Live Review: Atari Teenage Riot + support @ Gagarin, Tel Aviv [29th December 2016]

Atari Teenage Riot
Mechonat Hereg
Eternal Struggle
Soleil Bone



Although bands who plan to come to Israel often get bombarded with negativity by anti-Israel activists and the like, never was there more of it from within the country itself than when self proclaimed anti-fascists and fans of Israel, Atari Teenage Riot (ATR), announced their Tel Aviv concert. Many people were confused at how anti-fascists can love Israel and thus saw the band as hypocritical. At least this is how it came across online. It turns out that more people were just a bit annoyed that such an underground (albeit highly influential and respected) act as these German originators of the digital hardcore sound were playing such an expensive show. However, that hasn't stop most of the people who have come out tonight, both to see ATR and the interestingly mixed local support. 

Soleil Bone

  Unfortunately, I arrived a little late and missed opening act, Nute, but did arrive in time to check out the weirdness that is Soleil Bone (pronounced Bo-nay, I believe). Noise/experimental music has never been my favourite genre. I like it when it has a lot of intensity, passion and a even a hint of structure. Soleil Bone are more along the "let's just play and see what happens" method of noise. With a drummer (initially masked) playing quite sparsely, a guitarist creating a lot of fuzz and distortion, a guy on a controls making random noises and a vocalist growling the majority of the time, it's certainly an interesting support act but hardly anything breathtaking. It reminds me of a band made up of old guys I saw a few times in Derby, who I believe were called God Has Tits. They basically just got on stage and had a go at instruments. I think that Soleil Bone know how to play... but decide to go down a less musical path.

2/5

Eternal Struggle

I might need to stop reviewing these guys soon as I don't really have anything new to say. Among all the more metalcore bands and hardcore punk bands in the county, Eternal Struggle bring that crushing NY-style hardcore that I've always loved. They're pretty damn lucky to be put on this line-up. It might not make sense to many people having a Hatebreed/Born From Pain/Terror style band at a show like this but variety is the spice of life! Seeing as ATR have their ties to punk and hardcore, it's a nice idea to have at least one punk or hardcore band supporting. Being made up of drum n bass lovers and ATR fans, Eternal Struggle maybe seemed like the most logical choice (also, their manager organised the event but shhh!).

Although Eternal Struggle get a really good crowd at their own shows, the head count isn't quite the same tonight because of this particular event's demographic. However, their mosh parts and beatdowns get a few people running around and a fair bit of hair banging. It's a shame they didn't do their usual cover of Sick Of It All's Take The Night Off but maybe it is about time they stuck with the strength of their original material. Hardcore dancing still isn't quite the done thing out in these parts but they would totally get that sort of action Stateside and in Europe.

5/5

Mechonat Hereg

When this show was initially announced, there was no doubt in my mind that Mechonat Hereg (Killing Machine) were going to support. I don't know much about them and only caught them live briefly before but they are essentially the Israeli Atari Teenage Riot. The blueprint is essentially the same; fast breakbeats, noises and harsh punk-like male/female vocals. Difference between the two acts is that ATR actually have structured songs. Mechonat Hereg are more of a rave band for low-key shows. They've got good energy and are the only people doing this sort of thing in the country (as far as i'm aware). Unfortunately, the music keeps randomly dropping out (some form of technical issue) which dampens the atmosphere a little and is generally a tad disappointing. The vocals and delivery are also nothing special, although vocalist Yam has an interestingly super high-pitched voice which reminds me a little of Manda Rin from Scottish electro-Brit pop trio Bis. Technically, that's a good thing as I loved Bis but I can imagine it's not for everyone.

2.5/5

Atari Teenage Riot

As more people fill up the Gagarin dance floor, everyone's anticipating the main event. I, personally, have always respected Atari Teenage Riot as I liked how they mixed electronic music with the intensity of punk. This especially came through in a live clip I saw of them from Reading Festival '99. Although I was actually at that festival as a 13 year old (my first ever big show), I didn't go the day they played but managed to catch it on TV. With the old line up including the late Carl Crack and former co-singer Hanin Elias, it was simply a high octane performance full of full throttle beats, screaming and buckets of sweat. I know that the line-up has since changed but I have been hoping for that same kind of experience.

As the lights dim, we faintly see Zan Lyons, a sometime member of ATR, step behind the table of laptops, controls and samplers. He's closely followed by man of the night, Alec Empire, the main founder of the group and poster boy for the fast paced, noisy and hyper digital hardcore sound. Alec is encouraging the crowd from the start, raising his clenched fists in the air as the venue fills with pulsating rhythms and noises and Zan operates visuals.

During the set, Alec moves to the foreground to shout and jump around with partner-in-crime, Nic Endo. Although it is odd to see her without her iconic painted Japanese symbol on the side of her face, Nic still has an amazing presence as she moves around the stage in an almost assertive fashion. Likewise, Alec has the complete attention of the crowd and they have his, as he locks eyes with everyone while spitting his lyrics of revolution and anarchy.

Many of the ATR fans here tonight have most likely come because of the band's earlier work. Some of the newer songs from the 2014's Reset album, such as J1M1 and the untypical Modern Liars with its strangely melodic and pop-like chorus, do not fare too well at the start of the set. However, it's actually album track Transducer's heavy thumping beat that initially gets the crowd uniting and thrusting themselves around like a wave. The more classic tracks like Revolution Action, Into The Death and No Remorse (I Wanna Die), the latter of which contains a Slayer sample, get the biggest reception from the crowd due to being the more energetic and punk/metal influenced.

Although there are those out there who may not be happy with the change of line-up, it does not seem to have affected ATR's live performance. Their set may contain newer songs that break away from the sound many fans know and love but the high energy and dedicated performance that I remember seeing on TV all those years ago is still there. Alec's personal love for Israel may have definitely encouraged his enthusiasm but I'm pretty sure him and Nic have that same passion everywhere they go. 

4/5
All photos by Adam Oscar

Live Review: drumcorps @ Gagarin, Tel Aviv [28th April 2016]

Although this blog is called PUNKalovich and I tend to cover punk and hardcore, I have been known to go to and review certain shows out of curiosity. This is one of those occasions where I only discovered the act via the gig poster and decided to give them a listen on the chance I might like it. And guess what! I only bloody did!

 Tonight, I find myself at Gagarin to see drum n bass/digital hardcore artist drumcorps. When I get there, a fair bit later than the posted starting time (which itself was midnight, anyway), dnb DJ, Hostage, is on stage. I'm not going to officially review his set tonight because..well..I don't really know what to write in terms of a proper review for a drum n bass DJ. What I will say is that it was mostly quite slow for drum n bass. It was more like thumping techno. Either way, it was a good warm up but I didn't hear anything that really made my feet move.

 After Hostage, drumcorps takes the stage as the night's main attraction. I hadn't heard of him before but I checked out some tracks and it's practically the sort of mix of heavy guitars and manic beats that I always thought about having a go at. As good as it already is on record, drumcorps live performance is an amazing experience. As well as playing prerecorded tracks off of Ableton on his laptop, drumcorps aka Aaron Spectre (originally from Boston but currently residing in Geneva, Switzerland) also plays some live guitar through a massive Orange amp and uses a form of drum pads/sampler for live effects and added fills. Even when simply playing a prerecorded track, Aaron is totally hyped and making sure the crowd is having a good time.

  What drumcorps does is not simply electronic music. The set opener, My Heart Flies To Where You Are, doesn't even really come under the banner of drum n bass, jungle or digital hardcore at all. It doesn't even really fall under punk. It's a pretty slow tempo, heavy and almost sludgy jam with an enticing melody that builds throughout. The drum n bass fans seem to not really know what they've come along to at this point, but those more into hardcore and metal are headbanging away. I'm even smiling immediately as I'm surprised by how heavy and groovy it is. We hear drumcorps' slower side again later with the short dark interlude We Turned At A Dozen Paces, For Love Is A Duel, but the majority of the set is hectic. 

  The setlist is mainly comprised of tracks from his 2008 album Grist and his latest album Falling Forward. Those who are already fans go crazy for likes of Grist classics like Botch Up and Die (which samples To Our Friends In The Great White North by Botch), the anthemic Down (which samples Cave In's Terminal Diety) and the album's title track, which ends the night back on a slower and more headbanging note. Newer tracks like Got The Row, Crosses and Tap Tap Tap are chaotic electronic numbers with frenzied beats and distorted guitars that get some people running around, whereas more hardcore tracks like Built For War and The Path actually result in some air punching action here and there. He also played a couple of remixes, including his remix for Relief by the band Genghis Tron and an unreleased remix of hardcore band Code Orange's I Am King, the latter of which came off sounding even heavier and more crazy than the original. 

  After the main event, local underground DJ crew, Sensi Sound System, take the stage. Again, I'm not really going to give this much of a review. Not just because I'm not really sure what to say about a DJ set but I really only stayed and listened to Shy FX's Original Nuttah and then went home. By the time I walked all the way home, it was about 5AM. I ended up sleeping until 6:45PM the next day! So lucky I had nothing else to do. 

Aaron Spectre/drumcorps is something I am kicking myself for not discovering sooner but so glad I paid attention to the posts and dragged myself along to this at stupid-o'clock at night. I have a soft spot for drum n bass, as well as a big love for digital hardcore acts like Mad Capsule Markets and Atari Teenage Riot and hardcore punk in general. drumcorps takes all this to the extreme and presents it with joy and energy. With only a few bits of equipment, he manages to make a hell of a noise; a powerfully invigorating, crushing and heavy noise. I'm not a fan of the noise genre, per se, but when it's rapid drum beats, heavy guitar riffs and shouty vocals, I am very much on board. The sampling from hardcore and metal bands and the fact that some of the drumcorps original tracks include drumming from Madball's Mike Justian and Iggor Cavalera just make this act all the more interesting and special in my eyes.

A shout out to Bass Fanatics and Frog-Hop Crew for their hard work of bringing him over and setting up the show.

5/5
Photos courtesy of Raz Mor

New video from noisemakers HECK (ex Baby Godzilla)

I'm a bit late on Baby Godzilla as it is, despite having liked a few songs/videos. Having had to change their name to HECK by the Japanese monster franchise, the Nottingham four piece are due to release their first album, Instructions, under the new name on 11th March. 

Good As Dead is a noisy and fun ball of angst, as is now typical of the band. The video starts off as a fairly standard white set performance video but we soon get a taste of a Single Ladies type dance routine. The video is so simple that it almost seems as if it is purposely meant to symbolise a new beginning.

If you like crazy, noisy hardcore like RETOX, Dangers and Zaga Zaga, and even a bit more melodic like Million Dead and Let's Talk Daggers, then you need to check out HECK.

New single and video from UK's Let's Talk Daggers

   I came across the name Let's Talk Daggers some time last year when I saw them listed to play a London show with Israeli hardcore band Kids Insane. The three-piece from Eastbourne, UK, play chaotic music, mixing elements of hardcore and experimental.
  Today, they have released their video for latest single, I Love You Dad, But I'm Mental, the first to come from their upcoming debut full length, A Beautiful Life. Both the song and the video are all over the place. It has a hint of Mr Bungle/Fantomas about it in general but switches between punk, disjointed hardcore, jazz and even latin music.
   If you like your music jam-packed full of changing time signatures but still angry and energetic, then check this out. If you like this, then you can go and see them for FREE at The Unicorn in Camden, London, tomorrow night (just in case I actually have any London readers.)

Review: Zaga Zaga - 2 Songs Demo + 4 Songs EP = Zaga Zaga 7 Inch (2015)

  Regular readers of this blog (pffft...who am I kidding?) will already be aware of crazy Tel Aviv noisemakers Zaga Zaga from previous articles. This week finally saw the release of the appropriately named yet lengthy 2 Songs Demo + 4 Songs EP = Zaga Zaga 7 Inch. Despite having 6 songs in total and an elaborate title, this record has a total running time of approximately 7 minutes.
  As the title suggests, the first 2 songs are the same as last year's demo. From the get go with Song About Food and Customer Service (although this time spelt ...Costumer Service, which is either an accidental error or a purposely misspelt play on word), we get a barrage of fast finger picking, frantic drumming and full bodied vocal projection AKA shouting. The rest of the EP continues along the similar musical premise. 
   Either due to the songs being short or resulting in such, there is nothing too complex or deep within the lyrical content. However, they are not just shouting nonsense; Song About Food... and The Dancer are both reflect on real experiences and are quite relatable. While the former is the sort of song you'll have running through your mind as you shout at an incompetent waiter/waitress, the latter focuses on "the scene" and how people act at shows. At least that's what i take from it. Damn That Dog and Samba Samba are less obvious to me. I have not yet asked the band the meaning behind those songs, but there must be something. Samba Samba has an amazing middle section, which somehow (although I'm pretty sure it doesn't) sounds like it has a small horn section at parts. The band also covers Charles Bronson's Youth Attack; although hardly reinventing the track, they retain the aggression of the original, adding a little "Zaga Zaga-ness" preventing it from sounding too much like a carbon copy. Last track (I Just Called To Say) I Hate Your Band, reverting back to literal titles, is again a song focusing on experiences and personal opinions. If you've ever wondered why a certain band you think are atrocious are still managing to release record after record, play shows and get countless media coverage, then you could relate to this song. It is also catchy enough to have you shouting along to it.
   When I first saw the band, I wasn't totally taken by them. I saw them as just a repeat of Pinkeye Revival, a band that featured some of the Zaga Zaga members which I was not all too impressed with at the time. However, the more I see the band live and with the tracks on this record, I am beginning to admire the passion, aggression and musicianship (as masturbatory as it can come across at times) of Zaga Zaga.
  For fans of Charles Bronson, The Locust, Dangers and other fucked up shit!

4/5 

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