Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. @ Il Motore 27/04/12

Yesterday, I went to go see Acid Mothers Temple. Why? I'm not sure myself. I've never listened to any of their albums. Maybe because they're a experimental Japanese band, and some of my favourite music falls under that category. Or maybe because the band members have great hair. Well I'm glad I went because it was a real blast.

The opening band was a rather obscure Psychedelic Indie Rock outfit hailing from New York known as The Phantom Family Hero. I have literally not heard a single song from them until the show, but boy, did they put on a fun show. It started out with two members of the band going on stage with white tank tops with an upside down triangle on it and they had masks on. They faced away from the audience, got down on their knees and bowed down for a couple seconds. They then got up and went to their instruments as the other members (who are dressed normally) got on stage. There was no explanation for this. They have a great stage presence. The bassist wore Kanye glasses and a tacky Hawaiian shirt while dancing a little while he played. The lead guitarist has a huge afro and an LCD display banner with the band name on his guitar. They looked like they had a lot of fun playing, that's really important since it rubs off on the audience. The music was pretty nice. The second song they played was my favourite, which had a long noise jam section with an improvisational sax solo that just blew up with intensity. I had to buy their CD after the show to check their studio work. I might rip it and post it on this blog.

AMT was up next. Their performance pretty much made me speechless. It was a unique kind of show that I never experienced before. They played with such intensity, especially the guitarist. I'll just post the video of the entire show, save for the encore. I suggest that you watch at least the ending, at 1 hour 15 minutes in. I ended buying their Live as Troubadour LP.

Some people took the opportunity to do some drugs. I remember the faint aroma of marijuana when AMT got on stage. On guy was clearly out of his mind, diving off a crate onto the small crowd. It was sorta funny.

Elsiane @ Club Soda 18/04/12

Elsiane is a local Trip-hop duo playing a show dedicated to the launch of their latest album, Mechanics of Emotion. It's their first album in over 5 years, and the fans have waited patiently. This was certainly not the show to miss. Because I went to this show on a whim, I didn't have a ticket beforehand. When I saw the line outside, filled with people waiting to get in, I was kind of surprised by how many people show up. I was worried that I wouldn't have a ticket, but after a little patience, I got myself a ticket and headed straight for the front. I got myself an excellent spot, right at the front, dead-center. Right in front of Elsieanne, the vocalist. The venue is a two-floor building, a ground floor and balcony. The house was full. You couldn't have fit another soul in that building. I was lucky to get a good spot. Onto the show.

Like I stated earlier, Elsiane is a duo which consists of singer-songwriter Elsieanne Caplette & drummer Stephane Sotto. They weren't alone though. With them was multi-instrumentalist Annick Beauvais who played Bass, Oboe and Keyboard and Cellist Sheila Hannigan. Every one performed very well, but the drumming stole the show. Very energetic drumming through out the night. Annick had some great Oboe solos as well. Sadly, I found that Elsieanne's vocals were a little underwhelming, depending on the song. She has a very soft voice, so whenever a strong climax, a lot of the time, didn't hit the spot for me. They weren't bad at all though, just to soft at certain times. They impressed the fans so much that they didn't just come out for one encore, but two! For the second encore, Elsieanne came out alone and sang an acapella version of one of her songs. My personal highlight of the evening was when the cellist came out. Nothing but Elsieanne on vocals, a cello and Stephane banging on a wooden box instead of drums. Syncopated rhythms on a wooden box. It sounded amazing.

Also bought myself their first album.

Igorrr - Nostril

Just by looking at the album art, you know you'll be getting into something weird. Igorrr, real name Gautier Serre, is a French breakcore artist. I actually prefer to call his music "Baroquecore", since that's what his music sounds like. He's not solely influenced by baroque music either, though. He's also heavily influenced by death metal, funny enough. He has an even weirder Grindcore side project called Whourkr that I recommend checking out. Anyway, let's talk about this album. He likes to use samples. A lot of them. Copious amounts of operatic samples can be heard throughout, as well as death metal growls mixed in with them. The operatic vocals are usually messed with making them sound darker than normal. It's a really interesting contrast to hear, and it somehow works. The drums on this run really fast and are really chopped and fucked with, keeping them always varied. The baroque instrumentation is usually untouched, making another interesting contrast that somehow works. If you're looking for fucked up classical music or just want to see it in a very different light, check this sick Frenchman out.

8 out of 10 people will like this.

[Mediafire]

Japancakes - If I Could See Dallas

Japancakes is an American Post-Rock outfit that have quite a unique sound. They constantly use a steel slide guitar, which gives it an incredibly mellow feel to it. One of the mellowest Post-Rock albums I've ever heard. It should have been called "If I Could See Hawaii", because every song on here sounds like your on a Hawaiian beach, relaxing on a lounge chair and watching the sunset. Eternal bliss. Each song usually sticks to one idea and builds upon. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. It's really worth checking it out.

7 out of 10 people will like this.

[Mediafire]