29-06-2012

THE MAAAAAARS VOLTA

Tuesday night. Okay. Big show. The Mars Volta at the AB. Pretty siked, cause they're one of my favourite bands.

The first band was Le Butcherettes. They were... special? I don't know. They're these 2 mexicans girls that play an eclectiv mix of music I can't put my finger on. Omar from The Mars Volta joined them on bass, which was pretty cool. Aside from the eclectic music, the singer/keyboard player/guitar player was quite the entertaining factor. Dancing like she was possessed, warped into the musical dimension only to be snapped out of it by ending a song and hearing the audience applaud. She'd go into the audience and dance, and she'd sing next to the microphone and she'd fall on the ground and she'd speak Spanish and she'd do all these crazy stuff. Besides that, the music was cool but not really mi copa de té. Enjoyable show, that's for sure.

The main event was of course The Mars Volta. They came up to this silly tune (I forgot what it was), and Cedric exclaimed the winged words "LET ME FEEL YOUR BUTTHOLE" and then they started. It was magical. It was insane. It was crazy. These guys are so... special? I don't know how they do it, but they seemingly all know what they're doing and know how the songs work but sometimes it feel like everybody is just doing whatever the fuck they want to. The bass player was probably the most consistent guy in the entire band. He actually kept the rhythm kind of and he was able to provide an element of stability in the chaotic universe of one-bar tempo changes, seemingly irreconcilable guitar parts and atmospheric keyboard parts that are barely noticeable yet probably brought a lot to the whole experience. I loved watching Omar do his thing on the guitar. In the beginning I really recognized riffs and progressions that came back, sort of like a real song, but that's definitely not his trademark. Omar's style of playing is expressive, enthusiastic, experimental and yet he makes it look very natural.
On top of that there's Cedric, AKA the best dancer in the entire world and one of my icons in the musical world, who sings these incomprehensible neologisms, arcaisms and loan words in an extraterrestial context using reverb in an adequate way. This man's voice is incredible. I was wondering why there was a mug of coffee/tea on the stage, but apparently it was of Cedric and I completely understand. If I had a voice like that I would not dare to drink something alcoholic, sugary or anything that would slightly alter it in a possibly bad way.
The Mars Volta is really an ensemble. The members stand out on their own at the same level as they stand out as a group. They know what they're doing, which is pretty hard to believe. For example, they ended one song with an outro that was deceiving up to 3 times. I remember from my Esthetics class in high school that there's a classical composition by I think Mozart that has the same technique. It seems like an ending (which is classically the root note) but it's slightly off each time. Marvelous. Just another example of how well-cultured, intelligent and talented these guys are.
The setlist consisted of most of the new record, Noctourniquet, and they ended with Goliath off of The Bedlam In Goliath. I wasn't really bummed out because the show was great as it was, but I would have liked to hear them play an older song. I guess I should've went to see them a couple years ago then, probably. Mea culpa.

28-06-2012

MOOOOOOVING MOUUUUUUNTAINS

Monday night. Hole smokes, Monday night. I finished my exams on Monday and I was quite drunk.
I went to Aarschot to see bands and stuff. Was fun and shit.

The first band and stuff I saw was Atlas. Not really into it or something. It was heavy and shit but also kind of all the same and stuff. So yeah.

Then Get Off My Shoes played. They were great and all! I really, like, liked them! They play indie rock or somehting and I danced and stuff. Bought their cd and shit. Highfived the dudes mutltiple times at the end of the show and stuff. Really cool, like.

Midnight Souls were, like, next. And I moshed and stuff. Stagedived twice, didn't work twice. Probably made a fool of myself or something. Still, one of the best bands around and shit! Love those guys, like, totally! Ya know?

Moving Mountains was the last band, y'know. I was totally like wasted so I don't really know if they were good, but I guess so. Also I missed a big part of their show, bummer.

Support MENDVILLE SHOWS!

PRAAAAAAAAWN

Sunday night I went to Den Eglantier, one of my favourite venues, in Berchem.
The show was supposed to start early but there were drum problems so it started a bit later. No biggie, though.

Luckily Tony Clark, the lead singer of Prawn, played a solo set (so without drums), so he could get the show going. He replaced Ape Up, whose singer got in an accident or something, which is sad. However, Tony Clark played a cool set.

Next was Filler. All-star band from Antwerp, playing Dischord-influenced music. A really cool band. The new songs sounded promising so I hope we'll hear more from these guys.

Last band was Prawn. I was pretty much blown away. As usual I didn't know them and I didn't know what to expect. But it was great. Powerful, energetic, with the indie/hardcore mix going on. Check them out if you like music!

13-06-2012

Helltons Hostel

Monday night, teh Helltons played a show in Brussels. In a youth hostel. Pretty cool/crazy. The show was set up by this guy Jerome, I think, of Never Trust An Asshole Records. Great guy!

The opening band were a Brussels-based grunge-pop, Hole ripoff band. My Best Sunday Dress. Not really into it, to say the least. Damn.

The Helltons, though, are amazing, and they were really great. Although the singer/guitar player broke like 2 strings in one show, they did a great job. Not always as tight and skillful, but it was fast and I definitely like fast pop punk. Really catchy band. They were on tour to support their sophomore album, Nowhere On The Map, so you should buy that if you have the chance. They played a lot of songs and that was good cause their songs are great!
Weird setting, and barely any punk rock kids, but cool show nonetheless.

I interviewed them afterwards for the zine, so stay tuned for that, and we hung out a bit, they're really cool guys!

12-06-2012

Dead End (nie) Sin

I do not understand how hardcore shows attract a shitload of people while punk rock shows generally deal with and audience of 5 and a horsehead. Anyway, that's how it works and that's why Panique D'Oh was packed last Saturday, regardless of the regular people and the soccer-watchers.

First band I saw was Medic. They were cool. They played a hardcore and rock'n'roll mix, not unlike Circle or The Bronx. SOme songs kinda sounded the same and the songs were really long, but in terms of sound and musicianship these guys were on it, and I really enjoyed the show. Whoo!

Next: Outline. New band, turn-of-the-century hardcore. Pissed. Fast as fuck. Melodic yet rough. Pretty damn cool, I'd love to see more of this.

Also saw Ashes. Not really good, not necessarily bad either. It didn't struck me. Sorry.

Missed Dead End Sin, who released their EP Today, and A Strength Within, who probably played a great show.

The new Dead End Sin song actually sounds pretty good.

02-06-2012

Got my Apers shot

Holy smokes. Can you believe it? I hadn't been to a show in almost 3 weeks. Luckily, yesterday The Apers played a show in Bergen-Op-Zoom, which is on bicycle-distance (dutchism) from my house. Cool!

After a fairly tiresome ride, during which my bike chain fell off the gears about 5 times, I arrived at Gebouw T. Around the same time the SNC punx arrived so I wasn't the only Belgian guy. Cool!

Saw half of the Accelerators set. I think they're great. The songs are solid, the performance was solid. Everything was really good. But sometimes it's a bit flattekes. I think they could use some more punch now and then. Regardless, I enjoyed it.

Dowzer was alright. This was the second time I saw them, with an intermediate time span of about 4 years so I lost my point of reference. The bass player's still cute. The vocals are still great. Musicwise it was okay but it didn't hold my attention for the whole show. There are some songs I really like though.

I saw New Pokerface while standing in the smoking aquarium. Went to have a drink at the bar soon. Not my thing. They played like, forever. Man.

The Apers, however, have been playing since forever and for all I care, they can keep going on. It's been such a long time since I had seen them, so I was really excited for the show. Traditionally, they started with It's All Over You Know. I don't think I've ever seen them play another song first. A lot of stuff from You're Only As Strong..., and later it became apparent they still had the same kinda setlist as they had on the live-cd that is out now. But that's cool, a lot of songs I wanted to hear. Stuff like Wait A Little Longer and N210. I'm not sure if I've ever heard them play N210, actually. Definitely cool.
It seemed like only 4 people in the room knew these guys, including us 3 Belgians. So that was weird, cause usually their shows are wack. Eventually people started dancing and singing along though and it became a fun party right there. Kevin Aper is a hero and he should get his own TV show. Internationally. Such a good person.

Also scored a Jizz Kids shirt, and now I'm blasting the Jizz Kids on my turntable and wondering why they never play(ed) any more shows.