[The Soup Nazi]

Anybody here been to Thurston's recent shows? If so, speak now!

[Bertrand]

I saw Shame and they're quite good.
Right before them played Los Bitchos, whom I liked, and it distracted me from the opening songs of the Shame set.

[Bertrand]

I saw Shame and they're quite good.
Right before them played Los Bitchos, whom I liked, and it distracted me from the opening songs of the Shame set.

[Bertrand]

Johnny Mafia again, in Lyon. They did seem to enjoy the place - and so did I.
They played in a bar called the Périscope. Check patterned tiles in the entrance where you could drink what you wanted. No windows on the walls. Light came from some a window on the ceiling. The scene itself stood behind a door, occupying 2/5th of the place there. And there was a balcony, which is cool when you're not the tallest man on Earth, or in France.
From where I stood I got to see lots of movements in the pit, and crowdsurfing. In a 150-200 people capacity, that was rather wild.
Johnny Mafia spotted another band in the audience and asked them to step on and play. Which they did while Johnny Mafia members joined the audience to dance, bash or crowdsurf for a song.
That was really cool.


Yet...


The night before was even better.


Same place, Dry Cleaning, different crowd but same kind of sooo good vibe the band had a kick.


It was amazing.

[_tunic_]

this thread was broken so I revived it by clearing one of my old posts.


nobody cares about Magnapop anymore anyway

[choc e-Claire]

 

Boris - Max Watt's House of Music, Melbourne, Australia - June 10, 2022

One of, I think, four 20th anniversary shows for Heavy Rocks (2002) - Tokyo, Sydney, Melbourne, and Hobart. Absolutely was worth going to, the best show I've been to yet.
The two opening acts were varying in quality - first, we had Bonnie Mercer, who gave us a little under half an hour of squalling guitar feedback and noise (accompanied with a friend on bass). She kicked ass. Unfortunately I was less keen on the second band, Rot TV, who were 60s influenced garage rock and (although technically competent) fairly unremarkable.
Boris came on at the exact point they were meant to, although it took some time to get started (presumably technical issues, there was another pause midway through the set). The sound in the venue was perfect; with earplugs in the level was exactly what I wanted it to be. And, of course, the music. I'd never actually heard the album they were going to play before, and I'm worried that it won't match up to the set now - they were great. They had an extra musician, Tokie, to play bass throughout the set; but the real star of the show was Atsuo, who was constantly yelling at us to get hyped and banging on his gong whenever he got the chance. Was a very fun set, and it showed us more that they're at their best being slow and atmospheric - 'Soft Edge' was played for twice as long as the studio version lasts for, and it was magical, as was the 10 minute 'Death Valley'.
Went off stage at the conclusion of the album, before returning for a short encore - 'Reincarnation Rose' with an extra guitar and bass solo each, and then a loud and stunning version of 'Farewell'. Great performance, will definitely see them again next chance I get.
(Also taped the show...and had a very stressful time trying to get home.)

[choc e-Claire]

 

Machine Girl - Corner Hotel, Melbourne, Australia - June 23, 2022

Everyone's favourite digital hardcore band came to Australia for the first time immediately after a lengthy and intense European tour (they'd been in the Netherlands on the Sunday before this show, then played in Sydney in Wednesday). They could have been forgiven for any proposed sluggishness, but they sure as hell were not.

The Corner Hotel was sold out and it was a good opportunity for the alt crowd (even with my dyed hair I was one of the more normal people there, and I don't think I've ever been in a room with as many trans people as I was then - I met four different people I knew from Twitter, including one of them randomly in line). We got in shortly before the doors and crowded around the stage for the opening act, Prophecygirl - a random local DJ who put on a high-intensity set with lots of pitched-up remixes. They kept spinning around on stage to try and get us hyped, and they did a reasonable job, although I think having three remixes of one artist is a bit cheap.

Machine Girl came on twenty minutes after the opener finished, five minutes later than expected. Matt said that it was their second show in Australia, and that "maybe it would be their last". Then the first song started and it all went to shit in the best possible way. Sean was a beast on the drums and was locked in perfectly with the electronic backing tracks; Matt almost barked the vocals and the entire crowd was going nuts. This was my first time in a mosh pit, and it's probably the most intense physical experience of my life - I'm not very big and so I spent the whole time being pinned against everyone around me, trying not to get my hair pulled or fall onto the ground (there was one surprisingly strong and lanky cunt in the opening act who kept pushing people around with his arm out to get what I can only assume were selfies, he seemed to calm down in the main set but it was probably just that everyone was like that).
Halfway through at a break between songs Matt asked us if we knew Sophie, Drain Gang, 100 gecs, etc., and then said that the next song they were going to play was the exact opposite of all of that (it was one of the rare songs in the set that he actually played bass on). A few songs later he climbed off stage and sang for a little while from the bar on my side of the pit, and then I think he moved over to the other side but I had no idea where he was, I couldn't see at all - there may have been an encore, there was at least a three-minute feedback loop to end a song, but I couldn't see him. We kept chanting for one more song, and they did, and since I'd been moved right up to the front I was like a metre away from Matt (there's video on my Twitter). It was awesome...even if I was sore as fuck afterwards.

(Tried taping the show, but I had nowhere safe to put the recorder and it wound up getting knocked out of my shirt onto the floor early. Abandoned it early, the first three songs I put on Dimeadozen the morning after.)

[choc e-Claire]

 

JPEGMAFIA - Northcote Theatre, Melbourne, Australia - July 19, 2022

The Northcote Theatre is unquestionably the nicest looking venue I've been in - it was apparently the first building in Melbourne to have electricity, it holds about 1500, and it was only recently rebuilt for live music (although, by the state of the stairs and the toilets, it looks like it's still being built). Unfortunately it's a half-hour tram journey out of the city centre, and it's got a deal with Moshtix so I had to go through their ticketing bullshit to get in, but it was nice to see. Ended up on the balcony this time!

The opening act was Buzzy Lee, the latest entry in the long lasting trend of nepotism in entertainment (don't look up who her dad is). It was a short six-song set, fairly generic indie pop with airy keyboards and guitar accompaniment. She seemed to be having fun though, and tried an Australian accent on (much to the displeasure of her guitarist, who speaks the real thing).

The man commonly known as Peggy arrived on stage to chants of his name, lights blaring and laptop ready to provide backings. And for his first show on this 'tour' of Australia, the man came prepared. He was incredibly energetic, jumping about on stage like an animal in front of the delirious pit, trading lines with the audience - and they're extremely bizarre lines, JPEGMAFIA is a man who writes his music for terminally online zoomers and the crowd was full of as many of them as there could be (18+ show, probably 95% under 30). Most of the setlist came from LP! and Veteran, the two standout albums of his career, and he'd alternate with a run of songs from one and then the other.
There was lots of banter with the crowd - demanding that they open up a pit, which they were happy to do (often the show seemed to have more in common with a punk or industrial show than a rap set, JPEGMAFIA's production is very aggressive); throwing water all over the crowd and then the bottles back at them; and asking "where the bald motherfuckers at?!". Plus, of course, one of the highlights - leading an audience singalong of 'Call Me Maybe' with only autotune.
The set finished up within an hour, and some of the crowd was disappointed. That set length was about what I'd expected, and there was nothing more to really wish for...no more energy to be spent.

[choc e-Claire]

I can't be the only one going to shows, can I?

 

Gorillaz - John Cain Arena, Melbourne, Australia - July 24, 2022

First Gorillaz show in Australia since 2010 - they were booked to play a festival show in Byron Bay two days before this set, but that was cancelled on the morning of because of poor weather conditions. (Damon made reference to both things during the show, that some of the audience would've just been born the last time they played and that Australia and England had swapped over as part of "the global weather".)
Moonchild Sanelly was the opening act, a South African rapper with sexually charged performances and lyrics in both English and Xhosa. Not really to my taste, although the dancers on stage with her were alright, and the production was pretty cool.
Gorillaz came on at 8.45 and played for the next two hours, pretty much all of the hits you'd expect (the newer stuff was primarily ignored, only three songs from Humanz and The Now Now compared to eight from Demon Days). As impressive as all of the animations and graphics on the big screen were (there was a really hardcore one about whaling during 'Pirate Jet', when Damon wandered into the crowd), it was truly impressive that they played the whole show in time with the pre-taped raps from the artists who couldn't appear with them on stage. The bass was very loud, especially when 'M1 A1' started up (impressed how well my little recorder survived them). Very fun show, lots of good performances, had a great time (and managed to score a setlist from the stage!)

[Antagon]

Lee Ranaldo at Fluc, Vienna - supported by Eric Arn.


How was it? I'd say absolutely wonderful, but I think I was able to record one or two decent videos on location and I might just upload them so you can judge for yourself.


Eric was great as usual, picking the chords with style and passion. The set was unfortunately cut short due to one of his strings breaking - something which in nothing short of comedic anticipation he actually saw coming and had commented upon moments before the mic picked it up very clearly. An unfortunate situation, but by that point, he had the crowd rooting hard for him. Great set with a soulful rendition of Jackson C. Frank's "Marcy's Song" and a little quip about this being Eric's trip for the time he's on stage. Well played.


Lee led into his set with his multi-layered composition "In Virus Times" and then went on to play songs off some of his more recent releases. Ever the storyteller, his anecdotes brought a lot of extra-meaning to his compositions. One of the things I admire a lot about his way of performing. Lee busted out a great cover of Lou Reed's "Ocean" as well. Having the crowd fully on his side, he opted to break with the tried and true pre-encore ritual of leaving, only to reappear on stage. Instead, he announced he'd be playing the two last tracks straight away - the cavern-like underground location was incredibly humid on an already pretty damn warm summer night. Perfectly valid reason to forgo the trope.



Great song choices by the resident DJ in between performances too, btw. Young Marble Giants, Suicide, Magazine, good stuff.


Got to talk to Lee for a little while after the performance too. Asked him whether the lyrics to "Paper Cup Exit" were a response to whole Post-9/11, Bush-admin atmosphere of fear and hypernationalism. He pretty much confirmed that it was born out of that Zeitgeist - with "Sonic Nurse" being the first album that actively tackled some of those themes, since "Murray Street" was mostly written beforehand (He also mentioned the situation the band had faced due to the recording studio just being two blocks away from Ground Zero). He also conveyed his intention of using the paper cup metaphor for something you want to grow out of - escape, if you will. And there was a bit of a sense that he may be interested in re-learning the chords to peform it during future gigs. But that was a spur-of-the moment kind of thing. Let's see if it'll happen. I'd love to hear that song live one day.

Really nice guy and an amazing concert.

[The Soup Nazi]

Originally Posted by Antagon

Lee busted out a great cover of Lou Reed's "Ocean" as well.

Holy Molly Parker Posey, I gotta hear that... Probably the VU song with the most convoluted history, by the way.

[Antagon]

Lee performing "Last Looks" with a little anecdote preceding it.


Excerpt of Eric Arn's cover of "Marcy's Song"

[Antagon]

Originally Posted by The Soup Nazi

Holy Molly Parker Posey, I gotta hear that... Probably the VU song with the most convoluted history, by the way.

I have a rather decent recording of most of his performance of the song. Unfortunately, my SD-capacity was all used up around the last 30 seconds or so, so they are cut-off. But I can upload what I do have as an unlisted video. Just a moment ...

[Antagon]

^


Et voilà: Lee performing "Ocean"

[The Soup Nazi]

Originally Posted by Antagon

^

Et voilà: Lee performing "Ocean"

Here come the waves... Amazing - thank you!

[choc e-Claire]

 

[various artists] - Storey Hall, Melbourne, Australia - July 28, 2022

Six bands played in six hours at the venue at my uni, a band night put on by the student union (although the bands are not made up of students! okay, partially they are, but still). It's been a while, and I don't want to clog up the whole thread, but, from the bottom to the top:
Sydney Miller - electropop act with a lot of different keyboards and guitars on stage, incredibly loud drums and some interesting sounds going on.
In Transit - the closest I've gotten to actually seeing a shoegaze band, although they mostly seemed to verge on it without ever actually committing. Fun alternative rock, closed with a TV on the Radio cover where the frontman took out four of his six strings.
Terra Rouge - I knew a girl in this band, the bassist, because she'd helped me clean up in the bathroom at a pub one time. The singer had a fun sense of the occasion and talked about Stranger Things and fuckboys, good songs (Harry Styles and Gymnastics in the Seventies covers).
Lipstereo - I mean I liked the music, but I feel like I'm opposed to their dudebro garage rock thing as a matter of course. Had possibly my favourite song of the night though, and they thought it was cool that I taped it.
Stellie - indie pop from the far off lands of Adelaide, playing with a guitarist and a drummer (her dad). Not really my scene but was enjoyable.
Slowly Slowly - our headliners, who are normally a quartet but played as a trio with a backing track thanks to COVID. Very 00s indie pop punk, emo-ish, but way better than you might be fearing (although it was funny hearing it with an Australian accent). Nice long(er) songs, a Weezer tease, a song the frontman sang standing in the middle of the crowd, great headliners that I'll definitely try and check out again sooner.

[Bertrand]

Aldous Harding, and that was great.
She has amazing voices.
I mostly appreciated the guitar only songs such as Treasure.
The concert was in Saint-Malo, it was the opening night of a big festival there.
I attended the second night, in a fort in the open. The weather was fine. But this is a big festival, which means lots of people, which means lots of people to feed. Smelled of poor quality fries cooked in the same oil for 6 hours or so. Plus cigarettes.
That's the kind of thing that gets to distract me more and more as I get older.
Cola was a fine opening band, quite subtle.
Then came Black Country, New Road, that couldn't seem to hold on together.
I secured a good place for Wet Leg and paid no real attention to Geese in the distance.
Wet Leg enjoy the success of Chaise Longue. They get to play many gigs (they were supposed to play in Rennes last winter but cancelled to go to the US instead). They looked happy to enjoy the success. The crowd seemed pleased, but I couldn't see why. They take all they can from it, that's fine for them, but well... when it's easy you turn lazy.
I was so pissed that I left after that.
Fontaines D.C. played two hours later, I haven't seen them (I really like their latest). I told myself they had been disappointing 3 years earlier (but that wasn't for that album).
I'll probably not go to this festival ever again, no matter the line up.
Too crowded and the fort keeps being damaged by us people walking all over the place.

[choc e-Claire]

 

 

Noisevember - static 0pen, Melbourne, Australia - November 5, 2022
Uboa / Marara / Serene Ailment / Scumwitch / Pathological Function / Robinson & Robertson / Lesbian Merzbow / Vi. A / Muddy Lawrence + Alloxylon / Justin Ashworth / Blood of a Pomegranate

Both the smallest and the longest show I've been to yet - there were eight hours between the first set and the end of the last, and there would have been sixty people there at the absolute maximum. All of the artists involved are parts of the Melbourne noise scene (Lesbian Merzbow was an outlier, playing techno and coming down from Brisbane), and with the exception of Uboa are unlikely to have been known by anyone outside of the little circle.
The acts were varying in content and quality, and the organisers did a good job of alternating between a few of them. I got dehydrated there and I'd been out protesting in the morning so I was exhausted, but some of the highlights for me were: Blood of a Pomegranate playing tribalesque dark ambient with live flute parts and bomb sounds (his music is influenced by his status in the Armenian diaspora, and the genocide his people have faced); Justin Ashworth with lots of squelchy and beepy noise; R+R were almost a comedy noise duo - the two of them alternated between taking control with a wide variety of sounds (one of them was more white noise, the other had a more instrumental feeling) before suddenly pausing and hitting a service bell with a ding! to shift over to the other; Pathological Function (the organiser) performed a dark ambient set with looped vocals about drones in the shadows; Marara's set was oddly peaceful and almost ASMR-like, contact microphones and brushes; and Uboa's final set (starting at 12.30am) saw lots of harsh industrial-metal buzzes, crying samples, and an ending where she cut the noise and just screamed into the microphone with no backing (fucked me up, but was powerful).
There was lots of very nice people there to talk with me, including some of the performers. They were also pleased that I bootlegged the set, and I was asked to send in my tapes so some of them could be blended with the soundboard for a possible official release (the others may be coming out soon).

[_tunic_]

Last week I went to my first concerts in four years!!


on Thursday I traveled by train down to Lille to see Oiseaux Tempete at the Aeronef. This was the first gig of a small tour to promote their new album, and the closest from where I live, so I figured what the heck I'll just go to Lille of all places.
They were good, but the overall sound in the hall could have been much better. From where I stood, the bass was overloading the other sounds. Perhaps it was just me, my ears are fucked which is why I hadn't been to a concert for so long.
They were billed as Oiseaux Tempete & Friends, but next to the regulars including former The Ex singer GW Sok the only extra guest was Ben Shemie the singer of SUUNS. I guess on later dates they will also be joined by Radwan Ghazi Moumneh of Jerusalem in My Heart. Don't think Jessica Moss will be touring with them this time, but you never know ...

I didn't tape, but here's a 24 minute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MmN49IGVc8 (not by me though)


Bertrand, if you're reading this, they're playing near you next week (if I remembered where you live)! See https://www.oiseaux-tempete.com/tour.html





The next day I went back up to Brussels, to see Dans Dans at the small upstairs room of the AB. They also played their first show on a tour to promote their new album named 6. It's named like that because it is their fifth album I think.
The sound was much better than in Lille, nearly perfect actually, and the band was great. To be honest their songs are a bit boring actually, especially on their latest album. But once they get going, and the guitarist starts soloing it just sounds amazing.
Didn't tape them either, just didn't feel like carrying all the gear with me.
And I can't find any videos on YT or their facebook yet, maybe later ...


The next day I spent all day in the fine arts museum of Brussels, including a special exhibition on Matisse. And some of their regular art is amazing, including Rubens whose paintings are huge!

 

[choc e-Claire]

 

Ride - Forum Theatre, Melbourne, Australia - November 30, 2022
It's a few years delayed, but Ride made their way to Australia for the Nowhere anniversary tour. I've not been to the Forum before but it's a very nice looking venue, and it holds 2,000 people when sold out like it was tonight.

The opening act was Moaning Lisa, three women and a man from Canberra playing indie rock. They opened the set with a land acknowledgement, and then played six and a half songs for their half hour set - the highlight was an untitled new song that saw the non-singing guitarist play slide guitar with a drumstick. They were very flattered to be playing before Ride, but joked that we were a very polite audience who was saving our energy (this is the same audience where one guy lit up a cigarette in the middle of the Ride set, and a bunch of middle aged men jumped around in some weird approximation of dancing).

Ride came on about ten minutes later than they were meant to, but they walked on and kicked into it - they sounded great, the instruments were all super well mixed and the bass in particular chugged along. They seemed to have a few technical issues, as one of the guitar techs kept running over to Andy to switch out guitars and similar, but I didn't hear anything that made me think things were clearly wrong. The vocals were great too, all through the night - probably the highlight of the set was the closing number for the album, 'Nowhere', which was played for twice as long as the studio version and had great moody dynamics.

A lot of thanks go to a friend from the shoegaze Facebook group who stood near me during the show and went to a bar with me afterwards. I didn't get a setlist (though I did get a photo of it), but I did get drunk and go to Federation Square to watch the soccer - where a nice Colombian boy bought me a drink and then vanished into the crowd