Quick catch-up review: Dirty Beaches here and there

I have reviewed Dirty Beaches three times over this past year and it's getting boring, for me and for you.

He is amazing every time, I am transfixed and in love every time. I hope he will become the superstar he deserves to be one day!

So there is not much to say about the Teenitus performance by Dirty Beaches, other than that the new material was even better in the darkness of Festsaal than it was in the bright day at London's ATP.

However, while I was at it, I did want to tell you a little about Teenitus Festival since J. and I are big supporters but never gave you a review, even though we both attended, on separate days: I love festivals that are held across several venues of one city. Camden Crawl, Popkomm, ZXZW are just a few examples of such fantastic events. The folks of Teenitus and Festsaal were attempting something similar, with holding the three day event at Festsaal, Monarch, and West Germany. The timing was difficult as spring is so very busy in Berlin and there was competition from high attendency gigs on all nights. But the eclectic mix still worked and we loved walking between the three venues, catching up with friends inbetween. I feel Berlin needs more festivals like this original from Erfurt.

Not that much later, the performing arts festival Foreign Affairs was staged by the folks of Berliner Festspiele. It showcases a lot of theatre, naturally, and some other performing arts. Dirty Beaches was booked to perform for free for two nights, bringing friends with him. We headed over to Haus der Berliner Festspiele on the second night. This was not a regular Dirty Beaches show but a more experimental affair. The intensity of his freeflow guitar performance was enhanced by the atypical audience, which consisted of a theatre crowd that had stumbled into this gig at the bar. People were quite clearly impressed and transfixed and mesmerised. It was intense and amazing to witness how the audience got drawn into this wonderfully stretched solo guitar performance.

Since then, summer has come and will be gone soon and it all seems so long ago. But I tell you the truth when I say that I get shivers down my spine when I think back to those two events. Shivers.

Both pictures of Dirty Beaches were taken by Joel Schalit and we are grateful for this! Check out his excellent online magazine Souciant.com, where you will find more pictures, writings and sound projects by Joel and his collaborators.

Finally - let's rebuild Festsaal Kreuzberg!

Since Festsaal Kreuzberg burnt down on 20 July, all I have been waiting for has been a note on how I can actively help to bring it back to life. It may be selfish but I just cannot imagine life in Berlin without Festsaal. Being a Kreuzberg resident myself, as well as having come to love the people who operate Festsaal, probably adds to the emotional attachement I feel with the place. But I think I am speaking objectively when I say that the loss of Festsaal is a tremendous loss for Berlin.

So I got very joyful when Festsaal posted the following statement on their website today. It is in German, so to summarise for you in English: 

1) There will be a benefit concert evening at Postbahnhof on 23 August. Your presence is requested. Details will follow in one of our previews nearer the time but, really, who and what is playing is totally beside the point. Just show up to celebrate and support.

2) An account you can donate money to has been set up: Verein für Demokratische Kultur e.V. (BLZ 100 205 00 Acc # 321 96 01). These donations will be used to set up a charity for the reconstruction of Festsaal Kreuzberg. Once this has been set up, you can join the charity as a supporting member and receive all information first-hand.

I say, let's do it!

Fire at Festsaal Kreuzberg

Well that's really shitty news... there was a huge fire on Saturday evening at Festsaal Kreuzberg. Luckily nobody got injured. It's still not clear what caused the fire or how severe the damages are. Hopefully Festsaal will be able to open again sometime very soon!

Here is a small article online on Tagesspiegel and here's another one from Morgenpost, I guess there will be more info available soon.

update: 
According to this article and a statement that Festsaal Kreuzberg shared on Facebook the fire was so severe that the building couldn't be saved. So Berlin just lost one of it's best live music venues. That sucks big time... 

Late quick review: Rocket From The Crypt

The last time I saw RFTC play was in 1996 at Hulsfred festival in Sweden. That's a long time ago. Had they grown old? Was this going to be a money making scheme with no fun? Or was it going to be gig of the year?

Fun. That's what it was. Rocket From The Crypt are one of those rare entertainers that will leave you no choice but to have the time of your life for two hours. 

Old. These guys will never grow truly old. With a sense of humour like this and the urge to rock out hard, growing old is not really an option.

Passion. Maybe not the first thing I imagined this gig to be, but passionate is actually the word that describes this best. The crowd's passion for their favourite band (people had travelled from all over Europe for this!), the band's passion for their lifestyle and good entertainment and the overall atmosphere in hot Festsaal that night. 

Great night, great dance, great laughter, great sing-along. Rocket From The Crypt - the one and only truly.

Double Review: Deux Boules Vanille and Bell Witch

I often attend shows that I don't write a proper review about afterwards. Sometimes I'm just too lazy, sometimes I'm too busy, sometimes nothing really worth mentioning takes place and sometimes things like these happen:

May is well known for being a busy concert month, countless bands crawl out of their wintery holes and are eagerly getting back on stage again. Also more and more people finally go out again instead of spending their time indoors in front of laptop screens and books. So in just a single week actually I saw three shows that will definitely and without a doubt make my top of the year 2013 list. 

The first of them was Deux Boules Vanille at bei Ruth. I had listened to them before and had kind of instantly known that this would be good live. I had watched some youtube videos, had listened to some songs and had read some stuff online and even if I had already really liked all of that, actually seeing them live was a million times better. Big Eater were the support band that evening and after they finished, the two guys from Deux Boules Vanille started carrying shitloads of equipment out of the backstage area of bei Ruth. They built their set up in front of the stage, two drum kits facing each other and being connected to a wall of amps and cabinets behind them. Both of them had some more electronic devices gathered besides their drum kits, self built analog synthesizers and some effect pedals, it all looked fascinating and weird at the same time.

thx to Coco for the picture

Without a real soundcheck they started to play and I was instantly blown away. They triggered the synthesizers with their drums, creating melodies and harmonies accompanied by driving drum sounds. Stylistically this was a crazy ride through so many genres that at the end I was not sure whether I had just attended an electro-party or a Lightning Bolt show. They definitely referred to some early 70s electronica in the vein of Silver Apples, then switched to frantic grind-core influenced parts just to end with something that was so rhythmic and pulsating that it somehow sounded rather technoid. Their whole set was a highly energetic and highly entertaining outburst of joy and the unfortunately rather small audience went kind of crazy. I really truly hope these guys will be back some time soon, this was an awful lot of fun.

Review: Mount Eerie + Mountains

Okay, so I was looking forward to seeing Mount Eerie since this date was announced some while ago. I had actually never seen them/him live and I have to say it was about time.

Mountains started to play to a sparsely filled Festsaal Kreuzberg but during their set, more and more people showed up. I didn't know them before this show and when I saw their set up, which consisted of two analog synthesizer rack piles and two guitars, I was becoming curious. They played a quite versatile set that changed from an ambient drone beginning with looped layers of synth sounds and drifted to a more guitar oriented part that sounded very post-rock influenced, just to break that up again into cut up beats of sounds and melody pieces. I really enjoyed their set and I was of the impression that a large part of the audience did as well. Also mood wise, they prepared quite nicely for the upcoming second mountain band which everyone was eagerly awaiting.

So although I had never seen Mount Eerie live before, I knew that their live shows are nearly always totally different experiences. Phil Elverum, the main and also only constant member of Mount Eerie started the band in 2004 when he wanted to make a conceptual change from his former band the Microphones, whose last record was actually called Mount Eerie. Since then, he collaborated with quite a few musicians - for the current live set up he invited Genevieve Castrée of O Paon, Julia Chirka who also plays in No Kids and Ashley Eriksson of the band LAKE to join him. They had a rather minimalistic set up of two basses, one 12-string guitar and a drum pad and cymbal and were announced to be "touring as a singing band", which sort of describes quite nicely what they did.

Basically they played Mount Eerie songs supported by distorted bass and minimalistic electronic drums with a female choir of three. And for me their live show worked very well. What I love about Mount Eerie is that behind their frequent noisy outbursts, there's always that fragile and melancholic song hidden (if it is hidden at all). The loud and distorted parts of their set merged beautifully with Phil Elverum's soft and distinctive voice and the support of the harmonics of a three voice choir also worked really well. They all seemed a bit nervous or shy on stage and I have to say that this fact only added up to me finding them even more likeable. They did not present a perfectly polished set of bland music but a characterful rendition of beautiful songs. Also their awkwardly funny announcements and talks between songs were totally loveable.

After their set, Phil came back to play an encore just by himself and after this version of Through The Trees pt. 2 from the Clear Moon record, I was finally convinced that this evening will most likely show up on my top of the year list later on for obvious reasons... "and it's hard to describe / without seeming absurd"...

Review: Melvins Day 2

The performing of classic albums by artists has become such a commonplace occurrence that its almost expected, if not demanded of an artist. But tonight’s Melvins show is low on nostalgia, and free of the artistic and commercial cynicism with which some bands approach their old records. A show like this can never be nostalgia free – everyone is transported back to their first encounter with an album, who they were, where they were, and what a record means to them. But throughout their 30 years of existence, the Melvins have consistently refined their sound, and their approach to playing tonight’s pair of fan favourites, Bullhead and Stoner Witch, is to reinterpret much of that material, rather than purely recreating the recordings, meaning these twenty year old songs sound modern and contemporary, placing the band light years ahead in complexity and creativity of their peers, both old and new.

Bullhead, bizarrely, was one of the first compact discs that I ever bought in 1991, and whilst that format inevitably lacked the deep tones of the vinyl edition, the clarity and space in their music opened up then for the first time.

They rattle through an exhilarating version of Its Shoved and a superbly twisted Zodiac that sees the band build layers of voices and drums, the addition of a second drummer in their current incarnation bringing much of the new energy to these old songs. The dark, heavy drone of Boris, with its unexpected, quieter but more menacing reprise, reveals how skilled they are at building atmosphere and tension, taking the audience by surprise as they end the first set.

After taking a break, the second half of the show displays more of their sense of control, and their lack of fear of those quiet moments that counter balance the moments of aural rage. They begin with Lividity, the closing track on Stoner Witch, which starts with just the constant tap of a cymbal and a slow but melodic bassline that builds in its intensity. After a few ironic shouts from the crowd, the audience falls in with the mood of the song and stays silent, rocking back and forth and Buzzo’s repeated wail of vengeance, “how does it feeeeel, redneck?”, echoes back at us in a great piece of sound design.

The faster, heavier songs like Queen, the ones that get their audience jumping around, actually tend to be shorter slabs of metal than you remember. The Melvins have always used their riffs economically but for maximum effect. Their songs aren’t improvised, extended jams - each song takes a turn when you don’t expect it, they come to a sudden halt with a juddering drum beat and then they often change tempo altogether. There can be seconds of silence and an increase in tension before release or even just dissipation.

Tonight, The Melvins turned around the familiarity that comes through playing well known material by injecting a jolt of adrenaline into these songs. Festsaal was a furnace of heat at smoke tonight, but ultimately, music this dark is life affirming (as highlighted by the band's own humour in-between songs), and its effect stays with you days later.

Review: Melvins Day 1

Ah, the year is so young and I already have a number 1 on my Best of concerts list. But to be honest I knew that already when I bought my ticket for last week's Melvins double date months ago. The minute I saw an add for the show I ordered tickets online and let me say I never do that. But this event was different and special. The mighty Melvins planned on playing 4 1/2 classic albums on two consecutive nights at Festsaal Kreuzberg. The list of records they wanted to play made me nearly cry. Lysol, Egnogg, Houdini, Bullhead, Stoner Witch. Unnecessary to say I'm a fan. A big one.

The Melvins for me, I guess, is this one band everyone has. They can do whatever they want I'll always love them. Whether they release strange noise records like Colossus Of Destiny or have a ridiculous vinyl distribution. Between all that is an unbelievable gem of timeless records and live performances.

Formed in the mid 80s, the Melvins tried from the beginning on to do their own little thing. Something between Metal and Punk. Someone would say Grunge (yikes). Members of Mudhoney and Cows played in the Melvins and even Kurt Cobain auditioned once. Over the years their sound becomes so recognizable, a guitar riff, the pounding bass or the power of Dale Crover's drumming. Since 2006 the Melvins are a four piece, the current members are King Buzzo, who plays guitar and sings, Dale Crover, and the members of Stoner/Sludge band Big Business, Jared (ex-Karp) and Coady (ex-Murder City Devils), who play bass and drums respectively.

So, Tuesday was the first of two nights, where the Melvins performed 2 1/2 albums in its entirely. Lysol (1992), Eggnog (1991) and Houdini (1993) were scheduled for this glorious night. Festsaal Kreuzberg was sold out (obviously) to an old crowd with grey hair and holey band shirts. The doors opened at 8 and punctual at 9 accompanied by a Black Sabbath intro the Melvins entered the stage.

They started with the apocaplyptic Lysol record from 1992, which has become a blueprint for every Doom / Sludge band since. Reduced to the max, slow as hell and heavy as a bulldozer. Excuse my cliché description, but it is what it is, an unbelievable punch in the face. Just only the 11 minutes opener Hung Bunny or the Alice Cooper cover version manifests the state of this record. With the impressive double drum set in the middle and surrounded by guitar and bass amps, a lava of sound overran the audience. This beast was followed by the '91 recorded EP Eggnog. After an hour and standing on the balcony of a sold out Festsaal, we didn't have a gram of air to breathe. Fortunately the Melvins needed a break too. After 15 minutes they returned to play my first Melvins record.

Houdini was recorded in 1993 and was their first on a major label. There a people out there who are saying they became weak and too poppy, but all of their 3 Atlantic records are timeless and favorite records of mine. So, beat it. Don't get me wrong, Houdini is far from a mainstream album. With the success of Nirvana (Kurt Cobain plays guitar on Sky Pup) and Grunge, Atlantic thought it was a good move to sign them. I for myself think Houdini, next to Stoner Witch, is about the closest record to getting a representative Melvins album. It captures strikingly the band's major characteristics, like their undestroyable power, vision and weirdness. Every song on it is a hit and I sang every line and played every riff on my invisible guitar this evening. Certainly everyone waited for Honey Bucket, their big video hit (?) and the mosh pit was brutal, but totally worth it. They left, one after another with a noisy fade-away version of Spread Eagle Beagle and most of the audience knew they would return the following day to celebrate their favorite band.

Quick Review: Wolf Eyes

Unfortunately I arrived a bit late to this show, so I can't really say anything about Sand Circles, as I just catched a glimpse of his performance. Pretty quickly after that, Miles was up to play. A single guy playing music that drifted between ambient drone parts and danceable but still dark beat oriented electronic music. I really liked the more noisy parts of his set and although his music is not something I would usually listen to, he managed to keep everything interesting enough for me to stick around.

When Wolf Eyes finally started to play, Festsaal Kreuzberg filled up to a decent amount of people, although it seemed far from being sold out. So much the better, it was easy for me to get a comfortable place with a good view. 

Wolf Eyes played as a trio with processed vocals, guitar and several other instruments, that besides of a clarinet and some other wind instrument I could only suspect to be some sort of crazy synthesizers. Their set-up was rather minimalistic but I was instantly impressed by how dense their sound and music was. Mostly driven by only the hint of a bass drum beat, they played a very dark and almost doomy noise set that reminded me more of an odd mixture of bands like Excepter and Sunn O))), than of the harsh noise of many older Wolf Eyes records. The nasty vocals did their part to create a dismal atmosphere of industrial and heavy sounds. While Miles played a continuous set, Wolf Eyes played seperate songs and although I expected this to be much more unaccessible and crazy, I had the feeling that they stuck to certain fix song structures. Nonetheless their show was very consistent and intense, I was really amazed at how deep their minimalistic set up sounded. I had not expected something this ambient and -let's call it- creepy, but I have absolutely nothing to complain about as this turned out great nonetheless.

The King on film

So it's warm today. But it's also grey and wet. Let's face it, winter is here to stay a month longer, in the least. Now that I got you down, let me pick you up. Following on from my review of the King Khan & The Shrines show, here is a video Gary shot for us. We actually got a better one a couple of songs later but this one beautifully shows the mayhem that went on, so I felt sharing this one with you in lieu of the other tamer one. Enjoy!

Review: King Khan & The Shrines

Every year, January bores us to bits. And every year, there is that one gig that makes up for the whole rest of the month, gets us excited, hot and sweaty. This year, the Maharaja of Soul returned to give us all some garage gospel music for the soul. In tow: an eight piece band called The Shrines. And Festsaal? Packed to the rim, rivalling that infamous Electralane gig, which was apprently the fullest Festsaal had ever been.

Having mastered the queue to the newly established basement cloakroom and survived the heat shock when entering the steaming concert room, it was immediately clear to us that only the far right side of the balcony had any space left for us. Unless we wanted to start climbing on top of people. Which we didn't. As the evening progressed, we sure were glad we had secured that balcony space because things would get wild.

Review: The Soft Moon + Dracula Lewis

Ok ok, I should have written this review immediately after the gig at Festsaal, or more importantly, before the same line-up played again a week later at West Germany. I am sure by now the word has spread and anything I can tell you will bore you, given you have either seen it or heard all about it by now. But you know what? I am going to tell you about it anyway. Just because that's what I do.

We write different types of reviews on The Craze. There are those that we cannot wait to tell you about and the rant comes easy. There are those gigs that do not warrant a lot of words, where there is not that much to tell even if they were good, and those are usually our quick reviews. And there are those that are kind of hard to write, mainly because there was a big hype about the gig and we are not sure we are living up to it or we just didn't get it. This gig fits in this last category.

The hype about the Soft Moon gig was unbearable. Weeks before, people would talk about nothing but and this at a time when there were 7 concerts a week worth going to. Admittedly though, I absolutely love their album and was truly looking forward to the gig. As a nice bonus, Dracula Lewis, Souterrain Transmissions' latest signing, was going to perform and I hadn't seen him yet. So yes, I was looking forward to this night, especially since everybody was going to be at Festsaal tonight.

Review: Mission of Burma

Mission of Burma's band history is somehow interesting. They came together in 1979, were active for only four years and broke up in 1983 after having released only one EP and one full length record. They reunited again in 2002 and have released four new records since then with the help of Bob Weston as additional member and sound engineer (yes, the Shellac Bob Weston). Their active years and releases had a huge impact on later bands and notable musicians, ranging from Fugazi to Sonic Youth or the Pixies, who all mentioned them as important influences. That being said, I have to admit that I not once listened to any of their newer (post reunion) records and only knew their 'original' material. So my expectations were a bit mixed, but since many bands lately proofed that 'reunions' don't have to go wrong, I was also rather excited to see them.

I imagined Festsaal Kreuzberg to be packed and sold out this night and made sure to arrive on time so as not to miss anything and also to be able to secure a good spot. So we arrived at Festsaal Kreuzberg and it was far from full, in fact it looked pretty empty. I was a bit surprised but since it was still early, I didn't think much of it. 

The opening band, Delta Love from Berlin, of which I had never heard before, started shortly after I entered the room. They are a guitar and drums duo that plays a very lo-fi and noisy version of something I'd call delta blues rock, so their name did fit indeed. They reminded me of some other lo-fi bands, think of a bluesy and dirtier sounding Woods including heavy reverbed vocals and guitar. I actually liked what they did but it didn't work for the whole set, so I watched the rest from the back. They finished playing and a sort of lengthy stage rebuild for Mission of Burma began.

Review: Full Blast (Brötzmann/Pliakas/Wertmüller) + Chris Corsano/Clayton Thomas

I was excited before this one. Not only to see Chris Corsano again but also to see Peter Brötzmann live for the first time. In the end this was an intense evening that showed how versatile "free jazz" can be.

When I arrived at Festsaal Kreuzberg just a few minutes after 9pm, Chris Corsano and Clayton Thomas were already playing, so Festsaal again stuck tight to their schedule. But I didn't miss much and was able to easily make my way to the front and watch the rest of the show. 

I saw Corsano and Thomas performing as a duo together a year ago, also at Festsaal (review from that show here), so I sort of knew what to expect. But some things still turned out very differently. 

This time, they played to a totally different crowd, probably just because the target audience for an indie/experimental evening like the last one (supporting Nisennenmondai and Oneohtrix Point Never) totally differs from the one for a "free jazz" show like this. And I think it's rather safe to estimate the average age of this night's audience to be significantly higher than the shows that usually take place at Festsaal Kreuzberg. Also, in a certain way, this felt like the most, let's call it ordinary, set-up I ever saw Corsano perform in.

Quick review: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

Oh my godness. Guitar godness that is. Jon Spencer called the crowds to Festsaal and they came aplenty. No snow could deter these folks. Festsaal was sold out and boiling despite minus degrees and inches of snow outside.

And they got rewarded. With great guitar madness, ridiculously good rhythm and a fantastic sound. The man Jon Spencer, having aged a little like we all do, still knows how to delight the masses with his fusion of blues and garage rock, as well as rocking out skills to die for.

When he came on to the scene in the 90s, people may have laughed (while strangely enjoying themselves) but 20 years, on the concept has proven to be traditional enough for old school blues and rock'n'roll enthusiasts but wild enough for the kids. With his indie label background he is a household name, has influenced many, and his mere presence gives comfort to those who have dabbed in indie music for as long as we have. But it's the wild rock'n'roll parties that this man and his crew will always get the most credit for.

And so Festsaal turned into a hotpot of sexy rock guitars, blues vocals, and intense loudness altogether, with an appreciative crowd shouting along and some troublemakers, too. What a night!

Quick review: Zombie Zombie

Zombie Zombie - what a band! 

I am not even sure "band" is right term for this project, which really consists of an electronic music equipment nerd and two ridiculously talented drummers. The group looks like a bunch of jazz musicians, which I am sure they really are, like in real life. But they create dance music unlike any other. Of course you could loosely categorise it with !!! (Chk Chk Chk), Radio 4 or Battles. Or you could admit that they do a thing of their own that is unique.

What sounds great on record, is absolutely amazing live and the only way to truly experience their music. There are no pre-programmed parts played from a MacBook, while someone pushes a couple of keys with it. No sir! This is all created live, with tons of knobs and buttons and a joystick - yes, you read me right. Meanwhile, the two drummers go an a coordinated, coreographed drumming frenzy the way I have maybe only seen Foot Village manage to perform. It is not only hard to stand still - in fact nobody at Festsaal did - the performance is also extremely pleasing visually. 

To add to all this amazingness, Zombie Zombie have that certain French oh la la. Though I am absolutely aware of the cheesiness of this statement, I know no other way to describe it. Neat, arty, nerdy, anarchistic and cute. You know what I am saying. 

After my dip into the Wild Nothing gig earlier that night, Zombie Zombie managed to absolutely blow me away, make me shake vigorously and kicked my ass, all the while putting a smile on my face with their undeniable sense of humour. Magnificent!

Quick review: Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti

I experienced a déjà-vu yesterday when the same crowd from that John Maus gig showed up Festsaal to give that same amount of admiration to Ariel Pink, yet again failed to actually celebrate (with) the band. It made me wonder where these people that you never see at gigs suddenly emerge from and seemingly spoil an otherwise amazing show for me.

Bitterness aside, Ariel Pink and his band was in top form and possibly at their best I have seen them to date. The show was well thought out, yet punk, with the entire performance being filmed on a camcorder and projected live on to the backdrop screen. In fact, the first two songs, the band played on stage, while Ariel Pink was only visible in projected from on the screen. And the impact when he then made his entrance for song three! Wow. He actually sang among the crowd most of the time, turning to the band in the same way as the audience. Alt-pop with a great sound in a punk setting for the people. It was grand!

Spot Mr. Pink

They played for almost 1.5 hours and a large array of their material. He gave us all we wanted - now if people would have gone nearly as crazy as they did at Lovelite or Marie-Antoinette, this could have turned into this year's number one party. But somehow, that last spark that makes people lose their minds just didn't ignite. A great shame but, still, another fanstastic show at Festsaal - venue of the year, hands down!

Review: Deerhoof + Chris Cohen

Finally, a Deerhoof show again. I was looking forward to this for some time and even the fact that I didn't really get into their newest record did not bother me at all as I knew from previous shows that they're an awesome live band. And again, they confirmed that fact.

I arrived at Festsaal Kreuzberg just after Chris Cohen started to play, so I quickly made my way into a decently filled room to check him and his band out. I had not really listened to their stuff before, I just knew that he used to play guitar for Deerhoof for some time. What he played with his current band did not really impress me. It was very fluffy and catchy indie rock music and, for me, it was probably just that little bit too fluffy and catchy to be interesting. I would not exactly call it boring, but there was nothing that really struck me as interesting. I watched a couple of songs and although I could not really make out which band(s) their music reminded me of, I still had the feeling that it somehow sounded familiar the whole time.

After some time of rebuilding the stage awesomeness ensued. Deerhoof started to play and I immediately knew this would be more than good. The sound was great and the atmosphere in the audience was buzzing. 

I still have no idea how they do this, but Deerhoof manage to combine so many seemingly not combinable aspects and everything forms this entirely consistent thing in the end. There are these tiny and cute melodies combined with frantic drumming. There is Satomi Matsuzaki's high voice combined with mean and heavyily distorted guitar riffs. There are song parts that are noisy and dancy at the same time. And although every record they release sounds different to the ones they released before, it still sounds like Deerhoof in a way. 

Review: Death Grips

I went to see Death Grips play their first Berlin show ever a few days ago and it turned out to be a more than worthy introduction!

Festsaal Kreuzberg's show starting times seem to be a bit random lately. Some shows I visited recently started pretty early and on time. So when I went to Festsaal last Thursday, the doors weren't even open. Having to kill some time, I went to nearby West Germany first where some semi-interesting art exhibition opening took place. Death Grips' stage time was supposed to be 11.30pm so I had some time until the show eventually started. When I went back and hung around inside, two DJs were spinning some records and Festsaal filled more quickly than ever. There was a constant stream of audience coming in and the atmosphere swiftly got more and more excited and anticipating of what was supposed to happen.

Now Death Grips are at the moment not only hyped and featured throughout almost the whole music press, but they're also taking a huge part of their own to feed this hype. I don't mean that in a strictly negative sense at all. They are a band that speaks out about unacceptable conditions between record labels and artists. They also deal very openly on Facebook and Twitter with the conflict between themselves and their (now ex-) record label Epic, which drew the not so surprising consequence of dropping them from the label just at the day of this Berlin show. Apparently Epic didn't want to keep a band under contract that decided to leak their latest record for free on the internet without even letting them know in the first place and that published internal emails on Facebook. So Epic published a statement (read more about it on Pitchfork) in which they said "when marketing and publicity stunts trump the actual music, we must remind ourselves of our core values. To that end, effective immediately, we are working to dissolve our relationship with Death Grips."

Review: Liars

Although I'm still not the biggest fan of their newest record, I have to say Liars did impress me yesterday.

I have already seen Liars live three times and have mostly very positive memories of said shows. Even though my favorite show still remains the one in 2004 when they had just released their second record (and possibly my personal favorite of them)  They Were Wrong, So We Drowned and completely blew me away, the two other shows in between then and now (one at Festsaal Kreuzberg some years ago and the one at Volksbühne, together with Health) still were at least pretty good. In the end Liars also seem to be one of our blog favorites (see our last review here), so I knew this couldn't possibly go completely wrong.

Now touring with a recently released new record, it was very likely that they would also want to play these new songs live. As I said I'm still not that fond of WIXIW but I also don't really dislike it. It's a mostly electro dominated record and the thing I really appreciate about it is that Liars do on it what they do best: mess with people's expectations. They have managed to release six records altogether and every single one of them sounds somewhat different than the others. This way they have made many stylistic transitions from something like dancey post punk to experimental and noisy avant garde music, threw in an almost "rocky" record and released another one that was mainly based on drums as the central concept. And I liked every single one of them.