Festival report: Cry Me A River 2012, day two

The previous reviews concerning the “Cry Me A River Warm-up show" and the first day of the festival have already been written, or at least started, yet still not posted due to yours truly being extremely busy in the last days. At the moment it is around 7:30 AM on July 11 and the girl and me are on a plane to Budapest where we are going to grab a “Rosetta” show, which will also be reviewed of course. I’m currently facing an annoying writer’s block, due to being quite tired and insanely excited about the upcoming trip with my life companion, so I’m basically trying to write and edit the reviews here and there, so pardon me if they end up being too hectic. (I left this unedited just for the fun factor, yes, I am lame)

To be absolutely honest, I have no idea what I was doing between waking up and the beginning of the shows, so I’ll just present you the timetable for the second day of the festival. Bands performed in the following order:

14:15 Autarkeia

15:00 Panzram

15:45 Hungry Lungs

16:30 The Gentle Art of Chokin

17:15 Grinding Halt

18:00 Keitzer

19:45 Planks

20:30 Trainwreck

21:15 Battle of Wolf 359

22:00 June Paik

22:45 Loma Prieta

23:30 Graf Orlock

If you read my review of the ”Cry Me A River Warm-up” show, found here by the way, you already know how much I was amazed by “Autarkeia” and I was definitely looking forward to seeing them again. Unfortunately, though at the same time quite fortunate for me, the moment they started to play my phone began to ring and I realized that my better half finally arrived to Versmold along with “Loma Prieta”. Many hugs, kisses and smiles afterwords, we ended up missing both the quartet from Florida and “Panzram”. I really had no luck grabbing the latter band.

“Hungry Lungs” was the first band that we managed to catch that day. Although the band kicked it off rather nicely, they faced some serious technical difficulty and it entirely ruined their performance. If memory serves me well, the guitar player had problems with his equipment and also the microphone was somewhat buggy. It all just boiled to the point where the band had to cut it short. What little was heard from them was intriguing and it really sucks that they couldn’t have a normal, full set.

Now comes the section of the review where I have to admit that my laziness succeedes in ruining things, since I remember seeing “The Gentle Art of Chokin”, but details about their performance in my head are really scarce. I do recall being quite entranced by their act and that the band was interesting to watch on stage, since they were moving around a lot. At the moment I do not have access to their recordings in hopes of refreshing my memory, so I’ll sadly keep this part of the write-up short. Forgetting a particular performance definitely makes me feel old. This is sad.

After a short break it was time to see “Grinding Halt”, this occasion being my third. There really isn’t much to say here since I think the previous two reviews covered all the important details, enough at least so that the readers realize how much I’m infatuated with their work. All those things that impressed me during their previous performances were present and combined during this set as well. They just keep showing, again and again, that they are getting better with each gig, always having an ace up their sleeve and never failing to impress. And sincerely, each time I see them live I feel sadness that I never saw “Shikari” play, so I guess that speaks a lot about this band on its own.

“Keitzer” followed after the Dutch quartet and I have to say that this is the band I heard nothing about, aside of seeing a lot of people wearing their shirts. I got to admit that attending their show out of the blue, so to speak, was really awesome due to the fact that I didn’t expect to hear anything similar. The five-piece from Germany blasted out with a really techical form of metalized hardcore, throwing at the audience rending melodies which were extremely precise and somehow seeming to be without pause. It was a real whirlwind of an act and I’m sorry that I didn’t listen to them before, so that I could tell you more specific details about their gig.

Next up, “Planks”. Sadly there is not much to say here. I absolutely adore this band on recordings at home due to the fact that I enjoy the truly grim atmosphere they create with their music. Despite my huge excitement to see them perform live in concert, they just failed to impress. The tunes remained dark and moving, but the overall mood was somewhat broken by the vocals, which in my opinion sounded rather off. Throat duties seemed to be completely unmelded with the rest of the band, so much in fact that I thought that the band changed their vocalist. I talked to other people about this later, since I went out of the venue in the middle of their set, but in the end everyone seemed to be positively stunned by the band. All in all, this remained a big question mark above my head.

Now comes the part of the review where I was truly surprised in the most pleasant of ways. I always loved “Trainwreck” and seeing them last year on “Fluff Fest” was great. Although I really enjoyed their performance, I remember that the crowd was rather dead and it made their act kinda static. This time the exact opposite happened. The band just got on stage and ignited the entire crowd in flames. Everything went nuts and it was an absolute enjoyment to see how the band and the audience managed to connect with constant movement, screaming and clapping. My favorite song, “Piano Gigante”, was played and it made me quite happy in the same way as it did last year. Overall, this was an excellent set and definitely a band worth seeing live at any cost, since it seems that it never fails to impress. I hope I get to see them play again, this was awesome.

Oh my, here we come to the absolute pinnacle of the second day, none other than “Battle Of Wolf 359”. When the festival line-up was initially revealed I just knew that this band will be one of the highlights of the entire event and my expectations were building up until that very moment when they climbed on stage. Seeing as how it was also announced that this will be their last ever show, it was simply sensed in the air that the performance will be epic beyond words. And to be honest, I am at a complete loss of words when it comes to writing about their show. The sound was perfect, the execution of their songs flawless. Not only that, but for the third time now this band proved to me that they are a true monster live, exploding on stage and blasting away the audience in the process. The entire mass of people in front of the band has detonated with movement in the same moment when music was created and the eruption of body motions didn't cease until the very last second. I was standing there uneasy for the first few songs until “Cyberdine” was dropped. Usually just a calm listener and observer, I was so moved by that piece that I engaged in a crowd surfing maneuver which, believe it or not, lasted for the entire duration of the song. It was so unbelievable screaming the lyrics and flying over the hands of the crowd to one of my favorite tracks. Absolutely epic. Additionally, as it is almost a tradition on “Battle Of Wolf 359“ shows, a human pyramid was performed twice, once unsuccessful and the second one a complete ace. Yours truly participated in the latter one and nearly on top, after which more crowd surfing followed! This write-up seems more like a list of things I did than an actual review of the musicians, but I have simply never been inspired and driven by a band in concert as much as then. This band doesn’t leave anyone standing and doing nothing, it entirely ripples through the room and leaves everyone shaking. With the last bits of energy making the bodies shiver and a truly cataclysmic ovation, “Battle Of Wolf 359“ was over after an astonishing gig. And after everything has been written, I sincerely don’t know how to end this part of the review and kinda give a closing word for the band, since they truly manage to invoke a lot of emotions in me, and I presume in many of you as well. The show was magnificent, the band legendary and it should never be forgotten.

Due to the enormous excitement and fatigue by virtue of the previous band, I completely forgot that there is one more performance that was bound to splatter my brains over the entire venue. “June Paik” is just one of those bands which I extremely craved to see live ever since I first heard about it. I was still shaking after “Battle Of Wolf 359“ and then this band came to just deliver the death blow. I have to be honest, I had extremely high expectations for their performance since I heard numerous stories regarding them live, of people trembling, shivering and even crying during a particular set. I was always attracted to this band and there was no reason not to believe in those experiences, but I waited to judge them only once I saw them live and now was my chance. To be honest, it is really tough explaining their set due to the amount of positive impressions it managed to leave on me. In essence, the band took the stage and explained how to proprely blow away everyone in the venue. “June Paik” is a project that always excelled at making eerie, brooding melodies with epic crescendos and it is stunning beyond belief how much all those positive things about the band increased during a concert. Slow song sections are a thousand times more melancholic, succesfully raising all the hairs on your skin. The outbursts of violence and chaos are overwhelming, making me feel as thought the very sounds can shatter entire worlds. Hearing “I” being played was enough to push me overboard and get me into a trance until the end of their set. The atmospehere they managed to create in a single swipe was truly unbelievable and it held its ground until the sounds they made died. Taking my time now to reflect back on the show really makes me mute, since this was a stunning part of “Cry Me A River” which I will always cherish and definitely one of my top three performances of the fest... and in general.

Time for yet another occasion to see “Loma Prieta” and I have to say that this performance made me want more. Initially, I was annoyed by the amount of noise that was somewhat crippling the entire experience of watching them live and it left me rather unpleased. But at the moment I am listening to their recordings at home and comparing those to their live manifestation managed to show me how actually awesome they are in concert. Although they are overdoing it with noise at times, their sets end up being extremely wild and fused with energy as a result. Their entire performance is a huge ball of chaos which you have to take in as a single swallow and the amount of audio pummeling you receive is truly a choking sensation. Seeing the band create so much noise is something astounding, a thing I didn’t pay attention to when I first saw them live. Their speed and precise playing is really a thing worth envying. It took me two of their concerts to realize how great the band is and thus I wish I could summon them whenever I want to so they could play in my living room. Two down, two to go.

Last band for that evening and of the festival entirely was “Graf Orlock”, the well known cinema grind from Los Angeles. I was aware that I would be seeing them multiple times this summer, but frankly I wasn’t really overexcited about the fact. This band always had my liking, though for some reason I was not that much looking forward to hearing them live and a couple of times I even forgot that I would. Then they came on stage and punished me severely for thinking like that. Damn it, their performance was a maddening rollercoaster! “Game Time”, “A Waste Of Ammo” and “A Shocking Interrogation” are just some of the songs that made everyone in the room go insane. If people weren’t already fatigued by the previous bands then I guess the venue would be demolished to the ground. When the crowd was lacking energy then the band was bursting with it, being perfectly angry and violent as much as the tunes are. Their songs sounded amazing and exactly as on recordings, though with additional awesomeness live in concert. The movie samples managed to draw even more smiles than usual during their gig, while the actual music seemed more destructive than ever. “Graf Orlock” finished their set with the dying melody of “The Dream Left Behind” and their singer crowd surfing to the end of the venue and back, after which an encore song ensued.

And this wraps up my time spent on “Cry Me A River”, finally attending the festival after years of trying. Both my girlfriend and me were seriously trying for several years back to get to Versmold and always failed, so going together at last was quite wonderful. Personally, every bit of the event was perfect for me, from an amazing list of bands and the venue to the “during the gig” experiences and shopping for merch. In the end I would just like to thank Lars for keeping such an awesome tradition alive and strong, as well as all other people and bands involved with the festival. Definitely see you again next year!

Gig review: Thou, Resurrectionists, Grinding Halt

This review comes extremely late due to various reasons. I've been taking some time to enjoy life a bit before some upcoming problems and also I waited quite a bit to recollect my thoughts about the gig appropriately, since it left a really magnificent impression on me. Additionally, it has been hellishly warm in Serbia these days and I can barely think straight, let alone find myself in an inspiring or creative mood, so this will probably be shortish.

The show seems to have happened ages ago, when it was in fact only ten days ago. On 13 June 2012 the venue called "Emo-Keller", translated to "emo cellar", hosted these three amazing bands. Not only was I extremely excited about seeing the live manifestations of these projects, but this was also my first time in Germany which increased the thrill that much further. After an hour or so train ride from the Netherlands, my companion and I arrived to the town of Essen. We took our time walking through the city, finally arriving to the venue which is located in a really nice and secluded location surrounded by other buildings and greenery. The very name of the place very well justifies the interior, since the venue is in fact a cellar. Once you step into the building, stairs await you on the right and they take you down to the gig space. A rather small, tight cellar with walls filled with writings, posters and stickers, one tiny bar and toilets. The lighting was quite nice, since it was really bright during breaks which was excellent for browsing distros and rather dim when the bands were playing, making a great atmosphere. No matter how the interior seems plain and minimalist, it provides everything you need for a diy show, including a great sound and enough room for everyone who attended. The funny thing is that although this is probably the smallest venue I have attended thus far it was packed with an insanely high amount of merch and distros. 

First in line was a local German band, the well known chaotic screamo project named "Resurrectionists". After a number of releases, some including splits with bands such as "Arse Moreira" and "Battle Of Wolf 359" to name a few, I am sure that everyone has heard of this act thus far. Even this blog has seen its share of mentioning their name in the form of an interview back in December 2011, which you can read here. In any case, their performance managed to live up to the awesomeness of their recordings and it was a true enjoyment witnessing them play, despite the band lacking one guitar player and one vocalist. All that aggression, speed and overall massiveness of their sound was transferred to "Emo-Keller" that night, being increased even further and coming out as a real chaotic beast. Their set was a true beating to the senses, flinging between being extremely dark and melancholic to brutally fast and pounding, making you feel surprised and unaware of upcoming tunes even if you know their songs all too well. Some of the songs which were played that night include "Schein Und Lüge", "In Der Stille", "Necropolis" and "451". I am looking forward to seeing them play on "Cry Me A River" warm-up and the actual festival, since I wonder how they will sound in a different venue. Although the show space in Essen fully supported their sound, there seemed to be a certain aspect of music you couldn't really discover and delve into amid the chaos, so I'm quite excited about future shows. And of course, seeing them with a full line-up. Nevertheless, this performance was quite intriguing.

A small break ensued which we used for digging through the distros, but soon enough it was time for the second act. "Grinding Halt" was up next and there is really nothing else to say other than the fact that they were simply breathtaking. This was their second show I was attending in a rather short time span, first one being in Arnhem and about which you can read here, and I honestly thought that there was no way that they could top that performance. They managed to do just that in Essen, pushing the scale of my liking for their music way up high. Although their recordings are amazing to listen to, their live performances seem to beat everything. The pissed off and rushing hardcore at home turns into a gigantic savage monstrosity of chaos and aggressive passion during shows. Their transformation is so thorough that the two can hardly be compared, which is by no means a flaw. Much like in my review of their previous show, it is quite hard to describe the amount of energy they amass during a particular set. Standing there in the front row and being soaked with those emotional waves created by the band, especially hailing from Mark who is continuously moving and throwing himself around the stage and into the audience, is something not for writing and is just needed to be experienced live. Much like "Resurrectionists", "Grinding Halt" will play on "Cry Me A River" and I am absolutely thrilled to see them for the third time, feeling quite honored to do so. Something tells me that this band still has a few aces up its sleeve and that they will provide an outstanding performance on the festival, which will definitely be the climax of my infatuation for their music. Absolutely no one should miss out on this!

Yet another break and then it was time for the guests from the USA to play. What to say about "Thou" that people already don't know? Simply put, Baton Rouge, Louisiana succeeded in giving birth to one of the most hardworking bands out there, the quintet continuously touring, doing shows and creating scores of astounding releases every year. After a truly impressive number of performances and a really admirable discography, there they were in front of me in Essen. Although I wasn't introduced to their sound from their very beginnings, my love for their work lingers and grows for a couple of years now and it was unbelievably exciting for me to finally get to see them live. From the very first moment when guitars started to buzz, screech and scream through the venue it became apparent that a true spectacle will transpire for the audience. This is probably the first band I ever saw that managed to set up a certain type of mood the very second it started to play. There was no introduction, no musical buildup to drag the crowd into the band's story, just an instant incantation entrancing the listener. I always considered "Thou" to have a completely unique sound which no other band has, but I never expected that they will be able to transfer that energy so fast and so strong. All that gloom, depression and dread found in their recordings was detonated in the venue, the senses left drenched in ultimately melancholic and atmospheric sludge...or doom or however people like to call it. For example, "Tyrant" completely blew my mind away, since the song was executed perfectly, but the sound and experience was increased a thousandfold with each song section shining under the spotlight. The atmospheric instances were eerie, the melodic parts extremely driving and the crescendo moments just came falling down like a ton of bricks. I could go on and on with describing what kind of an impression was left on me with their performance per song, but my review would end up being a true praise fest. Thus I will stop here, saying that this is definitely the band that gets the highest of marks in regards to making their set into a real work of art. Slowly, but surely, crawling into my top favorite concerts.
This review doesn't seem to need a special outro, seeing as how its length and description of sounds give a really full and complete circle. The only thing needed as closure is a definite plea to all readers to check these bands out, if you haven't done so already, and be on a lookout for future shows. Hope you enjoyed the read.
Additionally, I would like to thank both Bryan and Lars for being involved and concerned about where my girlfriend and me would spend the night, as well as all those wonderful German people who offered their help. And of course, thanks a lot to Christian and his roommates for providing us with an awesome place to stay.

Gig review: Grinding Halt, Landverraad, Slakkengang

Only two days after "Wolves In The Throne Room", while I was still trying to shake off the awesome feeling they left me with and get back to normality, this gig came as a wonderful surprise. What I thought would be a random "local" show turned out to be a rather interesting and thrilling event. Although there are three bands present in this review I will keep things short, so prepare yourself for a quick read.

The gig took place on a lazy Friday evening of 25 May 2012 at a venue called "Willemeen" in Arnhem, the Netherlands. For various reasons I have been really excited about seeing this place, since I heard a lot about it prior to the show, and I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised. You find yourself in front of the venue after a short walk from the train station, facing a really pretty, old looking building with a big entry way and huge windows covered in posters. A couple of steps inside take you into the actual room where the gig was supposed to happen. The entire place has a very minimalist design, a small low stage, a nice bar, a merch desk and that is about it. This particular show wasn't really crowded, but the room seems like it can support a fair number of people, so it pretty much serves all needs one might have for a hardcore show.

First in line for that evening was "Slakkengang", a chaotic screamo duo from Tilburg. I have known about this band for some time now thanks to dear friend Joost who does vocals and guitar playing in "Slakkengang" and who was also a member of one other Dutch band which was featured on this blog, "Laatste Halte". In case you don't remember that band, I did an interview with them for "Tigersuit" zine and you can read it here. In any case, I was seriously surprised with what I heard that night and I really feel sorry that I put this band on hold for so long. Their set was an extremely nice mixture of tense and violent rending with some gentle and melodic guitar playing. The songs swing between being utterly chaotic, parts which are executed quite well and managing to keep you highly entertained, and those slower guitar sections that honestly reminded me of some Italian screamo bands like "La Quiete" or "Raein". The band opened their set in a loud and violent fashion, so those melodic instances showed up as an unexpected surprise. Drumming also kept bouncing between a true beating to the chest and being highly atmospheric, so despite being chaotic the band kept a certain amount of order and construction.

A short break followed after which came "Landverraad", a really angry and fast hardcore/power violence band from Amsterdam. There is a sentence on their last.fm page which describes them rather accurately. "Short songs, long speeches." Indeed, their songs are very short, explosive and they attack you without warning when your guard is down. Everything is happening with haste and it's basically as if a really pissed off storm flew over your head. The music itself is in a constant state of rushing, but what I found awesome was the fact that the vocals manage to speed things up even further. Both the main and the backing vocals flow excellently with the tunes, adding a special something to the overall mood. Microphone duties are left entirely to the two girls of the band and I think that their high pitched screams give a certain choking sensation to the ears, which is great in combination to the spasm-like tunes coming from the strings and drums. Also, as the last.fm sentence pointed out, the band took its time with talking to the audience during pauses between songs and they actually made a sort of quiz with prizes for the crowd. A couple of questions regarding anarchism and extinct wildlife were asked and patches and candy handed out as a reward, which really made the whole thing seem like a cozy house show.

Last, but definitely not least was "Grinding Halt", a project from Groningen and a band known for having ex-members of "The Last Mile" and the legendary "Shikari". And let's be honest, the legacy of both bands has carved its mark on "Grinding Halt" and it is by no means a bad thing. The band came and annihilated the senses of the audience without remorse. Rushing, violent, heart stopping and continually mind blowing, their performance swept me off my feet. Everything was superb, from the sound they created and the movement of the band to the very energy they radiated with during their set, nothing was astray. Despite me listening to their material way before this show, I somewhat forgot about them in the meantime and I really can't remember which songs were played that evening. This show definitely made me want to correct my mistake and keep the band stuck in my head permanently. The performance left a serious impression on me, since it was nothing like I expected. It was the sheer amount of chaos and just the energy transferred to the audience that managed to stun me so much, showing that special something that the older screamo bands used to have, a really passionate and heartfelt vibe.

Shortly put, excellent gig and on top of that it was free. All three bands were a real enjoyment to watch and listen, so you should definitely check them out! "Slakkengang" recently came back from a mini UK tour and there are some new things looming ahead, so check them out on their bandcamp page, found here, to keep up to date. "Landverraad" put out a split with one other Dutch band called "Sloth", you can take a listen to it here. As for "Grinding Halt", I will have the pleasure to see them live again in a couple of days with "Thou" and "Resurrectionists" and you will definitely get to read more about my impressions regarding their music. Until then, you can check them out on their facebook page found here. Hope you enjoyed this wall of gobble!