Terrorbird - Shadows in the Hall

My latest last.fm playlist looks like after the second invasion of the martians. Top band names are oOoOOo, †‡†, †∆†, ///▲▲▲\\\, ▼□■□■□■ and ▲. truth is this has nothing to do with the arrival of aliens or the return of prince, the artist formerly known as „the artist formerly known as prince“. „witch house“ is the new thing that sometimes also goes by the name „tumblr core“ due to the fact that its biggest fan base are internet bloggers. Something TE▲RIST (yes, a black triangle is a good idea when you do witch house ) had to learn the hard way as they cancelled their tour due to the fact that they couldn't get enough shows. The berlin show was supposed to be a free show and i'm afraid if the witch house hype continues to spread next time the band tours the showcases will be to expensive to just check out how the bands are doing live.
I wonder if this witch house hype is already over by now as I write this. That would be sad but understandable. I don't really see the genre forming a scene of fans. Musicwise it is pretty much like chilled electro. I guess the „house“ in witch house is no accident. But the bands try to add some „gothic“ to their image. So who would be their target audience? Some post techno chill heads who went all emo? I'm afraid with these super limited CD-Rs it is more the super hipster collector crowd who is buying everything in case one of these bands make it big so that they can sell their super limited items on eBay to the late comers. But i'm not sure if the eBay search field allows triangles and squares so it will be hard to list and harder to find the stuff. Good that at least some projects stick to the roman alphabet.
Another hype is Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti. Quite unexpected when I went to their show there was a long que. I can't remember the last time I had to get in line to see a show. And I talk of waiting half an hour not knowing whether it will be sold out by the time I get to the door. Rumours of only the pre-ordered tickets that haven't been picked up being left for sale got a few people leaving beforehand and even I was thinking about it. But since I live literally around the corner from the venue and was a little ill I took my chances and stayed, having nothing to lose if turned down later.
But I wasn't and so weren't many others as the place was packed. I met the guy from the DUM DUM GIRLS show again, but after a short „aren't you the guy...“ he went away. A bad reputation is a good thing.
The show was ok, the sound, too, at least where I was standing. It wasn't really fun being stuck in a place unable to move because of the place being so packed. I still didn't get why all the people been there. Maybe it was just the club, the Lovelite, having it's own crowd of international hipsters.

Musicwise quite similar but with way less attention did the GANGLIANS show happen. Back at the Bang Bang Club with it's familiar regulars. And a third encounter with my DUM DUM GIRLS rude boy. A short nodding and heading for opposite corners now. He seems to become the „DEVO hat guy“ of the season. Last year everywhere I went there was a guy with a red plastic cone hat like DEVO sported on their second album, at every show. And suddenly never seen again.
The GANGLIANS show was a double treat because BRILLIANT COLORS played, too. Their set looked like they just walked in and went on stage and it felt like it wasn't really their stage as they couldn't use the space. They played a short but good set as they had to leave for their UK shows right after they were done.
The GANGLIANS played their songs a little rougher and noisier than on their records and they played really really long. Nevertheless I enjoyed the show and when it is finally over I couldn't complain about not having got my money worth.

Always your money worth is a visit at MADAME CLAUDE. A friendly „we have two bands tonight so the door is between 2 and 6 euro“ is something I'd like to hear more often. One of the two „bands“ that night was TERROR BIRD. A girl from vancouver and her mp3-player. The last ripples of the crimson wave? I'm still totally into it. Especially when lo-fi electronics get combined with lo-fi electronic dance moves. Even though she complained about the sound I had a great night. So good that I decided to repeat that two days later at an in-store gig. The dress she chose for that show added to the overall experience. Pretty much like a psychodelic trip those swirling bright pink stripes made me dizzy after a short while but still I couldn't take my eyes of Miss Nikki. Yes, there is something hypnotic of the way she moves and something attractive of the confidence in which she moves about.
At her first show i picked up her new 7“ and it's opening and title track „Shadows in the Hall“ has been stuck in my ears for a good while after.



And even the VIVIAN GIRLS who made me return to the Bang Bang Club once more a few days later couldn't change that. And their set was excellent. I missed the opening band (on purpose) by taking over the door and giving out stamps to everyone who paid. That caused me having to stand more in the back than I used and liked to. But still I loved every second of their set as they played songs from all their releases, even their first 7“s.