Hmmm, what is going on here? The Soulwax/2manydjsSoulwaxmas Zurich gig has been unexpectedly cancelled at the last minute. The ‘unforseen circumstances’ leading to the cancellation of the sold-out show haven’t been elaborated – to the frustration of the promoters Just Because.
No advice as yet for disappointed ticket holders as to whether refunds will be given or the show re-scheduled (err, would than mean next year, then?).
I’m no dancing queen, and most dance music usually leaves me cold, but if any dance music is going to whet my whistle then it’s going to be Soulwax’s alternative/indie/rock techno electronica (or whatever you call it – they mix it all up till it tastes good and throw it back out there for ravenous ravers) – they’ve remixed the likes of Daft Punk, Muse, Gorillaz, The Gossip, LCD Sound System, Einstürzende Neubauten, David Bowie, DJ Shadow, The Rolling Stones, and Ladytron.
I was tipped off about Soulwax/2manydjs by my hairdresser (he of the green lambchop whiskers) as being the only dance music any self-respecting Goth boy would listen to. So that, plus the fact that their live act is supposed to be bloody fantastic, visually incredible and relentlessly euphoric (just what you need in the grim build up to Christmas) makes me think that their upcoming concert @ Volkshaus is going to be rather fabulous.
Belgian brothers Stephen and David Dewaele, aka Soulwax and 2manydjs, first initiated the Soulwaxmas sequence back in 2008, and the results were so spectacular that they saw no reason not to continue it into the next decade. So get those dancing boots strapped on, bundle up in the requisite 10 layers of clothing, and prepare to get all hot and sweaty – the perfect way to counter all that faux Christmas cheer.
Nick Cave rocks out with Grinderman @ Volkshaus 05.10.10
Ah, Nick Cave. Just the right combination of preacher man, steeze and bombastic charm. Why did it take me so long to see him in the flesh? All those years of great live gigs that I missed out on. I should have listened to all my friends who insisted that Nick Cave was the musical and creative genius of the 20th century, instead of screwing up my nose and going back to my Sneaker Pimps and Morrissey collection. Well, I’m always late to the party. Either I’ve matured (unlikely) or I’m now seeing the forest for the trees, but for whatever reason I now also bow down before the genius that is Nick Cave. The man is a consummate performer, with an ease born of years of stage and rawk experience, alive with a juddering, ferocious energy.
Dressed in sharp, semi-funerary attire, Cave and his fellow Grinderman cohorts Warren Ellis (who resembles nothing so much as Russian mystic Rasputin), Martyn Casey and Jim Scavlunos, open with ‘Mickey Mouse and the Goodbye Man‘, proceed to storm on through ‘Heathen Child‘, ‘Palaces of Montezuma‘ (‘I wrote this for my mother….the mother of my children’), ‘Evil’, ‘Honey Bee‘, ‘Kitchenette’, and a few other crowd favourites, with feral intensity, before breaking for an encore with ‘Bellringer Blues‘.
Obviously enjoying the on-stage feedback with long-time partner-in-crime Ellis, Cave freely shares his droplets of sweat, screaming growls and humorous asides with the clearly devoted crowd.The encore, when it finally comes (after much stamping of feet and screaming), builds up to a ferocious release with ‘Grinderman‘ – now that is one epic track. With a final ‘Goodnight…goodnight…thank you, and goodnight!’ a sweat-soaked Cave and Ellis exit stage left, wrung out and exhausted, with the sounds of the baying crowd no doubt still ringing in their ears long into the night.
Highlights: Warren Ellis lying on the floor shouting ‘Evil! Evil! Evil!’ during ‘Evil‘. The song ‘Kitchenette‘ (minus the ‘s’, those of you familiar with me in RL will understand the significance of this). The menacing build-up and release of ‘Grinderman’. Aussie accents everywhere – I think almost every Australian living or visiting Zurich for whatever reason was there to support one of our own (even if, of course, he hasn’t lived in Australia for decades).
Lowlights: Ms Hair Commercial standing in front of me, flinging her hair around in my face and in my MOUTH *shudder*
The second Grinderman album, Grinderman 2, is out now.
Just to refresh your memories – check out the freaky video for ‘Heathen Child‘:
To all White Lies fans in Munich, Vienna and Zurich. We are hugely disappointed that we had to cancel our shows at the weekend. In over two years of constant touring we have only cancelled shows on two occasions due to illness. It is incredibly bad luck that both times have been for the same shows. Our singer Harry is fighting a virus that took hold of his voice during our shows in Italy a few days earlier. We tried everything possible to play these shows – we had a doctor prescribe strong medication and give cortisone injections to Harry, but those of you at the show in Vienna could see that it wasn’t possible to continue. In the last few days we have been looking at the possibility to quickly reschedule the shows again. Unfortunately the only options available are during the time we are away recording our next album. After much discussion it has been decided that the only fair action is to give a refund to everyone who has bought a ticket. We know this decision is very disappointing for all our fans and please believe it is disappointing for us also. But we feel that in the long run it is better that we focus on writing and recording the next record. We promise that we will try to make it up to all of you as soon as we can. We’re sorry again and thank you all for your kind messages to Harry. He really appreciates the support.
So I guess I won’t be seeing them after all. Get better soon, Harry!
Oh well, the good news at least is that they will be in the studio working on their next album. Better luck next time, Zurich, Munich and Vienna.
I’ve got quite a few gigs coming up in Zurich the next few weeks, and one in Strasbourg (my faves, The XX!) and that makes me a very very happy girl. Here’s what I’m seeing:
A friend is coming to visit for the weekend of the 28/29 January, and he asked if there were any shows on that we could see. I took a look around and voila! Wolfmother is playing at the Volkshaus. Wolfmother hail from Erskineville, Sydney, literally a stone’s throw from where I used to live (Newtown, Sydney).
I’ve had Wolfmother’s latest, Cosmic Egg, sitting around for a while now, and haven’t really listened to it except for a preliminary go-through – I thought (correctly) that it is more Bruno’s sort of music. But they seem to be getting a lot of airplay and recognition, and I sense they are a band on the cusp of making it really big, so even in that sense they would be worthwhile seeing.
BUT – it’s sold out, as far as I can tell! &*#!!
I can’t tell you how much I hate it when that happens. Really really hate it. Most traumatic was when I missed out on seeing The National back in 2007 (that STILL hurts) and last year when I missed The xx by a couple of weeks.
I’m going to see if I can find some spare tix around, because the more I think about it the more I want to see them. Keep you posted.
