Honest to god, I was absolutely convinced that I had written this review forever ago. Going through my open drafts, I realise that this has been left unwritten to this point. So here goes something.
Since his support gig for PTTRNS, Rémi "Fenster" had doubled the members of his project Slow Steve. It was now a two-piece. Musically, things remained the same though, with atmospheric dancable pop being the product and a sense of humour lighting up the vocal performance. Enjoyable and appealing to a wide audience, I reckon this neat little project could go somewhere far, although I have been told that the grouping was only temporary and that it's back to a one-piece now.
For Civil Civic I had high hopes. Their album is an absolute all-time favourite mine. It is my most listened to record in the car and one that always picks me up when my energy is low. It is what I like to dance to in my living room, too. Having been gravely disappointed by their previous performance at Marie-Antoinette due to sound troubles, the excitement for this show was mounting as I was expecting to finally receive my just and proper Civil Civic dance extravaganza.
Disappointed I was not. The duo and their instrumental bass-drum-machine-guitar numbers got people moving and shouting, made my heart jump. And we laughed, too. For all I know, this evening could have lasted forever but Civil Civic had to end their set at some point and we had another gig to attend - Dat Politics and Otto von Schirach were not going to wait for us. That's another story.
May my beloved Civil Civic return at their earliest convience, ideally with a new album in tow please.
Two-piece bands have a certain magic, an electricity between band members, that other projects can't ever match, even when they try. This Thursday sees two such duos hit Kantine am Berghain: Civil Civic and Slow Steve. The latter play first, getting you dancing, the former will continue the jigging energy but throw in some loud rock.
Whoa, we are so excited! So much so, we are sharing the love: Write to us by end of day Wednesday (win@thecraze.de), telling us the coolest band duo you can think of, and you could win two tickets to this Thursday's event. And you know you want it, you need it!
Win and rock out with C* to something like this:
Was the booking agent insane when he chose Bei Ruth as the record release party venue for PTTRNS? Quite possibly.
When we entered the sold out and packed-to-the-rim ex-Roy, my partner's first words were "They are clearly too popular for this venue". A quick personal check for guest list credentials at the bottom of the stairs had warned us of a chocker full venue, but we actually never made it past the first 5 metres of the concert room. We were literally stuck by the entrance for the entire evening - it was that packed.
Just when you start feeling sorry for us, think again. Because if you have been to bei Ruth, you know that the stage is right by the entrance. We had a first-class view and we were lucky to be fed pineapples by the band, who were passing the juicy chunks around as a gift to their audience. So, to recap: right in front of the stage, pineapple chunks, great atmosphere. Alright!
Musically, Pttrns' new songs don't stray a million miles from the previous album, but the boys have definitely chosen the path of dance music. It is even more rhythm driven than before, the melodies are very catchy, and the overall sound is a lot more commercial now. This may explain why they have already received a lot of attention and press for the new longplayer.
Although the new sound does not move me personally as much as the first record, I do think the buzz surrounding PTTRNS is deserved. I have always maintained that would the band be based in somewhere like New York, LA, or London, they would probably be stars by now. Talented, likeable and knowledgable on a good dance tune, they fit right in with current indie music in the anglo-saxon world. And the new record is obviously well-written.
What I did miss a little was the dynamic on stage. I used to love when they would swap instruments mid-song, as well as the epic drumming sessions at the end of every other song. Though there were still some elements of this on this occasion, the band has overall become more static, each individual having found his place and predominant instrument. Musically, this probably makes a lot of sense - performance-wise it is not quite as much fun.
Another great show by our favourite German dance troupe. They just never disappoint.
PS: Unfortunately, we missed most of Slow Steve. The Fenster affiliated one-man-project made his performance debut and I was convinced. Though I only saw three songs, I thought they were well-crafted, catchy tunes. With time, he will most likely have a performance concept around this and I reckon he can go far. Catch him at one of his upcoming shows.
