Preview: the week ahead (19th - 25th Mar)

So there is this nice spring weather topic. I'm not going into detail on that. There are also some pretty cool concerts to be visited this week. So I'm just going a little bit more into detail on these:

Tuesday
Rocky Votolato at Magnet Club: I didn't even know that Rocky Votolato is still around. You know, the guy from Waxwing. I always considered him one of the better indie singer songwriter guys. I have no idea if I'd like his newer stuff, but I think this could end in a nice Tuesday evening concert at a shitty club.

Okkyung Lee at bei Roy: this could be something if you're into experimental/free jazz music. Okkyung Lee is a cellist living in New York. She plays a solo performance this evening and in addition a second set together with three other musicians (further info here). Okkyung Lee has performed with a variety of other notable artists, so if you're into John Zorn, Thurston Moore, Carla Bozulich (Evangelista), Chris Corsano... well just check this out, it's gonna be good!

Thursday
Child Abuse and Staer at Schokoladen: As I just experienced, searching for "Child Abuse" on Google doesn't get you that far when you're looking for that band. It also feels a bit weird to like Child Abuse on Facebook. But whatever, they're not only worth a "like" but certainly also a visit to luckily ongoing Schokoladen this Thursday. Child Abuse play pretty chaotic and noisy hardcore. Think of an experimental grindcore band between the Locust and Aids Wolf. As usual: remember to be on time, it's an early show!

Sunday
Prinzhorn Dance School at Berghain Kantine: This will certainly be good! Prinzhorn Dance School is a duo from England play dancy minimalistic post punk. Think of a mix between Antelope and The Fall and you maybe won't be that close but probably in the mood to get yourself to the Berghain Kantine.

Father Murphy at bei Roy: If you missed Father Murphy's last concert couple of weeks ago, this is your second chance in a way better and suitable location than before. Father Murphy play some rather weird but also great music. It's hard to describe but think of Xiu Xiu in their more experimental phases, add some surfy guitar and some industrial noises and you get a slight hint. There are some more bands playing, check this site for further info and something to listen to.

*and as usual: check out our calendar on the bottom of the page to see what else is going on this week.*

stuff

On short notice but nonetheless: there's some more cool stuff this week. If you have nothing to do this evening and are in the mood for some ambient experimental drone stuff, you might want to go to NK. They've got a pretty nice line-up including Nadja and two other projects (Off the International Radar and Portraits), both featuring some great musicians like Jefre Cantu-Ledesma and Bill Kouglias. All of them got featured here before and I'm pretty sure this is well worth a visit.

Also there's some pretty interesting free jazz stuff going on at Altes Finazamt tonight. See the complete line-up on the facebook event page, if the Chris Corsano/Clayton Thomas Review from before got you interested you might visit this one, as Clayton Thomas is also taking part here.

And last but not least, bei Roy is waking up from it's winter sleep and opening again. They have an opening party this Saturday with Canadian/Berlin based electro pop duo Trike and DJ Marcelle. Check their website to see what's up next.

Preview: the week ahead (12th - 18th Mar)

The Berlin calendar seems really free jazz driven this week, which isn't always my thing, but J. likes it and a lot of people do. For everyone else, there is the following:

Tuesday

Pontiak at Jägerklause: Thrill Jockey protegés. Clever. Noisy at times but mostly just rhythmic and pleasing, changing direction within songs. I've always had a soft spot for these guys. You should go. It's the best gig on offer in Berlin this week.

Wednesday

Matt Elliott and Zun Zun Egui at Kater Holzig: Matt Elliott = Quiet, dark and melancholic folk music. Beautiful. For fans of Black Heart Procession. Zun Zun Egui = poppy post-punk. Fun.

Friday

Sun Worship at Metalheads exhibition, Gestalten Space: This photography exhibition by Jörg Brüggemann looks fun. For the opening event, our favourite local black metal band is performing. It's an early gig. See you there at 6pm!

Happy International Women's Day!

Forced prostitution. Denial of basic rights. Threat. Inequality. A long way to go.

In the meantime, here is one of the great women of our time, performing in 1976. She's playing in Berlin this summer btw.

Review: Sleigh Bells

I have been told that on their US tour, Sleigh Bells played all the same venues as The Kills. In Berlin, The Kills comfortably fill Columbiahalle. And Sleigh Bells? They couldn't sell out Festsaal tonight. We were astonished.

But what to do if you are used to big American concert venues and you end up at cozy Festsaal? Simple: try and turn Festsaal into just that - a professional concert house. A double-decker nightliner on Skalitzer Str. required a no-parking zone. A note forbidding all pictures and video filming greeted us at the entrance. Walky talky tech guys onstage. Security outside the backstage door. A rap CD instead of a local DJ starlet. The full works. It bordered on the ridiculous.

On the upside: a mellow, predominantly British audience, surprisingly small-built (as in hardly any tall people) and, I assume, big bar takings for Festsaal. A drink took 20 minutes of queuing.

When the band came on, they were accompanied by a lot of strobe lighting, which was utilised throughout the entire set. And that's the kind of band they are: a strobe light band. A rock chick (think 80s Nena) on vocals, two guys on metal guitars, a drum machine, and a whole lot of strobe lighting.

Musically, we are talking about a mix between Metallica and a slowed-down Crystal Castles with a hip hop beat. It sounds a little dated and reminds me of my crossover teenage years in the mid-nineties. The musical performance was not helped by an atrocious sound mix. Feeding back vocals, too much bass - the band's own sound personnel obviously struggled.

So what did I make of it all? It's fair to say it wasn't my cup of tea in the first place. But I never expected it to be this poor. Sure, the girl knows how to rock, and sure, people loved them. But really, with all the hype surrounding the band, I was hoping for something with more substance. Give these people Atari Teenage Riot. Let them taste real subversiveness. This commercial in-between just doesn't cut it for me.

I am writing this as the group is playing its encore and as I am leaving Festsaal.

Preview: the week ahead (5th - 11th Mar)

In a fit of stupidity, I managed to burn the palm of my left hand last night. hence, typing is kinda difficult now. Means to you: a minimalistic preview.

Tuesday

Sharon van Etten and Aidan Baker at Grüner Salon: I like concerts that combine bands that don't just play similar styles of music. This is one of these. We already wrote stuff about Aidan Baker in the past. He currently resides in Berlin and also plays in Nadja. His solo work is kind of comparable to that, he plays instrumental ambient post rock mostly with just a guitar and foot pedals. Sharon van Etten plays melancholic indie folk acoustic guitar music but she does it really good. Check out her video below, if you like that you know where to go on Tuesday.

The Drums at Postbahnhof: Indie starlets that I love because they are putting the cool back into indie wave music. They would have emerged as superstars had they been born 30 years previously.

Wednesday

Damien Jurado and Find Local Concerts at Comet Club: Damien Jurado is definitely one of the better indie folk singer songwriter guys around. He released quite a bunch of records since 1997 and I don't know all of them, but his latter releases are all pretty neat. Unfortunately this takes place at Comet Club, but well...

Me Succeeds and The Dropout Patrol at about:blank: Hamburg-based electropop-trio Me Succeeds versus local indie stars The Dropout Patrol.

Tindersticks at Volksbühne: I really like the Tindersticks and if you are into melancholic indie music with deep voice and that extra pinch of pathos, you'll like them too. Think of bands like the National and you get a pretty good idea what they sound like. You can watch them again on Thursday if you miss them on Wednesday.

Saturday

Duke Spirit at Columbia-Club: Theatrical English indie rock in a big setting. C* has been invited to this and will report back.

Sunday

A Hawk And A Hacksaw at HAU1: For fans of Beirut. Folky duo, traditional style. You will love.

Ceremony, The Lost Rivers and The History Of Colour TV at Marie-Antoinette: The spectrum of 90s inspired music at M-A tonight: post-punk & shoegaze fuzzy indie.

Lazer Crystal and Câlin at about:blank: Thrill Jockey protegés Lazer Crystal play dark wavy dance music with a distinct 80s sound. French duo Câlin do drum-heavy electro pop. End your week dancing!