Review: Daughn Gibson

Unfortunately gigs at Comet Club tend to start super-early, so I wasn't able to make it on time to see Brokeback, the side project of Tortoise's bassist Doug McCombs. It's a shame, as the elusive, cinematic post-rock landscapes performed live by a new version of the band must have been a real treat.

Nevertheless, I managed to enter the venue just as Daughn Gibson was starting his set.

Combining country music with techno might seem as an absurd and kind of cringe-worthy thing to do, but this man somehow makes it work. And it's addictive. For example, "Looking back on 99" from his debut album "All Hell" is a song that you just can't get enough listens of.

This is some (post)modern-day Americana at it's best. Powered by technology and haunted by the past which evokes nostalgia and anxiety at the same time. The stories in the songs position themselves well in the Southern Gothic tradition and prove that the man has been around. One of the odd jobs that he had was working as a truck driver, which makes total sense. The open road, middle-of-nowhere vibe is all there. It is also a bit gloomy and sinister, at times disturbing, but in a way that has something positive to it, just like finding beauty in dirt.

The sound of his voice is a one that we've heard so many times before. Elvis, Johnny Cash, Scott Walker, Iggy Pop, Nick Cave, all of the deep baritones may come to mind when you listen to this guy sing. Familiar, yet defamiliarized by the background of Ableton-composed loops, samples and sounds inspired by the likes of Demdike Stare and Burial.

He sometimes sounds a little over-the-top with the drawl, but I think it's all part of the performance along with the flannel shirts and rough looks. He just plays around with what he's got, creating an aethetics that may or may not be tongue-in-cheek.

On stage, as well as o n the new record (a Sub Pop release "Me Moan"), he was accompanied by a drummer and a guitarist. They put on a great show, and finished with a long encore. Before leaving the venue I over-heard a girl saying that it was really weird and she didn't know what to think about it, which I bet the man behind the Daughn Gibson alias would consider a mission accomplished.

Late review: Teen

OK, so first I hyped that Teen show like crazy, just to then never tell you how that actually went. Well, children, let me tell you a tale from back in March.

I mostly discover new music through my own blog, through The Craze. This may sound weird but that is how it goes. When I enter gigs into the calendar, I always give them a quick listen to see whether I actually think they are worthy of our calendar. Sometimes I like what I hear and I may do a little research on the artist. Sometimes I really like what I hear and I get semi-obsessed for a while. This is what happened to me with Teen.

Once I had listened to "Better" and watched the DIY video the band had made for this, there was no turning back. It was only when I started reading up about these femmes that I discovered the Here We Go Magic connection, another band that I am rather fond of, though maybe not as consistently. Here We Go Magic really do have magically beautiful pop songs, but a lot of fillers too, I guess. Their sound is also commerically digestible enough that even though I do love their records, it doesn't make you feel cool and special for listening to them. This may sound incredibly pretentious - and I am well aware of that - though it's the truth and, I dare say, not just for me. Every band that really fastinates you usually gives you the listening pleasure paired with a je-ne-sais-quoi that helps you feel cool at the same time.

Teen gave me this feeling instantly. The songs on "In Limbo" are catchy yet have a certain beat, guitar grittiness, and organ weirdness, which, when listened to in the car or with headphones while walking the streets, make you feel très special. Every person who I gave a ride to while listening to Teen would instantly ask "Who is this?". How cool was I?

Quick Review: Oneida + B/B/S

We already wrote reviews for both of these great bands (see here, here and here), so I'm not going to beat around the bush. This was a great show.

Admittedly, the fact that a Magnolia Electric Co. song was playing when I entered Comet Club on the same day I learned about Jason Molina's death, was dragging me down a bit. 

B/B/S started playing pretty soon after I arrived and their heavy and haunting drone noise wasn't exactly uplifting either. Nonetheless they played a good show. It sounded different than the last one I saw when they supported Evangelista, but it did in a good way. The live drumming really keeps their music and performance interesting and suspenseful and it's fascinating how everything they do on stage merges together into a consistent flow of ambient music. I keep listening to their record quite often in the last time, if you want to check it out you can stream it entirely on their label's homepage here.

Next on were Oneida, a band that I find as great as they are hard to describe. Their output is very manifold and reaches from experimental drone noise records to some others that sound more like a no-wave noise band. They did an amazing job on getting everybody in a happy dancing mood and they apparently also had lots of fun doing so. They were very joking and funny and handled the fact, that playing a show on a snowy Monday might suck for some bands, quite nicely by just pretending it was Friday night. Also they claimed to be Oneida, performing a live documentary on a band called Oneida. So when they got everybody sufficiently confused, they played an amazing live set. Musically it varied from some songs that were very guitar oriented and almost "rock" to others that sounded like a psychedelic noise version of Suicide. They mixed Krautrock elements and sounds with post-punk and noise rock parts and somehow managed to make this all a very danceable mix. Their songs tend to be quite long and repetitive and have an indisputable meditative quality that managed to catch everybody's attention and made me forget my bad mood and the snowy weather outside altogether.

I'm really glad to have watched them again, Oneida are an amazing band that just keeps surprising me in a very positive way the more I listen to them.

Review: Jaill

How much does the setting for a gig influence your impression of the performance given? Arguably a lot. 

I fell in love with Jaill's songs a little while ago when researching upcoming gigs for the year. The material I found online invoked nostalgic memories of the music of my mid-90s youth, yet got me excited about the here and now and a wave of good bands rediscovering fuzzy indie guitar rock music. Nothing that they do is new but their sound brings me comfort. Hence, I was very much looking forward to seeing this played live.

I arrived at Comet just when the band was ascending the stage. And the room was almost empty. My heart sank. I have witnessed a few practically unattended gigs at Comet. It does not matter how well the artists perform, there is energy lacking when there is no audience to play to. Sure enough, the first couple of songs felt lifeless. To my surprise, one of the group plays a Korg, something I couldn't really hear but may explain why they feel modern on record despite their obvious references to music played 20 years agos. To make matters worse, there seemed to be technical sound troubles. It felt a little bit like this was a rehearsal with a few folks watching.

The set picked up engery as it progressed and people started dancing a little. A couple more couples (it looked like date night in there) turned up. Things were getting better. Unfortunately, I had lost interest a little by then.

There is American music that does not really translate well to Europe. A lot of classic rock feels that way, and so does college rock. This particular performance implied that Jaill's punked up college rock might fall victim to that problem. But the recorded material convinces me. And so I suspect that the setting tainted my view of Jaill and their music. Therefore, I shall persist in listening to the songs until next time when they hit this town. I shall go again and I shall see what to make of it then. Until then, I shall pretend Monday night did not happen.

P.S.: No pictures as I forgot bring my, ahem, camera.

Review: Jacuzzi Boys

This gig had been entered into my calendar for a long time but I had sort of forgotten about it until yesterday morning, when I uploaded the preview. Listening to a few of their songs online I really got into it again and although I already had a theatre date with my man, we headed straight from the theatre over to Comet to watch Jacuzzi Boys play and, as a bonus, listen to Simon Wojan's fantastic DJing skills.

My friend was probably not the only one hungover from a long Easter weekend of partying. Therefore, I was rather surprised when Comet was nicely filled and quite a few familiar faces and local rock'n'roll celebrities had showed up. The atmosphere was lively and inviting. 

Jacuzzi Boys are from Florida and they don't try to hide it. Not only are several of their songs about the very fact, they also look the part and have made their own stage backdrop from cloth with a palm trees print. Now that's style! 

Having just set up the stage minutes before, they went straight into their set and got people moving from minute one. The set progressed to become faster and more rocking with each song it seemed and there wasn't just dancing, there was jumping and pogoing (no joke) and all sorts. People actually had fun, which is something I haven't really seen in Berlin this year yet. Maybe it's Spring, maybe it was the party weekend mood, but most likely, it was Jacuzzi Boys' energy. This three-piece just gets you moving.

Musically, they sound indie rock on record, but live, it's pure punk rock - another surprise. With echo effects on the vocals and sped up versions of most of their hits, it's a raw and fast affair. However, what makes this band stick out is the rhythm section. These two are professionals: fine drumming and a superb bass sound. I could have just had the bass lines and been happy just the same. I recommend this band to you. They may go far.

There is something to be said for those early shows at Comet. Even with hanging around for a while after the gig, we were home early enough to watch some old episodes of Password.

Review: The Death Set + Marceese

I was a huge Beastie Boys fan when I was 14-16 years old. Don't get me wrong, like most people on this planet I still admire the Beastie Boys greatly. But when I was a teenager, they embodied so much of what I believed in at the time: having fun, being conscious about politics, the importance of art, rebellion, not having to be too straight about one thing or another - just go for whatever takes your fancy. Especially the punk songs of the Beastie Boys were my favourites. There is something about them.

The Death Set must have felt similar because that is exactly the spirit they convey. As an additional bonus, they also sound like the punky Beastie Boys, but with a drum computer and sample machine. Last night, I was thrown back to my 1990s teenage self.

Before all that happened, my neighbour happened to be the opening act, which I had only found out two days prior to the show. Marceese is a folk singer with a varied set. His repertoire spans across the folk spectrum and he sings in English as well as in German. Some songs reminded me of Digger Barnes, others of Bob Dylan, and there was even an instrumental thrown in the mix. He doesn't do anything nobody has done before but he does it nicely and with a world conscious spin. I have to say though, with only 3 hours sleep the previous night, a mellow folk performance really set my energy levels to low.

Thank goodness for The Death Set, famous for their partying, and their ability to get everyone to party with them. Already on their way to the stage they motioned the relatively small crowd to join them at the front. And guess what? With their charme, everybody followed suit. The set started with a Jackson Five sample and everyone getting into a party mood and then went straight into a fast fun number in the typical Death Set manner: drum machine, sample, drummer and guitars. I forgot instantly that I had been tired at some point that day. I was wide awake, a teenager again and about to have fun, no matter what.

They jump, they dance and they're so damn cute you want to take them home as pets. The set was compact and a lot more of the same antics described before, plus a Nirvana cover. Yes, f'real. Everybody danced and laughed and followed the boys' instructions "to spazz out". What a fun night. 11pm, the show as over, and I was out of there and on my way home, happy I had chosen The Death Set over a variety of acts that were playing Berlin that night.

Here is another Death Set video for you, which captures nicely what I mean with feeling like a 1990s Beastie Boys fan again:

Review: Weekend

The questions we were asking ourselves last night were:

1) Why do some bands get hyped more than others?

2) Why insist on having the band go on at 9:30pm when there is nobody around to watch them?

3) Why book Weekend at Comet Club when there are at least 5 more fitting venues in town?

4) Why did nobody read the craze preview and showed up at the gig? Didn't I tell you all this band was not to be missed?

5) Are bad ass looking drummers always bad ass?

On my way to the venue I already received a text that the band was going to go onstage at 9:30pm. Punctual. Driving like a maniac, parking half-legally, running along to the venue, I made it right before the band went on. Phew! But wait, what was I running for? The room held exactly 20 people who had come to watch the band. We were literally standing in an empty room when Weekend started to play. Odd.

There was no support act. There was no delaying the gig for late-comers. There was no moving the band from stage on to the ground in an effort to liven up the atmosphere. We felt truly sorry for Weekend, who started to play to an empty room, on a stage with an elaborate light show. It was a sorry affair.

Lucky for us, Weekend were just as amazing as they had promised to be. Live, they come across less wavey and more noisy. And extremely loud. Playing in the classic Police-formation (singing bass player, guitar, drums), they created an amazing wall of noise, while all along being very melodic at the same time. The room filled up a little more as the band was playing and several people danced wildly. And when the band had started to play noise to an empty room, by the fourth song it was danceable loud guitar music (sounds odd but it isn't, think early 90s) to an appreciative audience. 

Weekend played a long set and ended with a wall of sound that made the whole club vibrate. And those few that had come out to watch them, and had not left early due to the loudness, were found standing in the half-empty room in wonder. Wonder, why so few had bothered to show up, wonder why so many mediocre band get hyped when there is Weekend to be had, wonder how this three-piece could have created so much noise and yet be so pop and accessable all the while.

I'm going to see them again in London in a few weeks and I sincerely hope more people will show up there. But until then I shall be glad I had the opportunity to go watch the cute guys with loud music in Weekend.

Review: Woods

The whole day I felt like I was getting a cold, so I wasn't all that motivated to attend a concert tonight.

We arrived quite early at Comet Club, because none of us had been there before and we didn't want to miss anything. When we entered, the support band was already playing. I have no idea what their name was and honestly I didn't care much. I watched for about two minutes and had to leave the room because I wasn't really in the mood for school band style acoustic music. They even had one of these wooden drum things that you sit on while playing. Most definitely not my cup of tea at all.

The Comet Club is in the same building as Magnet Club. It's smaller but at the same time not any cozier than its bigger brother. They both have this "professional club feeling" to me, with security people checking your bag at the entrance, seperate room for smoking and extra cloak room. I never felt comfortable in such surroundings and I'm sure this isn't going to change anytime soon. The live sound though was really okay (although it seriously could have been a bit louder) and a definite plus was the lack of Magnet Club's annoying "light show." They could have left out the smoke-machine stuff but then again, what would a hip indie-rock club be without its smoke-machine (I mean except more bearable...)?

Woods started on time at ten o' clock, playing as a three piece with acoustic and electric guitar and the tape-pedal-earphone noise guy from Time Life. They had no drummer and so the whole concert was surprisingly quiet. They started with three or four smooth and catchy songs - until then I felt a bit disappointed. But then they threw in some longer and experimental songs, reminding me more of free improv-folk stuff, which I really liked. The noisy pieces fit in really well with their otherwise more or less smooth live sound.

Some of their further songs were boring, then again some were really really good. I especially liked Rain On and Keep It On which they both played in much more slower versions than on record.

They played about an hour in total and even though I missed some of my personal Woods hits like Night Creatures, Time Fading Lines or Ring Me To Sleep, I would say it was a nice Monday evening concert and well worth the visit. Now tea and bed-time for me.

Review: Tennis

I tend to be late for gigs. Pair this with a shortage in parking space around Schlesisches Tor and you end up showing up when the band is in their third song. And the band played a short set as it was with one encore, that's one song as an encore. Still, short but sweet, as they say.

Tennis is a group that allows you to time travel to 1965. The look, the sound, the feel - for me, this band embodies the pre-hippie 1960s. And this leads me to think of petticoats, the Beach Boys, teenagers making out at school fêtes, pastels and for some reason sunshine. All that stuff you see in the movies.

However, live Tennis are a much more mature affair. Frontwoman Alaina Moore is a serious singer with a womanly voice and not nearly as girly sweet as the recordings may suggest. She does little talking between songs and beautiful dance numbers during instrumental passages.

The stage presence of the band is also that of a serious group and draws a lot older audience than I may have expected. We did recognise faces from the Dum Dum Girls and Best Coast gigs but not nearly as many as we thought there may be. It appears Tennis play in another league - that of a group that doesn't just go for the spirit of the 60s but for a musical endeavour that appeals to people of all walks of live and across genres. I was surprised. Positively.

We stayed for a while after the performance was ended and soaked in the atmosphere of Comet Club. And we weren't the only ones. This wasn't the gig to be rushing to and from, this was a performance with a feel that would linger for a bit longer.