Pushing the button

Awesome show by the Chemical Brothers at 013 in Tilburg last night - a real sensory bombardment. The visuals were something else!

From Brussels with Love (again)

Check out my interview for Up Front magazine with James Nice from LTM records about his reissue of the classic les Disque du Crepuscule compilation, From Brussels with Love.

D.I. [finally] Go Pop

The arrival of Leigh the lodger (the erstwhile Victor S) has fired my musical synapses to the extent that I've been trawling my archives like some demented shuffle play sensei. One semi-forgotten treasure that came to the surface of consciousness was the band Disco Inferno, the group that, above all, inspired Simon Reynolds to coin the term Post-Rock (in a 1994 piece for The Wire if memory serves).
As a big fan of the Renmeister, of course I went out and bought D.I. Go Pop and played it fairly regularly for 18 months or so. Wasn't quite so keen on Technicolour, although it too has its moments (particularly 'When the story breaks'). By the time that album came out [1996], the band had split, seemingly washed up as the tide of Britpop broke.
Listening to Disco Inferno again now, they sound less knowingly futuristic than simply modern. You could even imagine them getting some chart action today (what's good enough for Hard-Fi, etc). Time for the return of Ian Crause and co.?

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A night at the gardens

Went down to the Botanique last night for a triple-header as part of the annual 'les nuits Botanique' festival.
First up was the happy clappy discord of Barbara Morgenstern - truly awful. A voice as flat as a witch's tit, songs that meander like a lost coach driver stuck in city traffic, pointless live drumming, cringeworthy between song banter: Babs has got it all. It speaks volumes when the best thing about her show was the cool red and white stripey skirt she was wearing.
After a slow start Mouse on Mars were infinitely better musically. Their visuals were weak, however: a single back projected film that had to be regularly restarted. Looking at a JVC logo for 20 seconds every 20 minutes is hardly conducive to getting lost in music. You may ask,'are the visuals important?' If the alternative is staring at two men in their late 30s standing behind a desk, then yes, they are very important indeed.
You certainly couldn't accuse Planningtorock (aka Janine Rostron) of forgetting about the visual side. PTR has developed a kind of weird cabaret act juxtaposed with oddly catchy electronica. Something like an arthouse Goldfrapp. Not quite sure what it's all about, but there's definitely something to be said for a six-foot tall woman dressed in white wearing a strange hat/mask and singing 'I'm a Bolton Wanderer'. Sammy Lee eat your heart out!

Another Saturday night in Brussels

FLYER-BXL-WINDOWS
Originally uploaded by MonkeyGone2.

...9pm: Hit the Grand Place where Hooverphonic are playing a free gig as part of the city council's Iris Festival (the yellow iris is the symbol of Brussels). The place is rammed and the band, Belgium's answer to Morcheeba or Moloko, seem to be going through the motions a bit. But the combination of loud music, warm weather and a beautiful square overcomes any misgivings.
...10 pm: Slipping out the back of the square just before the encore, we make our way to Windows, for sets by two local bands inspired by 60s Americana: Monsigneur Lafayette et ses Virtuoses and Eddy Tornado et les Scandaleux.
The monsignor and gang play psych rock of the Seeds/Os Mutantes variety. A six piece (including a guy playing bongos and theremin), they really got the place moving: an extremely tight, well drilled and skilled combo. Cool outfits and facial hair too. As my mate Leigh said, if they were 10 years younger and in London you could imagine a scene forming around them.
I've written about Eddie and the Bhoys before. Since the last time I saw them, they have dropped the burlesque (no maked visen with billy club), dropped the Sham 69 cover, added a double bass on some tracks and generally got a whole lot better. Twirl your partners, ladies and gentlemen.
...12.30 am: Off to the Zebra bar to catch the end of a live set by Aschka (aka Debbie) and the DJing skills of Sensu. Some people say he is the best DJ in Belgium. I don't know about that, but he certainly has skills. A recent conversion to Dubstep seems like a good way of taking the Brussels club sound beyond its minimal torpor.
1.30 am: A private party downstairs in Biberium. The birthday girl has already gone and we are left with the stragglers and a tech house soundtrack. Another whisky coca, s'il vous plait.
2.45 am: Washed up at Celestin, the bar that opens 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This time there isn't a fist fight between Albanian gangsters going on (unlike my previous visit, but then that was at 8am). It ain't what the Dutch would call gezellig, and the R&B soundtrack can get a bit wearing, but it's a great place to end the night. Cheers!