Thursday 22 November 2012

Quick review: Wild Nothing + Grey Television

I successfully gig hopped again the other night, going to see Wild Nothing at White Trash before heading to Festsaal for Zombie Zombie. This seems to become a regular occurence in my life. This town can really kill you.

White Trash was packed, I mean absolutely rammed. It may have been the fullest I have seen it for a gig. There is clearly a buzz surrounding Wild Nothing, and as I have previously mentioned, I believe it's deserved. 

But first things first: Grey Television, locals to Berlins with an ambition, played a full set of Notwist and Radiohead inspired music, accompanied by seaside projections. It was a very relaxing affair, which got the audience excited and at ease at the same time. During the crescendos of some of their songs, it did get a little close to melodramatic bands like Coldplay for me. However, this makes them more commercially digestible and might just work in their favour. It is interesting to see where they will head with this.

Note to DJ: AC/DC absolutely rocks but an entire album is not the appropriate soundtrack for a packed Wild Nothing gig. 

Wild Nothing, a name so often mentioned in music nerd circles, is actually a relatively young man, who looks like your typical college lecture attendant. You would never guess that this young gentleman writes the most encompassing pop songs, heavily influenced by independent wave music of the 80s and indie pop music of the 90s. Every song is instantly recognisable yet not boring and draws you in. The record has been a firm favourite of mine of over a year now - I just cannot get enough of it. Live, a band in tow, it sounded exactly like the record but maybe lacked energy a little. I attribute this to a packed White Trash, which is the perfect setting for Wavves or Thee Oh Sees but definitely struggled to paint the adequate setting for dream pop à la Wild Nothing. Still, I really enjoyed his voice, as I always do. 

I made my exit early to get to Festsaal, just in time for Zombie Zombie...

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