T.RAUMSCHMIERE ::

T.RAUMSCHMIERE
wuk / vienna, austria
14th october 2005

i wasn't 'there' when the whole electroclash / electropunk business started over there in new york. and i wasn't 'there' when it got bigger in berlin. but i clearly remember hearin WIT and some early ATOC things at the end of the 90ies. and i very clearly remember a very dear friend of mine babbling enthusiastically about something called T.RAUMSCHMIERE in 2000. some time later i found out more about it and got hooked on it.

there was a previous encounter with T.RAUMSCHMIERE. hoping that it wouldn't turned out quite as catastrophically for me this time i made my way to the infamous WUK. wonder why there aren't more concerts there. seemed at a time that WUK would be THE inner city place for gigs. turned out differently. too bad.

this time marco haas alias T.RAUMSCHMIERE didn't spin the decks but brought a drummer and a bassist along and sort of re-created a band version of T.RAUMSCHMIERE. of course, a sound like T.RAUMSCHMIERE's lends itself to being played by live instruments. and it worked out pretty well. the selection of songs was tending more towards the heavier and rockier stuff of T.RAUMSCHMIERE like 'rabaukendisko' or 'monstertruckdriver' (w/o MISS KITTIN, but couldn't be helped). only thing that kind of put the whole thing down again, was... well, marco himself. it seemed to me that he was being ensnarled in the hyped up image that he himself had created for T.RAUMSCHMIERE. what started out as a sarcastic, ironic take on all of the quirks and idioms of electronica elite and rock and roll legend, is becoming reality. at least it seemed that way. and that's... sad, somehow. it takes a big bite out of what's appealing about T.RAUMSCHMIERE.

and yet, worthwhile show, good music.

FUOCO ::

FUOCO / URBAN EGO / THEDORISOPEN / THE DEFENDANTS
szene / vienna, austria
8th october 2005

call me an arrogant bastard, but most of the austrian bands are shit. sure, there are many good ones as well, no doubt about it, and i'm first out there to give them support. but there are just so many aweful ones and, incidentally, those are the ones that usually get the most support. let's not elaborate on that too much or i'll get depressive.

anyways, YELLOWSOUND 05 was up and this year's line up brought us THEdorisOPEN as opener - i happened to stumble upon the last few songs of their set. forgetable, and that's a very diplomatic way of putting it.

straight on to the second stars of the night, THE DEFENDANTS. they like to namedrop a bit in their own description of what they sound like. they list THE BEATLES, PINK FLOYD, NIRVANA and other things as influences. well, poo, how come i can't hear any of that in what you do? since we're on the matter, how come i can barely stand to hear anything you play without running the risk of severe digestive issues? reason, stay my hand.

fortunately, next up were the highlights of the night and the reason i got out there in the first place, FUOCO. imagine THE DOORS, some (early) JEFFERSON AIRPLANE, add a bit of COLOSSEUM (maybe there's a dash of ATOMIC ROOSTER and GREENSLADE in there as well), sprinkle with some HAWKWIND and MOTHERS OF INVENTION and serve hot steaming funky - instant FUOCO! the 'noise' bit that they like to throw around with on their pr material and website is misleading - there is next to no noise on anything that they do. this is just splendid spaced out prog-funk-rock, a bit krautish at times. and brilliant musicians! their show was marvellous, as always. i don't even really want to try and describe it, it's just something that has to be experienced anc cherished. look out for these guys.

URBAN EGO headlined the whole shebang. although i really like the guys (swell people) and am sure that they will have commercial success in time and with a buit of luck and also freely admit that they're doing very decent and solid pop-rock, overall it was just a bit too boring for my tastes. still, it's good to see that there are bands that are doing a good thing, even if it isn't up my alley. i'll definitely continue to support them.