Tell Me Your Stories

So i got my craptop fixed today and one of the first corners of the INTERGLOBESPHEREOFLOVE to which i scurried was Tom from Black Wire's diary-not-blog-because-that-sounds-like-an-australian-toilet. He is funny.

i feel uninspired to write much about the Horror the Horror's gig last Saturday. its not a good feeling. i just did not enjoy this gig that much. Normally i feel this great transfer of energy when i go to a good gig, like i've recharged my batteries. Live music really affects me. Im always in a stupor after a really good gig. But this time...Maybe it was just me? In front of me was a row of headbangers having a grand old time, and sort of behind me were three transvestites jumping up and down to every single song and shouting the words...or maybe just shouting words, i think they were shouting in German... One of the headbangers looked so wasted i really thought he was going to keel forwards and just puke all over the lead singer's new-looking loafer shoe things.

So, THTH have like, four really good songs. And then everything else kind of runs into eachother. Their good songs are really good though, thats what is kind of sad about them. One song in particular was introduced as "our best song!" and then, "it's the next single!" but it really wasn't their best song, which in my opinion they had played two songs before that one. i tried looking at the set list to get names and such but failed. I didn't like the lead singer. Whenever he talked it was insincere bullshit like, "you're so beautiful"...blah blah. It was not very convincing. Maybe he thought it was very rock and roll and ironic. One of the lead guitarists was interesting. He had a facial tic and was sharing the singing duties sometimes, though his voice wasn't that good...he made funny faces (not related to the tic) and moved in sync with what he was playing and i found myself watching him alot.

Towards the end the lights totally went out..Twice!! It was pitch black and the band kept playing. That was exciting. Maybe I wasnt the only one feeling a little disillusioned at this gig. There was clapping for the encore, but probably not too much. The first thing Lindstrom said when they came back onstage was "is that all you got?...we were going to play more anyway. so HA!"

Ok so he didnt say "so HA!". I'm sure he wanted to.

So this wasn't the best gig. I've been pretty lucky so far whenever i've taken a chance to go to a gig of a band that i didn't know much about. now im afraid! there are two dunno-really-who-they-are-but-i-want-to-go-see-gigs this week that i was planning to go to. now im not sure what i will do.

Take My Shoes Off, And I Will Throw Them In the Lake

This weekend I was spoiled rotten. the Futureheads and Bell Orchestre were in town. Luckily enough I bought my ticket for the 'heads last Monday because it totally sold out! It was my first time queueing for a gig at Magnet. There were alot of chancers waving their tickets around trying to get ahead in the line, which was quite cheeky. Some people just barged their way through and up to the front. Oh well. It was really crowded and we did have to forgo our lovely front row places when everyone starting going berserk once the band came onstage. Moving just a few rows back was alright though, there was space to dance and it's always good when there's less risk of getting trampled. Arriving in the middle of support band, Winson's set there were a couple of noticeable things to em, note: first of all, they were kind of good. Second of all, the drummer was non chalantly eating an apple and playing a set of mini drums. The lead singer at one point dived into the front row and crowd surfed, but unfortunately everyone moved at a crucial moment and he plunged straight to the floor. He looked slightly dazed when he clambered back onstage, but in the bar later on with a beer in his hand he looked in one piece.

The Futureheads' set started off with "Decent Days and Nights" and continued in a frenzy of songs from their first album: "A to B", "Robot", "Carnival Kids", "The City is Here For You To Use", "First Day", "Meantime"...it was kind of surreal hearing "Hounds of Love". I've achingly loved this song for so long, it was almost too perfect. I was afraid to hear their new material, I'm still not sure about "Area". But the unfamiliar tracks they played, I loved. One in particular reminded me muchly of the Cars. I think it might have been "Fallout". They finished the night with a bloody great performance of "Man Ray", which sounds so great live. There was no encore, though looked like it might happen when it seemed like the roadies had come onstage to tune up the guitars.

This was my first time seeing Futureheads play. I loved Barry Hyde's jerky movements. I loved his little brother Dave's intense robotic scary-face drumming, i loved the sincerity in Ross Millard's eyes as he sang and played and I loved Jaff's harmonising. This band got skillz.

They were very thankful, and apologised for not coming to Berlin sooner, this was the first time they'd ever played here. I bet they will play a Postbahnhof gig in the not too distant future.

On Sunday night at the Roter Salon, Bell Orchestre came to visit. This gig was just what I needed. Upright bass, French Horn, Trumpet, Violin, Xylophone, Typewriter, Keyboards, Drums. The five people in this band are just amazing. I already expected Richard Reed Perry and Sarah Neufeld to be amazing seeing as their "other band" is Arcade Fire ( he as a multi instrumentalist/producer; she as violinist). The chemistry between Sarah and Pietro (on French horn) was intrigueing. She charged at him as she played her violin and he layed his head on her shoulders in the final denouement of one of their pieces. "Throw It On a Fire" was amazing live. "Recording a Tape (Tyewriter Duet)" was beautiful and quirky. Drummer, Stefan Schneider, came forward and sat in the centre of the stage, tapping elegantly at yes, a typewriter. It was a shock to hear them say that they hadn't been able to hear themselves for the crowd talking during that show at their previous gig in Italy. Richard said, "it was interesting playing that song angrily, though." Last night in the Roter Salon it was pretty much absolute silence for the whole gig. For their encore they scampered back onstage and played an Aphex Twin cover. WOAHZ.

The star of the night for me was Stefan Schneider. He has an elfin face with high cheekbones and pouty lips. His almost pointed ears and choppy haircut, plus his white outfit, gave him the appearance of some enchanted little pixie from a fairy tale. It was kind of sad seeing him later on, in jeans and a t-shirt, looking more like a normal person. He had me totally goggle-eyed for the whole show: he's unbelievably fast on the drums and did this cool thing that I've never seen before, playing with two sticks in each hand. Sometimes, Richard told me, he even plays with four.

Last week or so, the band sent out a plea on Myspace for help with accomodation, so i volunteered and ended up having Richard as my guest. After the gig, I asked him a little about both of his bands, Bell O. has been a project of his since school and we won't see Arcade Fire for a long time. The new record is coming out next fall (or maybe they will just start working on it next fall..) and they won't tour again until it has been released. Arcade Fireonly ever played once in Ireland, at the Electric Picnic Festival last summer, which i missed. Richard said it was one of the greatest shows, his eyes lit up as he talked remembered the experience. It was one of those times when the band played really well together, and they found everyone so warm and welcoming and were amazed that so many people were so excited to be there to see them. "Though", he added, "that doesn't always make a good show". Bands often say that about playing in Ireland. Yay! I asked what his favourite song was to play, and he actually said he goes between really hating and really loving each of their songs. Right now, he is feeling tired of the current Bell Orchestre material, but they have written some new stuff, and there are only 5 more dates left of this European tour.It was kind of a surreal night. After the gig we headed to White Trash for some drinks and chats with himself, Pietro, Kaveh and some other people who had been at the gig too: Kaveh was astounded at a young girl who had travelled 6 hours from Munich to come see them..there was also a guy who had come from Prague. Richard flossed his teeth and admitted that Bach is his favourite composer before laying his weary head down on my old-fashioned-y couch.

Deadly gigs.

This Old Room Feels Like an Overcoat

Last week the Grand Festival came to Berlin for the first time. The aptly titled 3 night event took place in three different venues, starting on Thursday night in Magnet with 8 Ball and Channel One opening up for David Kitt. He has been a longtime favourite of mine. Ever since that one time I saw the video for "Song From Hope Street" on No Disco. Kittser came onstage by himself in a bright pink t-shirt and began the set with his ipod. He told us that it had been a while since himself and his bandmates that night had played together, so they joined him onstage one song at a time. By the end of the night they were five. Keyboards, drums, three guitars. IT WAS DEADLY. It was so great to see him live, i think it was one summer at Witnness that I saw him the first time, and about 2 years ago at Queens Uni. This gig in Berlin was probably the best of all. He played his Thin Lizzy cover of "Dancing in the Moonlight", "Long Long Stares", "All Night Long", "House With Trains", "Song From Hope Street", "Into the Breeze", and some new songs, the one in particular which stuck out for me was "Dont Fuck With Me". Kittser gave us one encore and finished off the night with "Headphones", which I had been waiting for all night long. This is one of my favourite songs and one of his oldest, it is deadly he still includes it in set lists. His onstage presence is warm and friendly, he clapped when we did and smiled and laughed alot and said "cool" after each song in that lovely Dub accent. By the end of the night with a full band behind him he was really rocking out. He was a sight to behold, stamping his feet and shaking his leg a la Elvis and throwing himself about with his guitar. I'm glad he had Ritche Egan playing with him because I wasn't able to make it to see Jape the next night at Intersoup. I heard that the band were doing their bestest to keep up the Irish nation's reputation as incredible boozers. It was an intimate crowd at this gig, and it seemed like everybody was Irish. The atmosphere was different to a usual gig there, there was more hollering and lepping about.

I made it to the last night of the festival then on Saturday for Twin Kranes and The Things at White Trash. This gig was bleedin' massive. Before it, I wasn't familiar with these bands at all, so I was really excited to check out some new bands from Dublin that I didn't know about; I wasn't let down. Neither was the rest of the crowd - at one point there were 5 fellas throwing themselves across the dancefloor like a game of pinball. Lead singer Neil strutted around onstage in full glam: short waistcoast, tight jeans, white face make-up, black lipstick and heavy eyeliner. Their songs were heavy with dirty guitars and sexy lyrics. Neil growled goodbye, saying "Get fucked, go home, roide yer boyfriend." An italian instrumental band called Mashrooms (from Italy) were the very first band. They had a violin player - is that why they were included in the line up? They had a powerful sound and gave us a pretty short but intense performance. Their drummer is cool.

Eh, this post is kind of crap. I'm still recovering from 24 hours on the go yesterday. ASLjuirjdasld.

I Even Fell For That Stupid Love Song

I should have known today would be great when i woke up this morning from a dream where i was having a bike race with frontman of Editors, Tom. I'm not exactly sure who won, but we went for a milkshake after.

So, I haven't been able to afford to buy a cd this year, yet. Any money I have is going on gigs. And apart from the odd song from the odd blog, i'm not much of a downloader either. On this great day, 02/03/06, I received a flipping deadly stash of albums, from the likes of :
Archie Bronson Outfit, Arctic Monkeys, The Television Personalities and the soundtrack of a german film - Knallhart - that i haven't seen yet, but has some real good music in it by the looks of tracklisting [the Kills, Go! Team, Sons and Daughters, ...Trail of Dead, Clearlake, Test Icicles]. Joy! I hope nobody wants to talk to me about anything during the next few days, i'm not taking my headphones off. Plus i've lost my voice anyway...

....Rock 'n roll karaoke is a pretty damn good way to finish off a day that started and continued like this one. Don't tell anyone but i sang "Papercut" and "Since U Been Gone". Also "Celebrity Skin", "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Touch Me", "Hard to Explain", "Just What I Needed", "Unconditional", "Swallowed", "Goldigger" and "One Thing". Monster Ronson's Sing Inn is where it is at. Lubbener Str. 19, Kreuzberg. the Ca$h Money Party djs were in charge of the dancefloor. Private booths mean that you, yes YOU, and as many of your friends as you can fit in there are in charge of the mic.

Schneider TM is having a secret little gig at Magnet tonight. That means Friday.

Oh My God, March

3rd - Arctic Monkeys - Postbahnhof
4th - The Fight + Cigarette, Bastard (...poor man's no doubt + english girlie good charlotte respectively. maybe not for me. they have nice posters though.)
5th - Maximilian Hecker plays Bob Dylan in White Trash..what the f..?
7th - Two Gallants, White Trash
8th - Louis XVI, Magnet
9th - Irish Festival: David Kitt, 8 Ball, Channel One, Magnet.
10th- Liars, White Trash
18th- Futureheads, Magnet
19th- Bell Orchestre, Roter Salon
25th- The Horror The Horror, Mudd Club
29th- Delays, Magnet

Sunny, Sunny, Sunny

Jason Collett is kind of amazing.

He came to Berlin for a date in the Roter Salon last night to showcase his new album, [Idols of Exile - out March 10th]. The live performance was pared down to just him and his guitar, with occasional back up on percussion and horn. His beautifully crafted songs with witty, touching lyrics and thumping yet gentle acoustic guitar fall together perfectly. The fact that he's singing about being a wasted teenager perhaps - "puking out the door with your pants around your ankles" - is a nice contrast to the pretty tunes and sweet guitar. He is a gifted musician with close working relationships with alot of other fantastic musicians [Broken Social Scene, Feist, Calexico] but he's also a married man and father of three. You really feel the richness of his life coming through in his music, which holds much more sway than expected from the simple set-up of one man and his guitar.










There was an intimate crowd attending the event, it was easy to get up the front and there was just enough people to keep it cosy, and also quiet. The Roter Salon was a charming venue for this showcase. As Collett stood, tall and skinny underneath the large glass chandelier, the soft lighting and opulent red decor enveloped him in a warm glow. Collett is so charming onstage, telling stories and giving the crowd some banter. He had good material to work with though - as he got up onstage he had been handed a non-alcaholic beer with "Fun" written on the label, and although somebody's handy repeatedly interrupted the performance throughout the night with that signal interference, Collett just laughed it off as part of the performance, the "german techno" element. He reminds me not a little of Josh Ritter, the way he tells a story and has that instant connection with his audience. During the show he invited Feist up onstage for a beautifully charming duet of "Hangover Days". There was a real chemistry between the two, and was one of the most memorable songs of the night for some. Martin Wenk from Calexico joined in on several songs with "vibes" and trumpet. I never saw the Xylophone played with a violin bow before. It was wow.




Though it's hard to imagine summer right now - it still being so bloody cold. Below zero temperatures, bitter wind and snow are keeping even springtime at bay, let alone summer. But listening to Collett play last night i definitely got that summer feeling. "Sunny, sunny, sunny"..i can't wait. When he comes back it'll be to play in the Postbahnhof, I just wonder if his performance could get lost in such a big venue. We were lucky last night.

Collett's warm, familiar and often fragile vocals tackle stories set in basement apartments and high school dances, about drinking Southern Comfort behind the shopping mall and finding solace in a mix-tape. But the thing is, this isn't Collett's youth alone-we're all either carrying the scars or still making the wounds-and his personal self-reflection produced an album so precise and relatable as to almost make you miss drinking a mickey in the 7-11 parking lot and passing out, naked, on a neighbor's lawn. Almost.

So says his record company, City Slang. Stream the album here.