Review: THE SOFT MOON and MUERAN HUMANOS

Stopping off in Berlin once again, this time apparently filling in a gap in their schedule supporting Depeche Mode on tour (the DM have a history of great taste in cutting edge openers, bless ‘em). Berghain is the natural choice for them at this stage, it's always a big statement to take on this imposing space, but their nonstop touring regime means they are ready for the challenge. It's February, Berlin has been quiet, and everyone is ready for this kind of show.

Mueran Hermanos open the evening, and this Argentinian duo have made Berlin their base and have developed a cult following that deserves to grow as their sound develops and their live show grows. Their aim tonight is to mesmerize and create a feeling of tension that builds with each layer of sound, with a rhythmic combination of analogue synth and bass guitar.  The room fills up with people as they play and the sound, which is mixed perfectly, gets louder in volume as the set progresses, showcasing how immaculate the p.a. here at Berghain can be when in the hands of the right engineer… Tomas and Carmen are also given the benefit of some fantastic lighting and their set ends as if they were the headliner – the show belonging now as much to them as The Soft Moon.

The best place to watch a band here at Berghain, if you can grab a spot there, is in that space behind the p.a., next to the stage, where you can get up close and personal, transforming any show there into a more intimate experience. Despite being known for its debauchery on club nights, Berghain can be a challenging space for a band to create an energy and a good vibe – Festsaal is sorely missed for that – but sure enough, the Soft Moon bring their metronomic beat to the dancefloor, and the folks at the front at least begin to throw shapes. There’s been comments elsewhere that the set was too short – but they delivered a blast of throbbing noise pop that captivated with its shards of distorted guitars and dark vocals. Thrilling and fun, The Soft Moon are a step away from being an essential band.

Three points review: Wooden Shjips + Orchestra of Spheres

2013 is almost over and I am introducing a new category: the "three points review". As we are repeating our reviews, i.e. reviewing the same bands over and over, three poignant notes should suffice to give you the quick gist on the gig. Here goes my first one.

1) Packed gig with a lot of beardy middle agers mixed into the hip Berghain gig crowd. Good sound.

2) Orchestra of Spheres were stars and met all expectations and more. Fantastic. Read Kinga's review for details of their last Berlin gig.

3) Wooden Shjips' new songs are great and of the same concept as all albums before - great voice, wonderful bass, doodly guitars. Love.

Review: Colin Stetson + Holger Hiller

Despite its reputation as a techno/electro venue, Berghain to me is the perfect location for certain bands and artists. Colin Stetson playing there a few days ago was one of them and his performance was deeply impressive and inspiring.

Holger Hiller started to play just moments after I entered the rather sparsely filled room. He and his supporting bandmate stood behind a table and besides the two musicians, their laptops and an analog synthesizer there was not much to be seen. Their set sounded pretty interesting in the beginning. Musically it was a mixture of minimalistic electronic beats and distinctive 80s elements combined with Hiller's characteristic vocals. What I liked about their set was that he managed to keep many influences of his band Palais Schaumburg vividly alive in his current music without simply sounding "retro". What I didn't like though was their performance itself. I just find looking at two people 'hiding' behind their laptops so boring to look at that I couldn't watch their whole set and went to look for some friends.

We stayed around the bar until there were first signs of Colin Stetson's show to start soon. It didn't take that much time to carry the table away and Stetson's huge bass saxophone was already on stage during Holger Hiller's set, reminding everyone of what was going to happen next. Colin Stetson came on stage, buckled his saxophone harness on and put a sort of collar with built-in throat microphone around his neck. Without any further soundchecking or intermissions he started to play and right from the beginning this was truly amazing.

Review: HEALTH at Berghain, back in June

Seeing HEALTH play for the first time several years ago in New York, everyone was talking about their amazing new drummer, BJ Miller. At the time his astoundingly loud, hard playing over-dominated their live shows, his style in the tradition of the best post-hardcore drummers.

To older music fans, the rest of their music therefore disappointed by not leaning more towards the industrial noise that this drumming would suggest, failing to bridge the gap between modern experimentalism and their late 80s forefathers.

But of course, this probably isn't what HEALTH were actually trying to achieve, and now with Miller's drumming fully integrated into the band as a whole, it is easier to understand more fully what Health are doing sonically, and their music then becomes more impressive in its breadth.

And once it is understood that when bassist John Famigiletti thrashes around the stage, his voice or bass synthesized through pedals, it is not the intention to hit the audience with a wall of noise, then their music comes into sharper focus, as the effect of this processed, layered sound is more subtle than that.

In general, the sound at this Berghain headline show finally allowed the textures and full range of frequencies of Jake Duczik's guitar and effects to be heard, along with new vocal melodies, although Jupiter Keyes keyboards did seem lost in the mix at times. Their rhythms and structures still don't move everyone, but it is hard not to respect their musical adventurism and passion.

Quick review: Fuck Buttons

As Benjamin John Power, one half of Fuck Buttons, pounds away on a single floor tom, he surveys the crowd in front of him and to the side. Crowded around the stage and the spaces between the PA and the band are a cross section of Berliners, the band's music appealing to those who can lay claim to genuine outsider status in a city of identikit hipsters - a young guy in a Devo hat and a Health t-shirt, a man covered in dense facial tattoos, a woman in a leather jump suit gyrating for the whole set with her partner. Fashion isn't followed here, and you get a sense of how Berlin used to be or still is, below the surface - a place to be the person you want to be.

Fuck Buttons could have you reaching ever deeper for the adjectives to describe their music. It's dark, yet rhythmic, but it's not dance music, although that doesn't mean they don't make their fans move. The audience seem lost in their own mental space as they react to the physicality of the sound that FB produce. With the side of stage decibel monitor regularly pushing into the red at 112 DB - a level of volume that doesn't trouble the sound system at Berghain - the sound envelopes everyone, and few people drift away once sucked in. As Andrew Hung, Power's partner, sways back and forth in time with their own pounding drums sounds in front of an onstage mirror ball, this intense hour of sonic exploration comes to an end - never punishing the audience but providing a soundtrack for their own personal catharsis, however brief that may ultimately be.

Review: Anika

There is no doubt that Berghain is one of Berlin's most well-known and unique locations. Unfortunately I don't go there that often, mostly because I'm just not really into electronic dance music in the broadest sense. So this was only my second visit to Berghain, the first being a Bohren & der Club of Gore show some time ago and now again, the occasion couldn't have been more appropriate.

So after waiting in line in front of this massive concrete cube somewhere in between of train rails and huge hardware stores for a while I entered Berghain. Again I was impressed by the architecture and sheer hugeness of the former heating plant. In comparison to other Berlin locations, Berghain really sets the standards quite high.

When I climbed the stairs to enter the main dance floor and concert space, Zebra Katz were already playing. I had not heard them before and, honestly, I was not even prepared for a hip hop act opening this evening. But nonetheless I found this an exhilarant act to start the show with. Zebra Katz is mainly one rapper, this time supported by Njena Reddd Foxxx and an additional DJ. They played a pretty amped queer hip hop set that rested on minimalistic and deep beats. It reminded me of grimey stuff like Dizzee Rascal or probably even something like Missy Elliot. Their show was rather frolic and, well, let's say sexual including their lyrics and their lack of clothing. The audience took their performance really well and went quite wild in front of the stage. So they sort of did a perfect job as an opening act.

Review: BODY/HEAD

What a weird and disillusioning evening last Thursday was. BODY/HEAD, a new project by Sonic Youth' Kim Gordon and guitar player Bill Nace played the last show on their first European tour at Berghain. Only these facts set me in a crazy fan-boy mood when I first read the announcement. But let me start from the beginning.

I arrived pretty early and was surprised how quiet everything was. Entering Berghain's main hall gave me the creeps. Never seen that place so empty. Some people were drinking at the bar, some were just staring around. A little later Berlin dinoaurs Cobra Killer started their supposedly pumping DJ set by shaking on stage in high heels and ultrashort skirts playing a noisy mixture of dancy songs, weird Schlager and slowed hip hop. I've never understood their live shows and I was glad they didn't pour red wine on themselves this time. Kudos for playing some Silver Apples.

The floor filled a bit but it was still really roomy when Kim and Bill showed up on stage. The moment they started I thought, wow, this guitar sound, this voice, her moves, it's Sonic Youth all over again. I mean the more experimentel stuff, not the song-oriented material. Bill Nace, who is a quite famous guitarist in a certain Free Jazz / Noise scene built up a massive wall of noise and guitar drones while Kim played one chord or used her guitar as a drumset and sang her typical own way. They showed a slowed, old black & white Novelle Vague movie above them. 

After finishing the first song reality kicked you hard. What? That's it? There wasn't any interaction, any dialogue and felt very uninspired. The whole performance with some atonal chords felt so stressed artsy-fartsy, the movie, her moves like lying on stage and raise her guitar. There wasn't any atmosphere and Nace's guitar way too quiet. Don't get me wrong I usually like that stuff, but it has to be done well. They played around an hour and I stayed the whole set and even for the encore, but I was so disappointed afterwards. BODY/HEAD - the name is so ridiculous after this show.

This whole thing makes me really sad, the fact we will never see Sonic Youth live again. But hey, Thurston's new band Chelsea Light Moving sounds very promising and I cannot wait to hear their upcoming record and I think Bill Nace should return to Berlin soon for one of his famous solo shows.

P.S. I did not take any photos because of the Berghain rule, but I saw some from their Leipzig show the day before and it looked exactely the same. See some from Supersonic Festival here.

Review: Gossip

Years ago, my friend and I were asked to take care of a threepiece from Minneapolis that was playing Ladyfest in London. They were aquaintances of our friend and on their first trip to Europe. They needed companions to keep them company. Needless to say, the two ladies and one gentleman were lovely people and fun to hang out with (though the gentleman was slightly smelly from not showering or changing his clothes the entire tour). We had a good time. However, the group's performance was the really amazing thing about that evening. We had gone primarily to see Bangs, whose KRS mailorder 7" had become one of my favourites at the time, but after the show I was a Gossip convert. The sound was so different, the energy insane with Beth Ditto standing there in a bra only shouting abuse at the NME for slagging off Missy Elliott. The Gossip were very punky then, had a different drummer, hadn't found their trademark sound and look yet. But Beth Ditto's voice was already Beth Ditto's voice, the willingness to provoke was already there and the audience was already in awe of what they saw. These were stars in the making.

Since then, I have seen (The) Gossip perform at Gebäude 9 in Cologne, at Astra and at Columbiahalle. Earlier this week, I added Berghain to the list. Given that the last time this trio played Berlin they sold out Zitadelle Spandau, I felt almost privileged to be given the opportunity to see Gossip at the relatively cosy venue of Berghain. Yum. And indeed my hopes were met when there was no security gap between audience and band, when you could actually see and hear Beth even when she wasn't talking into the microphone, and when the band recognised several of their close friends in the audience. This was a personal, cosy concert for a privileged "few".

Of course, what's a "few" to supergroup Gossip? This gig had been sold out weeks in advance, if not months. The place was packed. Maybe I'm getting old but über-sold out concerts make me feel uncomfortable these days. I like a bit of space to hang out and dance. I just don't enjoy myself the same way when someone is bumping into me every couple of seconds, when tall bears of men push in right in front of me so that I definitely cannot see a thing and when the odour of the room resembles that of the monkey cage at the zoo. I have to like a band an aweful lot to ingnore the madness and the idiots around me (sorry, but Gossip have an odd audience of people who are extremely bored in their everyday lives and this is the one "crazy" thing that they do and they f**king get out of hand).

Review: John Maus + Gary War

John Maus has come some way. Within one year, he's gone from a sold out West Germany gig to selling out Berghain's Panorama Bar. There is a hype around this man that's reminiscent of the way people were following Daniel Johnston in the late 90s.

This hype was apparent when I arrived at Berghain well early but the queue for the cloakroom was so long, I had to skip it if I didn't want to miss Gary War. And I didn't. I saw Gary War a couple of years ago, when he supported Child Abuse, whose performance was so disappointing that it made Gary War look really good. I wondered whether Gary War was as good as I remembered or whether Child Abuse could take all the credit for that impression. The man had justed started playing when I arrived upstairs. He plays a whole bunch of pre-recorded and sampled music to which he rocks out with his guitar. It's a one-man-show that makes you wonder slightly why he doesn't get a band together to support him, the way Ty Segall does. He looks sort of lonely on a relatively big Berghain stage, just him and his guitar. But musically, I always enjoy his mix of rock and noise and psychedilica that's unique and fun to dance to. The perfect opening act for John Maus.

The break between both artists was incredibly long. Or so it seemed anyway. Tension was building up and space was getting scarce. And this is where I started to hate John Maus' popularity. The hip youth surrounding me, pushing from all sides in a hope of getting closer to their hero, was either not used to attending rock concerts, or plain rude. I was pushed, trampled, had cigarettes held in my face and had to listen to some of the dumbest conversations in a long time. I was getting sufficiently aggressive, and when some girls tried to squeeze into the non-existent space between myself in 2nd row and the folks in first row, I saw red and pushed the two girls, with their cigarettes and their closet friend, sternly ahead. I was getting dirty looks, but boy, this group of people was really getting on my nerves big time.

I was glad when John Maus eventually came on stage. Finally, the tension was going to be unloaded. The man that is John Maus looks like your average math student or maybe someone working at a car rental agent. But as soon as his first pre-recorded song starts, he goes insane, scares his audience with antics from screaming at people to pulling his hair to almost ripping his clothes. It's just him and a microphone on that stage, there isn't even a mic stand in sight. But you never miss a thing, indeed, it's what makes this performance more impressive. Imagine you were in a museum and this was performance art you'd be watching and you get pretty close to what John Maus does. But this is Berghain and there is a gig audience that is reaching its hands out to this performer as if he was a preacher, their messiah. It's incredible to watch and discomforting at the same time.

I didn't stay for the encore. As much as I was mesmerised by the performance and as much as I love the songs, while you are incredibly impressed for the first three to four songs, by the tenth, you've kind of seen it. He doesn't vary or add to his performance. It is what it is. I was sick of people and made my way down the big metal staircase that I love descending so much. I always feel like Cinderella leaving the ball early. And it's almost what it is.

A friend told me a few days later that John Maus still remembers his performances at West Germany and almost wishes he'd never played anywhere else in Berlin. I can sympathise.

Quick review: Zola Jesus

I admit, I didn't really know what would await me, I wasn't that familiar with Zola Jesus. Goth and Dance mixed together maybe? I knew, however, that Zola Jesus is big business.

Berghain's Panorama Bar was sold out and packed and we little people only got a spot right at the back. The pre-gig mood was lively and loud. The audience appeared to consist of students, students and some more people who were primarily bland. 

Zola Jesus came on with a bang, smoke, projections and a far out light show that matched her theatrical singing. At first, I was taken aback by a pretty full on start to the show. But after about two songs I got thoroughly bored. While her operatic singing is impressive and would enrich any great song, the actual songs were lacking something special. It was all very commercial, unintelligent light disco pop, not enough rhythm to get you dancing (in fact, nobody in the audience danced), but not melodic enough to catch your attention.

In addition, the sound was disappointing. I am a fan of Berghain as a venue because of it's amazing ambience. But what's that worth when you can only hear bass and drums and hardly any keyboards? 

I'm not sure what to make of it all. Disappointed and in wonder why this is receiving the amount of attention it is, I think there are a several artists who are doing a similar thing, albeit maybe not as professional, who deserve this attention more.

Fake to Real

When I woke up this morning, glad that I have finally started this blog, I suddenly remembered that I once got a guest list space at Berghain by pretending to be a freelance journalist. I really badly wanted to see Battles play and had no money and figured that it might as well start off my career as a music journalist. Needless to say the career never took off but the gig was truly amazing. Berghain's Panorama Bar makes for a wonderful concert venue, I was in awe at its beauty, and Battles didn't disappoint. They could have skipped the bad jokes in favour of a song or two more but musically, their performances are inspiring, to say the least. And incredibly good to dance to.

Well, who would have guessed that a year on I do indeed write about music, even if it's in a slightly less sophisticated manner than I had imagined, and not in print.

c*