Diary of Dreams- Red Sun Revival live at The Garage 2016

Posted: 24th May 2016 by blaue-rosen in Live reviews,Interviews
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I don’t usually see a favourite band play live very often so that I can appreciate and understand better all the changes that have happened to it in the meantime. This is exactly the approach I had with both Diary of Dreams and Red Sun Revival but the release of two memorable albums by both bands, made it imperative for me to attend this gig.

Red Sun Revival reveal their identity!

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I arrived at The Garage just at the moment when Red Sun Revival appeared on stage. They had already announced an early start and early finish and were on stage exactly at 7pm. This early start seemed to have put some people off and so they missed a big part of the band’s set. It would be an understatement to say that I was positively surprised with the band’s overall performance. The last time I saw Red Sun Revival was at the O2 Academy Islington where they were supporting And Also The Trees, together with Eden House and before that at the (sadly) recently closed Purple Turtle of Camden. At that gig there was an element of uncertainty and holding back from all the musicians as far as the delivery of their songs was concerned, but it seemed that with the release of ‘Identities’ the band has turned a page.

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Suede- Night Thoughts World premiere live at Roundhouse Part 1

Posted: 17th February 2016 by blaue-rosen in Album reviews, Live reviews,Interviews
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Release Date: 22 January, 2016

Warner Music

1. When You Are Young/2. Outsiders/3. No Tomorrow/4.Pale Snow/5. I Don’t Know How To Reach You/6. What I’m trying to Tell You/7. Tightrope/8. Learning To Be/9. Like Kids/10. I Can’t Give Her What She Wants/11.When You Were Young/12. The Fur And The Feathers

R-8012187-1455107411-4254.jpegPrior to this gig I had only seen Suede once at an intimate, yet, for me, perfect gig, at the release of their previous album entitled ‘Bloodsports’ at Rough Trade East. In that gig there was another, more approachable element in the performance of the songs as the venue is small but it was a rare opportunity to see a different side of the band.

Having seen in fan videos the show that Suede and Brett Anderson are offering in festivals, I was looking forward to the world premiere of ‘Night Thoughts’ at a big venue as the Roundhouse. Since I have started the somewhat unconventional tradition of attending the live releases of their latest albums, I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to be part of this, 2hr long set where ‘Night Thoughts’ was performed at its entirety against the backdrop of the movie!Approaching the venue I saw that a big queue had already formed and even though the doors had already opened at the announced time, only a handful of people had been allowed to enter, leaving the rest of us waiting outside in the cold. People became agitated and asked the security staff about this delay. Without providing an explanation for this, access was granted to all of us after 20’.  We are not used to experiencing such delays in entering Roundhouse, especially since its crowd control policy is one of the best in London. My surprise continued as I entered the venue only to realize that a few people were already feeling unwell. Later I was joined by a doctor friend of mine who also confirmed seeing later a few other fellow members of the audience feeling unwell at the corridors where someone fell unconscious.

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Black Nail Cabaret, Winter Severity Index, Cold In Berlin live at the Hope & Anchor 2016

Posted: 14th February 2016 by blaue-rosen in Live reviews,Interviews
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I have lived in London for almost a decade and I had never been to the basement of the Hope&Anchor for a gig. On the other hand, the frantic rate with which post punk/cold wave bands are being formed lately, means that only a handful get any attention and even less manage to create a distinct sound.

Personally, I have always found that cold wave music is a genre that is difficult to engage the audience in the same way other styles do. This is because it relies on the creation of a very specific, almost hypnotic atmosphere that references a certain set of feelings. For this reason, melody is ofter scarce and the vocals reflect a sort of aloofness which can be easily mistaken for passivity, blaseness or sheer indifference. For all these reasons, bands that choose this style need to be able to highlight the shades of grey that coldness encompasses and make them attractive enough so that their audiences are immersed in them and enveloped by them.

A most unusual sound check and its transition to the actual show

BNC_1Winter Severity Index and Cold In Berlin are two new bands that I wanted to see perform live for quite some time. Taking into account that the post punk genre has a dedicated audience in London, this gig presented a unique opportunity to enjoy cold wave music and the gig was well attended overall. The ticket price for this event was very reasonable and the venue proved to be really accommodating in all aspects of this gig. Stage times had not been announced but the audience didn’t quite expect a 90’ delay after doors had opened. Everybody was in a good mood and the atmosphere was nice so this delay didn’t seem to cause problems. Most of us walked into what seemed to be a heated argument between Winter Severity Index (who were on stage for their sound check) and the sound engineer. Being in the presence of their audience, I think that the band could have been in a better mood and the sound engineer not so verbal towards them.

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AUTOBAHN_SWEAT_The Bodies live at The Sebright Arms

Posted: 31st December 2015 by blaue-rosen in Live reviews,Interviews
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From the moment I listened to ‘Dissemble’ for the first time, I wanted to see Autobahn play live, in order to experience the psychedelic effect of their music. Influenced by post punk and minimal music and aesthetics, the 5 members’ band from Leeds, have released the debut album in August 2015 through Tough Love Records. This first release has been preceded by three singles entitled ‘Autobahn 1’ (2013), ‘Autobahn 2’(2014) and ‘Society’ (2015). The three EPs have somehow prepared the ground for ‘Dissemble’ in terms of atmosphere and sound and the result was one of the most memorable albums of its kind in 2015. So we headed to Bethnal Green on the first day of the last month of this year in order to see Autobahn on stage!

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Chelsea Wolfe- ‘Abyss’ tour live at Bush Hall 2015

Posted: 21st December 2015 by blaue-rosen in Live reviews,Interviews
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This second gig in London at Bush Hall, which was also part of the European ‘Abyss’ tour, was announced as early as August 2015. Having been completely taken over by the atmosphere of Chelsea Wolfe’s last album ‘Abyss’ I was counting the days to this gig since its announcement.

Moreover, Bush Hall is a venue which I have associated with the unique experience of having watched Wovenhand perform live there. Since Chelsea Wolfe and Wovenhand toured together in America just before she started her European tour, seeing her perform live at Bush Hall seemed to be the natural course of things.

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Killing Joke, Jah Wobble and the Invaders of the Heart, The Asylums live at Roundhouse

Posted: 23rd November 2015 by blaue-rosen in Live reviews,Interviews
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Here I was again, in London this time, 5 years after the first time I saw Killing Joke perform live in Athens of Greece. I have joined the rest of the gatherers (as Killing Joke refer to their ‘fans’), in order to participate to one more carefully orchestrated live ceremony of Killing Joke.Roundhouse was beginning to fill with people as I was (as always) worried whether the support bands have been selected based on the relevance of their music to that of the headliners. I was also secretly worried about the music that we would listen in between the support bands’ sets. Asylums_9 (more…)

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The Soft Moon live at Electrowerkz

Posted: 9th November 2015 by blaue-rosen in Live reviews,Interviews
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SM_1Having been at the 24th WGT in Leipzig on May 2015, when Luis Vasquez last visited London, I jumped at the opportunity to see The Soft Moon so soon again in London. I was prepared for a memorable gig, following the success of the band since the release of the debut homonymous album in 2010. This was the first time I was seeing the band performing live and the experience was better than I expected, but let me take things from the beginning.

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The Damned live at The Roundhouse

Posted: 18th October 2015 by blaue-rosen in Live reviews,Interviews
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Punk gigs of the late 1970s were synonymous with notorious fights whose cause was the rough everyday lives of the people in that era where heavy industry (along with communities that were based on this industry) was beginning to be desJM_2troyed in Europe. Looking back, some people might say that, these were good times for both the communities and the culture that was produced. Today 4 decades after the 1970s, punk gigs contain some moments of heavy head banging, many stage divings and lengthy moments of contemplation from the previous generation. The bands now don’t usually have to ‘fear’ of suffering bodily harm or of the possibility of having to leave the venue in the middle of a gig. On the other hand punk, as an attitude couldn’t be more relevant today where neoliberalism has spread its ”claws” once again attacking and redefining not only the established modes of work but also the form of our cities making a prototype out of the metropolis.

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SNOG/Black Lung/Soma interview

Posted: 13th October 2015 by blaue-rosen in Live reviews,Interviews
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SNOG, Black Lung, Soma, an experimental movie that has only been screened in Italy (i.e. ‘The Andronechron Incident‘) and a crime film (i.e. ‘The Hard Word‘). If you are wondering what is the thread that holds all these elements together, it takes the form of musician who answers to the name of David Thrussell. This is a musician with an acute social perceptiveness who has the ability to mix a myriad of ideas in such a similar way that a painter mixes colours to create a new one. It is interesting that where an idea is hinted in the music of Black Lung, it is quite clearly revealed through a song by Logo interviewSNOG. So in the end one should listen to the music of both projects in order to get a grasp of the intended message. At the same time if you think that each song by SNOG deals with only one issue at a time, then you must prepare yourself for a serious ‘roller coaster’. One could say that David Thrussell through all his projects, ‘copies’ the way media are bombarding us with information, in order to raise our awareness about the (intentionally?) hidden aspects of this information and the complexity of our lives. The trigger for developing an interest in a musical project can either be the richness of references in the music and lyrics or perhaps equally a seemingly absence of such richness. I managed to somehow crystallize all the hints that have been offered by David Thrussell, since 1992, when I saw both SNOG and Black Lung perform live at the 24th WGT in Leipzig.  Ahead of the release of yet another exciting SNOG album called ‘Compliance’ in three days’ time (October 16, 2015) David Thrussell (DT) talked to Blauerosen about the cynicism of the word ‘compliance’, Noam Chomsky, eastern philosophy, what time is best to listen to a Black Lung album, Jello Biafra, the upcoming album and of course so many other things. So pick your favourite album by Black Lung or SNOG and as you listen to it make sure that you read carefully what is contained within the lines as well as what is between them! It was a great pleasure to talk to David Thrussell and we can’t be more impatient to listen to ‘Compliance’ later this week.


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Agent Side Grinder-K.I.D- Minny Pops live at The Lexington

Posted: 31st July 2015 by blaue-rosen in Live reviews,Interviews
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This gig happened three days before the 24th Wave Gotik Treffen and Gothic Pogo festivals in Leipzig where both Agent Side Grinder and Minny Pops appeared live, so naturally we regarded this as a predecessor of these festivals and the beginning of a period full of interesting gigs by great bands from all over the world!

From the early Japanese Korg drum machines to the minimal music of the 1980s

A few hours before this mini festival started, Minny Pops announced at Twitter their exact stage time and if 23you think it would be 30′ past the hour or at the hour, well … think again. Minny Pops assured their followers and fans that they would play the first note of their setlist at exactly 8.28pm! …and strangely enough they were punctual indeed, starting exactly at that time. This was not the first time I was seeing Minny Pops perform live, as in 2012, 31 years after their last live back in 1981,  they performed upstairs at  The Garage. However that gig in 2012 was far less impressive and less theatrical in terms of stage appearance and performance than this one at The Lexington. This is a cold wave/minimal electro band that released its first album en19titled ‘Drastic measures, Drastic Movement’ in Plurex Records in 1979 and has released several EPs and the album ‘Sparks In A Dark Room’ in Factory Records and Factory Benelux (the Belgian sister label to Factory Records that was set up by Michel Duval and Annik Honore). The band has opened gigs of Joy D20ivision, has worked with the notorious Martin Hannett and has shared the stage with A Certain Ratio. Minny Pops have been inspired by early drum machines produced by Korg, called Minipops which were widely used in the 1960s and 1970s. The band disbanded in 1986 and it was not until 2011 that they started performing live again.  Minny Pops nowadays are based in the UK, consist of 11 more members apart from Wally van Middendorp, Wim Dekker , Pieter Mulder and Gerard Walhof and since 2011 have reissued their first two albums through Factory Benelux. In 2012, Minny Pops released the 7” entitled ” Waiting for this to happen/Glistering”  through O Genesis Recordings, a label owned by Tim Burgess of Charlatans, James Spencer, Nikki Colk and Nick Fraser.I enjoyed their show very much and I kept three elements, the engaging, theatrical and dynamic performance of Wally van Middendorp, the dexterous and admiring performance of Iona Tanguay at the clarinet especially at the16 second half of their setlist and the pluralistic impression that the band created in terms of aesthetics. But let me take things from the beginning.

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