Jeronimo
Sug Bet
Behemut HaAhava
Today, I come to Koro for one of the earliest shows I've been to in a while that was not some sort of "all-dayer". All 3 acts on the bill, all Israeli, I have not heard of before or seen live. If making this blog has encouraged me to do anything it is to get myself to shows I wouldn't normally go to. To discover acts aside from those playing alongside bands I already know. This can already be seen in some of the reviews I've done already and after today, I hope to keep seeing new acts or acts that I had no previous idea of.
Behemut HaAhava (The Beast of Love)
A band called Krokodil Popular were meant to be playing today. For whatever reasons I wasn't properly explained, the band itself could not make the show. However, one of the members also performs solo as Behemut HaAhava and he stands in as replacement. At first, I didn't even realise it was one of the actual acts of the night. I didn't know that the band had pulled out and thought this was just maybe a random guy or a friend of the band who was maybe allowed to play a few tunes. As he plays, I soon realise this isn't just your typical "open mic" type performer. This guy has the "gift of the gab". Maybe it is because he knows a good amount of the (very small) crowd, but even so, he is talking to us, making people giggle, mostly purely by his charm. His first song sets the tone of the evening with a grunge rock feel. The song is in Hebrew and seems to be generally about "rocking out". I'm still not great at making full translations of Hebrew songs that I'm hearing live, but that's the general gist I got. He also name-dropped some legends like Jimi (Hendrix) and Kurt Cobain as examples of influences. The song is mostly the same chord over again but then changes riff at the end. This guy exhibits his charm once again through his expressive vocal delivery. Moving from soft range to roof-raisingly loud, he knows how to use dynamics to great effect. Most of the set stays along a 90s rock theme with a hint of blues here and there. You tend to get a lot of people doing this sort of stuff but his songs just seemed to have a better structure and more interesting vocal melodies than what I've heard before. He is also a more fun performer than other acoustic artists. He makes a few jokes and makes pretend that he's going to play the drums but just turns the snare off that was vibrating throughout his set. He encourages crowd participation with clapping etc... but also asked us all to talk before the 4th song. That actually worked as a great intro. By the end of his set, I am sure he had gained some more fans such as myself.
4/5
Sug Bet (Type B/Second Class)
Next up are Haifa based rock outfit Sug Bet. Not being funny, but the name is quite fitting for the band. Throughout their set, the band pretty much come across as a bit of a college band. They play fairly grungey/90s alt rock but nothing really hits the spot. The songs are likable and get a bit of dancing from....I'm guessing, friends. The guitarist and singer Uriah plays some simple yet effective solos which help give the songs a little more umph! As a whole, the performance just seems very static. The bassist (Gil) is barely moving at all. I guess he's putting all his strength into moving his fingers that it's forgetting to go to his hips and legs. The drummer's (Tomer) fills also seem pretty sloppy which is off putting at times. In addition to their own material, the band do 2 covers; Nirvana's Aneurysm and The Stooges' I Wanna Be Your Dog. The Nirvana cover lacks the slow tempo swing that the original has. It just does not have any real backbone behind it. The Stooges' cover was a little better but probably because a) it's a classic and b) they were joined by a sax player. I looooooove the saxophone. I believe that the saxophone can make anything amazing. Seeing someone actually join in on sax for this was pretty cool. The sax player was jumping around and musically running up and down the scale which gave the performance a little bit more life. No other songs really stood out for me in this set and they didn't really leave a lasting impression on my mind. Hopefully with time, they might expand upon their work and learn to play more expressively. This could have just been an off day, too. You never know. Both Sug Bet and Krokodil Popular (as long as they don't cancel again) will play at Syrup in Haifa on Saturday 20th December.
2/5
Jeronimo
Finishing off the night is Tel Aviv based rockers Jeronimo. These 4 guys were definitely the right band for this position. They start off with heavy rocking number Geronimo (spelt the right way) and I see/hear straight away that these guys know how to play. As a refreshing change from...well, the last band, the drummer is doing some great fills. Both guitarists partake in singing duties which makes the band more interesting. They have quite different singing styles; one having more of moody talking style and the other quite a more traditional rock voice. As different as their voices may sound separately, they manage to make some cool sounding, albeit creepy harmonies on their second song. Their third song of the set, said to be a 'new one' (it's all new to me, basically), is possibly my favourite of the set. It starts off with the drummer doing a typical a swing rhythm and then slowly builds to a heavy riff with a cool groove. Everyone who knows me knows that I love me some groove. This tune had me headbanging and almost busting a move, if it wasn't for trying to write as many notes as possible.
4/5
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