Live Review: Kids Insane/Spit/Azor @ Levontin 7, Tel Aviv [3rd March 2016]

With the smaller, more punk venues closing down, more shows have been cropping up at Levontin 7. Tonight sees the return of Kids Insane, with their new guitarist, with support from punk supergroup SPIT and the strange choice of rock band Azor.

Azor

Poor Azor! They've been through the wars. With both drummers and bass players coming and going, guitarist and vocalist Yuval has had a lot on his shoulders to make sure his songs still get heard. Tonight is the first show for new bassist Ofer. Out of all previous bassists, he is the most metal. He alights the stage with a raised fist and plays the entire set with the same posture and charisma of a thrash bassist. He brings along that crowd encouragement that you see at metal shows, such as the "hey" fist pumping and mouthing the words. He even gets down amongst the crowd. He's definitely done this all before and shows no hints of nervousness.

Although musically not being totally in keeping with the rest of the night ahead, Azor's mixture of progressive hard rock and stoner seems to be causing a stir amongst the crowd. Although I've witnessed them have good reactions before, I don't think I've ever seen this much dancing at their shows. It could be that most of those dancing are close friends of the band, but it did encourage others around to join in, creating quite an electric atmosphere all round.
Azor's material does still sometimes come off as dated, reminiscent of Black Sabbath and Led Zepplin, but the creative drumming from Alon makes things a whole lot more interesting. As well as purposely showing off on the fittingly titled The Drummer Is Crazy, High Temp Flight's opening groove displays his talent from the very start of the set.
They may not play my favourite track from the High Tempo Flight album, Natasha, but Port City Girl comes close and has me singing along to as much as I can remember of the song. They also play a new song entitled Muse which does not quite sound like the band of the same name.
Yuval still gives it all he has on stage; his solos get better every time. Despite me being sceptical of the new bassist being "too metal" for this band, Yuval and Ofer seem to have gelled really quickly. Hopefully, this lineup will stick and there will be more shows as fun to watch as this.

3.5/5

SPIT

Consisting of Useless ID bassist/frontman Yotam Ben Horin on guitar, his brother Nadav on vocals (Sweatshop Boys/Mondo Gecko/Shifka Chiefs etc.), Kids Insane frontman Corey Swift on drums (also drummer for Mondo Gecko/Backliners/Tamutamen) and Kids Insane bassist Nadav Rotem on..well..bass, SPIT seems to have been born to bring back the 80s/90s hardcore punk of minute long songs you can skate and/or smash windows to.
 As the band basically play their 18 track debut album, Poison In Your Head, in its entirety, there is not quite as much of a reception dance-wise as there was for Azor. There might not be as many people familiar with the band or the record, but those who are sing along and raise their fists to the likes of To The Bones, R.A.M.B.O, Poison In Your Head and Restart. However, there is a good and obvious reason for the lack of movement; everyone is so engrossed in the spectacle that is Nadav Ben Horin that all you can do is stand and stare in wonder. With the others also playing with intense faces and joining in on vocals, the band as a whole give the performance every hardcore punk band should give.

 As the band zoom through all their quick-fire numbers, the set comes to a close with Flag II. As their longest, slowest and grooviest song, it is the perfect closer and gives Nadav more room to go absolutely bat shit crazy as he exclaims "I SPIT ON YOUR FLAG!". Nadav is known for his eccentric behaviour on stage, almost always ending half naked somehow. Tonight, he goes a little bit further, as he crawls into the "dressing room" area through the hatch, microphone still in hand, and tries to make his way out the dressing room door into the crowd. Unfortunately, the cable isn't long enough, so he returns with his trusty ladder and towers amongst the crowd to eventually dive on top of them for one final crowd surf.

  SPIT need to get out into the States and Europe and I'm pretty sure they will gain a much wider fanbase than they already do. It is pure hardcore punk that's well written, meaningful and still packs a mean punch.

4.5/5

Kids Insane

Both Azor and SPIT seem to have warmed the crowd up nicely as now everyone is up front for Kids Insane. As I write this, I admit that my memory of this is a bit hazy. This is one of those times where I actually got quite involved, doing a bit of dancing and shouting along. However, I can still say that they were totally on form, and even more so with Ofek from DUST now on guitar duties, who also did some great back up vocals.

  As always, the "classic" Kids Insane tracks get a great reception, with fans shouting along and a good amount of pushing and some actual hardcore dancing here and there. Tracks like Story Of A Lonely Street, Frustrated, Don't Need This (personal favourite) and Spread It All Over get the biggest receptions, as well as Same Shit, Different Scene and Love creating some sing alongs.
 With a new album almost ready to drop, the band play some brand new songs, such as set opener Black Burnt, Varicose, Slave and Overthinking. These don't seem to sit well with everyone here tonight but I am personally impressed. Some people simply don't like change and the new material is considerably different to their earlier work. Although Kids Insane may have always had The Bronx in mind as an influence and may have also had a similar "swagger" at times, frontman Corey has really moved his vocals into rock 'n' roll territory, making the influence more apparent. They also seem to have written a few more refrains and hooks which did have some people already repeating and singing along to but could become even more popular at future shows. I am definitely eager to hear and review the new album (hint, hint) as it seems even more up my street than some of their other more recent work. It'll also be interesting to see how different it is in general to their previous records.  

4.5/5

All photos by David "Doh Doh" Rosen

Live Review: Azor, Deaf Chonky, Saint God @ Etzabotz, Tel Aviv [12th November 2015]

What's this? A new place? Where on earth is Etzabotz, you ask? Well, it's a sort of art studio that doubles up as a venue and is conveniently in front of the now defunct Koro. I've popped my head in there a few times before to check out what's going on, but tonight I'm here to see the new line-up for rockers Azor as well as some bands I've never checked out before.

Saint God

   As I walk into Etzabot and say hi to the guys from Azor, really the only people there I recognise, there's some heavy rock being played. As I turn towards the very small stage with darbukas buried underneath it, I see a male duo on stage. The band turns out to be Saint God, made up of two guys from Etzabot itself. With only guitar and drums, they still manage to get a cool sound via the use of effects.
   Shura (vocals/drums) and Tim (guitar) play with the right mixture of tightness and looseness; they are musically competent yet still have the feel of a laid back jam session. Vocals are sometimes a tad inaudible due to the venue's low quality sound, but it's all still very coherent. The music style seems to flip between grunge, shoegaze and even black metal, incorporating blast beats and evil snarls. It's definitely the first of its kind that I've heard before, therefore I'm impressed by Saint God and glad I arrived just in time to see them.
4/5

Deaf Chonky

  I like new blood. I love giving new acts a chance and watching the music scene grow. Like with the opening act, I had no idea who Deaf Chonky were before tonight. Another duo, this time two girls, take stage and play a set full of Bikini Kill style rock, experimental musicianship and general weirdness.
   Both girls, Tamar (drums) and Adi (guitar) lend their hands to vocals, which is mostly the sort of shouting associated with riot grrl. Although the girls tackle different styles, it's still pretty minimalistic, which isn't a bad thing.
  Most memorable of the set is Bad Things Could Happen. It goes off at tangents, even touching upon experimental poetry, but always circles back to its simple yet catchy chorus. Another highlight was when drummer Tamar played a bit of harmonica. I'm a sucker for harmonicas, so that made me smile.
   They might not be the next best thing nor the most amazing musicians, but Deaf Chonky do bring something a little different to the table.
3/5

Azor

  Finally, Azor take the stage. Now remember, folks..I'm an honest guy. I don't do bias and will always say what I really think of a friend's band. As my promo of the band shows (see article), I was genuinely impressed from the start by the stoner/punk rock trio, and with new bassist, Shahar (ex-fourfunzies/Woolly Boy), they are on just as good form, if not better.
   Although Azor played the Koro closing show recently in their original lineup, it was a very short set. It therefore feels as if I haven't seen them for a long time. Tonight, drummer Alon is in his trademark leopard skin (print) leggings, Shahar actually sings back up, which I've never seen him do before, and guitarist/main singer, Yuval, is placed in front of the stage (due to lack of space) and waves around his curly mane as he rocks out.
   It's still not totally straight forward what to label the band. Songs like Port City Girl and Paris (bearing close similarities to the Oasis classic, Cigarettes & Alcohol) are more in the vein of classic rock, whereas Shine In The Dark and Magic World are Black Sabbath influenced stoner. Natasha, written and sung by Alon, is their punkiest track. It is not only my highlight of their set but possibly my favourite song of theirs. It has me singing along and throwing my hands in the air.
  The setup tonight is weird, as they are all quite far apart and god knows how they are able to not see each other and still play so tightly. Yuval does go on stage when possible and Shahar also joins Yuval on the floor in front, so I think that helps and definitely proves them to be a well-oiled unit. 
  Due to his accent, which is natural and unavoidable, Yuval's vocals sometimes sound a bit weird to my ears, nor does he have the most impressive of voices, but what he lacks in that department he makes up for with his high energy and showmanship. Both Alon and Shahar also give it a little something on stage, and the overall remarkable musicianship is great to witness. All masters in their field.
  They definitely get the crowd (of about 7 people) dancing like crazy and cheering for them. It's a shame that this was a poorly turned out show, but they've proven in the past to be able to get a big crowd going and will soon be playing to bigger.
4.5/5

New Artist Promo: Azor

 
    I have really only done one band promo on this blog so far and that was because I was sent a special email requesting it. Luckily, they also happened to be a really cool band (Yawning Dog promo). This artist promo is brought to you purely out of being impressed by the band and thinking they bloody deserve a write-up. Due to illness, I unfortunately missed their debut show at BanditoFest in Tel Aviv. However, their performance was filmed and I really liked what I saw and heard. I also got to see them this passed weekend to a bit of a disappointing turn out. They nevertheless rocked out.
  
   Azor are a "power-trio", comprising of Yuval (ex-Inside Job/Erev Rav/Leah Katamin) on guitar and main vocals, Alon (Almonim Metim) on drums and vocals and Ori (ex-Beats 69/MASTERD) on bass and vocals. Yuval and Alon met for the first time in a crazy jam night; they were having an awesome session and decided that they should actually join up and make some music together. In October 2014, after finishing other music projects and having free time ,the two started to work on songs that Yuval wrote. The idea was to create something new while still hanging on to that old vibe of free and energetic rock music. After working as a duo for a while, old childhood friend of Yuval's, Ori, was brought in as bass player to really bring the whole thing together. The name Azor purely comes, as far as I'm aware, from the name of the area Yuval lives and that the band practises in, which is just south east of Tel Aviv near Holon.

The band takes their influences from a range of places. They take the heavy riffiness of Black Sabbath, the fun rock and roll vibe of bands like MC5 and the "grunge" edge of the likes of Nirvana as well as incorporating Mediterranean and Eastern elements. Having more of a punk background, it is refreshing to see these guys just playing some invigorating rock and roll. It is also nice to see the "punks" at shows getting their groove on to this sort of thing.
All three members are very good musicians. Yuval has written some great riffs and plays some blinding (that's British slang for "really, really good") solos, Ori plays cool bass lines and gives off a very joyous demeanour and Alon is an absolute nutter on the drums. Possibly one of the most creative new drummers I've seen at shows in the scene in a while. I actually first witnessed the band before their first proper show at an acoustic event. Yuval played acoustic guitar while Alon borrowed my cajon and was blasting out some pretty trippy beats.

After only having played their first few shows very recently, Azor are already working on the first album ''High Tempo Flight'', which is due for release in April, and plan to go on a European tour thereafter.  I urge you all to check them out if you ever get the opportunity to see them in person. In the meantime, you can see Beeran Production's filming of the band's debut show.