Saturday’s Lost in Space festival was by all measures a great success and organizers Meghan Hendley and Marcus Gausepohl should give themselves a pat on the back. What’s interesting is that a lot of people looked at this as a space rock / psych festival but, once you looked at the diverse bill, you quickly realized it had less to do with fitting any stringent genre requirements and more to do with just celebrating some of the Meghan and Marcus’ favorite regional bands.

“Some of the artists playing aren't doing anything typical of those general musical genres which is why I asked them to play," Gausepohl says. "I think Ghost Mountain and B L A C K I E are totally rad and interesting, so why not have them play with Slow Motion Rider and Weird Weeds. One of the main reasons I wanted to put on Lost In Space is to cross-pollinate progressive musicians and their communities. Some of the best shows and collaborations come from artists that are diverse but have a similar drive for expanding themselves. I mean DALEK did a record with FAUST and collaborated with My Education!

"I never meant for the festival to be defined as a PSYCHEDELIC music festival. I think I would need way more lights, lasers, fog machines, and Hawkwind sounding bands. As the festival started to come together, people gave it their own descriptions.“

The resulting festival never seemed redundant and the artists' differences complemented each other. Consider my four hours at the festival. I went upstairs to hear the shoegaze jangle of Forests hover over the clear cold night as the city lights shone behind them. Then it was downstairs for Defending the Kingdom, chimpy loud metal with big knuckle-scraping drums and vocal-chord shredding grunts and screams. This was followed by what I felt was the best set I saw that night: the Austin/Houston based Weird Weeds. While I love Sandy Ewen’s work as a guitarist, I must admit I know a few people who are very put off by her solo work, but the show was so engaging that I made it a point to call up one of those naysayers after the show and demanded that they make a point of listening to Ewen in the context of Weird Weeds next time they are in town. Mind you, Ewen’s guitar work is no less challenging here but the band’s sharp sense of rhythm, playful interaction, excellent musicianship, and melodic wit make it a completely different experience.

The acrobatic Weird Weeds made for a nice contrast to the rousing set by Austin’s My Education whose approach was a much a more introspective one. My Education starts with a simple melody, circles the wagons around it, and builds to a massive crescendo.

The last two sets I saw were from bands that included organizers Hendley (Solanae) and Gausepohl (Golden Cities). What was particularly surprising about these sets is how Meghan’s departure from Golden Cities worked out so well for all involved. Golden Cities seemed more powerful with the addition of a second percussionist and by focusing on the guitars and the drums - easily the best set I’ve ever seen from the band. Then when Meghan followed piloting Solanae, she shined more than she ever did in Golden Cities by putting her vocals and keyboards front and center.

I wish I could have stuck around for the rest of the bands but even with an early departure I could look around at the musicians, friends, and fans and recognize that Houston needs more nights of music that are diverse, surprising, challenging, engaging, and joyful. So here’s to Lost In Space and my sincere hope that this will not be the last.

The Psychedelic Pilgrim spinning some excellent wax!

Forests played against a chilly skyline.

Defending The Kingdom rocks the F%$@ out of Khon's!

Weird Weeds, in my opinion, put on the best set of the night .

My Education building to another epic crescendo.

Golden Cities now with twice the percussive power.

Lost In Space fans lost in Golden Cities' set.

Megahn Hendley takes the helm of Solanae.