YAMATO ::

YAMATO
halle e, museumsquartier / vienna, austria
25th january 2006

for all the disappointment that angie reed's performance brought, YAMATO cleared all of it away and had me watch on in slackjawed amazement.

my fascniation with rythmic instruments has a long history and there were many opportunities for me to watch masters of the art perform and display almost unbelievabel skill. yet, what the drummer's of WAKAIDO YAMATO had in store... well, that has surpassed all others and had me just gasp for more.

there are hardly any words that i can think of, that would do them any justice. has to be seen to be believed, really. nevertheless, i can say that a splendidly high degree of precision and musicality went into their show. brilliantly orchestrated percussional waves, syncopated by quiet intermezzos only pretending to be less spirited.

another nice touch: their friendly humour, presented in smaller interspersed peformances (used to rearrange the main stage). child-like but not childish good mannered little musical skits. and there was some interaction with the audience as well, something i hadn't expected and therefore welcomed all the more.

all in all, a truly aweinspiring performance. definitely worth seeing again.

ANGIE REED ::

ANGIE REED
tanzhalle / hamburg, germany
20th january 2006

if the first concert of the year has any prophetic properties, than this is going to be a bad year for my gig-going activities.

sure, i like ANGIE REED. there's much to be discovered in her brand of electronica cabaret. but that's just it: if you want to tell a story, you need to be able to tell a story. angie's performance at the tanzhalle in hamburg (where i was staying this week) did not present any storytelling qualities at all. there was projection behind her, that seemingly was trying to tell a story, but it didn't connect. she was probably also trying to add to that story - but failed. and the music was supposed to give the whole story more oomph and emotion - which it didn't because it wasn't quite where it was supposed to be. so, all in all, a rather boring concert of an artist that surely can do way better than that.

OPETH ::

OPETH
szene wien / vienna, austria
17th december 2005

notice a trend there? another brilliant concert at the szene. and this time, i think they hit the jackpot. this was probably the most impressive and best concert of 2005, i dare say.

hopefully everyone knows who OPETH are by now, because if not... well, then you seriously missed out on one of the best acts of the last decade. the venue was, predictably enough, sold out.

if there ever was or is or will be anything like a perfect band, then it has to be OPETH. dead on delivery, stunning songwriting and emotional depth beyond words. blending folk, classical guitar and death metal into a pot may seem like musical idiots gone haywire, but trust me, this stuff is almost godlike in its glory.
mastermind mikael akerfeldt usually doesn't say much during a gig, but it seems as though he had a talkative period that night. not only that: he was witty, funny, spontanous and just spread the good vibes.

fantastic music, perfectly performed and a comfortable and good atmosphere - what else do you want from a concert anyway?

GOGOL BORDELLO ::

GOGOL BORDELLO / THROW RAG
szene wien / vienna, austria
16th december 2005

i've seen some of the best concert of 2005 at the szene wien. time and time again the venue proves itself as innovative, daring and quality oriented. and they even manage to make a buck just when you'd think that they are hanging in the ropes and it seems to look really dreary. no, really, i hope the szene is going to be around much, much longer and continues to host as many wonderful concerts as it did and does.

GOGOL BORDELLO was no exception, but actually a perfect example of the phenomenon that is szene wien. supported by u.s.-american street punk outfit THROW RAG - not bad, really, but i am not too much into street punk and while i can recommend THROW RAG as one of the few better acts in that particular genre, it still didn't do much for me personally - GOGOL BORDELLO played in front of a full house. while selling next to no records in austrian record stores. while being virtually invisible for austrian media. while generally having a tough time. now, that is saying two things to me: 1.) GOGOL BORDELLO are obviously good enough to gather a large fan crowd by word of mouth only and 2.) szene wien knows what's going on out there and isn't scared at all to book an act that is seemingly a fatal investment. bravo! more of that!

how to describe the concert best? well, i really can't. i guess, this is one of the things that you really have to experience yourself, that can't be put into words. their brand of gypsy punk theater is only a few inches short of a tornado. usually they do more of a stage show, with a real story and all that, but this time i believe they wanted to celebrate a big, fat party. and what a party that was! more than 500 people sweating and dancing and shouting and just having one heck of a time. great stuff.

LOUIE AUSTEN ::

LOUIE AUSTEN
one smart space / vienna, austria
14th december 2005

this wasn't a real concert. i'm not even sure if i should include it here. but i do, because there's a story to tell. see how desperate i am?

a german colleague - julia labonte (check out here parties next time you're in hamburg and look out for her djing) - spent a week in vienna and she just had to see LOUIE AUSTEN. her many contacts secured her guestlist for this event with LOUIE AUSTEN. well, turned out it wasn't quite what she had expected. one (austrian telecommunication company) had invited media and business partners to celebrate a merry (obligatory) christmas. and image is as image does, therefore (naturally) there had to be a cool act at the "party". LOUIE AUSTEN had the luck of the draw. well, i'm guessing he got paid for it anyway, so why not? but it was... very strange.

imagine a very stylish loft apartement. and imagine that apartement half full with stiff people in suits and overpriced evening dresses. now imagine a seasoned live-band, playing funky, danceable, house-tinged tunes on a tiny stage in front of these people, a third of which were sitting at tables. can imagine a party going on? neither can i. and it didn't. disturbingly enough these people didn't even have the decency to just fully ignore the band, but stood there, tapping their feet completely out of synch with the rythm. nothing more. fortunately louie and his band have enough experience to handle such situations. they use the best method any musician should use when something similar comes up: they didn't give a damn and just had some fun on stage.

anyway, you shouldn't be seeing louie like that. it just ain't no fun.

JAHCOOZI ::

JAHCOOZI
flex / vienna, austria
12th december 2005

M.I.A. cleared the path for similar acts and now they finally get the chance to scratch a bit more at the surface. make way for JAHCOOZI!

the trio mixes dancehall, ragga, reggae, soul and even pop into a dominating base of heavy low-end electronics, with a few glitches and small bits and pieces of sampling thrown in to make it crunchy. live all eyes are on their front-women, not only because of her absolutely look-worthy outer, but also because of her stage persona, that sort of jitters forth and back between bored, snobish, arrogant grand dame of 80ies electro and crushingly feverish dancehall queen. it's can, and does, get tedious after a bit, but if it's too much to take, just look down and shake to the beats. or go get a drink. that's what i did. good one.

THE HAUNTED ::

THE HAUNTED / GOD FORBID / GOD DETHRONED
szene wien / vienna, austria
10th december 2005

who still remembers AT THE GATES? those of you that do: who remembers the buzz when the first rumors of a band named THE HAUNTED were spread? oh yeah. what a kick it was to have music like that back in our laps, eh? a couple of years down the line and THE HAUNTED are back to form after a bit of mucking around in the mud.

mainly focusing on "rEVOLVEr" but also playing lots of classics ("hate song", "in vein", "bury your dead" and more) and with their old singer back on board THE HAUNTED let it rip all the way.

and let's not forget their 2 support bands: GOD DETHRONED and the fabulous GOD FORBID. while GOD DETHRONED did their job well but not exceptionally noteworthy, i'd wager to say that GOD FORBID really stole the show that night with a gigantic performance and their excellent songwriting. asking me? GOD FORBID were the real highlight that night.

GORGOROTH ::

GORGOROTH / 1349
planet music / vienna, austria
17th november 2005

there was a time when i liked black metal. never really too big on it but there were a few acts that really stood out. like (the now unfortunately defunct) EMPEROR or the early incarnations of ULVER (and to this day i still like all that comes from the progress mill that is UVLER). GORGOROTH on the other hand aren't quite my cup of coffee. truth be told, i attended the show rather to see support act 1349. in hindsight i could've done without either.

not that anything was bad about it. a solid black metal concert, to be sure, but then again most black metal really isn't that well suited for live performances. and some bands obviously still have to learn about stages and what it takes to be on them as well. 1349 were much better on cd. and GORGOROTH had nothing to show for themselves but 2 huge burning inverted crosses on stage plus some other bits of pyro-show. it wasn't bad, it was just boring. took off after the third song of GORGOROTH.

YOUNG GODS ::

YOUNG GODS
szene wien / vienna, austria
16th november 2005

a month of cult bands! first NEW MODEL ARMY and then the YOUNG GODS.

and what a great show it was. they didn't even bother with their more recent ambient and orchestral stuff, but went straight for the jugular. "envoye", "skinflowers", "gasoline man" and all their other tracks of that ilk. still fascinating, after so many years of technical experimentation by so many other artists, to see a drum kit and a sampler churn out a sound like that. these swiss pioneers may have gotten old in years, but not in fervor and energy.

KING TIGER ::

KING TIGER
b72 / vienna, austria
15th november 2005

KING TIGER were at it again! really, there's not much to say about this band, then i've said before: they rock!

nice gimmick for this gig: sitting on me and a friend's shoulders both guitarists fought ought a solo showdown in the crowd.

NEW MODEL ARMY ::

NEW MODEL ARMY
planet music / vienna, austria
14th november 2005

there are some acts that always linger there on the borders of one's perception but never really make it into focus. until something happens. and then you realize what a fool you've been and that you should've taken interest way sooner. NEW MODEL ARMY is one of these bands. a couple of years earlier i found a live recording of the band at my best friend's place. she is a big admirer of NEW MODEL ARMY. so i popped the cd in. after a while i started realizing that i had been missing out on one of the most intense bands ever. at home i dusted off the few bits and pieces of NMA that i had, gave it another listen-through and decided that i had to stock up on NMA material.

fast forward a few years. NMA are back again, new record in the making and touring. that was october 2005. finding out that there also was tour slot set for vienna really made my hard skip a beat. i grabbed the phone, ringed up larissa (the best friend with a love for NMA) and told her about it. some hours later tickets were secured and anticipation grew immensely large.

my recollection of the concert itself is a bit blurry, but there are a few things that remain alive within my mind. one thing was the thumping, almost archaic rythmic qualities of the band. even the softest folksy parts sounded fierce, much like a subdued wild animal, sedate but not to be trifled with. another thing was the heartwarming emotional side of it all - the shout-along choruses, the metaphorical hands reaching out for other hands to hold in union, an unbendable idealistic will to go the long and hard way and try for a better world. and finally and most vividly i remember the charismatic figure of justin sullivan. standing on stage, an elderly man, but still glowing with wild passion and justified anger. it was truly aweinspiring to see a man with as much experience as sullivan honestly and sincerely representing and living all those sentiments that we foolishly think of as the prerogative of the young. he has probably become wiser over the years, but definitely hasn't given up on any of his outspoken political ideals. justiv sullivan is a man of conviction and i'll be damned if he didn't fill the entire venue with that conviction. one of the best concerts of 2005.