Now, there are some bands that you hear and you know they're gonna be a big part of your life from the moment you hear 'em for the first time. For me Joy Division were one of those bands. A good friend let me borrow a compilation he had on CD, and I don't think I've been the same since, given that it was my doorway into the genre known as Post-Punk, a genre that fair gives me the willy wobbles. Fuck, I even learned to play bass while listening to their records (partly cos I didn't own any Ramones records at that point, partly cos the bass is rather prominent in most Joy Division songs).
Last night, thanks to the wonderful World Cinema Showcase, I got to see the new Joy Division doco, which was made by Grant Gee, probably most famous for making Meeting People Is Easy, a documentary about Radiohead, circa the madness that was the OK Computer album/tour/world domination thingy. Given that I really enjoyed that doco, and I really love Joy Division, this was gonna be a real no brainer, unless Gee managed to fuck it up somehow. Thankfully, this wasn't the case. The doco was well paced, plus pretty much all of the people interviewed were informative and funny. The surviving members of the band in particular were very entertaining, providing many anecdotes about the early days of the band, when they were called Warsaw and were pretty much one of those dime a dozen punk groups that sprung up in the wake of the Sex Pistols. The late Tony Wilson was amusing as always, as was Peter Saville, who designed all those great Joy Division/New Order album covers.
Sadly, there were a few key characters in the story that couldn't/didn't/wouldn't state their case. Joy Divisions manager Rob Gretton passed away in the 90s. Ian Curtis, Joy Divisions lead singer, hung himself on the eve of a US tour in 1980, an act that contributed to the aura that Joy Division carries. Oddly, Curtis's widow, Deborah, was absent from precedings, possibly due to her involvement in the Ian Curtis biopic Control, possibly due to the fact that Curtis's mistress was also interviewed for this doco, who knows.
Now, apart from the great interviews, there was also a huge chunk of great archival footage used. The audio of John Peel mistakenly playing Atmosphere at twice the normal speed, something Peel did to a lot of records throughout his broadcasting career, is probably worth the price of admission alone. Plus there was plenty of live and TV footage of Joy Division. When the DVD comes out, it will hopefully make use of this footage, presenting it uncut, thus making it a must buy DVD. One can but hope.
It was interesting, and slightly unavoidable, while watching the doco to compare and contrast this doco with Control, the Ian Curtis biopic based Deborah Curtis's book, Touching From a Distance. Control was the directorial debut for Anton Corbijn, photographer par excellance, and as such was beautifully shot. Plus, as both films prove, the story of Joy Division and Ian Curtis is a compelling one. The problem I had with Control was that there were certain aspects of the Ian Curtis legend that are well known, but were dropped into the film almost like product placements(lingering shots on the infamous "HATE" jacket and the cover of Iggy Pops "The Idiot"(reprtedly the last album Curtis listened to) in particular got my goat a touch). While both of these were refered to in the doco, they weren't made to key parts of the narritive like the seemed in Control.
That said, any problems I had with Control were minor and it works as a companion piece with Joy Division the documentary. Plus, add to these the Micheal Winterbottom directed Tony Wilson biopic 24 Hour Party People and you get a pretty good feel for the Manchester scene that produced so much great music from the late 70s, right through to the early 90s(tho' none of these film really mention The Smiths, Stone Roses, or Oasis, tho its not really in their frames of reference, particularily on the case of the Joy Division doco and Control).
Anyhoo, Joy Division, great band and and a great doco. Well worth checking out if yr a fan and even if yr not, and enjoyable viewing experience.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
The Shifting of the Techtonic Plates and Stuff
So, last night, rainy and horrible, I turned down the chance to go look at balloons in Masterton with pals, cos I had something much better planned. Yep, Jakob have been around for 10 years (and it went sooooo fast too), and to celebrate, they've been touring our fair nation and last night, they played the San Francisco Bath House, confusingly located in Wellington(ha, I'm funny).
First band of the night was Ulcerate. I say band, it could've been one person, I dunno, I was late getting to the gig, my tardiness due to faffing around the flat watching Mean Girls (I know, but I can't help it if I think Lindsey Lohan (pre-rehab) is a wee cutie) and missed Ulcerate. I hear they were really good, so I owe them(?) a rain check.
Next band of the night, Akaname. Now these guys I enjoyed. A LOT!!!!!! I guess these guys have a background in playing metal or maybe the harder end of hardcore punk, cos they were brutal, tighter than a nuns wotsit. Reminded me a whole lot of Envy, one moment crushingly brutal, the next, crushingly beautiful. Having a 3 guitarist set-up meant that there could be plenty of high-end solo-y action, without losing any of the bottom end brutality. Plus a couple of times, they did that 3 guitarist all playing the same chord, but each slightly differently, creating that really cool droney sound that Sonic Youth do so so well. And the rhythm section were amazing as well, the drummer shifting from plain old thrahsy-thrashing to a loose jazy touch at the drop of a hat and bassist matching him, and the rest of the band, step for step. I'll be making sure to catch these guys again.
Then, Kahu. Kahu is basically the solo project for Tristan Dingemans from HDU, one of my absolutely favourite bands. The set-up was him, a guitar, a microphone, and a small betalion of pedals. Each song consisted of Tristan building loops of sound and just letting it grow and grow and grow until the sound was almost overwhelming. It was absolutely beautiful. While not a million miles away from what he does with HDU, being outside the constraints of a normal band set-up meant that Tristan could stretch out the songs a little, plus his guitar playing lends itself to a slightly more ambient approach. I almost didn't want him to stop, but alas, it had to end so we could get to the main event. Please come back soon, and bring the rest of HDU with you as well, its been too long!!!!
Jakob!!!!!!!!!! Ten years already? They basically slayed the audience, from the moment the stepped on stage to the moment they pulled stumps and retreated back stage. They played tunes from all 3 albums and were pretty much the perfect encapsulation of the 2 acts that performed prior to them, their songs having a brutal quality to them, like Akaname, and a swelling beautifulness, like Kahu. And the older material was tweeked a little to suit the newer material from Solace, an album which while treading similar ground to their previous material, showed that there was new teritory to explore, something that a lot of "post-rock"-type bands can begin to suffer from. Jakob have side-stepped this, while staying true to what made them great. After an hour or so of Jakob-y goodness, they were joined on stage by Tristan Dingemans, to play a tune from 2nd album Cale/Drew which he'd added his guitar to. This Jakob/HDU cross-over was as amazing in a live setting as it is on the album, eventually the rhythm section left the stage to a rousing applause, while the 2 guitarists continued to stretch out the ending of the song with some nice ambient, feedback-y sweetness. Then it was over.
There were video cameras on stage throughout the night and plenty of microphone throughout the venue, so I guess the gig was being recorded for something. A live album/DVD of some sort maybe. One can only hope. It was a gig worth dragging myself out into the weather to witness.
First band of the night was Ulcerate. I say band, it could've been one person, I dunno, I was late getting to the gig, my tardiness due to faffing around the flat watching Mean Girls (I know, but I can't help it if I think Lindsey Lohan (pre-rehab) is a wee cutie) and missed Ulcerate. I hear they were really good, so I owe them(?) a rain check.
Next band of the night, Akaname. Now these guys I enjoyed. A LOT!!!!!! I guess these guys have a background in playing metal or maybe the harder end of hardcore punk, cos they were brutal, tighter than a nuns wotsit. Reminded me a whole lot of Envy, one moment crushingly brutal, the next, crushingly beautiful. Having a 3 guitarist set-up meant that there could be plenty of high-end solo-y action, without losing any of the bottom end brutality. Plus a couple of times, they did that 3 guitarist all playing the same chord, but each slightly differently, creating that really cool droney sound that Sonic Youth do so so well. And the rhythm section were amazing as well, the drummer shifting from plain old thrahsy-thrashing to a loose jazy touch at the drop of a hat and bassist matching him, and the rest of the band, step for step. I'll be making sure to catch these guys again.
Then, Kahu. Kahu is basically the solo project for Tristan Dingemans from HDU, one of my absolutely favourite bands. The set-up was him, a guitar, a microphone, and a small betalion of pedals. Each song consisted of Tristan building loops of sound and just letting it grow and grow and grow until the sound was almost overwhelming. It was absolutely beautiful. While not a million miles away from what he does with HDU, being outside the constraints of a normal band set-up meant that Tristan could stretch out the songs a little, plus his guitar playing lends itself to a slightly more ambient approach. I almost didn't want him to stop, but alas, it had to end so we could get to the main event. Please come back soon, and bring the rest of HDU with you as well, its been too long!!!!
Jakob!!!!!!!!!! Ten years already? They basically slayed the audience, from the moment the stepped on stage to the moment they pulled stumps and retreated back stage. They played tunes from all 3 albums and were pretty much the perfect encapsulation of the 2 acts that performed prior to them, their songs having a brutal quality to them, like Akaname, and a swelling beautifulness, like Kahu. And the older material was tweeked a little to suit the newer material from Solace, an album which while treading similar ground to their previous material, showed that there was new teritory to explore, something that a lot of "post-rock"-type bands can begin to suffer from. Jakob have side-stepped this, while staying true to what made them great. After an hour or so of Jakob-y goodness, they were joined on stage by Tristan Dingemans, to play a tune from 2nd album Cale/Drew which he'd added his guitar to. This Jakob/HDU cross-over was as amazing in a live setting as it is on the album, eventually the rhythm section left the stage to a rousing applause, while the 2 guitarists continued to stretch out the ending of the song with some nice ambient, feedback-y sweetness. Then it was over.
There were video cameras on stage throughout the night and plenty of microphone throughout the venue, so I guess the gig was being recorded for something. A live album/DVD of some sort maybe. One can only hope. It was a gig worth dragging myself out into the weather to witness.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
rockin' the burbs y'all
So, its a Saturday night, in the middle of easter no less, and there's nothing better to than to rock on down to the mighty Westpac Stadium (or The Caketin or The Ring of Fire depending on how you like your balls) for the first night of Rock 2 Wellington, the rock festival where large numbers of bogans come out to play. It was a pretty kickass line up too, Lordi, Alice Cooper, and the worlds greatest Kiss tribute band, KISS!!!!!!!!
After a few pre-gig drinks with mates, we rocked on up, our tickets taking us into the mosh pit area right up the front. Now, thanks to taking our time with the pre-gig drinks, there was little waiting around for the opening act. Or should I say acts. Placed around the stadium where you usually sit for the sporting events were 6 guitar gods, all taking their turn to slay the amassed crowd into submission with their guitaring prowess. Yep, it was a boring as it sounds, tho' the last 2 spiced things up a bit with a feedback solo from the 1st, and guitar smash-age from the 2nd.
Once the would-be guitar gods were out of the way, it was time for our 1st band, Lordi, all the way from somewhere in Scandinavia. Now, being that these guys were a) Scandinavian, b) in costume, and c) former Eurovision song contest winners, I was pretty much expecting to hate Lordi. But, they were brilliant. They didn't take themselves too seriously, the songs, while not making wanna buy an album any time soon, were pretty cool. There were explosions on stage, and theatrics. They were just fun.
Next up were locals Sonic Alter. Now, given that a) they were local support at a "Rock" gig and b) they were playing, not on the main stage, but a tiny stage up in the grandstand to the side of the main stage, I was pretty much expecting to hate Sonic Alter. But, again, I was mistaken, these guys were pretty cool too, nothing special, but pretty servicable chuggy rock. Also, while they were playing, the crowd were entertained by a dragon shooting lasers (thanks weta), demonic looking chairleaders, and firedancers.
Next up on the main stage was Alice Cooper. Now here is a guy who has been plying his trade for nearly 40 years. Now when you consider that, you'ld think that he'd maybe tone down his show a little, given that he's getting on a bit. You could, but that would condescending as all hell. The guy was fucking incredible, he had everthing, the great songs, a kickass backing band, great stage show, awesome!!!!! I knew it was going to be a great set when 3 songs in, Alice launches into Under My Wheels, one of my favourite Cooper tunes, and one I wasn't really expecting to hear, expecially 3rd song in the set, and more especially with the reaction it got from the crowd. They (we) were so into it, every tune greeted like an old pal. All the classics, No More Mister Nice Guy, Welcome To My Nightmare, Schools Out, plus an encore featuring Poison and Elected!!! Fantastic. Plus, there were what I guess you might call dancers, acting out some of the more theatrical tunes, which are Coopers trademark. There was Alice killing a baby, escpaing a straightjacket, and late in the set, being hung from the gallows. And, best thing, the crowd bought the whole lot, Alice had us in the palm of his hand fron the moment he walked on stage. Fantastic!!!
After Alice had finished slaying us, it was time for more fire dancers, more demonic chairleaders, more laser shooting dragon action, and more local support act action. I didn't catch the name of the 2nd kiwi band, but it didn't matter cos they were rubbish. No groove at all, I would actually be shocked if they had actually met before the gig, let alone played together. I mean oragnisers, really. Were 5 Star Fallout busy? And how bad must it have been for the band to not only have the power go out and put them out of our missery, but during their set, you could hear the stage crew sound checking Gene Simmons bass. Loudly. Like drowning out the support band loud! Oh, how I laughed.
Now it was time for the main event. The stage was set, the banner at the front of the stage was falling down even before the stage anouncer greeted us with the most famous words in rock.....You wanted the best, you got the best, KISS!!!!!!!!!!!(or something to that effect) There a big boom coutesy of the fireworks, the big banner eventually came down after its ealier reluctance to stay up, a Kiss launched into Duece. There they were, Kiss. First song was brilliant, but as the banner shenanigans proved, it wasn't really gonna be their night. Paul Stanley tried all his stage banter to get the crowd going, but either the crowd were not into it, or only a handful of us had heard Kiss Alive. It wasn't like Kiss were playing poorly, far from it, they have a reputation for being a kickass live band, and as far as I was concerned, they lived up that reputation. Its just that the crowd reaction was flat, and crowd participation part of the Kiss magic, you know the whole call and response bit, the crowd hanging on Paul Stanleys every word, that kinda stuff. Yeah, things just kinda fell a bit flat. Then, Gene comes forward to do the blood spitting thing. The build up was incredible, you started to get the impression that the crowd might finally get the whole thing and cut loose, then, blugh, blood everywhere, really cool, then via the harness in his back, Gene was about to fly to the top of the stage!!!!!! Or, to about a foot and a half above the stage. Yep, it didn't work how it was meant to. Bummer. At least it worked when the attached cable to Eric Singers drum riser and lifted him to the top of the stage during the set. I should mention the pyrotechnic action. During all the climactic moments, there would be fire erupting from the stage, or some sorta fireworks going off. Very cool. Kiss do put on a very tight show, everything is timed to perfection, and despite the lack of crowd enthusiasm (they seemed to enjoy the set, just not by Kiss standards I think) and Gene's harness mishap, things were going great. (Oh, did I mention that the stadium was far from full? Don't think Rock 2 Wellington will be happening next year somehow). Next trick was Paul saying I wanted to see the folks at the back, which was funny cos the "back" of the mosh pit was about 3/4 the way from the front of the area allocated for the moshpit area, and thats me being an optimist. Undeterred by this, Paul jumps on a flying fox contraption and "flys" to the back and plays a song from a little stage on top of the sound desk, then flew back again. The less said about the acoustic version of Shandi the better (I just don't like that tune). The set finished with a great version of Rock and Roll Allnite, we got covered in mini tissues, there were more explosions, etc, and Kiss left the stage to count their money.
Now, I don't wanna give the impression I hated Kiss's set. Far from it, I had the best time. But it was just a bit flat, the crowd weren't as into it as Kiss would have liked (and it showed too). The other comedy moment was Paul leaving a line hanging for the crowd to sing, and about 3 people self conciously doing so. Pauls next words were "I heard absolutely no one!" and he seemed absolutely shocked. Great gig, flat crowd, Alice Cooper was the winner on the day, but not by much.
After a few pre-gig drinks with mates, we rocked on up, our tickets taking us into the mosh pit area right up the front. Now, thanks to taking our time with the pre-gig drinks, there was little waiting around for the opening act. Or should I say acts. Placed around the stadium where you usually sit for the sporting events were 6 guitar gods, all taking their turn to slay the amassed crowd into submission with their guitaring prowess. Yep, it was a boring as it sounds, tho' the last 2 spiced things up a bit with a feedback solo from the 1st, and guitar smash-age from the 2nd.
Once the would-be guitar gods were out of the way, it was time for our 1st band, Lordi, all the way from somewhere in Scandinavia. Now, being that these guys were a) Scandinavian, b) in costume, and c) former Eurovision song contest winners, I was pretty much expecting to hate Lordi. But, they were brilliant. They didn't take themselves too seriously, the songs, while not making wanna buy an album any time soon, were pretty cool. There were explosions on stage, and theatrics. They were just fun.
Next up were locals Sonic Alter. Now, given that a) they were local support at a "Rock" gig and b) they were playing, not on the main stage, but a tiny stage up in the grandstand to the side of the main stage, I was pretty much expecting to hate Sonic Alter. But, again, I was mistaken, these guys were pretty cool too, nothing special, but pretty servicable chuggy rock. Also, while they were playing, the crowd were entertained by a dragon shooting lasers (thanks weta), demonic looking chairleaders, and firedancers.
Next up on the main stage was Alice Cooper. Now here is a guy who has been plying his trade for nearly 40 years. Now when you consider that, you'ld think that he'd maybe tone down his show a little, given that he's getting on a bit. You could, but that would condescending as all hell. The guy was fucking incredible, he had everthing, the great songs, a kickass backing band, great stage show, awesome!!!!! I knew it was going to be a great set when 3 songs in, Alice launches into Under My Wheels, one of my favourite Cooper tunes, and one I wasn't really expecting to hear, expecially 3rd song in the set, and more especially with the reaction it got from the crowd. They (we) were so into it, every tune greeted like an old pal. All the classics, No More Mister Nice Guy, Welcome To My Nightmare, Schools Out, plus an encore featuring Poison and Elected!!! Fantastic. Plus, there were what I guess you might call dancers, acting out some of the more theatrical tunes, which are Coopers trademark. There was Alice killing a baby, escpaing a straightjacket, and late in the set, being hung from the gallows. And, best thing, the crowd bought the whole lot, Alice had us in the palm of his hand fron the moment he walked on stage. Fantastic!!!
After Alice had finished slaying us, it was time for more fire dancers, more demonic chairleaders, more laser shooting dragon action, and more local support act action. I didn't catch the name of the 2nd kiwi band, but it didn't matter cos they were rubbish. No groove at all, I would actually be shocked if they had actually met before the gig, let alone played together. I mean oragnisers, really. Were 5 Star Fallout busy? And how bad must it have been for the band to not only have the power go out and put them out of our missery, but during their set, you could hear the stage crew sound checking Gene Simmons bass. Loudly. Like drowning out the support band loud! Oh, how I laughed.
Now it was time for the main event. The stage was set, the banner at the front of the stage was falling down even before the stage anouncer greeted us with the most famous words in rock.....You wanted the best, you got the best, KISS!!!!!!!!!!!(or something to that effect) There a big boom coutesy of the fireworks, the big banner eventually came down after its ealier reluctance to stay up, a Kiss launched into Duece. There they were, Kiss. First song was brilliant, but as the banner shenanigans proved, it wasn't really gonna be their night. Paul Stanley tried all his stage banter to get the crowd going, but either the crowd were not into it, or only a handful of us had heard Kiss Alive. It wasn't like Kiss were playing poorly, far from it, they have a reputation for being a kickass live band, and as far as I was concerned, they lived up that reputation. Its just that the crowd reaction was flat, and crowd participation part of the Kiss magic, you know the whole call and response bit, the crowd hanging on Paul Stanleys every word, that kinda stuff. Yeah, things just kinda fell a bit flat. Then, Gene comes forward to do the blood spitting thing. The build up was incredible, you started to get the impression that the crowd might finally get the whole thing and cut loose, then, blugh, blood everywhere, really cool, then via the harness in his back, Gene was about to fly to the top of the stage!!!!!! Or, to about a foot and a half above the stage. Yep, it didn't work how it was meant to. Bummer. At least it worked when the attached cable to Eric Singers drum riser and lifted him to the top of the stage during the set. I should mention the pyrotechnic action. During all the climactic moments, there would be fire erupting from the stage, or some sorta fireworks going off. Very cool. Kiss do put on a very tight show, everything is timed to perfection, and despite the lack of crowd enthusiasm (they seemed to enjoy the set, just not by Kiss standards I think) and Gene's harness mishap, things were going great. (Oh, did I mention that the stadium was far from full? Don't think Rock 2 Wellington will be happening next year somehow). Next trick was Paul saying I wanted to see the folks at the back, which was funny cos the "back" of the mosh pit was about 3/4 the way from the front of the area allocated for the moshpit area, and thats me being an optimist. Undeterred by this, Paul jumps on a flying fox contraption and "flys" to the back and plays a song from a little stage on top of the sound desk, then flew back again. The less said about the acoustic version of Shandi the better (I just don't like that tune). The set finished with a great version of Rock and Roll Allnite, we got covered in mini tissues, there were more explosions, etc, and Kiss left the stage to count their money.
Now, I don't wanna give the impression I hated Kiss's set. Far from it, I had the best time. But it was just a bit flat, the crowd weren't as into it as Kiss would have liked (and it showed too). The other comedy moment was Paul leaving a line hanging for the crowd to sing, and about 3 people self conciously doing so. Pauls next words were "I heard absolutely no one!" and he seemed absolutely shocked. Great gig, flat crowd, Alice Cooper was the winner on the day, but not by much.
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