Preview: the week ahead (8th - 14th Oct)

You could stay in and play Guitar Hero. Or you could go out and hang out with actual guitar heros. Here is where to find them over the course of the coming week.

Monday
Jaill at Comet Club: C*'s gig of the week! When I think of Sub Pop I think of a lot of great indie and punk rock in the 90s. Like most independent labels, Sub Pop have widened the musical spectrum on the label and have thus managed to stay afloat in an increasingly competitive market. But Jaill are your typical Sub Pop band, the way they used to sound. They play good and accessible indie nerd rock, a little modernised with some surf elements and a sense of humour, and send me back to my indie pop days. Post punk indie music that I am missing a little these days. I'm up for it. Meet me there on Monday!



Tuesday
Enchanted Hunters and Joe McKee at Madame Claude: Enchanted Hunters' twee folk music has caught my attention and imagination. While Beirut tries to make his music sound Eastern European, these girls deliver the real deal. Absolute magic. Joe McKee is not the Scottish football player, bu the singer-songwriter. In the cosy rooms of Madame Claude, this will be a very nice calm and beautiful evening. Show up!

 
Wednesday
The Pharmacy, Ill Winds and SFTSTPS at Loophole: This feels like a classical Berlin music night out to me. All bands have played in this town before and almost feel like locals, even they are not. The Pharmacy = surfy and whacky indie rock (for those who enjoyed Jaill on Monday). Ill Winds = local stars that we have featured before (wavey indie pop). SFTSTPS = another local project that experiments with sound samples and knobs and buttons. A varied and interesting night.
White Hills and Expo `70 at White Trash: The three D's. Deep, dark and droney rock music from the talented duo White Hills, a band whose atypical home is the admired Thrill Jockey label. A highly anticipated gig.

Saturday (also called Disco Sat)

Trust and Dan Bodan at Kantine am Berghain: Of course we are not talking about the French metal band. This Trust is essentially techno, though they draw from a lot of genres to make their music interesting. Originally, Trust featured one of the core members of Austra, giving you an idea of musical direction. Kantine is certainly a small venue to play for this much hyped project. If you like your techno rave or just want a really good dance this Saturday, head to Kantine early.
Candie Hank aka Patric Catani at Haus der Berliner Festspiele: Fun performance art with humorous lyrics, some dancable electronic beats and just general weirdness. Be at HdBF for some whacky fun at 10:15 pm for a good laugh and dance.

Quick review: Ted Leo + Rebecca Gates

What we had expected: queues on the stairs up to Monarch, people begging us to sell them our tickets, a smokey and cramped atmosphere with girls taking pictures of Ted Leo. What we got: a half-empty room, only familiar faces (as in: we knew 80 % of the audience personally) and literally not one person in front of the stage when Rebecca Gates started her set. We were surprised and a little shocked.

Rebecca Gates gave it her all. But she also announced Ted's performance several times. I suppose she knew that people were not familiar with her work and had come to see Ted Leo play. She is very charming and her set was good and varied. However, unless you have listened to her music before, it is a little hard to appreciate her songs when she is playing without a band. She would have definitely benefitted from a couple of fellow musicians and an audience of some capacity. We didn't feel the energy at all unfortunately and I suppose it just wasn't her night.

Ted Leo on the other hand is as good without a band as he is with a band. His signature post-punk rock-pop sound and distinct voice work in any set-up and draw people in. Add his sense of humour and rebel politics into the mix and you have a performer that does not only have a die-hard following but will turn any half-empty bar into a ball. We love this man, and have done so ever since his old Sin-Eaters days. He just never grows old and we never grow tired of his songs that speak to us about life and love.

We had a great night but we left with a little bit of a heavy heart, having hoped that a few more people had made the effort to show up. Until next time.

Quick review: Cave + Camera

.HBC's website may state that the club is currently closed, but I was there last night, confirming that the venue has reopened and not much has changed.

When I went to .HBC in the past, gigs always started early. Therefore, we arrived at Alexanderplatz at 9 pm, not wanting to miss Camera, a band I have been disappointed and mesmerised by on previous occasions. By now I am just so intrigued by this trio. However, not only were we an hour early to the original start time of the concert, Camera also came onstage with a half hour delay, after missing their percussionist. When everyone was already assuming that they were not going to perform, a befriended drummer stood in and played one song with the band. Of course one song is not a set, but at least this group's songs are very long and very good. They gave a sterling performance, albeit a distinctly too short one. All the audience's pleas for more were in vain - the band could not play more without their original band member. Overall, another odd experience with Berlin's most promising local group.

Cave delivered exactly what I had expected. Some of their songs are absolute pearls of instrumental psychedelic wave music, others are just so-so, a little bit on the funky side, and would be well-placed as background film music. And this is what it feels like live, too. Some songs just gripped me so hard, moved people to dance freely in the half-filled cinema room. And others just made you watch on, nice songs but nothing that leads to you to yearn for more. When the already oxygen lacking room started to really fill with cigarette smoke, after about six to seven songs, I had to make my exit. I was actually starting to feel nauseous and was getting coughing fits, which is unusual for me in my career as a die-hard punk venue attendee. 

A good night, though a little odd and lengthy. We got home and wondered what that was all about but were glad to have seen Cave play. I just hate to miss out on a good band, even if the evening unfolds differently than originally envisioned.

Late notice: The KVB this week

Y'all, I have missed this amazing gig off our preview this week. Forgive me, god of music! The wonderful UK group The KVB is playing at King Kong Klub on Friday and I will be there, swinging and dancing to their wave music. You enjoyed the Dead Skeletons gig? This is your cup of tea then! My bf says everything I listen to these days sounds like a variation on Neu! and he might be right there. See you Friday!

Review: Daniel Bachman

Nightlife in Berlin is unbelievable sometimes. Like last Friday. Torche played at Bi Nuu, Deep Time at Schokoladen, Aidan Baker and Noveller had their tour-starting-gig and, well, a couple more concerts I can't remember. Someone called it First-World-Problem, I guess this person was right.

I decided to see Daniel Bachman at Frollein Langner in Neukölln. A young and promising guitar player from the States playing some kind of instrumental finger picking guitar. Before him El Gos Binari tried to get the attention of the audience. It didn't worked out, well, not his fault. To play in the middle of a packed bar in Neukölln on Friday night didn't seem like a good idea. Anyway, El Gos Binari reminded me lot of Dustin Wong meets Animal Collective. One guy, a guitar and a lots of pedals.

After a short break Daniel Bachman tuned his Guild guitar and played like no one was there. Just him and his sound. Not this blues- or folky style of sound, more an attempt to follow Robbie Basho or Jack Rose. I can't believe how good he is at this young age. Frollein Langer was still crowded and only a handful was interested in his performance. Too bad for everyone. Nevertheless I enjoyed it a lot.

Fortunately, he played a second gig on Saturday at Madame Claude's. Unfortunately, I couldn't go to this one, but a trustworthy source told me that it was more quiet this time, but also more reserved. The good news is he'll return in May next year, so mark you calendars. Also, his new record on Tompkins Square is coming out soon. 

Death Grips release new record for free download

Death Grips, the awesome experimental hip hop project including amongst others no other than Zach Hill from Hella, just released their newest record No Love Deep Web for free download!

Apparently they have some strong disagreements with their record label and decided to take matters in their own hands and just put it out for everyone to download.

It's available on their website (attn: nswf), on youtube and on various filehosting sites (here, here and here).

Death Grips are also playing their first Berlin show ever on the 1st of November at Festsaal Kreuzberg (facebook event for that here), it's going to be a blast and I'm so looking forward to this! 

Check out a live video from one of their performances below.