Review: Kurt Vile + Pall Jenkins

For the first time in a long while, busy J. and busy C* got to go on a date. HAU2 was our destination. Pall Jenkins was our object of desire.

It's been quiet around Pall Jenkins in recent years. Black Heart Procession, his heart-driven project since the 1990s, has not released any new music and we feared he might drift out of our lives. Not that that is possible, given how much we savour Black Heart Procession's records. I would truly and without a shadow of a doubt rate One, the first release by BHP, as one of my top five favourite records of all time. There is something about his voice and that saw he plays and the dark and mystic mood he creates that just draws me back to his music again and again.


This night at HAU2, he did not disappoint. Kurt Vile had designed his stage (or maybe it was a common effort?) to look like a living room - a couple of arm chairs, an old TV set, a standard-lamp. It was cosy and only cups of tea were missing really. The stage set was a nice touch that would set the mood for the evening.
Pall Jenkins may have been given a big chance opening up for a Kurt Vile tour. Then again, for J. and I, he was the reason for our being there, he was the star of the night. And it was oh-so worth it. Though his set was short (we counted six songs), it was intense and swooned a lot of folk, who had most likely never heard of the man. In front of me were a couple of teenagers, obviously here to see the one-and-only Mr. Vile. By the third Pall Jenkins song, they were swaying to the music and clapping emphatically in-between songs.

Mr. Jenkins has a very unique voice, which I cannot explain to you - you just have to listen. All of his songs are lyrically slightly dark but often have a positive musical note to it. There is usually a most beautiful melody, complemented by his playing the saw, an unusual trait. On this occasion, he was alternating pure acoustic guitar numbers with songs he had prerecorded and was playing on backing track while singing and playing the guitar / saw over it. All the songs were new and beautiful and I wanted this gig to never end.

When it did - and it was way too early - I took comfort in knowing that I still had an acoustic Kurt Vile show to look forward to. Last time, I saw Kurt Vile, it was with a full band and before "that album" and I was disappointed. The indie-rock thing was not the Kurt Vile I was hoping for. I do like his records, you know. So acoustic Kurt Vile sounded like heaven on earth.
Sounded like it. Was not. Though his voice was very convincing, as it could only be, the songs did not work acoustically at all. This was a surprise. They are obviously tunes written for more than one instrument and entail way too much strumming for an acoustic set. It was great being so up and close to the man, his personality was sweet and fun, the set beautiful. But musically, I was very disappointed unfortunately.

But, you know, ho hum. He will come back with band force and it will be great I am sure. And when my kids say one day "did you ever see Kurt Vile live", I can say "sure, right up close at HAU in 2014 in a living room setting".

Pall Jenkins and Kurt Vile are masters of the recorded medium. Pall Jenkins could also play in my living room every day of the week and I would not say no. This was a lovely date with J.

Quick review: Scritti Politti

Frankly, I did not know what to expect. Naively, I was sort of thinking of oldish men playing slightly slowed-down versions of songs they played in the late 70s and early 80s. I expected outdated haircuts and some form of punk / wave attitude towards the crowd, if you get my gist.

If this was a gameshow I would have just lost the jackpot. Bam! What we got was a kick-ass fantastic band consisting of members of mixed ages and a gentleman who didn't look his age at all but who you would have definitely associated with the folk genre rather than either punk, new wave, or big hair pop. No gimmicks on stage as in no fancy lighting, no projections, no nothing. Interesting.

Apart from a couple of older numbers - they actually started their set with the biggest hit - the material played mainly spanned the past decade and included quite a few songs from the rap album and a few from the reagge influenced records. As mentioned above, this band was tight and clearly enjoyed performing. It was heart-warming to watch. The crowd was middle-aged and up for it.

The best thing about the evening, really, was frontman (only permanent member and sole songwriter to be precise) Green Gartside's humour. How this man ended up as a musician and not a stand-up comedian is beyond me. I was almost waiting for the songs to end so that I could hear another of his stories (loved the one where he was given Joni Mitchell's guitar in a hotel in LA and felt compelled to use it, so wrote a song - might as well), his jokes, or just his remarks that would set the room into fits of laughter. Absolutely wonderful.

So yes, to summarise, I was slightly disappointed with the choice of songs being performed but delighted by the actual performance of them and inspired by the man Gartside - fresh, young, funny and overall likeable.

Review: Moon Duo (again) + Camera

I often take the longest over reviews of concerts that I really liked. It seems paradox but maybe it is because I want to do those reviews extra well in order to pay adequate tribute to the performance. It has been a couple of weeks again since Moon Duo played at HAU1 but I am still inspired by it.

Sure, I have praised Moon Duo before and extensively on this blog. There is a teenager in me that still has favourite bands, like Health, and like Moon Duo. What exactly attracts me to those bands is of course the music, but also the imagery and coolness factor. There - I have said it out loud. And really, it doesn't get much cooler than Moon Duo. 

So far, I have only seen Ripley Johnson's musical projects at Festsaal. Both Wooden Shjips and Moon Duo have passed through Festsaal regularly. It was therefore surprising to hear that Moon Duo had been booked into HAU, itself newly refurbished after a summer break. On that note, HAU did not look any different to me really, but I suppose it takes some real effort to keep it just the way it is, which is beautiful. I wish I could make my flat look like HAU, with its combination of dark wood panelling, Art Deco lighting and modern art. But that's a topic for an interior design blog and maybe beside the point here.

Today, make it an early night at HAU

Oh boy, I am so excited about Moon Duo and Camera later, I just can't hide it. And it's all early, so the fun can just continue with some crazy dancing somewhere in town afterwards. Make sure you have dinner at traditional German time (6pm) and make it to HAU1 at your earliest convenience if you don't want to miss both (!) bands tonight:

Timings for tonight are EARLY! and we like it that way: 

Doors 7pm
Camera 8pm 
Moon Duo 8:45pm

Meet me there, yeah yeah!!

Quick Review: Veronica Falls + Candelilla + Sizarr

Ok, this is a super high-speed review. Basically, last weekend, I went to the Queer Beat Festival, where Candelilla, Sizarr, Tubbe and Veronica Falls were playing. 

Candelilla do a female post-punk thing, obviously influenced by bands like Sleater Kinney and Erase Errata, and sing in German, as well as in English. They had been highly praised to us prior to the gig, and did live up to it. But it was all too perfect for me in some way. They were really good, but lacked some grit and originality for me. I can totally see them do well in Germany in the coming years though. So do watch out.

Sizarr may be known to some of you. Famous for electronic pop à la Phoenix, they mostly played bland indie rock live. It's totally the kind of things major labels love, so who knows, they might go some way, but it wasn't for me.

Veronica Falls did more or less the same thing they did when I saw them a few weeks ago at Roter Salon. Their current singles are really strong pieces of songwriting and have been played a lot on the radio. I was therefore surprised that the festival was poorly-attended. One would have thought, Veronica Falls alone would pull a crowd. Then again, at € 20 to get in, not everyone is prepared to spend the cash. But Veronica Falls were good, and since they will be returning to Berlin again in March (third time in four months!), there is another chance to see them if you like your twee and post-punk music.

Finally, Tubbe had only started, when I left. I thought this was going to be electro clash, innovative and with a punk element, but turned out to be your standard electro club music, for which HAU2's PA was definitely far too quiet. No thank you.

Quick review: John Maus

My friend went to see John Maus and I'm jealous. Here is what she said about the gig. 

"We arrived pretty late and therefore only got a spot at the back of the room. But we were instantly taken in by the atmosphere: The audience was nice, the sound was excellent and the minute the music started it was impossible to stand still. Everybody danced to the magic tunes of John Maus and his dark voice added that special magic to the music. When you watch John Maus you feel like you are part of a big movement. He conveys this pathos that's very intense and makes people feel that they need to get active, as individuals and as a group. Everyone feels this moment that they share together. It was the second time that I watched John Maus play and I had only gone along spontaneously but I left HAU happy that I had been able to share this experience again."

Oh brother, doesn't that make you just want to jump on a plane and go to where Mr Maus is playing tonight? It was sold out and there was no way I could have made it into the gig. It's the second time that I have missed this magic because of sold out venues and next time this magician comes to town, I shall buy my ticket well in advance. And he'll be back, I'm sure of it.