Starting Point

Yesterday dEUS kicked-off their new tour along small venues across Europe, hawking their upcoming album Vantage Point. Doornroosje in Nijmegen had the honour of being the first of over twenty stages to be taken possession of, which shouldn’t be that much of a problem. My point of reference in this respect was the stunning performance they gave in the Aula Magna, Lisbon, Fall 2005, which is likely to be the most suitable concert location I ever visited.

I soon discovered that wasn’t really fair, for the obvious reason that at this stage the band is still entitled to some degree of imperfection. Plus, during their a two-hour (!) show I’m almost convinced they managed to play every single track of their new album. That’s the spirit!

Some points worth mentioning:

• The Black Box Revelation, opening for dEUS, prooved once again that Belgians know their way around guitars.
• “Slow” sounded a little… slow. Wait, make that feebly.
• Mauro Pawlowski without a beard looks like John Stamos. All bearded he bears a striking resemblance to The Magic Numbers.
• Mauro knows how to use his voice. Still, he should work on his facial expressions.
• For us Dutchmen it is rather embarrassing and sometimes awkward when someone speaks Flemish and you don’t understand what’s being said. So Mauro, if what you meant to say was ‘thank you’, then you’re welcome.
• Mauro Pawlowski is rather intriguing…

dEUS - The Architect (video)
dEUS - Instant Street (track on MySpace)

They only want you when you’re seventeen

Laura Marling, you know, the ultra-talented seventeen year old girl with the amazing voice and the catchy folk-pop songs? She played in Paradiso in Amsterdam yesterday. Dressed in one of her bear-sized grandpa’s shirts and fresh from the blind lady next door who cut her hair she awkwardly played some songs. And she must have practiced a lot, since they sounded exactly as they sound on her (quite excellent) debut album. I guess she had to concentrate real hard to reproduce those songs so well because she kept looking at her shoes or her microphone. Well done, Laura!

Afterwards I had a couple of drinks with some seventeen-something girls (and no it wasn’t like that at all) who knew what being seventeen is all about. Hot fashion, juicy gossip (‘you know Chris and Janine…well, they totally did it!’), bitchfights (“bitter is not a good color on you honey”) and even throwing drinks in someone's face (I thought that only happened on tv). Suffice it to say; I prefer my seventeen year-old girls that way.

Laura Marling – Ghosts (mp3)

Mystery Jets – Young Love (featuring Laura Marling) (mp3)

MGMT live = barren

Kylie Minogue without 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head'. Hot Chip without 'Over and Over'. Justin Timberlake without 'Rock Your Body'. Feist without 'Mushaboom'. Whitney Houston without 'I Will Always Love You'. The Postal Service without 'Such Great Heights'. Sinead O'Connor without 'Nothing Compares 2 U'. The White Stripes without 'Seven Nation Army'. Fischerspooner without 'Emerge'. New Order without 'Blue Monday'...no wait, Joy Division without 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'. Nirvana without 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'. The Knife without 'Heartbeats'. Annie without 'Heartbeat'. MGMT without 'Kids'.

11 best shows of 2007

Yes puny humans, cheer for us!
I would like to use this 100th post (!) to congratulate ourselves. And to continue the listing. If it wasn't for the surprise act of the year the number one of this list would be the act I posted about first.

I've seen quite a lot of shows in 2007. My goal was to see all the artists that ended up in my top 15. But a good record does not necesarily mean a good show of course, and there were some surprises this year.
The best supporting act of 2007 was Patrick Watson...thrice! First he opened for Loney, Dear which kinda made me lose interest in the main act. Right after that we were treated to him supporting Interpol (again more interesting than the main act) and he had a double-headline gig with The Besnard Lakes.
The Biggest let-down was The Field. As much as I love his album the 'live act' was anything but live. He just stood there behind his laptop and flicked some switches. Boring! Lo-Fi Fnk at Pukkelpop also were a bit...sad and someone needs to tell Justice that a glowing cross is not an act, it's just a glowing cross.

But what were the 10 shows that made me dance, scream, cry or pee (not really!)?

10: Bjork at Cultuurpark Westergasfabriek (july 8)
I was and still am a bit disappointed by her last album. It features some good songs but it's just not that special somehow. The concert was however. She played the crowd like a Japanese flute. She danced like a little elf-troll on speed accompanied by brass-girls, lasers and flags. She ju-jitsu'd to the beat of Hunter and finally destroyed everything with the anthemic 'Declare Independance' (I still hear her shrill voice scream "raise your flag!" sometimes).

9: Pukkelpop in Hasselt (august 16, 17 and 18)
Although Arcade Fire didn't convince at all (because the sound was crap) Spoon (made me want to dance), Architecture in Helsinki (made me want to dance even more!), Sonic Youth (but not the entire set) and Fujiya & Miyagi (funky!) did. Seeing Low and Besnard Lakes again was also very nice but the true winner of Pukkelpop had to be Patrick Wolf. What a show, what a crowd, what a showman! The first beats of Accident and Emergencies were spectacular.

8: Stars in Paradiso (september 29)
Stars revolve around Amy Millan and Toquil Campbell who proved to be even more charming live than on record. The instant-hit 'Take Me To The Riot' got everyone going, the funky 'Genosha Heights' kept everyone moving and the cathartic duet 'Your Ex-lover is Dead' moved eryone even more. And as if that wasn't enough 'In Our Bedroom After The War' topped it all of (best last song on an album ever?).

7: Soulwax in Club 11 (october 21)
Simian Mobile Disco?...pfff! Justice?...bleh. Soulwax really proved they are the coolest of the cool. They invented cool, threw it away, invented a new cool and reinvented that. They played the remixes they did for other acts...live. To have enough good remixes to be able to do that is one thing, to come up with the bloody genius idea is another, but to make it work so incredibly well is....well....Cool.

6: Spinvis in Theater Kikker (september 23)
Spinvis is really Eric de Jong and played by himself in the small and charming theatre Kikker. I didn't really think it was going to be that special without his band but just him, a guitar, piano and lots of electronic tricks proved to be enough. Escpecially since he posseses a unique talent for uncovering big emotions from 'small' urban situations. I'm not ashamed to say that my eyes filled up a bit.

5: St. Vincent in Theater Kikker (december 8)
Annie Clark was so fragile it looked like whe was made of porcelain. But despite her appearance she really knows what she is doing. And what she's doing is nothing less than brilliant. She plays the piano and the guitar like she was born to it, has such a clear and beautiful voice AND writes incredible songs. An entire album full of them in fact. During the concert I was so close that I had to restrian myself from stepping on stage and hugging her. A savant with looks and charms.
St. Vincent - Marry Me (mp3)

4: Of Montreal in Paradiso (december 11)
Ridiculous costumes, psychedelic (and sometimes downright psychotic) visuals and opening your show with a 15-minute song? A recipy for disaster. But Of Montreal got away with it, and how! Their music features lots of rhytmn changes and breaks but my attention never wandered for a second. I dind't really consider myself a fan before, but now I'm converted. A paradoxically great show. You can watch all of it here.
Of Montreal - The Past is a Grotesque Animal (mp3)

3: The Besnard Lakes in Paradiso (may 28)
Nobody wanted to go with me to see The Besnard Lakes in Paradiso. Understandable if you try to describe their music; "well, it's kinda 70's rock, with male falsetto vocals and a shrill female voice, it's really loud and the songs last about 8 minutes...". They played their entire album and created that magical feeling that you sometimes get when everything just comes together... twice! It happened with 'And Tonight' and with 'And You Lied To Me'.
The Besnard Lakes - And You Lied To Me (live video)

Since I was foolish enough to finish this list before seeing my last show of the year:
2.5: Dan Deacon in Melkweg (20 december)
Just imagine a world where a fat bald-ish sweaty American loops Woody Woodpecker, uses raw techno-beats and sings and screams over it in a helium voice. Then imagine it being the coolest thing ever. COngratulations, you're living in that world! A dance-of, holding hands in a circle and a sing-a-long have never been this cool. The anthemic 'Wham City' was the highlight of the night.
Dan Deacon - Wham City (mp3)

2: Low in Paradiso (may 7)
I've had the pleasure of seeing Low twice this year. The first time was in Paradiso and I have to say that I was not at all prepared for that much subdued beauty. They've learned that less IS more. Highlight of the show was 'Take Your Time', a track that brims with tension and when the harmonic release comes it goes from the gut to the heart. The second time at the pukkelpop festival made me want to see them again a few days later in Utrecht. I really should've gone again.
Low - Take Your Time (live video)

1: The Ark in Waterfront (october 1)
A big fan of The Ark took me to see them. They're huge in Sweden but this was their first time in The Netherlands and they played in quite an unknown venue for some mysterious reason. Not that they seemed to notice because they played as if the crowd consisted of 150.000.000 people instead of 150. We had to endure two lame supporting acts but were treated to THE BEST CONCERT OF THE YEAR! A glam-rock show that spits on the Scissor Sisters from such great heights that it isn't even funny anymore. Cried from enjoyment and peed from exitement. I get all barfy even thinking about how great that show was.
The Ark - It Takes a Fool to Remain Sane (video)

The shows just go on

I started to get worried a while back. Something happened to me that never happened before. I was starting to get kind of tired of concerts.

The National was...bleh (and don't get me started on the scroteless supporting act Hayden!). Then there was Caribou who gave a decent show I guess but the sound was horrible and ruined the show. I still had high expectations for Ed Harcourt but those weren't fully met. Í wouldn't even have felt like going to the show I was gonna see after Ed if it wasn't for the surprisingly good supporting act.

Ed brought along singer/songwriter Jonna Lee from Sweden. She apparently gets compared to Feist a lot, not a bad thing of course. Her voice was beautiful and even got to me despite of the largely uninterested crowd. The highlight was an incredible duet she did with Ed Harcourt who produced her debut. After seeing Ed and Jonna in Amsterdam I traveled back to Utrecht to see St. Vincent. And boy am I glad I did!

Annie Clark was as lovely as I imagined she'd be. And what an incredible talent! She knows how to play the piano and especially guitar and has a fantastic voice to boot. A truly captivating performance. for a crowd of about 50 people. Thanks to Annie I actually got exited about seeing Of Montreal. And they definitely put me back on the right track, because they were....profound.
Next up is Dan Deacon who is supposed to rock the hell out of his crowd. I'm up for it.


Jonna Lee - And Your love (with Ed Harcourt) (myspace)

St. Vincent - Marry Me (mp3)

Dan Deacon - Wham City (Lempel Remix) (mp3)

Let's pretend we don't exist

The past is a Grotesque Animal. Not at all grotesque is taking five whole minutes for a completely ridiculous costume change. I guess performing in blue fishnet stockings and tight boxers just takes away the extra tension one must have bringing songs like Gronlandic Edit in what used to be a church (“Oh, the church is filled with losers, psycho or abused”).

I would call this song the soundtrack to my life. To an extent, I would compare Of Montreal’s performance last Tuesday in Paradiso, Amsterdam to the moment you see your life flashing by, with the tunnel and the lights… All your life you’re afraid this moment will turn out to be a great disappointment, though people who have had the experience keep telling you they actually did not want to go back. Well, they were right. Paradiso wasn't all that bad.

Of Montreal has been my religion for about a year now. The performance they gave last Tuesday has strengthened my belief. Their songs sound even more convincing when performed live on stage, though I discovered it’s hard to lose oneself in the music with all its rhythm changes and unpredictable emphases. It takes more than a peppermint to stay focused on the profound greatness of Of Montreal’s three most recent albums, and sometimes it seemed like Minister Kevin Barnes had a hard time acknowledging this.

While praying for a new album to come out in 2008, here’s some bible study material:

Of Montreal – Gronlandic Edit (Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?)

Of Montreal – Rapture Rapes The Muses (Satanic Panic In The Attic)

Of Montreal – Forecast Fascist Future (The Sunlandic Twins)

Busy

It's been a busy week.

Last thursday Loney, Dear played in Utrecht. His performance suffered from the same thing as the the last one I saw; the supporting act was better. First time Patrick Watson opened for him and left me pretty breathless (I hadn't heard of him then), this time Neonbelle opened for them and again they proved to be quite talented.

Then it was time for STRP on friday. STRP is a festival where technology and art meet. Which meant there were different installations (a lot of interactive videogames and light installations) and some music shows in the evening and DJ-sets all through the night. Unfortunately I was only able to see Apparat & Band and Roisin Murphy play (had to miss Soulwax, Modeselektor and Goose among others).
I wasn't all that impressed with Apparat who started a bit...lackluster in my opinion. Apparently it was a subtly built set and it got a lot better, however by that time I was gone to see Roisin Murphy. Roisin presented herself as a more intelligent version of Kylie or Madonna even. Highlights were of course 'Movie Star' but there also was a song from her previous record (I assume) that was very trance-inducing and 'Dear Miami' and 'Primitive' worked rather well live.

Sunday iLiKETRAiNS ended my busy weekend. I was surprised to see they were a lot younger than I had imagined since the singer has a very low voice I associate with people like Nick Cave or Lou Reed. They played their set well but played only two songs from their EP Progress/Reform which is a lot better than their current cd which features two many bleh songs and isn't produced very well. The visuals were nice though; a projected chessmatch to the drum of 'a Rook House For Bobby' and a very psychedelic everchanging rorscharchtest.

Next up: The National


Entire EP! Neonbelle - In a Cabin With... (free download)

Roisin Murphy - Primitive (mp3)

iLiKETRAiNS - A Rook House For Bobby (myspace)

Neonbelle

As I mentioned in the Beirut review last week, the supporting act was Neonbelle. It was their second show ever (as Neonbelle that is), but you wouldn't have guessed.
Neonbelle are a Dutch project consisting of Pien Feith (who has her own band) and Jelte Heringa (who worked with Spinvis amongst others). A while ago they dissappeared into a cabin (for the aptly-titled project 'In a cabin with...' from Badmintone records) with no clear idea and came out with a (free!) EP filled with beautiful songs.
Their sound can perhaps best be compared to Portishead or Hooverphonic in a sense that it's mostly slow, electronically based with haunting female vocals. But they do have a sound that is clearly their own; not just the beats but also the vocals are lesss clean and a bit darker. Their live performance was nothing less than stunning; Pien's voice was incredible and showed a controlled rawness that's quite unique (it reminds me a bit of PJ Harvey or Cat Power). Jelte's beats were sparse and extremely pleasant. The combination is pure gold.

The EP is completely free and can be downloaded here. The 22nd of november there's a showcase in Tivoli opening for Loney, Dear.

Not there yet

Poor Zach Condon. He was sick as a dog and drinking a lot of whiskey (or was it cough sirup?) to be able to keep playing yesterday. Zach Condon is of course Beirut, you know, the 21-year old American kid who was only 19 when his first cd (as Beirut) was released. Makes you think what you've done with your life up till now, doesn't it? (I know I haven't done crap with mine). His balkan influenced music spread like a virus over the net and almost every paper I've read had an article about him.
So he's talented and popular. But one thing became clear during the show; he hasn't made his materpiece yet. Yes, his voice was great even wracked by illness, yes, his band was great even though there was little room for improvisation. But the main flaw with Beirut is that he just doesn't have enough great songs. The first song (and title song) on his first record 'Gulag Orkestar' is clearly his best song by far. Armed with the knowledge of the potential shown in that song the other songs seem to be good enough and not as good as they could be. Having said all this I must add that even his weaker songs are better than the great songs of a lot of other artists.

I expect him to evolve (artistically that is) and release his true masterpiece in a couple of years. If he keeps his talented band then he'll realy blow us away with his show then.


First and still best song: Beirut - Gulag orkestar (mp3)

From the second album: Beirut - A Sunday Smile (mp3)


* the supporting act Neonbelle was incredible and as such deserves a seperate post.

The Arcade Fire still burns or the Win Butler did it

Last april Arcade Fire would play in the beautiful Vredenburg theatre. The band and the place gave the show high potential and it was sold out immediately. Unfortunately frontman Win Butler lost his voice and had to skip the rest of the tour, including that show. Last night they had their revenge. They played in the (much bigger and less intimate, as in: not at all) Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. But still I had high hopes. And that was just what I was afraid of.
Because may 2005 I (together with Konditorei) saw them in Amsterdam and that is probably still my favorite concert ever. It was one of those concerts where everything just comes together. The setting was Paradiso, a venue that's not too big and used to be a church (with those beautiful windows) where their theatrical music fits perfectly. The crowd was enthousiastic and ecstatic but respectfull (as in not clapping and not singing when they shouldn't be. Yes I'm talking directly to you, you stupid spastic bitch and monotomous zobie asshole!). The bandmembers were obviously enjoying themselves and the songs and the set were fantastic.
That's why I was a bit scared that yesterdays show would not live up to my expectations. And for a song it didn't. Opener 'Black Mirror' didn't impress that much because the sound was crap and Win seemed a bit agitated (by the crap sound I now assume) but the sound got better. And then they played an incredible version of 'In The Backseat' and I knew that they still had it. Chills. And I haven't even mentioned the fantastic New Order cover or the visuals. The big round screens showing live-footage (made to look old) and real old tv fragments.

I think everyone would agree with me that it was quite a spectacular show. Aside from the sound that started badly the only thing I criticism I can come up with is the fake flat organ...I don't see why there was a need for that.


One of the many highlights: Arcade Fire - No Cars Go (mp3)

What good would that do if there's no place to go, I ask you: Arcade Fire - Keep the Car Running (mp3)

Thanks to Konditorei for starting this post and Ruben for linking the Age of Consent cover.

Did they hate Amsterdam?

Like Sid and Nancy as musicians, that's how the husband and wife duo of Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry came across to me yesterday. Armed with boredom and discontent Handsome Furs charmed the audience and with the constant battle between his guitar and her raw syth-beats they grabbed our attention. A constant battle is also the theme of their record Plague Park. The battle between hating the city ('Handsome Furs Hate this City') but also hating the small towns ('Dead + Rural').

With all this boredom, discontent, battling and hating I would've expected a less charming duo. Not so.


Handsome Furs - What We Had (mp3)

Handsome Furs - Handsome Furs Hate This City (myspace)

Handsome Furs - Dumb Animals (video)

Certainly NOT the only gay in that village

OhmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodOhmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodOHMYGOD! BEST CONCERT OF THE YEAR ALERT! ohmygodohmygodo-*SLAP*...Thanks. I'm okay now.

Swedish Glam-rock band The Ark played their first concert in The Netherlands. Even though it was in a small venue in Rotterdam for about a hundred people they played as if they were on a giant stage playing for a crowd of thousands. They gave it their all and convinced everybody there that The Ark is THE GREATEST BAND EVE-*SLAP*...Sorry, I went of there again.

From the frantic first notes to the fantastic last one their motto was absolutely no decorum whatsoever glam, bam, thank you ma'am! Frontman Ola made Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears look like a conservative librarian with his impressive voice, stage personality, golden jumpsuit and 'controversial' lyrics. Lyrics about homosexuals' right to have children ('Father of a Son'):

And I may be gay
But I can tell you straight away
That Ill become a better father
than All of you anyway...(so listen!)
One day I will become
The father of a son
Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah!

About sexualization ('Tired of Being an Object'):

Well, don´t project your bore
On the girl on the dance floor
She doesn´t at all find
The men´s looks abusive
She doesn´t want your shield
Maybe she´s the one who´s free
Maybe sometimes getting fucked Can be amusing

And even about bare-backing ('Disease'):

If there is disease in you
I want to have that disease too

I can't remember having that much fun at a show. They deserve to be Swedens biggest act. And to be THE BIGEST BAN-*SLAP*...I'll stop now. Promise.

Their break-through single: The Ark -It Takes a Fool to Remain Sane (video)

Their fabulous 2007 songfestival song video: The Ark - The Worrying Kind (video)

In Amsterdam after the trip

It took me four and a half hours of trains, busses and trams to get to the Stars concert last saturday but as soon as they started 'Take me to the Riot' that exhausting journey was instantly forgotten. I was treated to an exhilirating set of songs from their 2005 break-through masterpiece 'Set Yourself on Fire' (please don't), new favorites (or rather favourites) from 'In Our Bedroom After the War', some old songs and the Smiths cover 'This Charming Man'.
Stars are a romantic indie-pop band from Canada (yes, from the Arts & Crafts label) who specialise in narrative songs about the intricacies of relationships. The songs in which Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan both sing parts from a male and female perspective are their trade-mark. Like on 2005's 'Your Ex-lover is Dead' where two ex-lovers meet again and we hear that their thoughts about each other are way off, or 'One More Night', a cruel tale about sex with an ex. The new album has 'Personal', which is sung as a personal ad ("Wanted single F/ Under 33/ Must enjoy the sun/ Must enjoy the sea") and slowly turns crueler and crueler.

Okay, so maybe they're not so much a romantic band as a band that sings about romances.


From 'Set Yourself on Fire': Stars - Your Ex-lover is Dead (video)

Fantastic set-opener: Stars - Take me to the Riot (myspace)

Moving: Stars - Personal (myspace)

From here we go downhill

The Field’s ‘From here We Go Sublime’ has been my 2007 summer album without a doubt. Even though minimal is not a genre I am particularly fond of the Swedish Axel Willner made a record that keeps intriguing me from start to finish.

Every time I tried to describe the music to someone I made it sound like boring trance. Yes, it could be described as repetitive. Little cuts and snippets of sounds and vocals are rearranged in what seems to the order they should’ve been in to begin with. Yes, it is a bit like trance in the sense that it’s utterly mesmerizing. And no, there are no climaxes. But maybe I should’ve compared it to the best foreplay you’ve ever had. Foreplay that’s so good and completely satisfying you just want to go to sleep/smoke a cigarette after it’s done.

Maybe you understand why I really wanted to see The Field. Last Friday he played in Club 11 in Amsterdam. A ‘hipster’ club on the eleventh floor of a building that also houses the Central Museum. After a lovely dinner (calf tongue and sweetbread with peach) with the International Style and Beauty Guru and Kevin we waited for The Field to start playing. After a very long wait, boring DJ’s and some of the most ugly people I’ve seen in a long time we still had high hopes. But after he started playing those hopes we’re also quite dashed. Kevin (check out his totally comprehensive Soulwax site where you can hear the remix they did for Hot Chip) is a professional and competent DJ and watched Axel turn a knob a total of four times. The Field was billed as live and I guess he was since he did move four times but I was kind of disappointed. It took me a couple of songs to get into it and his 'Heartbeat' remix he did for Annie helped a lot but I was no where near impressed with it. I do however have the 'You Don’t Know Her Name' single from Maps and his remix of it. And the Remix he did for Gui Boratto who will be playing in Utrecht in Oktober.

Well, at least the sweetbread and calf tongue were sublime.

Here's the Maps Remix: Maps - You Don't Know Her Name (The Field Remix) (mp3)

And here's his hit: The Field - Everday (myspace)

Pukkelpop: part 3

As WorthyNonse already pointed out; Patrick Wolf kinda ruled Pukkelpop. So I won't go into that again (he's still right though). But allow me to mention some of my other favorites.

First of there was Spoon. The week before I went Britt Daniel and his band had filled my internal jukebox with their new songs and they kept on playing without pause. Without. Pause. The songs from Ga ga ga ga ga (I’m still not sure if it’s a really good or a really bad album name) are such finely crafted pop songs that you start to wonder why they're not played on every radio. But then 'The ghost of you lingers' starts with it's hauntingly repetitive raw piano and screeching effects and you know. They kicked ass on PP although favorites as the forementioned song and 'Japanese cigarette case' were notably absent from the set.

Even funkier were Fujiya & Miyagi (I'll say it one more time: not Japanese, not a duo) who elevated the (to be honest, sometimes a bit boring) album tracks with more...well, swing in their live versions. However, they could’ve done something about their appearance and their show, which were like, totally absent. They looked like three business information architects (add other nonsensical business card buzzwords as you see fit) but rocked like three...uhm...well, they just rocked.

Something completely different was Low. I've seen them a while ago and was moved by their honesty and integrity. Like Fujiya & Miyagi, Mimi and Alan might not be very sexy and there were no dancers or cornea-scorching laser shows but their music was more than enough. Unearthly harmonies and the heaviest drums you've ever heard. If I had to choose the best song as played on PP I'd choose....okay, so I can't choose. It'd be a tie between Patrick Wolf's 'Accidents & Emergencies' and Low's 'Take Your Time'. I’m not afraid to say some tears were cried.

Other favorites were Architecture in Helsinki who were a lot better than the last time I saw them and ruheeeellly know how to build a party (or to overdose on caffeine).
The new version of 'Do the whirlwind' and the new ‘Do the whirlwind’ 'Heart it Races' were the highlights of the party.

Kings of Leon were the band that sounded best on the main stage. Caleb’s voice screeched with a husky passion and they showed us why their music could be called arena-rock (although that does bring up associations with bands like U2 or Coldplay, but that’s not what I mean here).

Spoon didn’t play this one: Spoon – My Little Japanese Cigarette Case (mp3)

Really nice video: Fujiya & Miyagi – Ankle Injuries (video)

Now you can cry too: Low – Take Your Time (mp3)

One of many fantastic remixes: Architecture in Helsinki – Do the Whirlwind (Haima Remix)

The singer’s raw screeching chills me to the bone: Kings of Leon’s – Charmer (myspace)

And as a bonus a remix: Kings of Leon - My Party (Kenna and Chad Hugo Remix)

Pukkelpop: part 2

Now, almost a week after our First Time at Pukkelpop, I found out where the festival got it’s name. Zits (pukkels) is what you get after trying whatever kind of festival food you can get during those three days, whenever you’re not going for the eight euros fruit shake. Waffles, hamburgers, spring rolls, it just didn’t matter. But, let me tell you, you’re lucky if zits are the only physical outcome of what I just summed up…

(bridge)

Who also found something out are The Pigeon Detectives. While Matt Bowman was performing his little microphone circus act on stage, apparently his girlfriend back home in England was seeing someone else. The rest is history. Matt became an enthusiastic nationalist, confusing everything white and red with the English flag. But let’s give the guy a break. Referring to it as simple chauvinism kind of makes him and his fellow detectives look a little nicer and the music is not all that bad. Pacing up and down the stage slinging your microphone is probably just a sign of boredom after an exhausting tour… especially when your girlfriend back home etc etc etc…

Bonde do Rolê on the contrary are the kind of people who leave their boyfriends/girlfriends at home waiting, while themselves whoring and groupieing their way through a festival season. And if need be, all that can just take place on stage. If that isn’t economic, what else is? What’s not very economic is the fact they’re making use of a wide range of samples, such as the guitar riff of The Darkness’ I Believe In A Thing Called Love and the intro of Summer Nights from Grease. On the other side, that makes their show attractive to people who aren’t familiar with them yet. Their performance was marvellous and band member Pedro D’Eyrot and me share at least one thing: our favourite Bonde do Rolê track is Divine Gosa (mp3)!

From Divine tot Patrick Wolf is just a small step (I promise this was my last forcedly constructed textual bridge). The album versions of his little jewels are true pieces of art, and what happens to them when played live is probably the exact contrary of what happens to a Pop Levi track when performed on stage. If I were a song… I would want to be The Libertine by Patrick Wolf. I would have the finest violin lines and people would stare at me with their mouths open. They would all say: “how does this Gepetrick Wolf turn his creatures even more vivid on stage, whilst they already shake the needle of my record player temptuously from side to side when I play his record at home? I guess we’ll never know…

Pukkelpop: part 1

Last week a team of enthousiastic ulkedoofs/ulkedoofers/ulkedoven (pick one) consisting of WorthyNonsense, Ruben and myself visited the Belgian festival Pukkelpop. We wore the custom made ulkedoof t-shirts and captured that on camera, however someone (I'm not saying it was the fat English drunk next to us) captured said camera. So no shirts or spectacular photo's of shows but just plain text, I'm kidding of course (some text will be italic or even bold). I know what you're thinking "does this mean we won't get that obligatory Stars post?".
Yes, that's what it means! So go listen to the new Stars record already, it will be reviewed later (wait; it's brilliant. done.).

On to Pukkelpop! The highlights! the lowlights! the stagelights! Which were the best shows? Which shows dissappointed and which surprised? Since we are a whiny people we'll start with the dissappointments (we know you love those).

As much as I looked forward to the show and as good as they were the Arcade Fire performance was kinda ruined by the terrible sound. They could have (for instance) turned on the mic. Despite the abominable quality of the sound their brilliance shone through and was at a height with 'No Cars Go' (which might just be their best song).

Then there was Pop Levi who seemed to be born to be on stage. Imagine a whiter, rockier and slightly taller Prince and you're halfway there. The way he handled his guitar, as an extension of his body (or of one specific part at least) was great but he kept getting lost in his own solo's and the endless intro's and outro's.
The album sounds quite raw and spontaneous but live he took it too far resulting in the structural abuse of his own songs. A shame really because he can certainly entertain a crowd.

Another let-down was Lo-Fi-Funk who apparently relied solely on their youth and looks. There was no show to speak of and the songs were a mess. They were young and cute though.






The last real let-down was Justice who were billed as 'Justice (live)', well...I guess the glowing cross was live. Maybe the two silhouettes in the back of the stage boxed in by the giant towers of amplifiers were turning some buttons and flicking some switches, but we might never know for sure. The music sounded sublime though.



Arcade Fire - No Cars Go (mp3)

Pop Levi - Pick Me Up Uppercut (Myspace)

Lo-Fi-Fnk - Wake Up (video)

Justice - The Party (mp3)

Under the Influence of the 70s

“I could be brown, I could be blue, […] Why don’t you like me? Why don’t you like me?” Well, Mika, let me tell you: it’s nothing personal. It’s just that it has been you and your silly, yet brilliant, track all over the radio for the last couple of months. Fourteen-year-old girls all over the world have started googling who the hell is Grace Kelly, something they hadn’t been doing since OutKast released ‘Rosa Parks’!

The world is screaming for a solution to this Mika-overkill, and I’m proud to let you all know that Ulkedoof will finally bring an end to your despair. Two members of the editorial staff of this highly appreciated and internationally leading music weblog have attended the unofficial presentation of Mika’s successors as the world’s most beloved Indie-fähig act that will inevitably be picked up by every thirteen in a dozen radio station, putting it in their playlists somewhere between Ph*l C*ll*ns and L**n*l R*ch**: Under The Influence Of Giants

Their sound could definitely be compared to that of Mika, although their album had its first release half a year before Mika’s. Apart from that, we can hear some Scissor Sisters, a little Delays perhaps and finally a subtle touch of The Shins. Or, to refrain from this kind of standard reviewers’ discourse, they provided us with an album containing nothing but hits. Even the unreleased tracks you will find groping their way through the internet are genuine earwigs! In addition, their so-called flirting with the seventies could easlily be confused with straightforward whoring.

Their album will get its European release on July 17th. Some highlighs:
Mama's Room (vid)
In The Clouds (vid)
Ah-Ha (mp3)
Self-recorded outro of 'Meaningless Love' (poor quality, live@Ekko) (vid)

Important Announcement

For those of you who didn’t get the memo yet: this year’s official summer anthem will be supplied by Jack Peñate. I repeat: Jack Peñate. On his résumé you will find every single dark, smelly London club you can imagine, fitting the image of any bloke-with-guitar-and-thick-local-accent.
The memo was sent by someone who is jointly responsible for this year’s Lowlands line-up and apparently immediately booked the guy, most likely for a half-an-our gig in the Lima tent. This guy I’m talking about is almost genius, if it wasn’t for the fact that by the time Lowlands kicks off, Jack Peñate will already be majorly hyped. For those of you who were there last year, remember The Kooks performing in the India tent? Those guys should have swapped places with (and this will be the first and the last time this band is mentioned on Ulkedoof) Panic! At The Disco, who bored the audience at the main stage to death for over 40 minutes.
Anyways, Jack Peñate, Jack Peñate, Jack Peñate. He released an EP called Spit At Stars (kudos), containing ‘something for everyone’. The title track is obviously a big hit, but the song which will drive you mad in a way you will find yourself violently expelling it from your brain by the beginning of October, will be Second, Minute or Hour, which is not on the EP, but will obviously be re-released at least two or three times. Just so you know.

Band of Horses, the new Coldplay?

Last night Band of Horses played in Utrecht. Pitchfork aren't known to be extremely generous but gave their debut album Everything All The Time an 8.8! It's filled with a sharp guitar sound which is completed by the singer's emotional voice. He sounds like he is singing and shouting out his frustrations. The second album will be recorded shortly and now they are on tour in Europe.

My first thought evoked by the sight of the singer was that of a fearful young man, with a Taliban beard and a baseball cap almost covering his eyes. When he opened his mouth and sang, those thoughts were gone however. His voice is at least as good as it is on record and the band played dynamically and punchy, never failing to hit the right notes. With three guitars and keys, they sound full, but somehow it's never 'too much'. On some songs the singer plays pedal steel, which looks cool and sounds beautiful. Besides songs from their debut they played some new songs which sound in line with their present album. The one downside of the show was their encore which were two unknown songs, one of which was a ballad that sounded like Billy Joel and not really like BoH. One song was noticeably absent, namely the great St. Augustine (maybe they didn't want to bring Spanish guitars on the road?). The singer gives the band a unique voice which may make it sound too distinguished to be picked up by a bigger audience (like Coldplay for instance), despite being uncharacteristically radio friendly. As I said their second album will be recorded shortly, so they might just hit a stadium near you next year...

The song Our Swords is very special, it has no guitars in it, just drum’n bass. Two basses to be exactly, one played by the singer. Check this movie:

Their best song is Funeral (live version), which is about the cancer and death of the singers father.