Quick review: The KVB

King Kong Klub - new territory to me. I have somehow never ended up there, in all my years as a live music nerd in Berlin. I am not quite sure what I expected, I suppose more of a classic club and less of a shopfront turned bar. Not that it matters. Although, it does. Because of noise complaints from neighbours, KKK now has to apply muffling on all live music, provoking "Louder!" shouts from the audience during the set. The atmosphere at KKK is a little lo-fi White Trash, though I have been informed that KKK existed before White Trash. Red walls, Chinese decorations, kitch prints, a plastic palm tree. 

I can see garage punk really work there actually. Or some singer-songwriter material. As it stood, it was possibly the wrong setting for The KVB, a young girl-boy duo from England that engage in the current wave of hip dark wave meets psychedelic music played with guitar, drum machine and keyboards. It's the kind of music which requires a dark setting and a loud output to draw in the audience. But the audience was chatting away, the lighting fairly bright and the bar in full swing. The KVB seemed to provide the background sound but didn't manage to make it quite to the main attraction.

The group are not to blame in my eyes. The music is well-written, even if the energy is lacking a little in their live performance. They appeal to the same crowd like Moon Duo but I suppose they are 15 years the Americans' junior and don't have an extensive record collection or Wooden Shjips career under their belts. But I see great things coming for this young two-piece and their well-crafted songs.

The evening turned out to be more of a "hang out in a bar with mates" and less of a revealing musical experience. For this Friday night that was OK. Next time The KVB return to town I shall venture out again and give them another try in another setting. I have a feeling it will be swell.