Quick review: The Diamond Road Show

Let's just say you cannot go wrong with the Digger. Full stop. And the Pencil. Exclamation mark. 

Digger Barnes' new songs are every bit as great as the older ones. He still performs his one-man-band show with perfection. Pencil Quincy is still the master of live analogue projection. We were yet again mesmerised and didn't want this evening at the crowded Monarch to end. 

Read my review from last year if you need more details about what Digger Barnes and Pencil Quincy do in their Diamond Road Show. But let me tell you: somewhere along the line they stole this little girl's heart. And I'm glad for it.

Teenitus Festival = Yummy!!

I realise that Erfurt is a bit of a travel from Berlin. But this line-up looks oh so good, we felt obliged to let you know about this little festival next month. Consider hitching a ride to what will possibly turn out to be the event of the year.

Website Teenitus Festival

Review: The Spits + Hunx & His Punx

When J. believes Codeine could be gig of the year, I will throw this one into the contest. It was my funnest night out of the year so far, that's for sure. All the anticipation of the previous months (yes, it was months) paid off. What a night!

Ever since Gravy Train!!!! supported Le Tigre in London many years ago, I was a fan of not only Gravy Train!!!! but also Hunx' own project Hunx & His Punx. I am not usually one who appreciates in-your-face offensivness that seems to have no meaning other than trying to piss you off or shock (I mean, really, what's shocking in this day and age??). Whether Hunx' intention is to shock you for the sake of it, whether he sees some message behind it, or whether he is just so crazy that he doesn't even think his antics might be shocking to some, I cannot tell. But I absolutely adore his openly sexual and over-the-top dramatic performances, be it in video or live on stage.

I had actually missed his last gig in Berlin at Cortina Bob and was ever so glad when I heard he was coming back. As the date of The Spits' gig grew nearer, I was actually getting more excited about the support act than about the headliner, guiltily so.

Review: Codeine

To get straight to the point, this is a promising candidate for concert of the year. I'm still in awe...

After arriving at Festsaal Kreuzberg and hanging out in the yard for a while we entered the venue and secured premium spots on the balcony. Schneider TM supported Codeine this night and he started pretty soon after we sat down. I wasn't familiar with what he does and expected some fluffy electronic music, for that was what I connected him with. Basically I only knew his remix of There Is A Light That Never Goes Out by the Smiths... Tonight he did something completely different and played his second live solo electric guitar set ever. It was a mixture of postrock style layers of guitar melodies and pretty loud noisy parts that reminded me of something between Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. It wasn't all bad but it didn't really catch my attention and I just found it too "rock".

Being aware of the fact that the room would fill up quickly, we decided to keep our balcony spots and waited until Codeine appeared on stage. They originally broke up in 1994, so I knew that this is another reunion of a band that hasn't been around for quite a while. Nonetheless I had high expectations and was quite excited before the concert.

Liars

Not that I need to get any more excited about the Liars gig next month, but NPR is also streaming the entire new album at the moment and, let me tell you, it's amazing.

Listen to the album on NPR

Review: Extra Life

Imagine you went and mixed Devo with Health, two of my all-time favourite bands, and then threw in some free jazz and psychedelic metal guitars. Sounds weird? Well, Extra Life are weird. But so much fun.

When we arrived it looked as if nobody, literally nobody, was going to this show. As it turned out they were watching the Champions League final at Monarch or hanging out on the WG balcony. By the time we returned from Monarch, right on time to see Extra Life take the stage, the room was well filled. It was hot, oh so hot, but it was roomy enough to see and move around. 

I didn't really know what to expect from this gig. Having really looked forward to it, I was still prepared to be surprised. And surprised I was. Each song sounds entirely different, yet each song can be attributed to something I like or another. It's like a band that takes all my favourite styles of music and runs them through a mixer with full force. And admittedly, this works better on some songs than on others. There were those where I was so getting into it I could have just jumped for joy. But there were others where it was enjoyable and fascinating to watch, but wouldn't make my personal top ten. They are that varied in their musical approach.

The gig seemed to be over after a mere half an hour when the band announced their last song. However, they added immediately that this song was going to be so long that nobody was going to be disappointed. This held true, with the song running a good 20 minutes. Insanity.

What a refreshingly innovative band. Yum.