Paradiso Amsterdam

YEAH YEAH YEAHS At PARADISO In Amsterdam – 28 August 2023

Posted on by JL

1 September 2023

NYC’s flamboyant pop-rock trio YEAH YEAH YEAHS fronted by the utterly arresting
Karen O (born Karen Lee Orzolek) released their splendid, critically praised 4th LP,
the first in 9 years, named Cool It Down, one year ago.

And as usual, artists take the road to promote new stuff. For YYYs the bigger part
of their tour was planned for this summer with several festivals and some indoors.

Last Monday they stopped in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) to perform in one of my
all-time favorite venues, the historic, very beautiful, and cosy (wherever you are, you
have the feel of an intimate club) Paradiso, which was originally a nineteenth-century church.

As expected, when the band came on, Karen O last of course, it was like the 1500 spectators saw a Goddess flanked by her knights coming down from heaven. A louder-than-war reception, and It wouldn’t get any more quiet from there on. K O, as usual, dressed in a spectacular multicolored outfit, is like a resistless magnet, vocally and visually. Everybody (sure, me too) was focused on her, while band members Nick Zinner (guitar), Brian Chase (drums) and their touring keyboardist also looked more at her than
at the crowd (they’re actually timid guys). It’s called charisma, as we know it.

The set (see list below) was a balanced mix of tracks from their 4 albums with striking stunner Zero and tearjerker Maps as standout moments. The sound was picobello, the ambiance was euphoric, only big smiles everywhere. But for me, in the end, it wasn’t a perfect concert. Why? They didn’t play two of my absolute YYY favs, also two of their best-known ones, which they did play at most of their previous shows.

Two solid gold singles/classics (to my ears): their smashing debut single Date With the Night (from 2003) and Despair (from 2013). Did it matter? Yes! It’s like having a fantastic dinner, and you know that you’re most-liked dessert will make the night complete. But the dessert doesn’t show up and nobody knows why it doesn’t. Bummer.

– DESPAIR –

– DATE WITH THE NIGHT –

SETLIST

1. Spitting Off the Edge of the World
2. Cheated Hearts
3. Black Tongue
4. Shame and Fortune
5. Burning
6. Zero
7. Fleez
8. Soft Shock
9. Blacktop
10. Mars
11. Gold Lion
12. Maps
13. Heads Will Roll

Encore:
14. Poor Song
15. Y Control
16. Tick

PS: I still love you, Karen O

 

(All photos by Turn Up the Volume)

CAGE THE ELEPHANT ‘Aberdeen’ – Coachella Festival California 2011

Posted on by JL

Smashing live performances of smashing knockouts…

CAGE THE ELEPHANT (formed in Kentucky, US) is, undoubtedly, one of the most energetic and dazzling live bands of this century, led by hyperkinetic, tireless performer Matt Shultz

CAGE THE ELEPHANT: Facebook


ABERDEEN – track from second, inflammable THANK YOU HAPPY BIRTHDAY album

Early 2017 Turn Up The Volume experienced a dynamite
CTE show in Amsterdam’s legendary Paradiso club…


Euphoric crowd from the very first to the very last second…


Tons of power and intensity… (pics by TUTV)

PORRIDGE RADIO – Gripping Minimalism And Profound Sentiments In Amsterdam…

Posted on by JL

Sonic experiences that affect your state of mind…

The most fascinating performance I witnessed last weekend at the two-day indoor
London Calling Festival in the wonderful city of Amsterdam, The Netherlands was by a
band called PORRIDGE RADIO. What started as the bedroom project of Brighton based singer/songwriter Dana Margolin turned into a full 5-piece team. I think she wanted some sonic help from other like-minded musicians to get rid of her gnawing demons. Her 2017 LP ‘Bad Breath‘ is not an easy-listening-journey. It clinks and feels like Margolin recorded it in her basement instead of her bedroom. Far away from the daylight, far away from the world’s daily shit. Her minimalist reveries remind me at times of Public Image‘s 1981 album ‘The Flowers Of Romance’ where doubt, fear, anger, rage, despair and questions without answers come together and do your confused head in. The sound of being human in
an inhuman world. Have a listen for yourself right here…


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Live, last Saturday, full orchestra Porridge Radio created a séance-like atmosphere with Margolin’s intimate introspection on record turning into a sort of exorcistic happening.
I was wondering all the time when the band would explode, when their fiends would
show up on stage, when their cutting lullabies would turn into deafening nightmares. Thirty-five minutes of tremulous tension messing up our minds. Loud/quit/loud/quiet reflections with a razor-sharp, melodic edge. A, both, weird and compelling experience. Can’t wait for their next step.

Some photographic impressions…


Gripping tension…


Shadowplay…


Dark breaths…

PORRIDGE RADIO: Facebook –  Twitter

(Concert pics by Turn Up The Volume!)

Future British Mega Star YUNGBLUD Caused A Major Earthquake In Amsterdam…

Posted on by JL

LONDON CALLING FESTIVAL – Amsterdam, The Netherlands – 25 May 2018

Fervid Yorkshireman YUNBLUD, a spectacular 19-year-old artist, who spent most of
his childhood on Denmark Street, Soho, London is a solid gold future star. His explosive fusion of hip-hop, ska, punk-pop and vivid rap-rock slams is simply irresistible. Last
Friday this fresh phenom was on my must-see list at the stupendous two-day indoor London Calling Festival in the wonderful Paradiso venue in AMSTERDAM. I knew beforehand that his most devoted are 14-18 girls (I was totally surrounded by them
near the crowded front of the stage), but I was curious to know why this teenage hype
was the highly acclaimed artist of this festival with only one EP, just released a few
weeks ago, under his belt. And? Well, that ecstatic young gunslinger came, saw, jumped, screamed and conquered The Netherlands. On record, he sounds more like a flammable modern-day punk-pop version of Eminem, but on stage his band turned the volume up while the hypnotic man in the middle explored every corner of the podium and sounded
at times like a red-steaming hip-hop incarnation of Rage Against The Machine ‘s frontman Zack de la Rocha . With his non-stop stream of sky-high energy, boiling intensity, shout-along crackers and his charismatic, flamboyant and hyperkinetic presence Yungblud proved tremendously why he’s a gigantic star in the making. Believe the hype! Never
heard of this pumped-up youngster? Check the heat here…

Debut EP ’21st Century Liability’ in full…

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Photos from his firework show in Amsterdam…


‘Hello Amsterdam’…


‘Y-e-e-e-e-e-e-a-a-a–a-h’…


‘ i am an anarchist’…


From the top…

YUNGBLUD: Website – Facebook – Instagram

(All concert pics by Turn Up The Volume!)

SLAVES – High-Voltage Slams in Amsterdam…

Posted on by JL

LiveBlgLo

SLAVES – Paradiso Club, Amsterdam – 24 April 2015

6-800

Band: SLAVES

Where: at the famous Dutch ‘London Calling Festival’ at Paradiso Venue
in Amsterdam, The Netherlands – info here London Calling Festival

Members: Isaac Holman (big drums, vocals) and Laurie Vincent (guitar, vocals)

Home: Kent, UK

Sound: let their stirring uproar do the talking. Check here the video of their rousing appearance on BBC’s TV show ‘Later… with Jools’ to get an idea of their live impact.
Turn it up…

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Concert: Loudest power punk duo in years – with a highly explosive and inexhaustible energy – their set is an ear-splitting tornado of slam dunk killers – guitarist Laurie Vincent tortures his guitar constantly to produce hot smoking riffs and concrete hooks – he bounces all over the podium, non stop, and demonstrates his whipping rock moves with an exultant grin on his face – main man Isaac Holman hits his mammoth drums with a Hulk intensity as if his life depends on it – his phenomenal voice is the band’s third hammering instrument – his slashing shouts & screams are merciless – at the end of the show he jumps off the stage for a flash dynamite performance in the audience (just in front of me, yeah !) – these two punks are natural-born noise entertainers – louder than war – crushing dynamite & high-voltage slams in Amsterdam – wham bam !

1-800
Pleased to meet you…

2-800
Toast to a knock out victory in Amsterdam…

Here’s new king-sized single CHEER UP, LONDON…

More show pictures
Slaves – Website
Slaves – Facebook
Slaves – Twitter

(All pics: Turn Up The Volume!)