Review: Mount Eerie + Mountains

Okay, so I was looking forward to seeing Mount Eerie since this date was announced some while ago. I had actually never seen them/him live and I have to say it was about time.

Mountains started to play to a sparsely filled Festsaal Kreuzberg but during their set, more and more people showed up. I didn't know them before this show and when I saw their set up, which consisted of two analog synthesizer rack piles and two guitars, I was becoming curious. They played a quite versatile set that changed from an ambient drone beginning with looped layers of synth sounds and drifted to a more guitar oriented part that sounded very post-rock influenced, just to break that up again into cut up beats of sounds and melody pieces. I really enjoyed their set and I was of the impression that a large part of the audience did as well. Also mood wise, they prepared quite nicely for the upcoming second mountain band which everyone was eagerly awaiting.

So although I had never seen Mount Eerie live before, I knew that their live shows are nearly always totally different experiences. Phil Elverum, the main and also only constant member of Mount Eerie started the band in 2004 when he wanted to make a conceptual change from his former band the Microphones, whose last record was actually called Mount Eerie. Since then, he collaborated with quite a few musicians - for the current live set up he invited Genevieve Castrée of O Paon, Julia Chirka who also plays in No Kids and Ashley Eriksson of the band LAKE to join him. They had a rather minimalistic set up of two basses, one 12-string guitar and a drum pad and cymbal and were announced to be "touring as a singing band", which sort of describes quite nicely what they did.

Basically they played Mount Eerie songs supported by distorted bass and minimalistic electronic drums with a female choir of three. And for me their live show worked very well. What I love about Mount Eerie is that behind their frequent noisy outbursts, there's always that fragile and melancholic song hidden (if it is hidden at all). The loud and distorted parts of their set merged beautifully with Phil Elverum's soft and distinctive voice and the support of the harmonics of a three voice choir also worked really well. They all seemed a bit nervous or shy on stage and I have to say that this fact only added up to me finding them even more likeable. They did not present a perfectly polished set of bland music but a characterful rendition of beautiful songs. Also their awkwardly funny announcements and talks between songs were totally loveable.

After their set, Phil came back to play an encore just by himself and after this version of Through The Trees pt. 2 from the Clear Moon record, I was finally convinced that this evening will most likely show up on my top of the year list later on for obvious reasons... "and it's hard to describe / without seeming absurd"...

Competition: Volcano The Bear

Did you remember when I glorified Volcano The Bear's show at Monarch last year? Well, we're really happy to announce they are coming back to Berlin. In fact the show is already next week at Neukölln's NK and you should all go if you like jazzy, experimental and improvised music.

And hooray again, it's competition time. Booking agency Planet Rock drew 2x2 tickets for this show. Tell us till next Monday (20 May 2013) your favorite bear character (in the comments, on Facebook or via mail).

Hard facts: Volcano The Bear / Harmony Molina, Wednesday 22 May 2013, NK

Review: Melvins Day 2

The performing of classic albums by artists has become such a commonplace occurrence that its almost expected, if not demanded of an artist. But tonight’s Melvins show is low on nostalgia, and free of the artistic and commercial cynicism with which some bands approach their old records. A show like this can never be nostalgia free – everyone is transported back to their first encounter with an album, who they were, where they were, and what a record means to them. But throughout their 30 years of existence, the Melvins have consistently refined their sound, and their approach to playing tonight’s pair of fan favourites, Bullhead and Stoner Witch, is to reinterpret much of that material, rather than purely recreating the recordings, meaning these twenty year old songs sound modern and contemporary, placing the band light years ahead in complexity and creativity of their peers, both old and new.

Bullhead, bizarrely, was one of the first compact discs that I ever bought in 1991, and whilst that format inevitably lacked the deep tones of the vinyl edition, the clarity and space in their music opened up then for the first time.

They rattle through an exhilarating version of Its Shoved and a superbly twisted Zodiac that sees the band build layers of voices and drums, the addition of a second drummer in their current incarnation bringing much of the new energy to these old songs. The dark, heavy drone of Boris, with its unexpected, quieter but more menacing reprise, reveals how skilled they are at building atmosphere and tension, taking the audience by surprise as they end the first set.

After taking a break, the second half of the show displays more of their sense of control, and their lack of fear of those quiet moments that counter balance the moments of aural rage. They begin with Lividity, the closing track on Stoner Witch, which starts with just the constant tap of a cymbal and a slow but melodic bassline that builds in its intensity. After a few ironic shouts from the crowd, the audience falls in with the mood of the song and stays silent, rocking back and forth and Buzzo’s repeated wail of vengeance, “how does it feeeeel, redneck?”, echoes back at us in a great piece of sound design.

The faster, heavier songs like Queen, the ones that get their audience jumping around, actually tend to be shorter slabs of metal than you remember. The Melvins have always used their riffs economically but for maximum effect. Their songs aren’t improvised, extended jams - each song takes a turn when you don’t expect it, they come to a sudden halt with a juddering drum beat and then they often change tempo altogether. There can be seconds of silence and an increase in tension before release or even just dissipation.

Tonight, The Melvins turned around the familiarity that comes through playing well known material by injecting a jolt of adrenaline into these songs. Festsaal was a furnace of heat at smoke tonight, but ultimately, music this dark is life affirming (as highlighted by the band's own humour in-between songs), and its effect stays with you days later.

Review: Melvins Day 1

Ah, the year is so young and I already have a number 1 on my Best of concerts list. But to be honest I knew that already when I bought my ticket for last week's Melvins double date months ago. The minute I saw an add for the show I ordered tickets online and let me say I never do that. But this event was different and special. The mighty Melvins planned on playing 4 1/2 classic albums on two consecutive nights at Festsaal Kreuzberg. The list of records they wanted to play made me nearly cry. Lysol, Egnogg, Houdini, Bullhead, Stoner Witch. Unnecessary to say I'm a fan. A big one.

The Melvins for me, I guess, is this one band everyone has. They can do whatever they want I'll always love them. Whether they release strange noise records like Colossus Of Destiny or have a ridiculous vinyl distribution. Between all that is an unbelievable gem of timeless records and live performances.

Formed in the mid 80s, the Melvins tried from the beginning on to do their own little thing. Something between Metal and Punk. Someone would say Grunge (yikes). Members of Mudhoney and Cows played in the Melvins and even Kurt Cobain auditioned once. Over the years their sound becomes so recognizable, a guitar riff, the pounding bass or the power of Dale Crover's drumming. Since 2006 the Melvins are a four piece, the current members are King Buzzo, who plays guitar and sings, Dale Crover, and the members of Stoner/Sludge band Big Business, Jared (ex-Karp) and Coady (ex-Murder City Devils), who play bass and drums respectively.

So, Tuesday was the first of two nights, where the Melvins performed 2 1/2 albums in its entirely. Lysol (1992), Eggnog (1991) and Houdini (1993) were scheduled for this glorious night. Festsaal Kreuzberg was sold out (obviously) to an old crowd with grey hair and holey band shirts. The doors opened at 8 and punctual at 9 accompanied by a Black Sabbath intro the Melvins entered the stage.

They started with the apocaplyptic Lysol record from 1992, which has become a blueprint for every Doom / Sludge band since. Reduced to the max, slow as hell and heavy as a bulldozer. Excuse my cliché description, but it is what it is, an unbelievable punch in the face. Just only the 11 minutes opener Hung Bunny or the Alice Cooper cover version manifests the state of this record. With the impressive double drum set in the middle and surrounded by guitar and bass amps, a lava of sound overran the audience. This beast was followed by the '91 recorded EP Eggnog. After an hour and standing on the balcony of a sold out Festsaal, we didn't have a gram of air to breathe. Fortunately the Melvins needed a break too. After 15 minutes they returned to play my first Melvins record.

Houdini was recorded in 1993 and was their first on a major label. There a people out there who are saying they became weak and too poppy, but all of their 3 Atlantic records are timeless and favorite records of mine. So, beat it. Don't get me wrong, Houdini is far from a mainstream album. With the success of Nirvana (Kurt Cobain plays guitar on Sky Pup) and Grunge, Atlantic thought it was a good move to sign them. I for myself think Houdini, next to Stoner Witch, is about the closest record to getting a representative Melvins album. It captures strikingly the band's major characteristics, like their undestroyable power, vision and weirdness. Every song on it is a hit and I sang every line and played every riff on my invisible guitar this evening. Certainly everyone waited for Honey Bucket, their big video hit (?) and the mosh pit was brutal, but totally worth it. They left, one after another with a noisy fade-away version of Spread Eagle Beagle and most of the audience knew they would return the following day to celebrate their favorite band.

Competition: Zucker + Missy Mag discussion forum

Missy Magazine is once again touring the republic with a program to promote not only their magazine but the general issue of women's rights. There is going to be talks, discussions and dream dance duo Zucker will be performing live, all happening on Monday, 20 May 2013 at HAU2. 

It's competition time! Tell us by this Saturday, 18 May 2013, 10 pm, your favourite song that relates to sweet and sticky things. We choose from the entries and the winner gets two tickets to take part in this fun event. 

Keep 'em coming!

Super quick review: Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Lucky me (and Gary) for being allowed to watch the Yeah Yeah Yeahs twice in three days. Oh my! 

There is not much to say. We watched from the balcony and got to enjoy the full show and it was amazing and fantastic and the new songs are darker and great. But they played all the hits, too, of course they did. The audience went crazy, with all of Columbiahalle dancing and singing along. This was clearly their show rather than the headline performance at a festival and, unexpectedly, it did make a difference. The atmosphere was so energetic, and the band had to return twice for encores.

A post-gig hang out with friends and musicians from around the world who happened to be in town rounded this evening up perfectly. The best Monday night.