PUP show in berlin (11.11.2019)

If you'd asked me which band I've seen the most in the last years, I have to say: PUP. I just checked it, and the first time I've seen them was 5 years ago in berlin (badeschiff) playing support for CLOUD NOTHINGS. In 2014 i made a blog post about the concert (I also took some pics and wrote an article for my former newspaper). Since then I wanna say I've seen PUP like 3 or 4 times (one time playing with MODERN BASEBALL). I was always really lucky to see the canadian guys in nice venues and with nice bands in europe, even though I have to admit I have not been folloing them so much in the last 1-2 years.

anyway, I'm going to berlin soon and I was randomly checking if there will be any good concerts during my visit - and for my surprise I found out that PUP will play on the 11th november at a location I really like (Bi Nuu). hooray! their new album is called "Morbid Stuff" and tbh I really need to listen to it more (so I won't judge it now or tell you more about it). I always loved their stage energy, their catchy songs and their well-thought music videos.

update after the show: it was really amazing. I was in front of the stage (first row!) and people got crazy since the first minute, I got pushed in my back quite hard, but I enjoyed the show. They played alot of new material. I was really surprised bc the show was sold out and it was packed with people. It was this typical moment when you realise: oh, PUP are fucking famous now. good for them!

GURR show in zurich (5.11.2019)

I've already mentioned GURR three years ago on this blog after seeing them live as support for SHEER MAG in a diy punk place in berlin. since that the duo played alot of shows and festivals, they also did a US tour. in april they released their new ep "she says" with 7 tracks. their first album "in my head" got really good reviews in the music press and the band was kind of surprised by the success.



I am very happy to see them in zurich soon. they will play in a venue called Bogen F, which books alot of really nice bands. the first song of the new ep is really dreamy and chilled out. I really love that they sing in english, but they also have songs in german like "zu spät" which is track 5. on their website they talk about why they didn't do a second album yet and what the ep title means to them:

It's about building up the courage to say what you think. It's about female leadership. It's about tears instead of raising your voice or fist. It's about doing what feels right. It's about wanting to be heard. It's about wanting to be believed. It's about wanting to be listened to. It's about what she says, really.

check out GURR on:
the website: http://www.gurrband.com/
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Gurrband/

PABST from berlin

so one of the first bands Id like to tell you about is PABST from berlin. Ive seen them some years ago in a place called urban spree in berlin performing as support for BEACH SLANG. I really love their sound and their energy on stage. I guess what I like about them is that they sound pretty oldschool, some might say grungy/postpunky (even some stoner rock) but I dont really care about these labels so much. besides these are really nice guys and they really (really!) deserve to be popular! the singer Erik has a really unique voice and - for what he told me - he has a hardcore/diy/screamo background which I totally get. we like some similar bands and he is very easy to talk to.

last weekend they performed in luzern/switzerland as support for LEONIDEN, a german indiepop/danceband from Kiel which are also really good, specially their live show. anyway PABST first album is called Chlorine and I just love it. in the next weeks they play some shows with KADAVAR, a rock band from berlin I didnt actually know.



check out PABST on
bandcamp: https://pabstband.bandcamp.com/
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pabstband/

New music from Berlin: GURR - Riot Girls from the german capital

Really cool female punk band based in Berlin that I saw live some months ago. Current album is called "In My Head" and it's super catchy, full of good vibes and powerful. I love the opening song "Breathless" - listen to it! Their album is available on Spotify:
 


 more info: https://gurrband.bandcamp.com/

Upcoming Show: ZOLA JESUS @ Schwuz//Berlin on 10.3.2015

sz-mag.com

Nika Roza Danilova aka ZOLA JESUS is back with a new album called "Taiga". Okay, it's not super new but from autumn 2014. She will perform this record and hopefully some old songs soon @ Berlin Gay Club Schwuz in Neukölln. I'm really looking forward to this concert - Nika is a great singer and really touches my little heart with her songs. Her single "Dangerous Days" is actually one of my fav songs. Listen to it:

review: THE RURAL ALBERTA ADVANTAGE @ Lido/Berlin 3.12.2014

Ich habe auch einen kleinen Konzertbericht geschrieben, zu lesen gibt's den bei der Berliner Zeitung.

Time to talk: The Rural Alberta Advantage

photo by saddle creek

The Rural Alberta Advantage is a three-piece-band from Toronto, Canada, consisting of the members Paul Banwatt, Amy Cole and Nils Edenloff.
Since i know this band i love their music - starting with the debut album Hometowns in 2008 and followed by the second album Departing (2011) both released on Saddle Creek Records. Their dynamic & fresh sound, the awesome drums and the impressive folk-rock songs caught me easily - as a lot of people i fell in love with their hit "Stamp" that also has a nice music video you gotta see.
In September 2014 their third album called Mended With Gold came out. So they are touring right now and will play a show in Berlin on 3rd december at Lido.

Your new record is out for some weeks now. how is the feedback so far?

Paul: The feedback is great! We have people telling us it's their favourite record of ours at every show, and that feels amazing.

You needed 3 years from "hometowns" to "departing" and now it took 3 years again. so the next album comes 2017?

Paul: I want to say it will be sooner... But I can't promise anything. We take our time. When we rush, we are never happy about the results. Having said that, our co-producer Matt Lederman helped us be more productive than ever towards the end of our writing process, so I think there's hope for something even earlier.

What kind of shows do you like more - small clubs or the big town halls?

Paul: There's something special about each. We just played to 1900 people in Calgary and it felt really incredible. Unreal energy. At the same time, people were held back from the stage by barriers and security, and that creates a distance between performer and audience that takes some getting used to. I love smaller shows where it feels like we're all in it together.

How does it feel to play in europe? is the fancrowd different here?

Amy: Touring Europe feels different than North America in a lot of ways, but once we get on stage it feels the same as when we play at home. The fans in Europe and especially Germany have always been amazing to us, and we're very excited to be coming back.

I saw you playing in berlin some years ago and it was awesome! for me it was a big pleasure to see your energy and passion live on stage. and besides that, i think you are really cute together! whats your secret? 

Amy: Thank you! We all just really love playing live and the way we perform comes naturally to us. We like sharing our music with people, and when we can feel the energy of the crowd coming back to us it makes everything even better. The three of us have known each other for ten years now and are very familiar with how our individual minds work and how we like to express ourselves in the music. Plus we still genuinely like each other after all this time, which makes it easy for us to have fun with each other on stage.

What do you think about berlin?

Amy: We love Berlin!  I'm excited to spend more time here. Nils has actually vacationed in Berlin before, so he's going to be our tour guide and show us some of the sights while we're in town.

You are from Toronto. For me it always feels like Toronto gives birth to a lot of great bands. Can you describe the music scene in toronto? is it any special compared to other places that you know?

Nils: I’ve always found the Toronto scene to be very supportive and competitive in a very positive sort of way.

I think there are several factors that make Toronto's music scene what it is. First of all there so many incredibly talented bands and musicians in the city that it forces you to keep pushing yourself to operate at the top of your game. It's really inspiring seeing some amazing bands from Toronto getting recognition on the international stage and if anything it just makes you work harder to make the best music you possibly can. Secondly the audiences are very supportive for bands that are starting out.  The community is great and it gives bands a chance to build up and audience as they are still learning their craft.I also feel like the fact that there isn't a definitive Toronto sound is also a plus. There are so many different types of bands in Toronto right now (Alvvays, Bry Webb, Metz, PS I Love You) that the sound of Toronto is constantly evolving.

Could you describe the new record Mended With Gold?

Nils: Mit Gold Empfohlen... I don't know if that is even the proper translation, I really just threw that into google translate.
To be honest, we just tried to make a record that we were all proud of and tried to capture more of the energy of the live show than our previous albums. 

Which bands are you listening to these days? What are your favorite records this year?

Nils: I've been listening to the new Caribou and Iceage records recently. I also like listening to more ambient type stuff (William Basinski, Max Richter) when I'm trying to read or relax on the road. Some of my favorite records of the year I've been listening to are:

Alvvays - Alvvays

Black Polygons - Silence

Bry Webb - Free Will

Deru - 1979

Frog Eyes - Carey's Cold Spring

PS I Love You - For Those Who Stay (PS I Love You will be opening up this upcoming European tour for us)

Timber Timbre - Hot Dreams

Woods - With Light & With Love

Thanks so much for the interview and have fun on tour! See you in Berlin!

THE RURAL ALBERTA ADVANTAGE

support: PS I LOVE YOU

3 december at 9 pm

@ Lido Berlin, Cuvrystraße 7

Get tickets at Karrera Club

PORNFILMFESTIVAL BERLIN 2014 // Interview mit Queer-Pornoregisseurin Goodyn Green

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Next Berlin Show: CLOUD NOTHINGS @ Badeschiff // 18.8.2014

One of my favorite bands of the last years is CLOUD NOTHINGS. First time i saw them, i didnt know them, but they played the support show for Les Savy Fav in Berlin (Festsaal Kreuzberg) some years ago which was already a good sign for the quality of the band. After that i had the chance to see CLOUD NOTHINGS recently: at Immergut Festival and at a gig in Köln (Underground).

Whatever, the reason why I'm telling you all this is that i really love their music and sound. So if you are in Berlin the next days or maybe you are even living here, then don't hesitate to join their show on 18th august @ Badeschiff.

Support band will be PUP from Toronto which sound pretty nice.
Get tickets here or whereever you want!
Join event on facebook here.

Das White Trash ist umgezogen

Das neue White Trash Fast Food Am Flutgraben in Treptow.

Tschüss Prenzlauer Berg, Hallo Treptow! Das White Trash Fast Food ist umgezogen - in die Nähe von Badeschiff und "Club der Visionäre", mitten in den Tourikiez also, weg von der Schönhauser Allee, und dorthin, wo es wirklich angesagt ist.

Am Samstag hat es mich dann eher spontan dorthin verschlagen, so nach dem Motto "Lass mal gucken, wie das da jetzt aussieht..." - "Aber nur, wenns nich so teuer ist!" Begrüßt wurden wir vor Ort mit einer kleinen Feuershow (kann recht heiß werden am Einlass). Warteschlange Fehlanzeige. Schlechtes Zeichen? Zehn Euro Eintritt - achja, Pete Doherty spielte (mal wieder) an diesem Abend. Na gut, von mir aus - rein da!

Beeindruckend: der riesige, zunächst unüberschaubare Garten - von den White Trashern beschrieben als "apokalyptischer Zen-Biergarten“ mit „Psycho-Barbecue-Außenanlage“. Kein Vergleich zu vorher natürlich. Alles sehr gemütlich, mit dutzenden Sitzgelegenheiten, Holzwegen und beschaulicher Beleuchtung. Lagerfeuer inklusive. Ideal für die kommende Sommerzeit. So weit, so gut.

Doch wer das alte White Trash kennt, merkt schnell, die einstige Atmosphäre, die der dunkle abgerockte Kellerclub an der Schönhauser versprüht hat, ist futsch. Die neue Halle gleicht einem unpersönlichen Ort ohne jeglichen Charme - hinten Stühle und Tische vom Restaurant, vorne die Publikumsfläche und die größere Bühne. Der Cuba Libre schmeckte mehr nach Wasser als nach Rum. Libertines-Frontmann Doherty, erschreckend unabgefuckt und offenbar nüchtern, spielte sein Akustikprogramm, die Hardcore-Fans sangen dann auch jede Zeile brav mit. Das Publikum sehr gemischt, aber das macht wohl auch der neue Standort. Ich weiß, es gab viele gute Gründe, den Konzertclub samt Restaurant und Tattoostudio umzusiedeln, für mich persönlich war der erste Besuch aber eher enttäuschend. Aber vielleicht sollte ich mal am Tage hingehen und nen Burger bestellen. 

www.whitetrashfastfood.com

Planningtorock // Schwuz // Berlin

Nachtrag:
Sehr schönes Konzert, tolle Sängerin, passende Location!
Mein Lieblingssong vom neuen Album:

Wye Oak // Privatclub // Berlin

Eine der wenigen girl-boy-Konstellationen in der Musik, die ich mag, ja fast schon vergöttere, sind die beiden Sympathieträger Andy Stack und Jenn Wasner, zusammen unter dem Namen WYE OAK auf der Bühne. Dem geneigten Hörer mag die Band bzw. ihr Song "Civilian" aus der Zombie-Serie "Walking Dead" bekannt sein. Zumindest kann man annehmen, dass der Soundtrack ihnen zu (noch) mehr Aufmerksamkeit verholfen haben könnte. Nachdem ich WYE OAK bereits zwei Mal live erleben durfte, freue ich mich besonders auf ihre Show am 25. März in Berlin.

Ende April veröffentlicht das Duo sein viertes Studioalbum namens "Shriek" beim Label City Slang bzw. Merge. Bis dahin stehen etliche Shows in den Staaten und Europa an. Im Berliner Privatclub steht der bisher einzige Deutschland-Auftritt an. So, hurry up or shame on you!


Alles andere hat mein sehr guter Freund und Bloggerkollege Maix Fleischer bereits mit schönen Worten zusammengetragen, darum sei an dieser Stelle auf seinen Musik-Blog "Reibung erzeugt Wärme" verwiesen!
Hier der passende LINK.

WYE OAK LIVE
MARCH 25th 2014
PRIVATCLUB // BERLIN
offizielle Website
wyeoakmusic.com

Soon to come: Joan of Arc @ Schokoladen//Berlin

JOAN OF ARC & MOCK
16th december
@ Schokoladen/Mitte//Berlin
lastfm event
facebook event

Time to talk: Kathy Foster of THE THERMALS

Kathy Foster is the bassist of the post-pop-punk trio The Thermals (also singer and guitarist Hutch Harris and Westin Glass on drums) from Portland, Oregon. The band was founded in 2002 - 11 years and countless gigs later The Thermals are back in Europe again! This year The Thermals signed to Saddle Creek and released their sixth record, Desperate Ground. Next saturday (19th october) they gonna play a show in berlin. I talked with Kathy about the current tour, the new album and future plans. Here we go!

Europe had become something like a second home for you as a band. How often have you been here?  
i've lost count, but i think its more like our 20th trip!

You've seen so many places and great cities. Is there a country/place/city which you liked the most? 

there is something good about every place we've been. on this tour, we went to rome for the first time and we had a little bit of time off there, so we walked around and saw lots of ancient sites. that was amazing! and of course, we ate lots of really good pizza and pasta in italy. we've probably played germany the most. the people are great there and we feel really taken care of there. the shows are run well, the food is great, and we get some really enthusiastic crowds. i love amsterdam. we've had the most time off there because we usually fly in and out of there. i love to walk around the city. its so beautiful. the people in the UK are great. the food in france is great. yeah, there is something great about every place. 

If you`d have the opportunity, where would you like to play in the world where you haven't been before? 
we'd love to go to japan, australia, south america, mexico. there are so many places we haven't been! 

You are now touring germany for a few shows. Berlin has a great music scene and pretty nice venues. Do you see similarities between the music scene in your hometown and berlin? 
we've had great shows in berlin and sometimes we have a day off there and get to see some of the city. but unfortunately, we've never been there long enough to really check out the music scene, so i can't say how it compares to the portland music scene. for a while, i kept hearing about musicians and artists moving there (i'm sure this is still the case!) because it was cheap to live there and because there are such vibrant art and music communities. this is definitely similar to portland. so many artists and musicians have moved to portland over the past twenty years and are still moving there. its an affordable place to live and its so nice to live with so many creative people. although, now its starting to get pretty expensive! noooo! it was so much cheaper when hutch and i moved there in 1998.

photo by the thermals

Your gig is on saturday. According to your tour schedule you got a day off after that. Will you spend the day in berlin? How do you use your quality time while touring? 
yes, we will have the day off in berlin. we try to schedule our days off in the cities we want to explore. we all love to walk around and get lost, go shopping, see sights, go to museums, eat. or sometimes if we are really tired and need to catch up on sleep, we spend the day off in bed. 

Much has been said about your new record „desperate ground“. I really love it. I know there is this theme going through the album about killing and fighting. However, the songs give me a pretty good feeling. They make me happy! Were you three all participating in the songwriting? Had there been any fights about the lyrics or did everyone agree with them? 
thanks! yes, i think you described the way we've made every album - heavy themed songs that make you feel good! we all think about these heavy themes but we still love to enjoy life and make exciting music. i think its good to confront these dark feelings and embrace them. we all collaborate on writing the music for the songs. hutch writes all the lyrics, but he always shares what he's working on and asks us our opinions, and we give him feedback. i've always loved hutch's writing and i like to help him. we've never argued about the lyrics. 

Seeing the songs from your new album as a connected tale, it seems to me like a huge movie with warriors fighting, inner conflicts and at least fate. What are your favorite movie genres? 
you got it exactly right! we were thinking about it in the same way. we felt like we were writing an action movie soundtrack. the more songs we wrote, the more we envisioned the "movie". the three of us love all kinds of movies, but while working on "desperate ground", we were definitely watching and thinking about action movies of all kinds - die hard, excalibur, full metal jacket, apocalypse now, army of darkness, lord of the rings, drag me to hell. 

I've read that you don't have a tour manager. Isn't it a lot of work doing it all by yourselves? 
sometimes we have a tour manager, sometimes we don't. on this tour, we kind of have a tour manager. but we do a lot ourselves as well. it can be a lot of work, but we started out in a very DIY scene where people set up their own shows and booked their own tours. so we started out doing everything ourselves, and then as we became a bigger band, we got a tour manager. its definitely awesome to have a tour manager, but sometimes it can be more work to try and find the right person! we've had good tour managers, but then sometimes they can't come on tour because they are busy with another tour, and then we either find someone else or decide to do it ourselves. we've never had a band manager. we like to be in control! 

photo by lifewithoutandy.com

Which bands are you listening to while being on tour? what are your favorite records right now? 
we've been loving "henge beat" by total control. also: the KVB, "crimes of passion" by crocodiles, "the new life" by girls names, the woolen men (one of our favorite portland bands), "dare" by the human league.

At the end of the year you will be back in the US. Will you spend the holidays at home? Is it important to you, celebrating with your family, presents and all this stuff?

i think we all usually alternate staying in portland and going back home for the holidays every year or so. hutch and i have family in california, and westin has family in new mexico. i think we'll all be in portland for thanksgiving and then probably go home for christmas. its important to see family but its also super fun to spend holidays with friends in portland. my family isn't big on christmas. we like to hang out but we don't make a big deal about it. 

What will The Thermals do next year? Are there any plans, maybe side projects? Are you gonna record some new songs? 
we'll definitely be working on some side projects AND some new thermals songs. hutch and i both have solo songs we're working on. i'm putting a band together called "love always". westin and i have another band called "hurry up" and we're currently working on getting our record done. i play drums and he plays guitar, and our friend maggie vail plays bass. the record will be out on "army of bad luck" records sometime soon. 

Thanks Kathy for the interview! And all the best for your future!

Desperate Ground, 2013, Saddle Creek, buy here
1. Born To Kill
2. You Will Be Free
3. The Sunset
4. I Go Alone
5. The Sword By My Side
6. You Will Find Me
7. Faces Stay With Me
8. The Howl Of The Winds
9. Where I Stand
10. Our Love Survives

european tour dates:
10.18 Frankfurt, DE Zoom
10.19 Berlin, DE Bi Nuu
10.21 Hamburg, DE Knust
10.22 Bochum, DE Bahnhof Langendreer
10.23 Cologne, DE Gebaude 9
10.25 Amsterdam, NL Paradiso


www.thethermals.com

past show & next recommended shows

Great show at Lovelite with OMEGA MASSIF, instrumental downtempo band from Würzburg, Germany. The location was pretty crowded and sweaty but there was a great dull ambience.


www.omegamassif.de

support band of the evening was I NOT DANCE -  in the past also support for: This will destroy you, Daturah, Tephra, The Now Denial, Glasses (!!!), Children of Fall, Metroshifter, Turbostaat and more...


www.inotdance.com


Upcoming Shows (recommended):

september 23 @ Lido
A Place To Bury Strangers



october 2nd @ schokoladen
Japanther



october 19th @ Bi Nuu
The Thermals
(im really looking forward to this show!)

berlin summer so far

more to come...

next show:

Die Goldenen Zitronen
Saturday, august 10th
about blank garden
Mit Viktor Marek & Ashraf Sharif Khan und Umherschweifende Produzenten

Thought Forms

"3 piece band from England's rural South-West.   
Making music together since May 2004.   
Belong to Invada Records."  www.thought-forms.co.uk

  Thought Forms are Charlie Romijn, Deej Dhariwal and Guy Metcalfe.
Nothing more to say about - great dark music between postrock, shoegaze and psychedelic rock.
Band was support for Esben and the Witch @ Bi Nuu, btw a nice location in berlin. Check out some pics of the show here. 

Bandcamp

Listen to this amazing band! NOW!