'68
Barren Hope
The Werner Alarm
Pelefon Anak
Tonight is a pretty important night for those in the Tel Aviv and even Haifa hardcore and punk scene. It's a monday night and people have still managed to force themselves out for a show. That only really happens with a big name act.
Pelefon Anak (Giant Phone)
Haifa band Pelefon Anak start tonight's proceedings. I am still not entirely sure if they are considered a duo. They consist of a drummer and a guitarist who are actually on stage and off stage using a laptop and some gadgetry I can't really identify is another gentleman. The result is a good 15 minutes or so of what seemed like pretty improvised, heavy, instrumental rock. The music is mostly drum led, with the guitars switching from being dreamy to distorted and making use of the pedals. It took me a while to realise that the samples that I could faintly hear were not just coming from the secret third member but he was actually projecting video clips on the wall behind the band. Whether this is a fixed part of their regular act or something done just tonight, it is always interesting to see this sort of thing. The improvisation nature of their act did make it feel like a random jam session, especially when the drummer hesitated over what he was meant to be doing and often looked confused. However, the combination of the music, samples and visuals was a good choice for an opening act.
3/5
The Werner Alarm
Next is a band who we are somehow supposed to know. They never say their name. No-one else really knew their name. Turns out these guys are The Werner Alarm. After a little research, these guys are a Tel Aviv band who have been around for quite some time. Verdict is: they're a bit mental. Their opening song, which I believe to be called Punk Ptichah (Punk Intro) is frantic with vocal parts reminiscent of the Farscape theme. I can't even describe that in any more detail; if you're not familiar with the show and its theme, you'll need to look it up. The whole band are energetic from the get go. The bassist, who looks like Moby if he continued playing in bands, is dancing around the stage as the guitarist projects his lyrics from somewhere deep inside his soul. The drumming is not the best I've ever seen. The snare is tilted away from the drummer, which makes things so much more difficult. He sometimes has one drumstick the wrong way round. The drumming just generally seems quite sloppy but the track still sounds fun. The next song is a bit groovier and is ruined a little bit by the ride cymbal hitting the floor tom microphone and even knocking it out of the microphone clip. I actually get involved and adjust the mic a few times. It just seems like a really awkward mic clip. I raise the ride cymbal a bit more so it would stop hitting the mic. This seems to have helped.
The rest of the set continues along fairly standard punk lines with some mental vocals at times. Personally, they seem like a fun band. One friend comes up to me during the set saying that they were putting him to sleep, but I have heard and seen worse. The drummer needs to work on a few things, the songs' structure need to be tightened up a bit and then they will be more enjoyable for everyone.
3/5
Barren Hope
As Haifa's Barren Hope start their set, I decide to forget taking notes and get down by the stage. Tonight, it is business as usual for the band, playing their dark hardcore off of their Anaffa record and some other tracks I do not quite recognise. Like almost every show they do ANYWHERE, the band have had some Haifa fans come down with them who are singing along and getting some push moshing going. I wonder if they came tonight because they couldn't make it to the Haifa show last night or if they are actually THAT "hardcore" they're doing it 2 nights in a row! All power to them if it's either, really. Somehow, the very sludgy, deep toned sound I normally enjoy from their sets is missing tonight. Not entirely sure what they are doing differently or if it is only because of certain songs they have left out. Throughout the set, frontman Gil gets lifted up a couple of times and the band on stage are giving it all they've got.
We later get told that the band will do their last show in Haifa some time soon. It was a shame to hear for many here tonight. The band has barely been around that long and already having to call it quits for whatever reason. Sad thing is, that's just how it seems to go round these parts.
Last two tracks of the set, Samsara and Footprints In Sand, get everyone going...especially me. Who can resist shouting "IIIII DECLARE WAR ON EVERYTHING!" or "BELIEVE ME I HAVE TRIED TO LOSE THIS BLOOD TASTE IN MY MOUTH" at the top of their lungs? I definitely can't. Hopefully I will get another chance at their last show.
4/5
'68
We witness the duo themselves and the venue crew set up on stage. The drum kit gets moved from its normal spot at the back to being centre stage right facing inwards and the vocalist's mic stand is now in front of the kit facing the other way. In other words, both musicians are placed facing one another, as most of us had already seen in their music videos. Both seeing them set this up themselves and having them quite close to us already gives it a very intimate feel.
The band eases us into their set with a bit of a slow and heavier Wipeout as a sort of intro/warm up. After quoting John Lennon's Imagine, the band bursts into the sludgy, riff heavy Track 3 g. Both musicians are ridiculously energetic. Drummer Mike is swinging his arms all over the place, even getting up on his feet at times as Josh rocks out the riff and pours his life out down the mic. I do worry that Josh might one day have a back problem as he constantly hunches over the mic as opposed to having the stand raised to face level. The crowd are encouraged to join in on the "woahs"... although they hardly needed much encouragement. The band's face-to-face positioning really helps them become one coherent unit. At one point, I was sure Josh was managing to continue on guitar with only his left hand..but upon reflection, he may have been looping via a pedal.
The duo sail through their set with a lot of passion, sweat and humour. Josh is often introducing them as a different band or act. "Hi. We are Johnny Cash!" "Hi. We are ACDC!" "Hi. We are Limp Bizkit!" Luckily, he only does it enough times that the joke doesn't get too old too quickly. He also throws in a few (probably fictitious) anecdotes and says other such improvised nonsense such as "we both lack the ability to fly...but we are waterproof". He manages to say it all with great comic timing and only breaking into giggles nearer the end of the set.
Track 1 R really gets the dancing underway. It's a chaotic hardcore song with varied drum rhythms raging from standard full throttle to more dnb-like beats, all which accompany mental vocals. Out of nowhere (or at least for me it is), Josh starts singing a line from At The Drive In's One Armed Scissor over some slow and heavy drumming. I went from sitting in my seat where I was taking notes to standing on the chair and screaming along. How necessary it was, I'm not too sure. The song itself is already enjoyable but having that thrown in was a nice bonus.
During a bit of "space filler", Josh asks for the strobe lighting to be turned off. "We're not that kind of band!" Strobe lighting can piss me off a fair bit too, so I was totally on board with this. They continue their set playing tracks from the full length, somehow barely running out of steam. Not really expecting a cover, they jump into an even heavier version of Nirvana's Tourette's. This results in absolute pandemonium as someone jumps on stage to dive off and parts of the drum kit start to fall over. This doesn't phase the band, for they battle on through as some of the crowd adjust the kit for Mike. Before finishing off their set, Josh gives us all permission to download their album as they didn't manage to bring any copies with them. After tonight....I might just go and do that! This is also a band I hope to see again as they incorporate many things I love in a great live band; energy, passion, a sense humour and, most importantly, great material.
5/5
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