Best concerts of 2019 Archives - TURN UP THE VOLUME

Best Concerts Of 2019 (Pt 9) – Here Are Euphoric British Glam Popsters TEMPLES…

Posted on December 30, 2019 by JL

Turn Up The Volume looks back at his favourite concerts of 2019…

TEMPLES – Botanique Venue, Brussels – 19 November 2019

Here’s the original review…

Never change a winning formula is definitely British quartet TEMPLES‘ chosen strategy.
After listening to their recent, third album Hot Motion it was quickly clear that the band had decided to keep doing what they do best since their debut LP Sun Structures back in 2014, which is writing glam and glitter pop songs with the three inseparable ingredients you need to succeed: catchiness, tunefulness and euphoric sing along choruses. Mind you, it’s not as simple as it sounds. Many tried/try that formula over and over again but only a few become successful at doing it as it should be done to get the listener in an elevating mood.

And it also helps when you look like young God-like pop stars too. Anyway, last Tuesday
in Brussels, after a short false start, due to technical problems, the ecstatic Temples show took off and turned the full house, with a large fanatic fans representation, pretty fast in
to a state of euphoric elation, with a clever mix of old stompers (Keep In The Dark / Shelter Song / Certainty ) and new standouts (The Howl / Holy Horses / Hot Motion). As I’ve seen the band a couple of times before I had a déjà vu once in while but seeing the greater part of the audience going nuts frequently was a pretty sight to see and keeps yourself exultant too. And with turning the one and only encore ‘Mesmerise‘ into a sort of Jimi Hendrix like psychedelic guitar outburst the band reminded us that 90 minutes with them is about a thousand times more entertaining than sitting in your lazy couch all evening long watching crap on TV.

The whole set reproduced on Spotify…

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TEMPLES: Facebook

(All pics by Turn Up The Volume!)

Best Concerts Of 2019 (Pt 8) – Here Are Manic Post Punk Preachers BLACK MIDI…

Posted on December 29, 2019 by JL

Turn Up The Volume looks back at his favourite concerts of 2019…

black midi – Beurschouwburg, Brussels – 10 October 2019

Here’s the original review…

If you went to this gig without ever hearing this electrical juvenile London quartet called black midi I guess your unsuspecting ears would have been impressed as never before. These adventurous youngsters sound like an experimental post-punk turbine producing ferocious Black Sabbath drones resonating actually like bombastic prog-rock firework with ever-changing, manic Frank Zappa-esque twists and turns. Yep, demonic and hypnotic 21st Century disturbance with the crushing impact of a deranged steamroller.

Their repetitive build up/break down noise pattern goes sometimes faster than your aural reception and messed-up mind can actually handle. And at times the four members – two guitarists, a bassist and an octopus drummer – seem to play each a different song as if this was a free jazz-rock gathering while main vocalist Geordie Greep‘s haunting Scott Walker like vocals tried to give the uninterrupted cacophonous havoc a voice now and then. Arresting!

Crowd pleasers 953, Near DT, MI, speedway and bmbmbm, all standout highlights of their astonishing debut LP Schlagenheim worked perfectly to keep the audience buzzing. But some new pieces were thrown in and caused both puzzlement and bewilderment among the spectators as rhythms and dynamics went relentlessly forth and back and vice versa without really going somehwere leaving a what the bloody fuck is going on here feel.

Seventy-minutes of non-stop (no communication with the audience whatsoever, even
no ‘hello‘ nor ‘goodbye‘) freakish electricity was a bit too long, but be assured the hype
is for real. These innovative and imaginative noise misfits learned a lot of mind-boggling experimentalism from the past and they turned their impressions into something truly special for today and for the future. Don’t forget, they have only started!

This footage will give you a firm taste of their perplexing power…

black midi: Facebook

Here’s their manic debut LP ‘SCHLAGENHEIM‘ in full…

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(concert pics by Turn Up The Volume!)

Best Concerts Of 2019 (Pt 6) – Here’s Belgian Rowdy Grunge Trio PEUK…

Posted on December 27, 2019 by JL

Turn Up The Volume looks back at his favourite concerts of 2019…

PEUK – Charlatan, Ghent, Belgium – 25 January 2019

Here’s the original review…

After a series of rip-roaring gigs last year and an explosive EP, it was crystal clear why rowdy Belgian newcomers PEUK, a blusterous in your face trio led by youthful primal screamer and emotive songwriter Nele became the talk of the town. Remember Sonic Youth? Remember Nirvana? Remember early Hole? Well, Peuk is a scorching three-headed dragon combining all the mad rage, blazing anger and reality anxiety those
three aforementioned bands were adored for by troubled hearts & souls worldwide.

Yesterday the band released their self-titled, blistering debut LP and played a glorious
big bang gig in Turn Up The Volume‘s hometown to celebrate the newborn. As well live
as on record this noisy threesome’s intensity equals a fire-spewing volcano with psychic problems. Mental conditions such as exorcism, catharsis and soul-purification come to mind when you see Nele giving it all in her zone of her own on the stage. Totally arresting! Fully bewitching! Smells like blood-curdling teen spirit. Here’s an idea of Peuk Live…

And what about their debut album, I hear you ask.
Here are the keywords: Melodic trash / Barbed wire punk / Riotous grunge / Fierce body-piercing howls / Kim Gordon’s coolness / Courtney’s sneering and spitting / Mind-crashing drums / Furious bass / Fast slow / Quit, loud / Clamorous tumult / Emotional outbursts.

With all that information, you’re
sonically armed to meet the beast.
Kick out the jams right here…

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Album available via iTunes and Bandcamp

PEUK: Facebook

(concert pics by Turn Up The Volume!)

Best Concerts Of 2019 (Pt 5) – London’s Devilish Blues Rockers SAINT AGNES…

Posted on December 26, 2019 by JL

Turn Up The Volume looks back at his favourite concerts of 2019…

SAINT AGNES – Kinky Star Club, Ghent, Belgium – 14 May 2019

Here’s the original review…

To be honest, before seeing this 4-headed British blues-rock psych monster called SAINT AGNES last Tuesday Turn Up The Volume! had no idea of the existence of this awesome, dazzling rawk engine. But now I know more! One: the band is named after “the patron saint of girls, virginity and chastity, who was martyred at the age of 13 in AD 304.“. Two: this group worked their sweaty asses off for several years to shape their sizzling sound, live and on record. Three: two weeks ago these dirty devils released their crushing debut longplayer WELCOME TO SILVERTOWN. Trust me… it’s A BOILING KILLER RECORD!
And this sledgehammer is one of the many bang-up highlights…

Now back to Tuesday. When SAINT AGNES started their set with the above jackhammer ‘The Death Or Glory Gang‘, your awakened mind instantly knew, your shaking body instantly felt and your sped up stream of adrenalin instantly signaled that you witnessed something really HEAVY AND HUGE. It seemed at first like this firm furious foursome wanted to crush you ‘right now, right here‘. Their mammoth power and towering energy had an immediate impact on all of your senses from the get-go.

Luckily for us, they just continued to steamroll madly and wildly as if this wasn’t the first but the last gig of their European tour. Firework key members Kitty Austen (vocals/guitar & keys) and Jon James Tufnell (vocals/guitar) sucked up all the visual and aural attention with their unstoppable tsunami of bloodthirsty guitar uppercuts and nastily screaming vocals while a merciless drum/bass tandem kept the merciless beat going on in the back. WHAM BLOODY WHAM BAM! As flamboyant as the kooky New York Dolls, as tempestuous as the burning The Black Crowes and as fucked-up as the two desperadoes of Royal Trux. Yes that viciously good.

It’s only the month of May but I’m sure this FUCKING RED-HOT PSYCH-O-DELIC BLUES ROCK TORNADO SHOW will be on Turn Up The Volume‘s best-2019-gigs list. The absentees were wrong, those present are all devoted disciples now of this bewitching holiness…

Stream debut album
WELCOME TO SILVERTOWN here…

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Picture this…

Saint Kitty…

Satanic guitar fury…

Blood, sweat and hair……

Kinky Stars…

Glory gang…

Witching keys…

Black horse(s)…

These boots are made for rockin’…

SAINT AGNES: Website – Facebook

(Concert pics by Turn Up The Volume!)

Best Concerts Of 2019 (Pt 3) – Here’s Irish Exorcistic Engine GIRL BAND…

Posted on December 23, 2019 by JL

Turn Up The Volume looks back at his favourite concerts of 2019…

GIRL BAND – Botanique, Brussels – 7 November 2019

Here’s the original review…

Following the recent release of their second bone-crushing album, called THE TALKIES , Irish hair-raising noise 4-piece GIRL BAND are on the road to present you their collection of new soul-pulverizing eruptions mixed with some blasts from the past. Last Thursday they invaded Brussels.

It’s hard to put their chainsaw turbulence live on stage into words. You really need to
be there so your nerves can feel the horrific tension this near motionless quartet creates
on a podium. The bassist and guitarist follow a fuzzy, bloodcurdling path of their own, the drummer slashes fiercely while frontman Dara Kiely howls and screeches like someone who’s hooked on primal scream therapy. It’s remarkable that all the intimidating racket comes together as one coherent crusade going in the same tumultuous direction.

I witnessed that half of the sell-out crowd were fanatic fans and knew the songs by hard and that the other half, not entirely familiar with the band, wondered why this diabolic havoc was so overwhelming, so resistless and so soul-slicing. Yep, Girl Band is not your average noise rock band, they operate in a mind-boggling zone looking for disquietening ways to scare their worst demons, and they give you an opportunity to do the same from the very moment they unleash their nightmarish offensive. Thrashing performance!

Never heard of this Irish foursome? Here you go…

New petrifying album THE TALKIES in full here…

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GIRL BAND: Facebook

(All concert pics by Turn Up The Volume!)

Best Concerts Of 2019 (Pt 2) – Here’s Mean Groove Machine FALLING MAN…

Posted on December 22, 2019 by JL

Turn Up The Volume looks back at his favourite concerts of 2019…

FALLING MAN – Charlatan, Ghent, Belgium – 12 April 2019

Here’s the original review…

Turn Up The Volume featured Belgian turbine FALLING MAN many times before because this rock machine knows the kick-ass art of turning a shaking cocktail of spellbinding riffs, bad-tempered licks, hammering drums and a haunting vox into memorable crackers, on record and on stage. And they do it with a heated heart and a stirring soul because they care about their shit! Which can’t be said of many label controlled fakers out there.

Yesterday the flamboyant combo hit their and my hometown of Ghent to celebrate the release of their brand new 4-track EP, entitled CANDY. Another striking piece of messed-up crackerjacks. The record kicks off with the awesome title track – a painkiller that works instantly – followed by the manic anxiety of PANIC ATTACK NO. 22, then a raging ANGRY KID hits you hard in the face before the band closes with B&D, a sort of ‘I’m you, you are me‘ identity crisis that gets under your skin without asking permission.

Live up there, on the podium, these new killers sounded even more obstreperous, more stocky and more burly than on vinyl. Oh yeah, their sonic nightmares get an extra injection of adrenalin when performed live. That’s what great bands do. They gave you the best of both worlds. Conclusion: FALLING MAN, is one of those rare acts that never disappoints because basically, this is what these motherrockers do ALL the time…

They groove till you move
They rock till you shock
They roll till you toll
They sneer till you cheer
They spit till you split
They trash till you splash
They spree till you candy…

Stream/buy the full EP right here…

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Picture this…

This is how a ghost looks like…

Angry Kid…

Mean machine…

Hammering panic attack…

Backstage…

FALLING MAN: Facebook – Interview

(concert pics by Turn Up The Volume!)

Best Concerts Of 2019 (Pt 1) – Here Are Kamikaze Rockers AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS…

Posted on December 21, 2019 by JL

Turn Up The Volume looks back at his favourite concerts of 2019…

AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS – Het Bos, Antwerp, Belgium – 11 June 2019

Here’s the original review…

THE BAND
A non-stop volcanic rawk & roll bolide from down under, led by the charismatic and the stormy frontwoman Amyl Taylor. An uproarious Melbourne based punk turbine everybody is talking about right now. Imagine a lethal cocktail of The Runaways (Joan Jett‘s teenage band) and metallic fury Plasmatics (with the legendary Wendy O. Williams) fueled by an eruptive Motörhead drive. Final result: hot-tempered, neurotic and fiery pandemonium!

THE ALBUM
The band released their self-titled firework debut album last May. A boiling record filled with 70s influenced blitzkrieg jackhammers that drive you totally out-of-your-mind and want you to smash your head against the wall. Check the insane heat out right here…

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THE CONCERT
Yesterday the Aussie tornado invaded Antwerp, Belgium. Holy shit! What a gash gash gash!
Stage beast Amyl was all over the place, on and off the podium, while screaming, sneering and spitting at the top of her lungs assisted by an ecstatic mosh pit crowd that shouted the whole setlist along word by word. Kamikaze rock ‘n’ roll at its very best. SWEATY! FERVENT! LOUDMOUTHED! MAD! RED-HOT! RABID! RAZOR-SHARP! Terrifically breathtaking speedy tumult that does your hungry head in the way you really love it. Here’s a whirling idea of this gang’s dynamite craziness. Go and see them if you can…