57 North, Friday night, a Begijnhof on the left of me and punk shows at my right.
Let's keep it quick and just say Barney's Ego, Lifeless and We'rewolves all failed to entertain me. It might have been the fact I was really tired from partying the night before, being lovesick from the night before and getting to sleep at 5:30 am the night before, waking up at 11 am for coffee with a friend and going to class til 6pm, meanwhile being anxious about fucking everything. Might have something to do with that, also could have been that those bands just really weren't that good. Up to you, babe.
Coma Commander. I can't remember how I stumbled upon this band. Oh wait, I do, it was the Wellingtons show last year. Now they've released a beautiful EP full of singalong socially conscient drunkpunk songs. They're real good, yo. Also, never stop covering Dear Landlord. Free cara and a destructive mindset from listening to Business Papers on the way to the venue made for some great prerequisites that made me go nuts once in a while. Good show, I didn't buy the EP in favour of beers, but I'm p. sure I'll see them again sometime, and I'll buy it then. Def.
Oh yeah, and Jordi did a "Karelmove" on me. Dang!
Off The Charts headlined. They wore soccer shirts. Cool//gay. Can't decide. The Belgian team is going to Brazil next year. I couldn't give a fuck, but I'm happy for the people who give a fuck. Anyway, the Charts were good, same old same old. Little mosh, little emotion. You could say I was emoshional. Oh snap! Fuck off.
I'm very thankful to the OTC-dudes who were so kind to drop me off on the way home. Goods. The small afterparty (which appeared to have lasted quite a bit) was cool. I remember talking to someone and then hearing Direct Hit! coming up, quit conversation instantly, searching Jordi and getting wild. I also danced around with a large pot of leftover chinese food on my head. That was fun. And we put on F.Y.P.'s Die Young, that was fun.
Jordi Ostir. I love him.
13-10-2013
El Vía
Wednesday I went to a punkrock show in Club Kamikaze. I had to play myself as well. Whoo!
After arriving, meeting with frendz, setting up merch and giving away pancakes, Off The Charts started doing their thang. Their thang is a gruffy slow-paced 90s emopunk // '10s TitleFightcore fusion that I've seen far too many times but still gets me going. Getting better every time.
Elway killed it. I'm not convinced on record, and sure, they're a Red City Radio doppelganger, but they put on such a solid live show I couldn't help but be excited, dance around and sing along to words I didn't know. Solid tunes, solid dudes, solid show. I bought their 2 rekerds, both great, but definitely better on stage. Seeing them again at Fest, stoked!
Then I played the afterparty. It was my best show up til now, but that doesn't say much. I dropped my pants to plat "PANTS ARE JUST PANTS", my anti-pants song, and left them of for the rest of the set. I played Parry Gripp covers, Tigers Jaw, and gave Mean Jeans and Nerf Herder a shot but couldn't get past the intros. I sometimes got stuck after the intros for my own songs as well. I bet I could deliver a decent performance if I didn't get drunk, but who wants to see a decent MC Karel performance? That's not the deal.
So I sucked, but it was a lot of fun. Some guys apparently wanted to punch me in the face. Made me feel achieved.
Sold some shirts, very few records & zines, but got rid of all of my pancakes! I'm gonna make pancakes for punkshows more often! It's fun. I'm gonna start a catering business, called PANCAKES FOR PUNKSHOWS. Contact me if you want free pancakes at your punkshow.
Thanks a bunch to Kenny for asking me to play and co-setting up the show. "The only person I both can and can't stand."
After arriving, meeting with frendz, setting up merch and giving away pancakes, Off The Charts started doing their thang. Their thang is a gruffy slow-paced 90s emopunk // '10s TitleFightcore fusion that I've seen far too many times but still gets me going. Getting better every time.
Elway killed it. I'm not convinced on record, and sure, they're a Red City Radio doppelganger, but they put on such a solid live show I couldn't help but be excited, dance around and sing along to words I didn't know. Solid tunes, solid dudes, solid show. I bought their 2 rekerds, both great, but definitely better on stage. Seeing them again at Fest, stoked!
Then I played the afterparty. It was my best show up til now, but that doesn't say much. I dropped my pants to plat "PANTS ARE JUST PANTS", my anti-pants song, and left them of for the rest of the set. I played Parry Gripp covers, Tigers Jaw, and gave Mean Jeans and Nerf Herder a shot but couldn't get past the intros. I sometimes got stuck after the intros for my own songs as well. I bet I could deliver a decent performance if I didn't get drunk, but who wants to see a decent MC Karel performance? That's not the deal.
So I sucked, but it was a lot of fun. Some guys apparently wanted to punch me in the face. Made me feel achieved.
Sold some shirts, very few records & zines, but got rid of all of my pancakes! I'm gonna make pancakes for punkshows more often! It's fun. I'm gonna start a catering business, called PANCAKES FOR PUNKSHOWS. Contact me if you want free pancakes at your punkshow.
Thanks a bunch to Kenny for asking me to play and co-setting up the show. "The only person I both can and can't stand."
07-10-2013
Summer In October part II: AMAI GIJ STINKT b/w GIJ OOK
Okay, Saturday, serious bizniz. Breakfast at Break Point, witnessed a threeway car collision, laughed a good deal and had a good foccacia sandwich.
Elias organised a punk rock quiz, which was really fun, and me and Elias basically have the same taste in music so obviously we won the quiz. Whaddup.
Hangouts at Kroenkel. Met some Scottish dudes, real cool dudes. Ate rum&raisin ice cream. Watched the police being assholes. But let's talk punx.
The Depressants are not really my cup of tea. Sorry dudes. They're all real cool and the songs are okay and all but yeah... I watched a couple songs, then proceeded to drink beer while the organisation was hanging up sheets because the cops said they had to.
The Kimberly Steaks were pretty cool, equally snotty as every Scottish pop punk band ever. Fun show. They have some really good tunes. Nothing out of the ordinary, but you know. It's pop punk or something.
Silver & Gold replaced Buddy Zombie and His Planecrash, which made me both really sad and really happy. I was really curious to see Buddy Zombie and a Summer In October without Kevin Aper is just odd. But I love Silver & Gold and they played a short but good set. Really stoked on the new tunes/record that should come out sometime. Undertones cover as per usual. Best dudes.
I was also really curious to see The Goodluck Party play. I can't remember if I saw their full set or not. It's weird how this Saturday is so blurry. Was it the beers or the fact that so many bands played? Maybe I spent too much time outside. Anyway, this Goodluck Party sounded really good. And they had funny clothes. Hawaiian shirts and such. Because it's Summer. In October. Y'know.
Big Eyes was awesome. Such a good band. They didn't look too enthusiastic, but they played a rad set, so I'll take it. They're definitely something different than all the pop punx and 3-chord madness, but it was impressive and Kate is an amazing singer and songwriter. They have a record called Almost Famous, which is really good and also the title of Pie's favourite movie. He told me to see it, so I'm gonna do that this week.
I saw one Richie Dagger song and thought "wow, this is really cool" and then I went outside. What the fuck, brain? Have you gone insane? That was pretty lame! I'm all outta rhymes now.
I skipped Reproach because I didn't feel like seeing Reproach and I was getting dating advice from the dudes in Direct Hit! It was hilarious. And I kinda wanted to save some energy forp the sequence PDS-Direct Hit-Yum Yums, which was bound to kill me. Reproach was probably really good. They hate you.
Priceduifkes apparently started out with a Hives cover, which I forgot about already. The rest of their set was amazing, as expected World War III broke out again and the place got destroyed. There is no way I can describe what happens during these PDS shows. It's kinda of like magical. Magicool. Even live videos don't really capture the vibe. They played 2 new songs I think, both of which sounded really promising. It's alright so. Also Brutal Knights, Frogball and D4 covers. Everything kapot. Fuck.
My kids will hear about this stuff.
The sound didn't go over well for Direct Hit!, but their energy and the quality of their songs did! Fuck you, get pumped, and all that. I got pumped alright! Their drummer is insana and their new bass player was inches away from doing a full splits. That was rad. The new songs rule, the old songs rule, the new record in amazing. Both musically as conceptually I am kinda blown away by it. So, solid show, lots of fun, lots of shouting. They closed with We're Fucked, and well, we were fucked. Awesome.
The Yum Yums were the last band on the schedule. I only know their Singles 'n' Stuff record, but that's really good so let's dance, right? Right! They played a lot of songs, and I ended up knowing half of them so that's cool. They also covered Chewy Chewy, Bird Dance Beat and Walking Out Of Love, next to playing gems like Be With Me and Girls Like That. Whoo! I danced my butt off. If I was a native American, my name would be Dances With Babes, cause that's what I do. Babes of both sexes, obvi. That's all I wanna do in life. Just dance with babes. It's cool.
Anyway, The Yum Yums were great, I was really stoked on seeing them. Thanks.
Afterparty started out with Banana Brain and ended up with Gainesville. Everything in between were awesome singalong punk and hardcore tunes that made for an awesome party. Piekpries rules. I tried to fancy-dance but failed miserably. I don't even know how to follow. I'm a mess. But I like dancing. I really like it. That's probably why I was exhausted by 3 am and went to sleep instead of partying at The Swing. Punk rock taking its toll.
I woke up and lots of body parts hurt. I cleaned up the dorm room a bit cause it was a beercan covered mess and tried to flush the toilet but that didn't work out cause there was no water left. Yikes.
Went home, noticed someone couldn't help drawing a swastika in my neck and felt a profound post-SIO blues. Listened to Be With Me by The Yum Yums on the train and got home sad and happy.
I love your faces. Don't judge me.
Elias organised a punk rock quiz, which was really fun, and me and Elias basically have the same taste in music so obviously we won the quiz. Whaddup.
Hangouts at Kroenkel. Met some Scottish dudes, real cool dudes. Ate rum&raisin ice cream. Watched the police being assholes. But let's talk punx.
The Depressants are not really my cup of tea. Sorry dudes. They're all real cool and the songs are okay and all but yeah... I watched a couple songs, then proceeded to drink beer while the organisation was hanging up sheets because the cops said they had to.
The Kimberly Steaks were pretty cool, equally snotty as every Scottish pop punk band ever. Fun show. They have some really good tunes. Nothing out of the ordinary, but you know. It's pop punk or something.
Silver & Gold replaced Buddy Zombie and His Planecrash, which made me both really sad and really happy. I was really curious to see Buddy Zombie and a Summer In October without Kevin Aper is just odd. But I love Silver & Gold and they played a short but good set. Really stoked on the new tunes/record that should come out sometime. Undertones cover as per usual. Best dudes.
I was also really curious to see The Goodluck Party play. I can't remember if I saw their full set or not. It's weird how this Saturday is so blurry. Was it the beers or the fact that so many bands played? Maybe I spent too much time outside. Anyway, this Goodluck Party sounded really good. And they had funny clothes. Hawaiian shirts and such. Because it's Summer. In October. Y'know.
Big Eyes was awesome. Such a good band. They didn't look too enthusiastic, but they played a rad set, so I'll take it. They're definitely something different than all the pop punx and 3-chord madness, but it was impressive and Kate is an amazing singer and songwriter. They have a record called Almost Famous, which is really good and also the title of Pie's favourite movie. He told me to see it, so I'm gonna do that this week.
I saw one Richie Dagger song and thought "wow, this is really cool" and then I went outside. What the fuck, brain? Have you gone insane? That was pretty lame! I'm all outta rhymes now.
I skipped Reproach because I didn't feel like seeing Reproach and I was getting dating advice from the dudes in Direct Hit! It was hilarious. And I kinda wanted to save some energy forp the sequence PDS-Direct Hit-Yum Yums, which was bound to kill me. Reproach was probably really good. They hate you.
Priceduifkes apparently started out with a Hives cover, which I forgot about already. The rest of their set was amazing, as expected World War III broke out again and the place got destroyed. There is no way I can describe what happens during these PDS shows. It's kinda of like magical. Magicool. Even live videos don't really capture the vibe. They played 2 new songs I think, both of which sounded really promising. It's alright so. Also Brutal Knights, Frogball and D4 covers. Everything kapot. Fuck.
My kids will hear about this stuff.
The sound didn't go over well for Direct Hit!, but their energy and the quality of their songs did! Fuck you, get pumped, and all that. I got pumped alright! Their drummer is insana and their new bass player was inches away from doing a full splits. That was rad. The new songs rule, the old songs rule, the new record in amazing. Both musically as conceptually I am kinda blown away by it. So, solid show, lots of fun, lots of shouting. They closed with We're Fucked, and well, we were fucked. Awesome.
The Yum Yums were the last band on the schedule. I only know their Singles 'n' Stuff record, but that's really good so let's dance, right? Right! They played a lot of songs, and I ended up knowing half of them so that's cool. They also covered Chewy Chewy, Bird Dance Beat and Walking Out Of Love, next to playing gems like Be With Me and Girls Like That. Whoo! I danced my butt off. If I was a native American, my name would be Dances With Babes, cause that's what I do. Babes of both sexes, obvi. That's all I wanna do in life. Just dance with babes. It's cool.
Anyway, The Yum Yums were great, I was really stoked on seeing them. Thanks.
Afterparty started out with Banana Brain and ended up with Gainesville. Everything in between were awesome singalong punk and hardcore tunes that made for an awesome party. Piekpries rules. I tried to fancy-dance but failed miserably. I don't even know how to follow. I'm a mess. But I like dancing. I really like it. That's probably why I was exhausted by 3 am and went to sleep instead of partying at The Swing. Punk rock taking its toll.
I woke up and lots of body parts hurt. I cleaned up the dorm room a bit cause it was a beercan covered mess and tried to flush the toilet but that didn't work out cause there was no water left. Yikes.
Went home, noticed someone couldn't help drawing a swastika in my neck and felt a profound post-SIO blues. Listened to Be With Me by The Yum Yums on the train and got home sad and happy.
I love your faces. Don't judge me.
Summer In October part I: WIE ZIJDE GIJ EN WAAR KOMDE GIJ VANDAAN?
First things first: I want to apologize for everyone who I have hindered or annoyed the past weekend. I didn't mean to. Maybe I did, who knows. I hope you're a minority though. I'd like to paraphrase my friend Siebens who said I'm probably an intelligent dude but I ruin that by drinking and acting like an idiot. He's probably right. I like acting like an idiot just as much as I like being kinda sensical.
Second things second: I, for one, had the best weekend since a whole god darn while. Thanks Lenny, This Shittown, JH Kroenkel, Skintight recs, PDS, and everyone who helped them out. I love your faces.
Anyway, I told Lenny I was going to write a good review, so let's go. Jelle Gommers told me it should be fairly easy and I should just write "biejestig", but maybe people want to read some more? (A: no, they don't.)
So Friday the festivities started. Got off the train, met up with some buds, went to withdraw money and eat a burger and a cervela, finally arrived at the Kroenkel to drink beer and get ready to see The Dutch Rudders.
I love The Dutch Rudders. I love their music, and I love their faces. They were one guitarist short cause he had a soccer match. Lame, of course. Their set was sloppy. But I like their songs, so I didn't really mind. I absolutely love the Black Holes EP, so obviously sang along to most of those songs about drinking too much and liking girls and such. They played LJD which is the best song ever (One Direction even made a song about it) and that hardcore-y tune which is pretty wild. They finished off with Falling Apart, upon which I thought they probably deserve more response, but it was still 8 pm and everybody was still on the sober end of things. Good band though. bought a shirt, it looks like an Amenra shirt and has the words "life just disappoints" on it, which is the reason I bought it.
No Bones played next. One of the few bands I had never heard before. Apparently they're from Canada and are touring Europe to promote their debut EP Belongings. That's dope, they're like "whatever, we only have one 7" but why shouldn't we fucking tour Europe now?" The 7" is really good, by the way, I ended up really liking their band, sounded like Polar Bear Club and Shook Ones mayhaps. They played a Jawbreaker cover, which is obviously a really good thing to do. The song was Do You Still Hate Me? and lotsa peepz sang along to it. In short, they put on a more than decent show. Nice dudes as well.
The Lemonaids from Scotland also missed a guitar player, maybe he was a the same soccer match? I don't know. Anyway, Lemonaids rule, they're the band with the most attractive Murderburger. Also they're guitar player who was present was a total Mambo look-a-like, that was funny. The Lemonaids stand for fun, summery and light-hearted tunes, so when they started out with I Wanna Luau (With You-au), the tone was set for a set of surf punk goodness. Dances were done, songs were sang along, high fives were exchanged and a good time was had. They played a Captain Kate cover (Easy Come, Easy Go). Cool shiznit.
Then it was the time for The Bat Bites to conquer the world. They came up wearing bat costumes. They played tunes. They're the best band in the world and I wanna marry all of them, especially Florian. Amazing set, including their own hits, new songs, and covers of Masked Intruder and other bands (I don't remember, don't judge me). I assume I had a really nice time and that's important, right. Devon from Direct Hit! told me the next day that the bass player apparently got lost for a good minute at the start of some song and just stood there like a champ figuring out how to play the song. I don't remember it happening but I love anecdotes like that.
The Rawönes closed up the night. They're a Ramones cover band. One of the best. Obviously this was a major success at a festival where a lot of Ramones-inspired bands play. Initially I wasn't even stoked to see them, but as soon as they started the crowd, including me, just started to go go with the pogo and it was so much fun. The stelist was like an actual Ramones show, and the encore seemed to last as long as the actual set did. They did a perfect reenactment of the perfect band, my all-time favourite band. Dangg.
Siebens spinned records at the afterparty and I loved that because I love him. I did spend a lot of time hanging out outside though, It's nice to have these kinds of weekenders, where you see all your friends again and meet so many new people. I love that. I love all your faces. I love hanging, laughing, discussing, hugging and kissing friends. But that's just me.
Went for a late night kebab which was the best thing ever at the time. Back at the dorm room there was this girl Isabel, and no one knew who she was, where she came from and what the hell she was doing there, but she saw Jordi's balls and offered nothing in return. Super weird. I was drunk so we joked around with her and a couple minutes later she left. Weird.
Second things second: I, for one, had the best weekend since a whole god darn while. Thanks Lenny, This Shittown, JH Kroenkel, Skintight recs, PDS, and everyone who helped them out. I love your faces.
Anyway, I told Lenny I was going to write a good review, so let's go. Jelle Gommers told me it should be fairly easy and I should just write "biejestig", but maybe people want to read some more? (A: no, they don't.)
So Friday the festivities started. Got off the train, met up with some buds, went to withdraw money and eat a burger and a cervela, finally arrived at the Kroenkel to drink beer and get ready to see The Dutch Rudders.
I love The Dutch Rudders. I love their music, and I love their faces. They were one guitarist short cause he had a soccer match. Lame, of course. Their set was sloppy. But I like their songs, so I didn't really mind. I absolutely love the Black Holes EP, so obviously sang along to most of those songs about drinking too much and liking girls and such. They played LJD which is the best song ever (One Direction even made a song about it) and that hardcore-y tune which is pretty wild. They finished off with Falling Apart, upon which I thought they probably deserve more response, but it was still 8 pm and everybody was still on the sober end of things. Good band though. bought a shirt, it looks like an Amenra shirt and has the words "life just disappoints" on it, which is the reason I bought it.
No Bones played next. One of the few bands I had never heard before. Apparently they're from Canada and are touring Europe to promote their debut EP Belongings. That's dope, they're like "whatever, we only have one 7" but why shouldn't we fucking tour Europe now?" The 7" is really good, by the way, I ended up really liking their band, sounded like Polar Bear Club and Shook Ones mayhaps. They played a Jawbreaker cover, which is obviously a really good thing to do. The song was Do You Still Hate Me? and lotsa peepz sang along to it. In short, they put on a more than decent show. Nice dudes as well.
The Lemonaids from Scotland also missed a guitar player, maybe he was a the same soccer match? I don't know. Anyway, Lemonaids rule, they're the band with the most attractive Murderburger. Also they're guitar player who was present was a total Mambo look-a-like, that was funny. The Lemonaids stand for fun, summery and light-hearted tunes, so when they started out with I Wanna Luau (With You-au), the tone was set for a set of surf punk goodness. Dances were done, songs were sang along, high fives were exchanged and a good time was had. They played a Captain Kate cover (Easy Come, Easy Go). Cool shiznit.
Then it was the time for The Bat Bites to conquer the world. They came up wearing bat costumes. They played tunes. They're the best band in the world and I wanna marry all of them, especially Florian. Amazing set, including their own hits, new songs, and covers of Masked Intruder and other bands (I don't remember, don't judge me). I assume I had a really nice time and that's important, right. Devon from Direct Hit! told me the next day that the bass player apparently got lost for a good minute at the start of some song and just stood there like a champ figuring out how to play the song. I don't remember it happening but I love anecdotes like that.
The Rawönes closed up the night. They're a Ramones cover band. One of the best. Obviously this was a major success at a festival where a lot of Ramones-inspired bands play. Initially I wasn't even stoked to see them, but as soon as they started the crowd, including me, just started to go go with the pogo and it was so much fun. The stelist was like an actual Ramones show, and the encore seemed to last as long as the actual set did. They did a perfect reenactment of the perfect band, my all-time favourite band. Dangg.
Siebens spinned records at the afterparty and I loved that because I love him. I did spend a lot of time hanging out outside though, It's nice to have these kinds of weekenders, where you see all your friends again and meet so many new people. I love that. I love all your faces. I love hanging, laughing, discussing, hugging and kissing friends. But that's just me.
Went for a late night kebab which was the best thing ever at the time. Back at the dorm room there was this girl Isabel, and no one knew who she was, where she came from and what the hell she was doing there, but she saw Jordi's balls and offered nothing in return. Super weird. I was drunk so we joked around with her and a couple minutes later she left. Weird.
30-09-2013
Buoys
I've been listening to this band for a couple of months, and this past week I really made the click and it's been on really frequent rotation now. I first got to know them through a Facebook status update by this band called Jabber, who said they were going to be on Bloated Kat Records. As Bloated Kat only releases incredible bands, I checked out their demo and well, now I'm writing about it.
Boys - demo (DIY, 2013)
1. Sundae Skool
2. Turn The T.V. Off
3. Long Walk
4. New Car
Boys are not just boys. There's 2 girls and 2 boys in this band. There's Maura and Megan, and Zach and John. But actually it's Zach, Megan, Maura and John. Or Megan, John, Zach and Maura. They're a band. They're p. good.
They released this demo with 4 songs and these 4 songs are so fun and good and nice to listen to. They are songs that would want to listen to with everyone in the world. Well, not everyone, cause most people suck. But with everyone who is cool. Sundae Skool starts with the giddiest of riffs and the intro lyric "I'm tired of being pessimistic". That sounds like a positive message, right? The songs rely on fun, solid pop punk riffs and strong personalilty-induced lyrics. There's this bass part 'round the chorus of New Car which I can't help but find silly (when the bass plays the riff an octave higher), other than that I am totally with this musically and it is definitely an approach to music and songwriting that I would like to do. (I don't know why I find that part silly, cause it's not something out of the ordinary or anything...)
But to illustrate my point, listen to Turn The TV Off and try not to go along with that chorus. It's as infectious as zombie bites. Which is an appropriate comparison, I think. If you wanna sing along, you may have to practice breathing properly. (Weird advice.) Megan's voice is typically kinda snotty and sounds very confident (weird description).
My favourite track on the record is Long Walk, I mean: "I think I understand what it's like/To feel the absence of a friend/You seek solace in a bottle/Speak dramatics through your pen/Maybe tonight you can stay sober/But by morning, you'll forget". That sounds like something I can very much and very much not identify with. Relatable and personable (is that a word?). As if the song didn't start good enough, they end it even better. I know a review isn't worth much if I just say "just listen to it" all of the time, but hey, in the end that's what you gotta do. Just listen to that outro bass riff into the "Watch my mouth slack your jaw/Yeah, I've heard it all before/I am ruthless with intent to leave you crying on your floor"-part and tell me you don't wanna see this live and sing along as loud as you can, dance your ass off and jump in the air of excitement/relief. It's kinda cathartic.
This demo is wack bizniz, peepz. If you're into babely pop punk, listen to Boys (among others, hit me up). If you're into normal pop punk, also do that. If you're into the defending of pop punk, listen to Boys and realise how silly Man Overboard sounds.
Also, I am going to see this band in New York with Lipstick Homicide (more babes) and the Murderburgers (short Scottish dudes). My life is v. awesome.
1. Sundae Skool
2. Turn The T.V. Off
3. Long Walk
4. New Car
Boys are not just boys. There's 2 girls and 2 boys in this band. There's Maura and Megan, and Zach and John. But actually it's Zach, Megan, Maura and John. Or Megan, John, Zach and Maura. They're a band. They're p. good.
They released this demo with 4 songs and these 4 songs are so fun and good and nice to listen to. They are songs that would want to listen to with everyone in the world. Well, not everyone, cause most people suck. But with everyone who is cool. Sundae Skool starts with the giddiest of riffs and the intro lyric "I'm tired of being pessimistic". That sounds like a positive message, right? The songs rely on fun, solid pop punk riffs and strong personalilty-induced lyrics. There's this bass part 'round the chorus of New Car which I can't help but find silly (when the bass plays the riff an octave higher), other than that I am totally with this musically and it is definitely an approach to music and songwriting that I would like to do. (I don't know why I find that part silly, cause it's not something out of the ordinary or anything...)
But to illustrate my point, listen to Turn The TV Off and try not to go along with that chorus. It's as infectious as zombie bites. Which is an appropriate comparison, I think. If you wanna sing along, you may have to practice breathing properly. (Weird advice.) Megan's voice is typically kinda snotty and sounds very confident (weird description).
My favourite track on the record is Long Walk, I mean: "I think I understand what it's like/To feel the absence of a friend/You seek solace in a bottle/Speak dramatics through your pen/Maybe tonight you can stay sober/But by morning, you'll forget". That sounds like something I can very much and very much not identify with. Relatable and personable (is that a word?). As if the song didn't start good enough, they end it even better. I know a review isn't worth much if I just say "just listen to it" all of the time, but hey, in the end that's what you gotta do. Just listen to that outro bass riff into the "Watch my mouth slack your jaw/Yeah, I've heard it all before/I am ruthless with intent to leave you crying on your floor"-part and tell me you don't wanna see this live and sing along as loud as you can, dance your ass off and jump in the air of excitement/relief. It's kinda cathartic.
This demo is wack bizniz, peepz. If you're into babely pop punk, listen to Boys (among others, hit me up). If you're into normal pop punk, also do that. If you're into the defending of pop punk, listen to Boys and realise how silly Man Overboard sounds.
Also, I am going to see this band in New York with Lipstick Homicide (more babes) and the Murderburgers (short Scottish dudes). My life is v. awesome.
Falling in love's easy.
29-09-2013
The Story So Sub-Par
I KNOW. I haven't been updating. Whaddayoucare? Do you even read this blog? Do you? Oh, thanks. That's cool.
I met a dude this week whose band I didn't necessarily like and he had read my review on the blog and kind of agreed maybe? Pretty funny. He was a really nice dude.
Anyway, I do stil go to shows and the last one I attended was a sold out (whut?) show for the Seahaven/The Story So Far show. Off The Charts was the support. It was like 11 euros. I had verry little idea of who those two headlining acts were prior to Tuesday. I still don't really.
Off The Charts are on a roll. Playing better shows every time, releasing an album soon, playing songs that are really good. They have it all. Seriously, those new songs sound really good. There are some main contemporary influences such as Basement and Title Fight, spiked with a typically 90s vibe coming from bands like Leatherface. Catchy tunes with interesting song developments. Look out.
I saw the first few Seahaven songs, which were okay, but I got bored so decided to head to the bar and hang/drink beer. Probably not the best decision, but I was fine with it.
I saw The Story So Far from the back, hanging with my West Flanders buds. The Story So Far is one of the, if not the, most popular pop punk bands these days. Wait, I mean "pop punk" bands. They're the kind of pop punk that, in my opinion, shouldn't be called pop punk. For one, it's not really poppy. If anything, these bands look more like a soft hardcore band than anything. Anyway, The Story So Far, or TSSF as the cool kids call 'em, is huge and kinda good, just way too generic in a sub-subgenre I'm not too stoked about. Crowd was insane though. And young, side-note, many young peepz came out on a Tuesday night, which is cool.
Anyway, semi-boring show, I talked to Dimi about how much I want to see Hold Tight! at Fest this year and he whole-heartedly agreed. That's cool.
See you in the pit.
I met a dude this week whose band I didn't necessarily like and he had read my review on the blog and kind of agreed maybe? Pretty funny. He was a really nice dude.
Anyway, I do stil go to shows and the last one I attended was a sold out (whut?) show for the Seahaven/The Story So Far show. Off The Charts was the support. It was like 11 euros. I had verry little idea of who those two headlining acts were prior to Tuesday. I still don't really.
Off The Charts are on a roll. Playing better shows every time, releasing an album soon, playing songs that are really good. They have it all. Seriously, those new songs sound really good. There are some main contemporary influences such as Basement and Title Fight, spiked with a typically 90s vibe coming from bands like Leatherface. Catchy tunes with interesting song developments. Look out.
I saw the first few Seahaven songs, which were okay, but I got bored so decided to head to the bar and hang/drink beer. Probably not the best decision, but I was fine with it.
I saw The Story So Far from the back, hanging with my West Flanders buds. The Story So Far is one of the, if not the, most popular pop punk bands these days. Wait, I mean "pop punk" bands. They're the kind of pop punk that, in my opinion, shouldn't be called pop punk. For one, it's not really poppy. If anything, these bands look more like a soft hardcore band than anything. Anyway, The Story So Far, or TSSF as the cool kids call 'em, is huge and kinda good, just way too generic in a sub-subgenre I'm not too stoked about. Crowd was insane though. And young, side-note, many young peepz came out on a Tuesday night, which is cool.
Anyway, semi-boring show, I talked to Dimi about how much I want to see Hold Tight! at Fest this year and he whole-heartedly agreed. That's cool.
See you in the pit.
24-09-2013
Hey You Guys
Quick post to tell you I saw Hey You Guys 2 weeks ago and they were fucking incredible.
Jare described it as "de rock 'n roll en kolder van The Hives met de energie van Fights And Fires, gemixt met een beetje Arctic Monkeys en Rage Against the Machine. NEIG!"
He's totes right. Check 'em out. Crazy show as well.
Jare described it as "de rock 'n roll en kolder van The Hives met de energie van Fights And Fires, gemixt met een beetje Arctic Monkeys en Rage Against the Machine. NEIG!"
He's totes right. Check 'em out. Crazy show as well.
11-09-2013
not
You might remember how I was absolutely in love with this band Not On Tour two years or so ago. I totally was. And then I missed them on their 2nd Euro tour, but they came back for a 3rd time and I caught them again... twice! I hadn't listened to their music in ages, but I totally fell in love again.
First night was in Heist-Op-Den-Berg. I missed Snowbound. Sorry.
Support by Generation 84, who put on a solid show but I think Teun had some vocal issues or something. Anyway, it was alright, not my favourite band but good enough to keep watching their show.
Not On Tour played and as I said, I immediately remembered why I loved them so much. The combination of melody, speed and a to-the-point songwriting results in a catchy symphony of 4 Israelian peepz with a love for Descendents and Black Flag, or something. The new songs sounded equally great, if not better, so naturally I bought the new record, All This Time. The entire set ruled, they played a Bryan Adams cover (guess which one...) and generally played a nice show. Whoo!
Second night in Gent, made possible by Vera who let me crash on her floor, thanks! It rained as fuck so that was a downer but the rest of the night was... an upper?
I caught the last bit of Timmy Hillfire's set and although it sounded kinda sloppy, it was p. interesting and okay-sounding. Might have to check in on this.
Dead Convicts were much better than what I expected from the bandname. Straight, no-frills 80s hardcore punk. They were really great, played a Ramones cover (Havana Affair) and got some ska-influencage going which worked quite okay. Might have to check in on this too.
Retarded Fish came all the way from Slovakia so what the hell, let's just dance and act like nutcases for these dudes. Musically very strong, cool melodic hardcore/skatepunk kinda deal. Show was a lot of fun. Good band, good crowd.
And a second Not On Tour performance, yay! It might preliminarily be noted taht Valer played the entire set in his boxers cause he was the only one not wearing a short (short). Other than that, the guys and gal did good. Another great set, different than the night before, that's cool. More dancing going on, the crowdsurf and mosh and what crazy ideas anyone had. Fun fun fun.
Thanks again Vera for setting up the show and giving me a place to sleep. Slept like shit but whatevz. Said goodbye this morning, hopefully they'll come back next year. Love.
EDIT: Also superthanks to Mathias, who I don't really know but may have met that night (?) but who obviously is also a supercool dude for setting up the show as well also!
First night was in Heist-Op-Den-Berg. I missed Snowbound. Sorry.
Support by Generation 84, who put on a solid show but I think Teun had some vocal issues or something. Anyway, it was alright, not my favourite band but good enough to keep watching their show.
Not On Tour played and as I said, I immediately remembered why I loved them so much. The combination of melody, speed and a to-the-point songwriting results in a catchy symphony of 4 Israelian peepz with a love for Descendents and Black Flag, or something. The new songs sounded equally great, if not better, so naturally I bought the new record, All This Time. The entire set ruled, they played a Bryan Adams cover (guess which one...) and generally played a nice show. Whoo!
Second night in Gent, made possible by Vera who let me crash on her floor, thanks! It rained as fuck so that was a downer but the rest of the night was... an upper?
I caught the last bit of Timmy Hillfire's set and although it sounded kinda sloppy, it was p. interesting and okay-sounding. Might have to check in on this.
Dead Convicts were much better than what I expected from the bandname. Straight, no-frills 80s hardcore punk. They were really great, played a Ramones cover (Havana Affair) and got some ska-influencage going which worked quite okay. Might have to check in on this too.
Retarded Fish came all the way from Slovakia so what the hell, let's just dance and act like nutcases for these dudes. Musically very strong, cool melodic hardcore/skatepunk kinda deal. Show was a lot of fun. Good band, good crowd.
And a second Not On Tour performance, yay! It might preliminarily be noted taht Valer played the entire set in his boxers cause he was the only one not wearing a short (short). Other than that, the guys and gal did good. Another great set, different than the night before, that's cool. More dancing going on, the crowdsurf and mosh and what crazy ideas anyone had. Fun fun fun.
Thanks again Vera for setting up the show and giving me a place to sleep. Slept like shit but whatevz. Said goodbye this morning, hopefully they'll come back next year. Love.
EDIT: Also superthanks to Mathias, who I don't really know but may have met that night (?) but who obviously is also a supercool dude for setting up the show as well also!
09-09-2013
Bring on the beers.
Have you heard of Ashes? It's a cool band. They released a cool record. I bought it. It's worth the buy. Worth the money. Worth to review it, maybe...
So HERE IT GOES.
Ashes - Cursed (Perspective Records, 2013)
A1. Push
A2. Keep It
A3. Cursed
B1. Final Breath
B2. Wounds
B3. The Swarm
This has been a highly anticipated EP for me. I fucking love Ashes in every way possible. I love the band, I love the music, I love the people and I love their record label. Let's give it up for Perspective Records, who have released some really good hardcore records this year. Good job on this one too. Simple and clear packaging, a downloadcode for the nerds, great artwork (who made this?) and a choice between a pretty white and green splatter 7" vinyl or a nice digipack with a CD with Stijn's face on it. I think i made a wise choice by going for the vinyl, although the inside still has a picture of Stijn's face on it. Dang it.
Enough joking around, as white and green this record may look, it sounds nothing like white an green. Sounds like grey and maybe red, and black, and other dark colours. Ashes is a typically dark band, I think. I mean, they can be, they sometimes are. One thing Stijn once told me and is noticable on this EP, is that his vocals are cleaned up a bit. If you compare the vocal recordings to the demo songs, it's slightly less brutal. Still fierce as fuck though, and you can actually understand the lyrics better, which is cool. To a further extent, p. good job on the recording/mixing/mastering. Every part of the band comes out of his shell quite well and harmoniously.
Now, let's get to the songs, huh? I'm always nagging about stupid stuff when the songs are of course the most important things of the record. Cursed is a very Ashes-like record. I think it's getting to a point where the songs are recognizably theirs. Starting with the slow-paced intro-esque headbanger Push, you get the sense of groovy, gloomy, sincere and hard-hitting hardcore that these dudes do. Getting into Keep It, which was also on the second press of their demo, things get somewhat faster. Ashes heavily rely on riffs and rhythm patterns and I think they're a very 'punk' band to be a hardcore band. There's no typical breakdowns with the intention of live mosh. No, the energy in the songs should be enough to get a crowd going.
Stijn's vocals still get to me, especially on Cursed, where he seemingly releases a lot of negative energy. I'm not all for negativity, but a lot of great music comes from a negative place/state of mind. Cue Cursed, the title track. Equally groovy, with a sick bass riff driving the song and a high-ended outro that's a nice symbiosis of what they're capable of as a band. I'm the son of a cursed one/it took so many fucking years/before I renounced your name. I have no idea what that means, but you can feel it. Feeeeeeeel it.
Side B starts off with my favourite track, I think, on the rekerd. Final Breath. From the intro/verse riff on I'm captured. The contrast of the 2 measures of higher, more melodic chords to the introduction of the drums and bass and the lower, more stereotypically hardcore riffing is really cool. Should get me pumped, or stoked, or psyched at a live show. It should. Vjee's riffs are generally really cool and, as I said, they're proper riffs. The tempo change mid song is fitting, circle pit material. Build ups that pay off into cathartic songs of desperation and anger. At least, that's what I think the dude's singing about. I wouldn't really know for sure, though. He seems quite displeased with the world. Can't blame him, right?
Same theme continues in Wounds, for which they made a promo video. It's a catchy song. Love the drums on this one, they create a cool, dark-ish vibe for the tune. this world ends tonight/there is no hope. Yeah, told ya. Groovy shit. The last song on the recording is another groovy one. That's what I mean with "an Ashes-like record": it's consistent in sound. It has its proper qualities. If you like them, you'll probably like all or most of their songs. If you don't, then you probably won't like 'em at all. Anyway, cool back-and-forth vocals on this track, cool bass loops and a generally cool track to end a record on.
Fade out with feedback and we're clear.
Now give me that beer, love.
So HERE IT GOES.
A1. Push
A2. Keep It
A3. Cursed
B1. Final Breath
B2. Wounds
B3. The Swarm
This has been a highly anticipated EP for me. I fucking love Ashes in every way possible. I love the band, I love the music, I love the people and I love their record label. Let's give it up for Perspective Records, who have released some really good hardcore records this year. Good job on this one too. Simple and clear packaging, a downloadcode for the nerds, great artwork (who made this?) and a choice between a pretty white and green splatter 7" vinyl or a nice digipack with a CD with Stijn's face on it. I think i made a wise choice by going for the vinyl, although the inside still has a picture of Stijn's face on it. Dang it.
Enough joking around, as white and green this record may look, it sounds nothing like white an green. Sounds like grey and maybe red, and black, and other dark colours. Ashes is a typically dark band, I think. I mean, they can be, they sometimes are. One thing Stijn once told me and is noticable on this EP, is that his vocals are cleaned up a bit. If you compare the vocal recordings to the demo songs, it's slightly less brutal. Still fierce as fuck though, and you can actually understand the lyrics better, which is cool. To a further extent, p. good job on the recording/mixing/mastering. Every part of the band comes out of his shell quite well and harmoniously.
Now, let's get to the songs, huh? I'm always nagging about stupid stuff when the songs are of course the most important things of the record. Cursed is a very Ashes-like record. I think it's getting to a point where the songs are recognizably theirs. Starting with the slow-paced intro-esque headbanger Push, you get the sense of groovy, gloomy, sincere and hard-hitting hardcore that these dudes do. Getting into Keep It, which was also on the second press of their demo, things get somewhat faster. Ashes heavily rely on riffs and rhythm patterns and I think they're a very 'punk' band to be a hardcore band. There's no typical breakdowns with the intention of live mosh. No, the energy in the songs should be enough to get a crowd going.
Stijn's vocals still get to me, especially on Cursed, where he seemingly releases a lot of negative energy. I'm not all for negativity, but a lot of great music comes from a negative place/state of mind. Cue Cursed, the title track. Equally groovy, with a sick bass riff driving the song and a high-ended outro that's a nice symbiosis of what they're capable of as a band. I'm the son of a cursed one/it took so many fucking years/before I renounced your name. I have no idea what that means, but you can feel it. Feeeeeeeel it.
Side B starts off with my favourite track, I think, on the rekerd. Final Breath. From the intro/verse riff on I'm captured. The contrast of the 2 measures of higher, more melodic chords to the introduction of the drums and bass and the lower, more stereotypically hardcore riffing is really cool. Should get me pumped, or stoked, or psyched at a live show. It should. Vjee's riffs are generally really cool and, as I said, they're proper riffs. The tempo change mid song is fitting, circle pit material. Build ups that pay off into cathartic songs of desperation and anger. At least, that's what I think the dude's singing about. I wouldn't really know for sure, though. He seems quite displeased with the world. Can't blame him, right?
Same theme continues in Wounds, for which they made a promo video. It's a catchy song. Love the drums on this one, they create a cool, dark-ish vibe for the tune. this world ends tonight/there is no hope. Yeah, told ya. Groovy shit. The last song on the recording is another groovy one. That's what I mean with "an Ashes-like record": it's consistent in sound. It has its proper qualities. If you like them, you'll probably like all or most of their songs. If you don't, then you probably won't like 'em at all. Anyway, cool back-and-forth vocals on this track, cool bass loops and a generally cool track to end a record on.
Fade out with feedback and we're clear.
Now give me that beer, love.
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