Live Review: Not On Tour/ Yotam Ben Horin @ Koro, Tel Aviv [27th August 2015]

   My God, it's been a while! Not On Tour have, ironically, been on tour quite a lot as of late in honour of latest album, Bad Habits (see review). The rise in popularity has seen them touring Europe, playing headline shows, gaining support slots for big bands and playing some great festival line-ups. Tonight sees the female led pop punkers back on home soil. Along for the ride, is the legend that is Yotam Ben Horin, who is still stripping things down to basics playing an acoustic set.

Yotam Ben Horin

  After his return to the US trying out his acoustic stuff on the road, Useless ID frontman, Yotam Ben Horin, returned to Israel a while back and has basically been playing solo shows non-stop, as well as a few shows with his more hardcore band, SPIT.
  He starts off tonights proceedings playing in front of the stage as everyone else stands around in a semi circle; standard. Whereas one of the last shows of his that I reviewed mostly consisted of slow ballads, tonight Yotam plays some Useless ID classics, like the uplifting Bring Me Down, the beautiful Symptoms and the rocking sing-along Blood Pressure, as well as new solo tracks and possible new Useless ID tunes, such as the catchy California Sounds and the highly political State Is Burning. Yotam is a captivating performer and it is certainly a great warm up set, with people singing along and smiling, but I'm sure everyone is eagerly awaiting Useless ID's return to the stage.

4/5

Not On Tour

  After a brief break in proceedings, local legends, Not On Tour, finally take the stage and the Koro quickly starts to fill up as people hear the all familiar sounds of a band warming up. With enough people in the room, the band tease us with the intro to Hanged, Drawn and Quartered by friends Kids Insane. The intense build-up of said intro then leads into I Wanna Be Like You (not a jungle book cover), where front woman Sima sweetly greets us over the extended intro. The song gets everybody singing along from the start. The band, as always, is on top form, with Sima's voice cutting through the air like a knife and Valer (guitar), Nir (bass) and Gutzy (drums) putting their hearts and souls into it.
   Due to being the first "home show" in quite some time, tonight's set is very long, as I can tell by looking at the setlist by Nir's feet. As the band rock out through their set, we get treated to an array of songs from the band's back catalogue, including a good percentage of new songs from Bad Habits. Opening act, Yotam, joins the band on stage for the first new song of tonight, No Communication. The thrashy, shouty number makes the place erupt as the band plays super fast and the two vocalists alternately spit politically tinged venom. Bad Habits is still a bit new to some people, so only a few have forced themselves to learn the lyrics and join in, but songs such as Sick Of This Mess, Different Kind Of Weather and Waiting In Line get a great response from the crowd. Songs like Write It Down and Gut Feeling might not have everyone chucking their weight around and falling over the place, but those who aren't afraid to have a little bit of a boogie.
    The material that gets the most response tonight are songs off of the band's N.O.T On Tour EP and All This Time album. The poppy sing-alongs, such as Just Forget It, All This Time, Fine and Did You Get Enough get everyone joining in and going a bit crazy on the dance floor. During Did You Get Enough, a guy standing next to me down the front actually loses his glasses due to the crowd's utter force. Upon seeing the aforementioned crowd member and myself eagerly searching on the floor, the band kindly stop and ask for all of us to help. As people get their phone lights out to search underneath and by the front of the stage, we hear some voices behind us. The glasses had somehow flown backwards about a meter to where some people were standing underneath the AC. Now that's skill!
  The now internationally covered to buggery, Darling, still gets the same enthusiastic reception as always, with almost the entire crowd pushing forward to have the voices picked up on Sima's mic. My personal favourite, Journey To The Ocean, is one of those songs that can make me break shit! This doesn't always go down too well with the local Tel Aviv crowd who are not too familiar with the "ninja" style of dancing, so tonight I contain myself to the best of my ability while still having to let out my aggression with a few air punches.

 Besides Yotam, local legend, former You're Next front man and founder of the You're Next Records distro, Smiley, takes the stage, for what seems like the first time in years, to join the band on one of their heaviest tracks to date, Dirty Envelopes. He may not have sung it in a while, but the intensity in his voice is still their as he shouts "I WON'T PARTICIPATE IN YOUR DECAPITATION!" 
    As well as this cameo, the band's punk take on the Grease classic You're The One That I Want and hearing songs from the self titled album are other personal highlights from tonight's performance. The musical cover has almost everyone around singing along and dancing, whether they intended to or not. Some of the early songs haven't really been played in a while. In addition to show staples such as the amazingly angry OK, What Now? and the brilliantly stupid/stupidly brilliant crowd pleaser, Don't Touch My Stuff, the band also play the punchy Baby You Such A Ho followed by the high octane Split The Earth. As with Journey To The Ocean, these songs make me explode, zooming through people without a care in the world. To those I may have bumped a little too hard, I'm sorry (not sorry.) It may be because everyone else was just a blur to me, but I didn't really see that many other people singing along or moving to these songs. Either they're not into the old stuff so much or just haven't listened to it. 

   After ending the main part of the set with other sing-along favourite, Oded, the band then starts an encore with the mental Silly Thoughts, the first song and video of theirs I ever heard/saw, which made me grin like a loon and join Sima on "DON'T STOP THINKING! USE YOUR HEAD!" This was followed by the bouncy titular track off the new album, Bad Habits, True Illness, with its infectious "Cover your ears with glue and stick to the plan" ending, and last song of the night, 90% Out.  

    They play a little something for everyone tonight and I don't think anyone is disappointed. There are no major stuff-ups, not notes out of place and everything basically sounds as it does on record. The new songs will take a little getting used to but there's some crowd pleasers in there. I would personally love to hear more of the debut, some time, but considering this was the band's first show here since the official release of Bad Habits, it's good that they managed to squeeze some oldies in. Although not totally into the latest record, Not On Tour will never get boring live and are a must-see if they ever end up in a town near you.

All photos courtesy of Beeran Production's video footage.

5/5   

Live Review: The Blue Screen of Death/Zaga Zaga/The Driers @ Koro [20th June 2015]

      Once again, a travelling band comes to Tel Aviv on their final leg of their Israeli tour. This time, it's The Blue Screen of Death from Germany.
   Support tonight came from local bands The Driers and Zaga Zaga. Both bands feature local legend Ben (Tversky) and both have been reviewed on this blog a number of times. Both bands are on top form as always and even play new songs in the set.

The Driers

   The Driers play a set full of their catchy and easy listening 90s style alternative rock, beginning with one of their newest songs, Squeeze, as mentioned in a previous review. The song has a great Weezer-style chorus and sounds like a future hit. Throughout the show, there are a few dedicated Drierees (will it catch on?) dancing around and singing along to songs they recognise from the last demo and other shows. Other new songs, Heartworms and The Slides, are along the rockier side of the band's style and I was incredibly impressed. They seem to have compiled a set of their "heavier" songs to fit in with the rest of the night's lineup. It paid off.

4/5

Zaga Zaga

   I've written about this band so many times that I'm going to make this as short as possible.

 Zaga Zaga  - shouting - guitar picking - frantic drumming - energy - new songs - same amazing set closer as always.

   Although I have managed to write about them before, I've come to the realisation that they are more of a band you need to experience than just read about.

LOVE ZAGA

HATE ZAGA

4/5

The Blue Screen of Death

   Besides hearing some of their stuff on Bandcamp, I knew nothing about Germany 8-bit punk band The Blue Screen of Death prior to tonight's event. What I heard I enjoyed but in person it is a whole different ball game.
    I was surprised to only see three people take the stage; front woman Claude, bassist Manu and drummer Öm. I thought there was at least a keyboardist too or someone playing guitar with a lot of effects. Instead, the 8-bit sounds come from a laptop by the side of the drummer. As trios go, they still make an amazing racket.
   The style is frantic, shouty punk, or "nintendocore", as some people might still say. Every song is crazy and performed with perfect energy and enthusiasm. Claude is one of the most charismatic performers I have seen. Not only does she use the entire stage, she secures eye contact with the crowd (it's like she's singing just for you) and interacts with her band mates, proving herself to be a worthy leader. She's mesmerising. Manu and Öm are a very tight unit. They are not too serious and bogged down in what they are playing that the fun gets lost. Manu even comes off stage at one point to connect with the crowd. This is the kind of thing I like to see.

   As well as tracks from their record There Are Just 16 Steps Down To Hell and a few new songs (Megrim, Kokology and One Of Them), the band also covered To Hell With Good Intentions by Welsh based band Mclusky (ex-Future of the Left), once famous for their collaboration with the website rathergood.com on the video for their song Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues. The band played To Hell... with even more passion and conviction than Mclusky, along with the added computer noises, and came off sounding like it could have easily been an original. 
  8-bit/chiptune/nintendocore/whatever one wishes to call it has always been fun, with bands like Horse The Band and Anamanguchi helping to make it more popular. If you consider yourself a fan of this kind of thing, The Blue Screen of Death are not a band to ignore.

4/5

Live Review: Hayehudonim/The Turbans/Sadistikus @ Koro, Tel Aviv [6 June 2015]

   Tonight, I come back to Koro to check out some bands I haven't seen before for an event entitled Happy Slayer Day, despite not really having any connection to Slayer. It is actually a mixed bag, featuring some death metal, rock and roll and fairly more traditional punk rock.

I'm going to keep this as short a review as possible.

Sadistikus

    Sadistikus are a (seemingly) young band from somewhere around these parts who play blasting death metal. They, of course, all have amazing hair and have donned death metal t-shirts for tonight's performance; nothing new there. The actual songs have impressively heavy riffs and generally had me and many others headbanging. Most of the band seem pretty static, which is a bit of a let down. However, I guess, when the music is this heavy, you don't really need to move. I did worry about the drummer, though. Poor bugger! Have any of you tried playing blast beats over and over again? You have to be strong for that kind of thing. I can't do it. Unfortunately, I could see the effect it was having on the drummer, as he sometimes fell out of time and even had to stop and get back into the song at some points. That aside, I was actually disappointed their set was short. I was into it.

3/5

The Turbans

    Now we get to the rock and rolllll!! The Turbans are a trio from Jerusalem, consisting of two guitarists, Eyal and Gilad, and drummer Yadin. They are one of those bands whose name I have heard and seen listed for shows but I have somehow not seem them yet. I'm glad to have finally managed to watch them because they scratch that little psychedelic rock itch I get from time to time. 
   The band have an interesting stage presence. The two guitarists actually place themselves in front of the stage, with Gilad having his pedals and tiny keyboard on a stand next to him. Both guitarists sing (although Eyal seems to be the lead) as Yadin, from his spot on stage, does some simple yet perfectly impactful drumming. 

   The songs themselves run in the psychedelic garage rock vein, with good usage of cool melodies, grooves, noises and joyous dual vocals. They're one of those bands your parents could definitely dance to. In fact, a part of me would have really liked to have bust a move but I think a lot of us there (which wasn't very many) felt restricted due to the band being "in our area". But that's more our problem than theirs. I've seen footage of hardcore shows where the crowd is "moshing" right in front of the band and even knocking into them....but everyone's having a blast! It shouldn't really be a problem. 
   Despite not really knowing the words, I have had the melody of their song entitled I Should Have Known in my head ever since the show. That's a sign of a good song.

4/5

Hayehudonim (The Yids)

   Whether it's a playful take on the more popular Israeli band Hayehudim (The Jews) or simply a something that sprung to mind, you got to hand it to Hayehudonim on their name choice. This is another band whose name I have come across, although I am actually not too sure if I have seen them before.

    Some of the songs in the set sounded quite familiar. They play very fuzzy and distorted rock and roll. (That's not just the sound tonight, it's how they sound on record too.) Compared to the rest of the bands and even crowd tonight, Hayehudonim seem to be of an older generation. The drummer, who looks like a more muscly and tattooed version of well known actor and Simpsons cast member Hank Azaria, isn't the best drummer I have ever seen or heard. His playing seems very stiff at times and he drops his sticks on occasion. The rest are also not all that impressive, but what they lack in technical ability they make up for in pure energy. Although still pretty static, everyone is playing like their lives depended on it as the vocalist uses his full lung capacity to project his venom, as echoey and inaudible as it may be. 

   Hayehudonim have been around for many years, as is seen by a few people here tonight singing along. Unfortunately, being veterans does not always mean that you're the best. That said, I have checked them out on record and it sounds a whole lot better. The songs are there, it was just an awkward performance. 

 3/5

Special thanks to Aviv Liplis Hadar on the use of his camera which is a good deal better than mine.

Live Review: Joliette/Mondo Gecko/Zaga Zaga @ Koro, Tel Aviv [18th April 2015]

     After touring together in Europe, Israeli nutcases Zaga Zaga and Mexican noise makers Joliette play the final show of their joint tour at Koro, Tel Aviv.

Zaga Zaga

   As readers know, I have seen these Zaga Zaga quite a few times already since they began. I didn't quite get it at first; was a little too jazzy, technical and noisy for me on the first couple of times I saw them. After a while, you begin to actually hear melody in what they do and find yourself shouting along to songs like The Dancer and (I Just Called To Say) I Hate Your Band. It also looks like they've officially added a cover of Devo's Uncontrollable Urge. Despite being worlds apart in style, these boys manage to play the cover in a way that sounds similar to the original but still doesn't sound out of place amongst their disjointed shouting hardcore punk. What really impresses me about the band each time is their energy and and enthusiasm on stage. They clearly love what they play and love performing and that is a joy to see. Their tour mates Joliette have also been impressed by them and going crazy and singing along on songs. 

3.5/5

Mondo Gecko

    Mondo Gecko is one of those Israeli bands who really only manages to play a few times a year. I have seen them a few times over the years. Like most of the other Israeli bands in the scene, they are always great fun to see live...mainly because frontman Nadav is also in those other bands that are great live. Mondo Gecko, having a mixture of metal and punk musicians in the band, play what can be considered as "crossover thrash".  I'm pretty sure none of their songs are over two minutes long, if that. There are a few long time fans of the band here tonight running about and singing along. I've definitely seen a better turn out for them but the band still play with the utmost gusto and Nadav constantly gets the crowd going by jumping in amongst them. I am also pretty sure a ladder was used. Yeh...that sounds right...  The songs themselves are so short that it's hard to really appreciate them, but if you like your thrash, Mondo Gecko are a band to check out.

3/5

Joliette

    Admittedly, I had never heard of this Joliette until I heard about their joint tour and also split Ep with Zaga Zaga. Only a few days before this show, I checked them out for the first time and really liked what I heard. They play Converge-like hardcore but seeing as I've never been that much of a converge fan, I have to add that this is much better, in my opinion. 

    From time to time, the band play similar crazy hardcore like Zaga Zaga, like on Pisca de Cotsco from their split Ep with said band and on Todos Odian from their Principia album. Even on both those songs, Joliette add a hint of melodic hardcore, sometimes similar to bands like Glassjaw and Finch, and even heavy beatdown bits to switch it all up and it sounds great. Il Yonzorno, from their split with LYED from Texas, is very melodic and diverse in its dynamics and thus my favourite from the set. 
   Just like Joliette during the Zaga Zaga set, Zaga Zaga and some others more familiar with the band were going nuts. At one point, Zaga Zaga drummer Heshbon got on stage and sang with them.
   The band, like the others, are full of energy live. Bassist Gaston and guitarist Fernando give it everything, both vocally and physically. Other guitarist Juan also rocks out in the corner of the stage while drummer Gabo gives some of the best drumming I've ever seen. There were times when I was just totally mesmerised by his display of innovation. 

When it comes to bands who play this sort of hardcore, I was definitely impressed by Joliette and hope they get more recognition. I hope they enjoyed their time out here, because we certainly did.

4.5/5

Live Review: The Stubs/DUST/Left @ Koro, Tel Aviv [13th March 2015]

  Tonight, I come to Koro (yes...that place again. Tel Aviv's kind of small, you know..) for a bit of a mixed line-up show. This is the Tel Aviv leg of the Israel tour for Polish rocker The Stubs. From a few of the tracks I had previously checked out, these guys sounded fun and I wanted to check it out in person.

Left

   The show starts off with local duo Left. I am still unsure if I've actually seen these guys before or not but I had checked their bandcamp and liked what I heard. The duo consists of Asaf Leizerovitz on guitar and main vocals and Roy Chen on drums and extra vocals. Throughout the set, I realise I've seen the drummer before. His ambidexterity and flawless techniques made me think of the drummer of another duo, Verminn. Turns out...yeh, that's him. He also drums for quite a few other bands so this must be his life. All power to him!

   What you discover from both listening to and watching Left is that they mostly float somewhere in between stoner rock and full on garage rock anthems. Songs like tonight's set opener I Wanna Get To Know You, Ghost and Betterman lean more towards the stoner side of things. The former and the latter are more sultry and intense, with the former reminding me of QOTSA, with its "I wanna get to know you" refrain getting stuck in my head by the end of the song. Ghost is like a more haunting Led Zepplin with a "groovy" riff and pounding drums. Asaf's vocals are powerful and on point on all songs; at the same time, even quite endearing. The track called 7 (not a Prince cover) is not so much "stoner rock" but has more of a slight space-rock/horror punk feel about it, filled with high octane drumming and an intense riff. If you were running away from sort of hungry monster trying to take over your planet, this song would be a suitable soundtrack. 

   Tell Me, Matter of Control and Rogues in the House are where I hear the bands more garage rock influences. Tell Me is ridiculously catchy and, personally, is quite reminiscent of the BBC song from Austin Powers. Maybe that's just me! Matter of Control takes things to a more MC5/New York Dolls level, with wailing vocals and an intoxicating rhythm that had a few people dancing tonight. Rogues in the House is also very danceable with a hint of White Stripes about it...just with more interesting drumming.
  As well as proper songs, Left also have a few instrumentals, such as Power To The People and Headbanging which they play tonight. The former is quite techno/disco and had me nodding my head along up until it goes batshit crazy like a heavy dance track; the latter is a slow paced trippy number with an infectious riff and can definitely get you banging your head.  

  Asaf and Roy are great musicians. Roy's drumming is mesmerising and Asaf has some great riffs and a well tuned voice. I will add, however, that they do look quite mismatched as a band; Roy looks and plays like more of a metaller whereas Asaf has a "geek-chic" look about him. Fortunately, they work well together and I was very impressed. 
  See Left play with Shifka Chiefs at Levontin 7 on 21st March.
4/5

DUST

   How many times have I written about DUST already? This hard hitting and groove-led hardcore band just keep playing wherever and whenever they can. Playing songs off their self titled EP (such as the popular and catchy Midas Touch, Numb, with its epic sounding intro that always gets me pumped, the invigorating PMA, the amazing Slipping Away, the groovy Title and even the short blast of fury that is Brain Fuck Your Skull) as well as newer songs which are still familiar from previous shows (Bloody Knuckles and constant set closer Sick and Tired) all manage to get quite a few people in the crowd dancing and moving, despite it not being the biggest turn out I've seen for Dust before. 

Frontman Evya is not afraid to get amongst the viewers as the rest of the band full rock out on stage. As much as I love them, they need to start playing some "new-new" songs; songs we haven't heard several times before. That, and they should also release a proper album, like....NOW!

  You can see Dust play a lot of shows in the near future, I'm sure, including a Fanzine show at the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv on election day.
4/5

The Stubs

  Now we come to the main event. It's always fun when an overseas band comes here. At the same time, it's a bit disappointing when they don't really get the right reception. I guess there is a good number of people here tonight for Polish band The Stubs, but it just doesn't feel like the normal crowd for a punk rock show. And these guys are pure punk rock and roll. 

  As the band starts, they don't have a full room straight away but slowly people started coming back in and all eyes were on them and lots of feet were moving. From the get go, with the Hellacopters-esque Nation Of Losers, we get the idea that this show is going to be full of hard rocking songs. The band are being quite energetic but I can imagine that touring takes the wind out of you as they could have smiled a bit more. 

  Their set basically continues along the garage rock/rock and roll kind of lines. Highlights of the set include the fast paced Straight and White which also has a nice change of pace in the middle, Salvation Twist with its "WOOHOO" chorus, Timmy with its cool wailing guitar intro that leads into groovy rock and roll, the riff laden and Rival Sons-esque There's No Mother and oldest song in the set, Highway Demon, which pretty much sounds like an angrier and heavier country song. During the set, guitarist and singer Tomek thanks us for coming and a little bit about themselves. Bless him, though...he seemed out of breath from all the rocking.

    Show closer Rudy's Blue Boogie, as the name suggests, has a bluesy riff quite reminiscent of Canned Heat's On The road Again...but punkier. But it might not have been enough as they left the some of crowd wanting more. I think we must have all been having fun as the set actually felt quite short. 

   If you like bands like MC5, Stooges, Hellacopters, Bombshell Rocks etc.. then The Stubs' back catalogue is definitely worth a listen.
4/5

Live Review: First Punkalovich showcase - The 1840s/Mock Up/Woolly Boy @ Koro, Tel Aviv [5th February 2015]

   Thursday saw Punkalovich put on it's first ever show. The show took place at our most loved venue, Koro. The show was initially put on to be my band Woolly Boy's first show in Tel Aviv. With the addition of The 1840s as headliners and finally young band Mock Up closing the line-up, we were all excited for this show. All three bands are different in style and this show could either be filled with all sorts of people or could be a poor turn out.

Woolly Boy

Photo by David "Doh Doh" Rosen

   Like the Haifa show, I'm not going to give my own band, Woolly Boy, a review as such. We tried a few new things this time around. I still used a hi-hat, frying pan and triangle as extra percussion but also brought my macbook with me to incorporate some samples including a purposely made recording of my friend's sister saying our name which I used as an intro. I think this worked pretty well, but the other sample I used during the show probably could not be heard above the guitar. Ah well...you live and you learn! I think our songs sounded pretty good and we even did the folk-punk type song "He Didn't Love You Anyway" which we didn't do for the Haifa show. Most of our crowd seemed to be friends of Mock Up and the other bands. I guess we were competing with a few other "punk" related events tonight so were missing some of the usual suspects. We still got a bit of "moshing" action at the beginning but I think a good number of those guys left the room as I definitely ended up with far more space to move around in. Hopefully people enjoyed us. 

Mock Up

  Jeronimo were originally meant to play this show but for personally reasons had to pull out. Luckily, rock band Mock Up came highly recommended by them and were more than happy to do the show. Good thing they did as they brought the majority of the audience tonight. 
  After a short intro, the band kick off with the explosive Closing The Gates, which after the punkiness of Woolly Boy gave people a dose of almost Led Zepplin-mixed-with-Muse tinged rock. The kids here tonight seem familiar with it and completely get their "push mosh" on.  Numbers such as Quiet Desperation and Beginnings may have softened the mood a bit but still got a good reaction from fans. The former has an extremely beautiful and groovy harmonic middle melody which had me smiling. The song Weapon heavily brings the groove with a super solid bass line and slick drumming.
 The whole band are incredibly good musicians. Guitarist Nativ plays amazing riffs and uses his pedals to make the absence of a second guitarist almost unnoticeable, bassist Ilay plays cool licks and rocks out with his beautiful long hair (not going to lie...I might have a small guy crush here..) and drummer Rom is incredibly energetic and plays without fault. Singer Gooly has a vocal delivery similar to that of Kelly Jones of Stereophonics or even Matt Bellamy of Muse. The overall style he was giving off was also quite similar to "Madchester" bands like Oasis and Charlatans. I find him a bit static tonight, not really moving or showing much expression. That changed with set closer Apple, their heaviest song with a riff I find so familiar. The more I think about it, it reminds me a little of Disturbed's cover of Genesis's  Land of Confusion but i'm sure there's something else. Either way, it's a hell of a riff and got Gooly jumping into the crowd and getting them all riled up again. 
  Mock Up are definitely a great band with some beautiful musicianship. I did however feel like this was some sort of "high school prom" concert. All the fans here today just seemed to be kids from school; that may be why they all decided to leave immediately afterwards if they indeed have school in the morning. Now..I was in a band when I was at Uni so I've had fans who were mostly classmates and friends of classmates but you never really know if the fanclub comes based on merit. Hopefully they will get more recognition and more outside fans.
3.5/5

The 1840s

  As mentioned in a pervious write-up, The 1840s are a band I've always had a soft spot for. Their show the other week had a bar completely full of people checking them out. Tonight, however, a lot of people have gone and only about a total of 10 people have remained to watch. We were all actually uncertain as to whether the band started already or was still doing sound check as there was hardly anyone there when they started playing.
  The setlist was similar to the Rothschild show, including older songs like the catchy This Different Life and tonight's closer the 60s-like rocker Rainbow and newer songs like Get To Me, the bouncy Take Off Thy Clothes and the absolutely mesmerising Heart of Midnight, with it's tribal rhythms and sparse vocals. Unlike last time, the Smiths' cover (There Is A Light...) got more of a reception as I and some of the Koro owners were jumping and singing along. It still sounds so different to the original but they somehow make it sound like theirs.
  Why more of 1840s fans didn't show up tonight..I don't know. Maybe because it wasn't a free show? Maybe because it was with bands they hadn't heard of? Maybe because they all work Thursday night? Who knows? The important thing is that the band still played in a fairly empty venue and sounded great and I for one are glad they came. 
4/5

Live Review: Jeronimo/Sug Bet/Behemut HaAhava @ Koro, Tel Aviv [29th November 2014]

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.

The rest of the show continues along the same lines with great riffs and energetic playing. The guys come off stage and started rocking out on the venue floor. It is such a shame that ALMOST NO-ONE IS HERE! I don't know where they all went but they aren't here anymore. Not that it started out with a lot of people, anyway. Jeronimo were definitely the best of the night and I'm hoping to hear some good recordings soon. Their recordings on YouTube are not all that impressive. They might even have a different drummer as the drumming on the recordings are nowhere near as good as what I witnessed live. Jeronimo have the songs and the charisma which will helpfully get them more recognition in the scene. Like Sug Bet, they still come off a little college band-ish...but only a little. Keep an eye out for them. They have a show at Syrup in Haifa on Friday 19th December and also a show at Radio EPGB in Tel Aviv on Sunday 21st.

4/5

Live Review: Megason/Zaga Zaga/Mongar @ Koro, Tel Aviv [20th November 2014]

Mongar

Arriving a little bit late to the show (which i genuinely didn't think was possible for an underground Israeli show), I was told by those at the door that the band Mongar had just started. I had no previous idea who Mongar are. I could have checked, done a bit of research, watch the videos that were posted on the event page....but I tend to not do that so much anymore. Not for a brand new band. I like to be surprised and just see how well they can hold my attention in person. 
As I enter the stage area, I see a 2 man act on stage; a guitarist with a pedal board and a laptop and a drummer listening through headphones. I have definitely seen the guitarist around. Always assumed he was a German tourist or maybe a German volunteer living out here. Definitely looks German. Anyway.... I digress. The music these guys play is experimental instrumental rock. They swerve in and out of being more in the vein of 65daysofstatic to heavier vibes not too dissimilar to Lightning Bolt or even Animals As Leaders....only with less musical masturbation. Obvious instrumental bands references aside, there are moments that sound Tool-esque in timbre, and although I am not a massive fan of Tool, I admire the musicianship. Mongar as a team are absolutely flawless. Their laptop seems to be utilised as their metronome and providing backing tracks. The guitarist is relying on the drummer to keep time with the whole track and he doesn't disappoint. The drummer is absolutely incredible. He isn't just playing standard experimental jazz beats that you would expect in something like this, but he plays my favourite beats to play; Drum n Bass beats. I love just about anything that uses dance/dnb/jungle/sometimes even dubstep style rhythms into primarily more rock orientated songs. That is what truly classes as "experimental". When you bring different things to the table. These guys had me tapping my feet, nodding my head and in total awe of their playing, their melodies, their beats and their overall creativity. 
4.5/5

Zaga Zaga

What can I say about Zaga Zaga? They're just bloody nuts. They like wearing smart shirts when they perform. Nothing wrong with that. Tonight, they have made and hand drawn their own banner which they tape to the back wall. Nothing wrong with that either. Their music, on the other hand, is just barmy. Including members of Mad Choice, Knees Please (ex-Tape&Rape) and whatever else the drummer might be in (haha), these guys play something quite different to their other bands. They themselves don't even really know how to describe it.

Basically, if you ever liked The Locust or early DEP, you will like Zaga Zaga. They are a punk band, essentially, who just happen to play totally fucked up hardcore. The songs are really short and played really fast, apart from their opener which has an epic beginning where they are all shouting together. Every member gets to do vocals. Everyone. Sometimes in other bands, the drummer won't want to sing, sometimes the bassist doesn't. In this case, everyone is the frontman. This adds to their intensity and the enjoyment of watching them. They feel the music they play too. What's the point in playing music this chaotic and energetic without flapping about like a fish out of water? It took me a while to really appreciate this band from when I first saw them live, but I have begun to enjoy them for the mentalists that they are.
4/5

Megason

Tonight's show at the Koro finishes with psychedelic stoner rockers Megason. I have seen these guys a few times before....but seem to always forget that I did. I don't know if it was because I was quite tired or because I wasn't really in the mood for this kind of thing, but it didn't really do anything for me tonight. They are great musicians and their music is enjoyable to listen to, but when watching them live, there's nothing memorable about them. Maybe I just need to get more used to their material and watch them live a few more times to really appreciate them. 
3/5

Live Review: Ron and Itamar's Birthday Party, Koro, Tel Aviv [14th November 2014]

Soon In Here

Malekhakhei HaPinkah

City Rats

03 (pro. Eh-fess Shah-losh)

Tonight is a celebration! Tonight is one of the most talked about birthday parties I've personally known of, and I feel quite honoured to be in some small way connected to one of the birthday boys. Ron Gilman has been living the last few years "in my endz", London, and has had success with London based hardcore bands The Blessed And The Cursed and, more recently, the short lived Crimes. Ron has returned home to see the family, as one does on a birthday, and also to see his old 09 (area code for Kfar Saba) crew. At the same time, he has opted to celebrate with putting on a show. I myself have attempted this on a much smaller scale but tonight is how it should be done. Ron has invited friends' bands to play, as well as reuniting with his old hardcore band Soon In Here.

03

Show openers 03 play tough hardcore. They do the kind of hardcore I like; hardcore that incorporates groove and that you could technically get your boogie on to. They tend to give off a similar vibe to 25 ta Life at times. Not that the vocals are anywhere as mental as Rick ta Life's vocals but they are that kind of hardcore and the vocals can at times be considered intelligible. Frontman Jenia previously sang in Israeli hardcore legends Instinct who I very much enjoyed the few times I managed to see them after moving here. This band has a more of a metalcore aura about it, which I did not really like the first few times I have seen them. Tonight, they open with an explosive intro which had this groove fan grinning like a nutter. They bust through their repertoire with aplomb. Both guitarist Lemmy and bassist Kaban (both also of Jerusalem based metal act Sintax) jumping about the stage, Jenia running amongst the crowd.... That's the kind of stuff I like to see. I feel like the band's sound has already developed within their short period of existence since their first few shows and I'm very interested to hear whatever they end up releasing.

3/5

City Rats

Up next are modern legends of Israeli punk, City Rats. Coming from the same school of thought as legendary punk bands such as Conflict, GBH and The Varukers, City Rats play angry street punk with that subtle old skool hardcore flavour. Every time I see City Rats, I like them more and more. Tonight they are on fire. Obviously, they've got their main fan base in today so everyone is going nuts to every song. Songs like Party Til Death and Pogo Beer Abu Kabir are just pure party punk anthems that you can't help but sing along with and run around to. I do not really know the guys in the band personally except for drummer Gutzy, currently also of fast pop punk band Not On Tour and hardcore dudes BEST. He is always a joy to watch play, as were the band as a whole tonight. 

3.5/5

I will also like to add, that as much as the band are pure crusty street punk a la late 70s England, they also remind me of Essex hardcore band Deathskulls, who mix street punk and straight up London HC to joyous results. 

Malekhakhei HaPinkah

Next up is Kfar Saba based Middle Eastern tinged rock band Malekhakhei HaPinkah. I am still unsure if there is even a real translation for that name. I have never seen this band before until now, nor do I recognise any of the guys in the band. Compared to the rest of the line-up, this band sticks out. They dress quite smart and just look...well...typically Israeli. As they kick off they're set, they definitely are a different tone to the rest of the night. The first song they do has a pure classic rock vibe and further into the set they play songs which incorporate Middle Eastern melodies and rhythms, such as songs like Lilot Abu Darbi (Abu Darbi Nights) and Sovev Olam (Spin World). They also delight us with 2 covers; MC5's Kick Out The Jams and ACDC's Jailbreak. The best thing about this set was that I was seeing people I know from punk shows and even metal shows dancing and singing along to practically Israeli rock. Up until this point, the night was just a hardcore/punk show. Now it was a PARTY!

4/5

Soon In Here

Finishing off the night, we get to pretty much the main focus of the evening. As much as Ron had been spoken of throughout the night, he now takes centre stage. Soon In Here are a Kfar Saba band considered one of Israel's best hardcore bands of the early 2000s. I had really only heard of them briefly so seeing them tonight in their last proper line-up was spectacular. Soon In Here only play a really short set tonight of their Screaming For Justice EP. They play hardcore with a similar vibe to some of Blood For Blood's later punkier stuff (mainly due to Ron's vocals), incorporating melodic hardcore riffing. Songs like Shout With Me and No Escape had long term fans and close friends of the band going mental with stage diving, crowd surfing and good old fashioned pogoing. From where I stood at the side of the stage, the whole view, both of the band and the crowd, was a joy to watch. This really felt like a legend's welcome; a proper reunion for a beloved band. I was even tempted to jump off the speakers myself. It's actually such a shame I am only discovering this band now and that geography hinders them from continuing and flourishing into something amazing. 
4/5i

There was also a cover band featuring Ron on vocals, members of Malekhakhei HaPinkah and other friends who did a set of 5 songs which was good fun but not really worth reviewing. I apparently totally missed another short reunion performance by a metal band called Bar Manin (Expired)...but all in all a good night was had by all. 

Live Review: Zimmer//Koro Play Swapsies #1, Tel Aviv [Friday 7th November 2014]

Reel Dinazeor

Brutal Gardener

Neta Polturak

Hetzi Moakh Al Ketamine

In Tel Aviv, there are quite a few music venues and bars that do live music. Within the very underground scene, there are two fairly leading venues; Koro and The Zimmer. Koro, even in its original form as both Rogatka and Petiphone, hosts shows week after week spanning several different genres, currently focusing on punk and hardcore, due to the clan of co-owners being from different bands of that ilk. The Zimmer also focuses on the underground scene and tends to go for a more eclectic and surreal taste of music than the Koro tends to. This evening is the first installment in this month's line-up swap between the 2 venues. Prior to the show, I had no details about the acts apart from their names so I went to this open minded.

Hetzi Moakh Al Ketamine (Eng. Half a Brain on Ketamine)

The first act is a 2-man outfit, consisting of a guitarist and a guy sitting down at a table of mixers and, I'm guessing, sound modules. I didn't get a close enough look. From first glance, I thought that his was either going to be digital hardcore, noise or electro. I was ever so slightly surprised. Hetzi Moakh.... have a very soundscape vibe. It's "shoegazing noise soundscape". It was all quite chill. While the guitarist plays dreamy yet also at times menacing melodies, it is accompanied by clicks, beeps, heavy pulses and whirling sounds. I'm still not really much of an expert on this kind of thing, but even though this was experimentation, it sounded seamless and well structured. These guys could easily score some sort of thriller movie or psychological drama. It was a shame I had no idea what the guitarist was singing when on the mic as there was just so much reverb, but apart from that, nothing seemed wrong or out of place. The only issue is that they did what seemed like only 2 separate "compositions" in the space of about 15 minutes and then walked off stage. That's where I and this sort of thing do not really meet. I like a bit of interaction. Other than that, it was an interesting intro to the night.

3/5

Brutal Gardener

Brutal Gardener is one guy with some FX pedals, a sound module and what I later saw to be an oscilloscope. He plays what very much constitutes as noise.....and I don't really get it. It was a good 5 or so minutes of helicopter noises followed by another 5 or so minutes of a washing machine tackling a heavy load and then, like the previous act, he just walks off. I'm sure to the noise connoisseur this guy is a genius, but after being impressed by the first act's ability to transport me into a movie, I just did not get this at all.

1/5

Neta Polturak

Walking back into the stage room, there's a young woman setting up a bunch of guitar pedals and a drum machine. Neta plays trip hop-y indie by looping both guitar parts and her vocals and combining them with cool break beats. Unlike the previous acts, Neta actually has songs. I got a vibe of Sneaker Pimps, Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine. Like the first act, it was a very chilled out set. She definitely knows how to structure songs. Her 3rd song was particularly impressive. It started very beautiful and atmospheric and then layer upon layer built into something simply quite electrifying. This might not be the kind of thing I would listen to on a daily basis or even deliberately go and see live, but I would definitely recommend this to fans of trip hop, electro and even alt rock to check out.
3.5/5   

   

Reel Dinozeor

Reel Dinozeor consists of Amos, the drummer from young punk band Busha!!, Yam, frontman and guitarist of post-hardcore outfit Lunamore, and Amos' brother Yoel, who as far as I'm aware is not in anything else. Keeping in tone with the rest of the evening, Yam was tonight armed with guitar pedals and made a lot of noise. Amos drummed along as his brother shouted and screamed. This is noise with a live drum kit which I, as a drummer, do admire a tad. Being young, I always give "kids" like these guys credit for even getting off their arses and doing something. I give them credit for being creative and doing something "out of the box". Saying that, I was put off by the drumming. I felt the drumming was too repetitive throughout and too simple. I was hoping at times to hear some cool break beats or heavy industrial beats. Hopefully the more time they have to grow as a unit, more creativity, experimentation and even musicianship will emerge.

3/5