Live Review: Jenny Woo + others @ Zimmer, Tel Aviv [26th April 2018]

Jenny Woo

Shortfuze

Helem

Akrabut

Cyanide

Extravaganza

Extravaganza

Starting off the night is possibly the first classic metal band to play a punk show like this – Extravaganza. Comprising of members from Tel Aviv ska, punk, surf, rock and even psychedelic bands, Extravaganza are the supergroup no-one really asked for (sorry). Their reasonably short debut set consisted of original songs that sound like imitations of Dio or Iron Maiden, as well as an enjoyable cover of Judas Priest’s Breaking The Law. Although the songs are actually good and they all play tight, the overall performance resembles that of a hair metal themed wedding band. Even the band name is something you would call a party band. (There's actually a Lithuanian Black Metal band with the same name but that's an even weirder choice.) Shouting "This is a metal extravaganza" throughout most of the set also just enhances the cheesiness. That said, it doesn’t mean they’re not entertaining. The punks here seem to enjoy it, some who even already knew a song or two. If anything, Extravaganza is definitely a band to get drunk and take your shirt off to.

2.5/5  

Cyanide

Up next are a young local trio called Cyanide (or "Tsee-ya-need" to the locals). I think I’ve seen them before but if I had, this was a slightly better performance. Although they play simple punk rock, including covers of Ramones and GBH, you can tell they’ve been working hard to get things right. There is still a way to go. Some of their original lyrics are a bit childish and the musicianship needs some cleaning up in places, but there is certainly potential.

3/5

Akrabut

Hailing from Haifa (via Russia), Akrabut is a new punk trio featuring members of Nezek and City Rats. In a way, Akrabut is on a similar street-punk/crossover wave as City Rats only with a darker edge. At least it sounds darker live, with the reverb on the vocals almost at maximum. It just overall sounds less traditional compared to City Rats, which makes them just a little bit more interesting and intense. Akrabut have tons of energy which shines through in their performance and takes over the crowd, making he venue really come alive. In the same way that City Rats had both the music and attitude to get a bit of notoriety in Europe, I reckon Akrabut have a similar future ahead..if they want it.

4/5

Helem

Back to more new local talent as Helem (which means something like "foolish behaviour" but can also be a play on the word meaning "shock") take the stage. Being pretty much the same line-up as local Oi covers band Oi Lo! minus 2 singers, Helem do fairly traditional Israeli street punk but with the catchiness and almost mainstream sensibility of Oi. As well as their own songs with choruses that can worm their way into your head, their set's highlight is their Hebrew version of What A Wonderful World which has been changed into Ezeh Hara Olam (What A Shit World). Not only does it show creativity to practically reinvent a classic but to do it another language is always pretty impressive. Helem are definitely up there as one of the most interesting punk bands to come form the scene at the moment.

4/5

Shortfuze

Now we go from a band influenced by Oi to a brand new band that considers themselves purely Oi - Shortfuze. Starting off their first ever show with a little bit of simple instrumental ska (to be fair, ska is pretty simple anyway), the band then play a set of classic Oi. Going along pretty typical themes for Oi such as unity, positivity and how great Oi is, there's nothing too original about the songs. However, their token Hebrew song Oved Shaot (Working For Hours) stands out as the most personal and relatable (for those who understand it, that is). I think that goes to show that you can be more creative and expressive in your native tongue. The band then have the honour of being joined on stage by today's main guest, Jenny Woo, for a cover of her song Here We Stand and Chaos by 4 Skins which get the crowd all excited for her set. The main problem for me throughout this set was a sound issue - the snare drum disappeared. It seems as though the mic fell at some point so most of the set was without any punchy snare drum which was a bit of a distraction for me, being a drummer myself. However, I'm looking forward to some recordings of Shortfuze some time soon.

3.5/5

Jenny Woo

And now for the main event of the night all the way from Canada - Jenny Woo! With an electro-acoustic in hand, our guest finally takes to the stage while enduring the interval watching Israelis and Russians dancing to some of the weirdest techno-pop you've ever heard. Although acoustic Oi might not sound that entertaining, Jenny controls the crowd by teaching lyrics and getting the crowd to join in with both her songs like Sound of the Streets and classic covers like I Fought The Law and Because You're Young. To add to the fun, she makes a competition out of the crowd participation by saying who ever sings the loudest gets a free CD or Vinyl (I think she had a few things to give out). Jenny has an awesome voice similar to that of City Mouse singer Miski. It's got a bit of a harshness to it but more comprehensive than someone like Brody Dalle. Jenny seems super sweet and definitely knows how to get a crowd going but I think she was let down a little bit by the venue's sound. Her electro-acoustic was a bit too crackly for the most part. However, you can't beat a bit of classic Oi!

4/5

Unfortunately I was unable to stay around for The Bad Wins and their collaboration with Jenny but I've seen them a good few times before and they are a fun classic punk band with some catchy songs. I'll try and review them properly another time. In the mean time, a big shout to them and to all who took part in this event. It's been quite the evening!

All photos courtesy of Ella Ben Yakar

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