Live Review: Not On Tour/Zaga Zaga/Are We Dead? @ HaMartef, Haifa [18th March 2016]

For what I'm pretty sure is the first time ever, I come to HaMartef (The Basement) in Haifa to check out new band Are We Dead? as well as Punkalovich favourites Zaga Zaga and Not On Tour. 

Are We Dead?

Are We Dead? are a new Haifa/North based hardcore band. Mixing metallic riffs with hardcore vocals, Are We Dead? manage to warm up the evening with a lot of the street punks going nuts. Whether these guys are actually into the music or just drunk out of their minds is hard to tell, but by my experience of street punks, it's more likely the latter. 

 Although this style of hardcore might not be for everyone, the moments where they play "beatdowns" do get me pumped. I also like the fact that the band is made up of people from other music backgrounds besides hardcore. Bassist Artem seems to come from a more metal background yet plays like a jazz bassist; lots of fingers and not a pick in sight. I'm normally not a fan of too much fret-work but it was fun to watch. 

 Are Are We Dead? the best new thing in hardcore, probably not. However, for what it was, parts had me smiling and the atmosphere over all was fun.

3/5

Zaga Zaga

I'm not entirely sure how many times I can write about Zaga Zaga. I certainly can't really say anything new, despite them having new material. It's not that all their songs sound the same, but they are all just crazy, aggressive and fun. Same goes for the performance.

  Zaga Zaga might still be an acquired taste, as some of the heckling mimicry of their shouting vocals proves, but there are those who are into it or are at least dancing like loons regardless. With a new album in the works, I hope there's a lot more great new songs to help Zaga Zaga make a name for themselves in the mathcore/post-hardcore world.

4.5/5

Not On Tour

Although Useless ID still remain the most internationally known punk band to come out of Israel, the likes of Kids Insane and tonight's headliners, Not On Tour, are closely following behind. Before they head back to Europe once again for Groezrock and after that join A Wilhelm Scream and Strung Out in Japan, Not On Tour have headed up to Haifa with a surprise new addition to the band.

In the same way as for Zaga Zaga, I'm sort of running out of new things to say about the female fronted skater punk band. Sima's voice is somehow always precisely as you hear it on record, the backing vocals are always somehow pitch perfect and not too overpowering and the musicianship over all is pretty faultless. Even with surprise new replacement guitarist, Matan (Save It), there is no drop in quality at all. I think suddenly seeing a different guitarist was a bit of a shock for some at first, but that seems to disappear as soon as they start up and the songs get under way. Matan might not right in our faces as of yet, but he certainly doesn't slip up or seem out of place.
Although there's also a good number of Tel Aviv people up here tonight, it's the unfamiliar Haifa faces that are really having a ball to the band's special breed of 7 Seconds meets The Vandals style punk rock. As usual, it's songs from the likes of All This Time and the N.O.T On Tour EP that get the best reception, closely followed by tracks off the new record. As I look around, I suddenly realise that the place has got pretty packed. Both street punks, hardcore kids and metal heads alike are dancing and singing along.

Although the whole show was pretty fun itself, including a surprising and impressive version of The Beatles' Oh Darling after their own super popular song, Darling, their encore makes my night. Not only do they play one of my favourite old track of theirs, Silly Thoughts, but Eyal of Are We Dead? takes on drum duties while someone (for some reason, I can't remember who) sings along with Sima. I was going pretty crazy myself, but could see that there were a few blank faces on those who weren't familiar with the song. Dudes, it was their first music video! It was the first one I heard from them. It's a necessary song to know!

Not On Tour are one of those bands who are gaining success for the right reasons. Having a female singer might be considered a selling point, but it by no means the main point of their success. Having a voice like that of Sima's definitely gives them an advantage, but it's the quickness and general uplifting vibes of the songs, even the serious ones, that strikes a chord with people, including me.

5/5

Live Review: Punk Afternoon - Tune In TLV Showcase Party @ Ozenbar, Tel Aviv [14th November 2015]

Not On Tour

Let Us Be Spoken

SatuRated

The Driers

Zoo Harmonics

Document

Saturday, the Sabbath. Meant to be a day of rest, where you pray in the morning, eat, sleep in the afternoon and then go out and party at night. However, this afternoon sees the last show of the four day Tune In TLV Festival; the punk rock battle of the bands. 

   The afternoon actually starts out with a showing of the music documentary No Room For Rockstars (which I didn't see), followed by the fight to get a song onto the next Vans Warped Tour compilation. Kevin Kyman, founder of 4Fini Inc, who produce the Warped Tour, is here both for a Q&A after the documentary (I missed that too) and to be the one to choose the winner. Despite being a "punk afternoon", today's line-up is pretty mixed. 

Document

  I've reviewed post punk/new wave band Document before and I have to be honest, it probably wasn't the most positive of reviews. Despite that, the band respected my views. I was expecting the band to have maybe taken some of my pointers into consideration but today's performance doesn't really seem to differ too much from the previous one, besides being one member down and a whole lot shorter set.
  Being titled a "punk showcase", the band have comprised their setlist of their more upbeat numbers, including Where U Are and Weeks from the Reset Your Mind Ep. Newer songs, such as the appropriately named New Song and Made A Mess, are darker and slightly more electro in style. All in all, they seem to have picked the right setlist today.

  Their performance on stage is still a bit static, bar drummer Amir, who is still the most enthusiastic. With frontman Nir now on second guitar duties, this may also be hindering their opportunities for some movement and better crowd interaction. Speaking of which, it is still early and not many people have turned up. Those who have bothered to come in and watch them seem to be satisfied. I think that kind of sums Document up; their songs are pleasant enough but there is still nothing in their live performance to really grab you. They are much better on record and I am still looking forward to hearing a new album.
3/5 
    

Zoo Harmonics

  Zoo Harmonics have been around for quite some time already and, in my eyes, should have already broken the UK and American pop punk market with the debut album Business In The Front...Party In The Back. With a new bassist, Gal, in tow, the band have been working on new songs and set to release a new album.
   With Dror (lead singer/guitarist) having now cut his hair, a slightly new sound seems to have come along with it, as the band play a short set of mostly brand new songs. The band already previewed Signs From Above through a live video they did for another showcase and a lot of the crowd, including myself, already like it and are digging it tonight. As the band themselves state, it has a more "stoner" flavour compared to their previous material. Personally, I've always considered them a mixed bag and not just pop punk, so I would have been more concerned if they weren't experimenting more. 
  The other new tracks are also really promising, including the comeback of Obsessions, which will hopefully be on the new album. Throughout the set, the band rock out as usual, although it is weird seeing Dror unable to wave his hair around. There is still the masterful Ron (guitar/backing vocals), who manages to always make his present known with some high octane antics to energise the crowd.

  As interesting as hearing brand new material is, it is the closer of oldie Henry And Claire which really gets me and other Zoo Harmonics fans going. It would have been nice to have heard more from the first album, but having been given a short time slot, the band understandably wanted to showcase their new material. I think they've done a good job and I am so looking forward to the new album.
4/5

The Driers

   I'm going to keep this short because what can I say about The Driers that I haven't said before? They are a fun trio who play a mixture of alternative 90s rock and a little bit of electro brit pop to boot. Basically, they play the kind of music that brings out the inner child in me and use male/female vocal harmonies that simply make me happy. 
  Despite having released their first proper EP recently (see review), their short set mostly consists of non-EP tracks besides the brilliant Who Doesn't and Lipstick Buds. Some are already classic tracks from their repertoire, including the punky Fifty and the bounce inducing Delayed. Others I didn't really recognise but were interesting to hear and I'm hoping they'll turn up on a new record in the near future.
  As much as I love them, I still stand by my opinion that Ronnie (guitar/vocals) and Tomer (bass/vocals) could act a little more excited on stage and interact more. The speaking duties in between songs are mostly taken on by drummer Ben. It could be good to hear what they have to say for once....plus, Ben talks faaaar too much for a drummer. (סתם)
4.5/5

SatuRateD

   I'll hold my hands up! I had no idea who SatuRateD were until tonight. I was actually outside before they started and walked in a little of the way through their set. I was happily surprised to see Dror of Zoo Harmonics back on stage, this time on drums. He was joined on stage by Shirel (guitar/vocals) and they make a pretty damn good team. I believe the band was originally a trio but it seems to work perfectly well as a duo.
   In complete opposition to what I had originally thought they might be (metalcore), this duo play a mixture of garage rock and grunge. Some of it is pretty standard (but still enjoyable) Nirvana/Mudhoney-esque material, but a song like Someday Blues really stands out due to it's more unconventional beats and generally just sounds more original. The band also do a cover of These Boots Are Made For Walkin', which is normally a staple of ska or Oi! shows. It was nothing spectacular as far as covers go. Their originals, despite at times sounding a little too formulaic, still hit the spot if you're no stranger to pure "grunge".
4/5

Let Us Be Spoken

  

  Another band I didn't know much about, Let Us Be Spoken take the stage next and totally change the tone of the evening. This punk show is getting its first dose of metalcore. Whaa??

  I technically have no problem with metal or metalcore. I proudly wear my nu-metal beginnings on my sleeve and still like some metalcore and groove metal. What bugs me though is how metalcore bands act. Although I say that I like a lot of interaction and movement on stage, sometimes acting like you're some massive touring band who's been around for decades just seems really unnatural and over-the-top when you're a fairly unknown band. Metalcore bands tend to do this and Israeli bands, in particular, know how to put on that sort of spectacle really well.
   Let Us Be Spoken give us all the usual metalcore catchphrases (mostly in Hebrew): "I want you all to sing along on this one", "I want to see you all go crazy" etc.. The look, the jargen and the melodic metalcore is all there. The clean vocals sound like Killswitch Engage and are not all that terrible. However, I'm still not entirely sure how many times I can hear this type of thing. 
  As unoriginal as this may sound, they are certainly an entertaining band and they do get me punching the air a bit. Maybe I'm just in an openminded mood tonight, but the breakdowns, the thrash parts and even some of the choruses have me a little bit sucked in. There are also a few metalcore fans in tonight who are getting swept up in all the excitement. Let Us Be Spoken may have been a bit out of place tonight, but I like variety.
3/5

Not On Tour

  Last band of the night is the amazing Not On Tour, whom I have spoken of many a time on this blog, I'm sure. Like all the other bands tonight, they have a much shorter set than usual but still manage to get the crowd going with their mixture of high speed hardcore punk and catchy melodies. 

  They do not have their usual crowd here tonight. This could be a mixture of the show not being hyped up all that much and the fact that many Not On Tour fans may not have bothered going due to the rest of the line-up. That aside, there is still a few of us who have come to give our support in this battle of the bands. 
  The band are on point. Sima's amazing voice, Val's melodic riffs, Nir's heavy bass and Gutzy's crazy fast drumming are ever present, as always. I can't really say much else, to be honest. I got a little bit too wrapped up in the show, including blindly head butting someone by accident (turned out to be a friend and they were fine about it), so I didn't really pay attention to the setlist. Knowing Not On Tour, they more than likely played songs off the new album, along with a few from All This Time and the N.O.T On Tour EP and maybe only one from the self titled debut, like one of my favourites, Silly Thoughts. Personally, I love hearing their older material, but they do know how to chose the catchiest and more crowd pleasing ones at every show.  
4.5/5

   Straight after Not On Tour's set, I went for hummus nearby and, upon leaving, ran into Val of Not On Tour. I asked him if a winner was announced and he said that they had won. It was rightfully awarded and hopefully being on this compilation will give them much further international success than they have already been getting. 

  It was great to see Zoo Harmonics with new material and SatuRateD were an interesting and pleasant discovery. The show as a whole could have done with a whole lot more attendees but those who were there still had fun and hopefully, like myself, discovered a few new bands.


For more photos, you can also check out Yahel Galili's photo album, Tune In TLV - PUNK Showcase. 

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   

Review: Not On Tour - Bad Habits [2015]

   When it comes to punk in Israel, there are certain bands who have the talent, songs and potential to be an almost worldwide success. From the moment I discovered the music for video Silly Thoughts around 4 years ago when I moved to Israel, Not On Tour stole my heart. I have always had a soft spot for female fronted bands but Not On Tour go beyond just being a female fronted band. Along with Sima's strong vocal delivery, the rest of the band are able to play at breakneck speed and harmonise during their super short but catchy songs. They are certainly the most popular band in the more pop punk/skater/hardcore scene in Israel and have also made waves in Europe in the last few years. The band did a Europe and UK tour a couple of months back in light of the new album Bad Habits and the band are about to head out for another tour this summer. Hopefully, the good word has and will spread further. 

   Being a regular gig goer, I have seen the band a countless amount of times, both at packed shows and at shows a bit light on numbers. Along with classics from the self titled debut, the N.O.T On Tour Ep and second album All This Time, the guys have also played songs which feature on the new album, some of which have been in the live repertoire for quite some time. Album opener, Flip, is a track I think I recognise, although I could just be confused as it is similar in places to a previous track, I Wanna Be Like You (from All This Time). After more listens, the half tempo "This ship is sinking. Save yourself. There's nothing left to see here.." chorus really gets stuck in your head. 4th track, Write It Down, I definitely know from shows. As is common of Not On Tour, the song is short (although at 1:32, it's nowhere near the shortest on the album) and catchy, with its chorus that suggests repeatedly that we'd better..well...write it down. It is one of their songs which is at a nice enough tempo to be able to really appreciate the song fully as well as dance to.
   I have heard Gut Feeling (track 2) before as they are meant to be bringing out a video for it soon. At 1:19, it is still not the shortest on the album. While listening, I tend to often expect (and hope) that the song goes on for longer. It also has one of those choruses that can easily get stuck in your head, which has sort of been Not On Tour's specialty over the years and there's a fair bit of it here. In Rumours (track 3), they have us singing "This can be over when we say the word..", especially the anthemic singalong part right at the end. Without checking the name of the track, I have been singing one of the songs as "Cos it's a different kind of weapon...Cos it's a different kind of reign." Turns out the song is called Different Kind Of Weather (track 6). Ooops! Close, though.
    In Stuck In A Rut (track 10), you'll be sympathising with how front woman Sima "Never got things done" and was "Stuck in a rut" but has since "Found a way out." I can relate to this song's concept of having once been lost in life and putting things off but am I completely on track now? Hmm. I don't know. I think I am more akin to seeing myself as "Failing to succeed", as sung in Failing (track 15).


   Not On Tour essentially play hardcore punk but the addition of Sima's melodic (although still raw and aggressive) vocals and the band's backing harmonies give their music that pop punk quality. Most songs, with the aid of Gutzy's awesome drumming, are super fast, such as thrashiest song No Communication (track 11) and title track Bad Habits (track 9), but there are still those which go along the more pop punk vein, such as Black Coffee (track 7) and Sick Of This Mess (track 8). The 16 songs on here range between 0:42 (Waiting In Line, track 14, possibly my favourite on the album) to 1:44 mins long (Sick Of This Mess), so you can hear the entire album in one short bus journey. It kind of leaves me wanting more but also wanting a little more diversity. The band have songs in their early repertoire which are more chaotic, have breakdowns and generally show the band's versatility. Bad Habits could do with a lot more variety, in my opinion, but it is certainly not a disappointment.
 
4/5

NEW VIDEO FROM NOT ON TOUR

       Now...I know they did a video for a song called Gut Feeling...I was there for that. I did not know. however, that Tel Aviv pop punk band Not On Tour also filmed a really professional looking video for the track Maybe One Day. The track itself, like almost all Not On Tour, is just under 1 and half minutes of a harmonious pleasure. The video confuses me though...as at the beginning we see 4 kids sitting on top of a car talking...and these kids are blatantly British. I'm a Brit...I can tell a British accent. We then see the kids watching the band play...although I'm not entirely sure if it's the exact same kids. Are the two parts filmed separately...one in the UK and one over here in Tel Aviv? Either way, it's fun seeing the band get pelted with paint by what I guess is meant to be little versions of themselves. 
    The band are currently on tour in Europe and the UK, having even played Groezrock this passed weekend. The album, Bad Habits, is to be released soon and I, along with many others who donated to the making of it, have already had a listen to it and will be posting my review in due course.
  For the time being....ENJOY!!