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Sal · Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 2:21 pm Post subject:

Who? Lipali

What was it all about, then? a new band of a mr Lipa, a very distinguished figure of our hard rock scene. he used to be in the absolute front line in the 90s with his biggest band Illusion, when he was like our own ambassador of grunge (their first albums sounded like a slightly more pissed off Pearl Jam). anyway, the band broke up and Lipa's star faded a bit, but now he seems on the rise again with his new ensemble having just recorded a pretty damn rocking record this year. caught them in a students club where they played the new material and some of the much awaited old tunes too (no matter what he does with the new band, you always wait for him to do some Illusion anyway, kinda like you always wait for Cornell to do some Soundgarden). oh yeah, and they played it unplugged, and some of you might know how it gets me all wet inside to hear good acoustic versions of nasty rockers. very wet.

Memorable moment? musically - the acoustic rendition of my favourite Illusion classic, heavy and screamy but with a sorta bluesy feel to it.
otherwise - going outta the club to get some fresh air and realising that you can actually hear the music better outside thru an open window than inside with all the noobs talking and muffling the performance. horrible noob behavior.

Any good? musically - world class. Lipa has grown incredibly as a singer, his voice range and power puts the Eddie Vedder of today to shame (not the Eddie Vedder of yore though)
organizationwise - could be much better. the club was tiny and incredibly crowded and smoky, and the aforementioned noobz could just shut the fuck up and let decent people listen to some songs sometimes. but all in all, it was worth it.
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Aurelyn · Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 11:23 am Post subject:

Who? DJ Krush

What was it all about then? Legendary Japanese hip-hop producer, composer, turntablist and all-round legend playing in an intimate little cocktail club to a load of hardcore fans.

Was it any good? Well, there aren't many artists that I will drive a 370 mile round trip in one day to see for a two hour gig, but Krush is one of them, and by god he didn't disappoint. It was absolutely unbelievable. Two really good turntablists warmed up for him, three or four decks and a couple of laptops on the go, followed by a really slow build up with a load of stuff I'd never heard before, really sublime. He then cranked out a load of his classics one after the other, like Only the Strong Survive and Stormy Cloud, mixing a fair bit of other people's work in to the mix (the building nearly exploded when he threw in DJ Shadow's Organ Donor). His skill with the decks as live instruments is unbelievable to watch, and the venue was so small I was literally about 5 feet away for half of it.

Memorable momentThe whole thing really. My first experience of the sound system was a particularly good bass rumble hitting me in the testicles as I walked in the door - you know you're in for a good 'un...
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Aurelyn · Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 6:24 am Post subject:

I wasn't sure where to put this, but here seems most appropriate - a rather good shot of the man himself from the gig last week.

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Munan · Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 6:37 am Post subject:

Coolness. I know Krush mainly from his late nineties remix work and am a bit surprised to hear he's still going strong.

Who?Cello Octet Conjunto Ibérico

What was it all about, then?
Eight cellos playing a mix of old, experimental and modern classic music. All pieces were by mediterrean and south American composers, so there was a sunny flavour to it all.

Memorable moment? The high pitched repetetive dissonants that ended Ginastera's experimental work Pampeana with which they finished the first half of the concert were very haunting. A work of unsettling beauty.

Any good?It was pretty good. One of the soloists had a very interesting way of phrasing his notes, which made the listening pretty exciting and made up for their at times not-so-perfect technique.
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Sal · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:36 am Post subject:

i know i come off as rather primitive putting this right after the Cello Octet Conjunto Ibérico, but oh well.

Katowice, Poland, 22nd annual Metalmania Festival, Mar 8.

Who? MEGADETH!!!
What was it all about, then? Megadeth's back. once again. and with a brand new lineup. once again. Megadeth is officially like Nine Inch Nails now, little more than a one man band with random sidekicks. frankly, i learnt the names of the dudes who currently wear the Megadeth badge only after i came home after the show and wiki-ed them. but who cares, it's Dave, always the same unchanging Dave, and he could hire twelve-year-old Asian scout girls to accompany him on stage for all i care, and it still would be Megadeth, and it still would rock.
Memorable moment? when the rest of the band shut up and Dave played the Skin O' My Teeth riff alone, and he fucked it up, the easiest guitar riff he ever wrote! and you know what, i love him just for that kind of things.
Any good? perfect! even though the performance itself was much below perfect, with Dave singing bad notes more than once or twice (coz he's a shitty singer and always has been), or standing too far from the mic, or the drums and the guitars going their separate ways in one song, or the backing vocals of the other dudes being mostly horrible and at least once clearly out of tune (in Symphony Of Destruction, none other!), or the setlist including entirely too much of the new material which sucks (Gears Of War, bleh!). but then again, all the mistakes did not matter a bit, because i just saw Megadeth, and this made it perfect. i actually realized how much i love Dave Mustaine during this show. aww.
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Aurelyn · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 8:46 am Post subject:

Much coolness. I didn't realise Megadeth had gone the way of Trent Reznor et al though...
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Sal · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 3:37 pm Post subject:

yeah, there was always much member rotation in the band on the positions of drummer and lead guitarist (the classic lineup with Menza and Friedman lasted the longest - 8 years, i think;). bassist David Ellefson was the only constant who was with Dave from day one, and the moment when Dave fell out with him and kicked him out (back in '02) was truly the moment that Megadeth stopped being a band amymore.
maybe if Dave wasn't such a sonuvabitch it woud be different. but then he would have never got thrown out of Metallica in the first place, and there wouldn't have been any Megadeth.
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Azrael · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 9:55 pm Post subject:

Was that the Gigantour concert?
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Munan · Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 6:30 am Post subject:

Sal · Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 6:32 pm Post subject:

Azrael · Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 7:05 pm Post subject:

I plan on going to the Gigantour Concert this coming May. And that will be my first concert.
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Aurelyn · Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 7:10 am Post subject:

What, like your first concert ever?
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Sal · Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 9:08 am Post subject:

you've taken this outta my mouth.
so?
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cfos · Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 11:55 am Post subject:

Aurelyn · Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 11:57 am Post subject:

I think my first ever gig was Nirvana supporting Sonic Youth. I was a little older than 7, to be fair...
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Sal · Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 12:38 pm Post subject:

Azrael · Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 9:21 pm Post subject:

Aurelyn · Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2008 8:06 am Post subject:

Well, hopefully you'll enjoy the shite out of it!

@Sal. Yeah, it was pretty awesome. I was around 14 I think, and the only reason I got in was 'cos one of the bouncers was friends with one of my mates' older brothers. I saw most of it from backstage, where I hung out with these kind of grungy guys, one of them was called Kurt I think, and we all agreed Sonic Youth were amazing.
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Sal · Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2008 1:34 pm Post subject:

Aurelyn · Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2008 11:43 am Post subject:

I know! I always had him down as more of a Dire Straits man...
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Sal · Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 5:18 am Post subject:

Heineken Open'er Festival 2008 - Gdynia, Poland
the biggest thing this side of Roskilde and it's held in my city. it's 6 years old, and it's the first time that i'm there (don't ask me why, i don't know why). there's of course too much going on to see everything but i'll say something about the major non-polish acts i've seen.

day 1 - July 4.

Who? The Editors
What was it all about, then? a British indie/emo band which is supposedly popular at the moment and which is the 1001st band in the legion of Joy Division wannabes
Memorable moment? none.
Any good? boooring. well, fantastic if you're into emo Joy Division clones.

Who? The Raconteurs!
What was it all about, then? the other band led by Jack White of the White Stripes. oldschool ballsy rock'n'roll and guys who can actually play their guitars. the newly released album which they're promoting at the moment kicks even more rock'n'roll ass than their debut. the Stones meet the Who meet the Zepp plus Jack's one-in-a-million charisma.
Memorable moment? Blue Veins, a closing song from their first album, blown out to gigantic proportions became a heart-tearing electric blues epic. it's the new Since I've been Loving You, and this is not an overstatement.
Any good? magnificent. rock'n'roll may be dead, but Jack White's a hell of a necromancer.

Who? DJ Vadim, i forgot about him, Aure!
What was it all about, then? a superb DJ, on stage with a whole band and a very good female MC. nasty top class hip hop.
Memorable moment? being able to show off before my friends as the only one that knew who DJ Vadim was (my friends aren't very hip hop). courtesy of Aurelyn's tutelage.
Any good? good shit.

Who? Roisin Murphy
What was it all about, then? the ex-Moloko singer doing classy pop with her own band.
Memorable moment? unfortunately, at this point i had to say quits as i was tired (it being past 1 am) and freezing cold (i dressed too optimisically). didn't stay long enough to really dig into it.
Any good? see above.

that's it about day 1. day 2 will be bigger (and i will be dressed more reasonably).

wanna know the REAL memorable moment though?
among many attractions in the festival area there is this guitar gear promotion tent set up by Fender. you find various guitars plugged into small amps and you can grab one and have a go at any time. so i did, naturally, take me a Strat and fiddled about on it, trying out some simple funky groove. suddenly some English dude comes at me and he's like "you play, i mc!" and he gets on a free-standing mic and starts freestyling while i keep on funking away. instantly we were circled by a small crowd. we kept improvising this way for some 3 minutes or so, and earned some warm applause in the end.
so, y'all can be proud of me.
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Aurelyn · Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 6:37 am Post subject:

You saw DJ Vadim live! Sweet! Make sure you go to Goldfrapp today too.
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Sal · Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 3:58 pm Post subject:

Heineken Open'er Festival 2008 - Gdynia, Poland
day 2 - July 5

Who? Interpol
What was it all about, then? an American indie/emo band which is supposedly popular at the moment and which is the 1002nd band in the legion of Joy Division wannabes
Memorable moment? realizing that their every song sounds the same and moving on to seek something more exciting
Any good? bleh.

Who? CocoRosie
What was it all about, then? a duo of fragile-looking sisters accompanied by a beatboxer and a pianist, and their weird, kinda Bjorkish avantgarde pop mixed with hip-hop and everything else
Memorable moment? the girls' "you wanna fuck me!" rant and the beatboxer's solo (amazing!)
Any good? wow. operaic voices, dirty girly rapping, psychedelic visuals, strange electronic instruments - postmodernism in music at its finest. i strongly recommend it.

Who? Gentleman And The Far East Band
What was it all about, then? superb reggae sound by a German with a Jamaican soul
Memorable moment? Gentleman screaming at the top of his lungs "Polskaaahh!" at least a few times per song
Any good? wicked, and this coming from someone who doesn't even dig reggae too much

Who? Jay-muthafuckin-Z
What was it all about, then? the muthafuckin president of hip-hop in his own muthafuckin person and with a full-fledged muthafuckin funky band.
Memorable moment? Jay's fantastic rap rendition of Amy Winehouse's "Rehab"
Any good? i didn't use to think much of Jay-Z but he made me think again. a terrific show. i was particularly impressed by the lush arrangements and the big rich sound of the band. and Jay's admittedly a natural born showman.

Who? Sex Pistols, straight back from the grave
What was it all about, then? the old, fat and uglier than ever Johnny Rotten and the rest of the original Pistols deliver the sequel to the great rock'n'roll swindle
Memorable moment? Rotten's nightmarishly ugly mug in the big screen above stage
Any good? ridiculous but also surprisingly good. the "No future" shit at the age of 50 is as absurd as it is fun. i was genuinely entertained. and hearing "Pretty Vacant", the show's opener, was a unique experience of historic value indeed.

Who? Erykah Badu
What was it all about, then? bow down before the mighty queen of neo-soul!
Memorable moment? Erykah saying Good Morning to us as the sky was already getting brighter in the East by the end of her show
Any good? well, it took some time for the show to take off (or maybe for us to tune in to Erykah's frame of mind), but once it did it was magical. she sang, whispered, screamed, rapped and howled, often all inside one song. she talked a lot to the audience and in very earnest words, danced her voodoo dance, even did some odd shaman (shawoman?) mumbo jumbo, and really put her heart and soul in it all the time. truly, the queen.

day 2 was really intense because the shows on different stages cruelly overlapped and if you're like me and have eclectic tastes, you had to do a lot of legwork to keep up with everything. at the end of the day i was worn out, but exhilarated. 'spect to my girlfiend who was loving enough to stay with me till the very end of Erykah's gig, even though she was ill and totally exhausted, and she's not at all a Badu-head like me.
in other news, i joined in on a blues jam in the Fender tent (fun, but nowhere near the freestyle jam the day before) and visited an X-Box promotional tent to have a first ever attempt at playing Guitar Hero - i was hopeless.
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Sal · Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:29 pm Post subject:

Heineken Open'er Festival 2008 - Gdynia, Poland
day 3 - July 6

Who? i didn't want to talk about any Polish acts in the festival, but i have to include this guy, Bajzel
What was it all about, then? a one-man band playing distorted guitar over trippy drum machine beats and singing his songs in a voice which changes from heavy metal to cartoonish in a blink of an eye
Memorable moment? Bajzel saying at the beginning of his show "the rest of the band are late, but nevermind"
Any good? my type of thing, certainly.

Who? Goldfrapp
What was it all about, then? dreamy feminine electro-pop with a harp and an angelic lead singer
Memorable moment? Alison's pink tablecloth of a dress and bare feet
Any good? didn't really know what to expect and was nicely surprised. the songs were really catchy and Alison really magnetic. a strong point of the programme.

Who? Massive Attack
What was it all about, then? the legends of trip hop, 'nuff said. on stage with a host of guest singers and awesome yet simplistic visuals on a row of screens which were almost the only lighting on the darkened stage.
Memorable moment? a series of authentic headlines taken from Polish tabloids flashing through the screens during the thumping and hypnotic "Inertia Creeps". a very good way to connect with the audience. and musicwise - all the Mezzanine tracks in the setlist.
Any good? uneven, to be honest. there were weaker spots in the show when the dynamics went down, but the gig's highest points (i.e. Mezzanine material mostly) were absolutely stellar. now i really get the "trip" part in trip-hop. boy, i wish i can see them again someday.

Who? The Chemical Brothers
What was it all about, then? the legends of dance/club/electronic/techno beat world which is not my world but i keep my mind open
Memorable moment? by far, "Galvanize", the first track of the show.
Any good? the crowd was thrilled all over, but i must say that after the very promising beginning it got more and more monotonous, and i quickly got tired of the overall syntheticness of the performance (you couldn't even see the men behind all the machinery) and of the extreme audio-visual onslaught. the Massive Attack visuals augmented their show, the Chemicals' visuals overwhelmed theirs entirely (which might have been the point, what do i know). anyway, although they're still not my cup of tea, i admit that the Brothers provided the festival with an appropriately grand finale.

as for the Fender tent, i dropped by for a minute and played for a while on a Telecaster. what a nice comfy guitar to play.
so that's it for this year's, and my first ever, Open'er. i saw a lot of good gigs, and three of them - Raconteurs, Erykah, and the Massives - i gladly place among the gigs of my lifetime. i'm so going again next year.
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Azrael · Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 2:57 am Post subject:

Projeckt Revolution in Irvine, California August 10

Who: Atreyu, 10 Years, Hawthonre Heights, Armor for Sleep, Street Drum Corps, The Bravery, Ashes Divide, Chris Cornell. All hosted by LINKIN PARK!!!

What: A big tour hosted by LP for various reasons, one of the more notable is to advertise music for relief.

Memorable Moments: This being my first concert since my Gigantour experience was halted by my schedule. Also I got to see good ol' LP in person. Oh yeah, someone started a fire. That was pretty rad.

Any good? Of course Linkin Park was amazing, but I was actually very impressed by the performances done by all the other artists, especially Atreyu and Chris Cornell.
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