.  But come on, bro: waving a tall boy during “Class War” is not the same as pumping your fist, and it’s spilling PBR all over everyone.  And elbowing people as you high five your friends every 30 seconds is not justified because you “F***ING LOVE THIS SONG!” We get it.  You like Mission of Burma…a lot. But maybe it’s time to cut yourself off when you can barely throw the metal horns because you’re so wasted.

Drunk antics aside, there was no denying Mission of Burma was amazing.  Even after 30 years, it was still jarring, straightforward…and really, really good.  By the end of the set, I was exhausted.  I opted to miss Faust so I could rest up for Saturday, because there was no way I was missing The Black Angels. (Look for Saturday’s review soon).