King Buffalo is a band that needs no introduction among stoner/heavy psych-rock fans. But we’ll give a bit of an introduction anyway. They’re a heavy psychedelic power trio in the classic format, with expansive and thunderous tunes. King Buffalo has become known almost as much for their incredible live shows than what they do in the studio, gaining them an international audience.
I’ve yet to see them live – though I have to one day – and one remarkable thing about King Buffalo is how much they tour. It seems as though the band has constantly been on the road for the past several years, at least since post-pandemic, when live shows could happen again. They play all the biggest underground rock festivals, and you can find them at bigger and bigger venues throughout the U.S. and Europe.
King Buffalo already has some dates lined up with REZN in January 2024, and as of this writing, they’re somewhere in New England, with stops lined up in Portland, Maine, and Providence, Rhode Island, among other locations. This band simply doesn’t seem to rest, and they live, breathe, and eat rock ‘n roll.
That’s not to mention that King Buffalo has released six excellent studio albums since its 2016 debut, including the epic pandemic-era trio of The Burden of Restlessness, Acheron, and Regenerator. My favorite King Buffalo album is 2020’s Dead Star, which features the devastating stoner rocker “Red Star, Pt. 1 & 2.” Simply put: if you’re a stoner rock fan, you know all about King Buffalo. If you’re new to the scene, this is one of the first bands you must listen to.
All this brings me to the point of this post: King Buffalo has released their live performance at Burning Man 2022 on Bandcamp. I didn’t know they had played Burning Man, likely because I don’t know much about Burning Man at all to be honest and don’t follow it too closely. The band released the live recording on November 23rd and a YouTube link to the concert film.
The recording isn’t available on Spotify, so you can likely only get it on Bandcamp. What’s also really cool is they made it available at Name Your Price. It’s a digital-only release, but I wonder if they’ll ever release it on vinyl or other physical media.
The performance was recorded at Opulent Temple, Black Rock City, on September 30, 2022, and the audio is by Grant Husselman. The concert film is directed and edited by Sam Grant. King Buffalo’s Burning Man set consists of eleven tracks, though one track is about a minute of vocalist/guitarist Sean McVay thanking the crowd and stating his awe of playing Burning Man.
“Man, I don’t really know what to say. This is fucking amazing,” McVay says. “We’re King Buffalo from Rochester, New York; we’re here fucking playing Opulent Temple at Burning Man.”
After the humble McVay thanks the crowd, the band launches into two more songs – “Loam” and “Cerebus.” The highlights of the recording for me are the rendition of “Longing to Be the Mountain,” the title track off their sophomore album, and my aforementioned favorite, “Red Star Pt. 1 & 2.”
Both of these songs were the highlights to me because of all King Buffalo’s work, I tend to like their longer-form epic tracks. Along those lines, other epic longer songs they performed at Burning Man include “Cerebus,” “Repeater,” and “Shadows.” “Longing to Be the Mountain” starts slowly with ominous synth tones before the guitar kicks in and blasts us into space. I’m sure those who witnessed this track live at Burning Man were just as entranced as I was.
I won’t go into much detail about each song in the set except to say that loyal King Buffalo fans will want to own a digital copy of this recording (if they haven’t purchased it already). Newer fans should also enjoy it, and if any band deserves a slot at Burning Man, it’s the mighty King Buffalo. They’re one of the hardest-working bands in the heavy underground, and their legend continues to grow every day, week, month, and performance on their never-ending tour.
Check out the concert film of the performance below:
Check out King Buffalo’s Live at Burning Man on Bandcamp here.
Support King Buffalo by finding them on Bandcamp or their official site.
Support The Third Eye on Patreon.
Sign up for email updates from The Third Eye below:
Leave a Reply