Gustav Ejstes is the man behind Dungen. Until seeing Dungen play on Saturday at the Troubadour, I could never place exactly where this music came from. It’s been referred to as Swedish-Psych-Rock and “folkrockpsych”, it incorporates elements of jamband music, beats, brazilian, and just about everything else you could throw in. So it was nice to actually put some faces to this music. And to know that even though one guy might be behind all of it, it would be hard to replace the quality of musicians he has backing him right now.
We arrived early to shoot Lords of Altamont. The lead singer used to be in The Bomboras and I wasn’t sure if a friend from Long Beach, Max, was still playing with them (he wasn’t). With some great lighting, and a ferocious drive they belted through their own brand of black-clad garage rock classics. When anyone got in their way they shot them down instantly with offerings of feet going where they don’t belong. Ice Cream Crew were diggin it even if a large part of the crowd thought they were too cool to rock out.
Mia Doi Todd stepped up next. Exactly who would book an insanely loud rock band before a timid female singer-songwriter was the question most people were asking. Especially with a psych rock band playing afterward. She started off with “Summertime” then strummed her guitar along through a relatively unchanged pace or style. It was one of those shows where you wish the venue could instantly change to a cabaret for a set so you could sit down, have a cocktail, and enjoy the music in a more fitting environment.
Upon reentering the Troub we realized that the show had finally sold out. There was no train to follow to the other side so we had to make our own path. At this point, I don’t think anyone in the crowd could have picked any of the Dungen guys out of a line up. I also had a feeling that a large portion of the crowd probably hadn’t even heard the band yet. The official US release on Kemado doesn’t come out til August 2nd. At this point it’s worth waiting cuz you’ll find get 5 bonus tracks on the new release. Check the Kemado homepage to listen to “Panda”.
Singing in Swedish might have thrown people off a bit too. The band was dead on and tight as could be. Hitting the breaks with precision and spacing out just enough to let people know they weren’t going to be easily categorized. Highlights for the show included the grinding guitar on “Panda” and the giddy “Festival”. When Gustav headed over to the piano to sing the title track, “Ta Tet Lugnt” it felt like a beautiful flashback to a time I’m not sure ever existed. Is there a Haight Ashbury district in Sweden? The set was relatively short but you could tell this was a band that could rock for hours and never lose their unique edge.
The next day, I had to be at the Wonka Factory around three o’clock to set up for the party. That didn’t stop me from catching a good chunk of the Dungen instore at Fingerprint’s in Long Beach. They went on just after one and thanks to Mike and Scott I was able to get the enormous cooler into the van. Right after that I grabbed some pizza and headed in. Yes folks, once again Dungen was AMAZING! It’s hard to imagine such an electric band pulling off a full band acoustic session. The versions didn’t even sound the same. Different tempos and vocal stylings change them entirely. I was getting my groove on the “Festival” again then had to boogie out the door to get to the chocolate factory. Lucky crew member Jeremiah is flying out to New York this weekend to shoot Dungen again at the Siren Festival. Can’t wait to hear about the adventure.
