Live Review: David Liebe Hart at Meow, Wellington

David Liebe Hart and Th’ Mole

w/ Tender Moonlight, TV DiSKO & DJFK

Meow, Wellington

Monday 17 April 2017

Earlier today I was stumped. I had tried to explain my plans for tonight, and had no idea where to even start. How does one describe David Liebe Hart? Comedian? Singer? Puppeteer? Visionary genius?

I started with the obvious connection: Tim and Eric – the crazed duo who create absurd clips for the Adult Swim channel. Tim and Eric deal mostly with surreal clips that are deliberately poorly edited – often looking like old video tapes from the 90’s made by people on drugs (which, in all honesty, could actually be what they are). Their style of humour is awkward and shocking.

Liebe Hart was an obvious casting choice for the duo. Quirky, confident and outspoken on his beliefs in aliens. Most of the clips featured him singing about nonsense with grotesque puppets. And this odd comedy is exactly what I was hoping to see at the show.

Tender Moonlight

High energy opening act Tender Moonlight won my heart instantly. I felt like I was in the middle of a movie action montage as he played. He transported us back to the best of the ’80s, pumping drum machine beats and playing squealing guitar solos. He looked the part too, with a peroxide mop, sunglasses, pink lei around his neck, fingerless gloves and a leather jacket over his bare vest. On his legs he wore trackpants with knee pads (for powerslides?), which got ripped off half way through the set. His set was so sexed up that all the girls in attendance should probably go and buy pregnancy tests just in case.

David Liebe Hart

Technical issues delayed the start of the set. I guess that it isn’t easy to rig up the technology that they were using for the show. A projector shone images and videos onto a screen. Drum-shaped Donkey Kong video game controllers were plugged into a laptop for use as a trigger pad. Sound man Th’ Mole played a hybrid instrument of a keyboard and midi controller attached to the top of an acoustic guitar. And to clarify – that’s a computer keyboard for typing, not a musical piano-like keyboard. I’ll forgive them for not having all the gear set up correctly, seeing as it is such unconventional gear.

So Liebe Hart – always the crowd pleaser – came out to do some stand up comedy while we waited for the tech guys to work their wonders.

It set a weird tone. Tender Moonlight’s epic set had me in a good mood, and but this comedy routine had me questioning what I was in for. Sure, I was laughing, but what on earth is this insanity? Liebe Hart was full of confidence, rattling off jokes I didn’t understand and making the most outrageous impressions with weird voices. We were in for a unique night, that’s for sure!

Liebre Hart went side of stage and hid once the issues had been resolved. We were treated to an immersive video introduction to the set. The plot loosely revolved around a long-secret alien war that had recently arisen, endangering the future of our planet. Cue David Liebe Hart – aspiring astronaut, alien abductee, and saviour of the Earth!

The next few hours were joyous. Despite being absurd, the music was fun to dance and sing along to. The cluster of the audience just in front of the stage were having the time of their lives. Poorly edited videos projected onto the screen at the back of the stage, visually ushering us into a trippy world of Liebe Hart.

He covered a range of topics – vegetables, vegemite, trains, aliens, romance, technology, ghosts, pornography and spirituality. I couldn’t tell how much was genuine and how much was a joke. Liebe Hart was passionate when discussing matters clearly close to his heart. He even sang a few worship songs, seeing as it was Easter Monday. The Christian Science Church he was a member of was clearly a big part of his life, so why include those songs in a set of comedy songs? Wouldn’t that undermine the sincerity?

But the more I thought about it, the less convinced I was that it was a joke. Liebe Hart appeared to believe in ghosts. He called on the audience to share details about any of their ghostly encounters – no Phony Tonys thank you! He talked a lot about his church, about past relationships. About living clean by avoiding negativity and eating well. The Tim and Eric style of video editing was clearly ironic for comedic purposes, but the actual content seemed sincere.

Well known for his ventriloquism, Liebe Hart made sure to incorporate his puppets into the show. Doug the Dog helped him sing about orange German Shephard ghosts. Chip the Black Boy sang about father/son relationships. A giraffe sang about “kiss[ing] her on the lips” and an alien introduced us to the Korendian [an alien race] concept of “Salame” – their term for greetings and farewells.

It was a genuinely fantastic night, much like the last time I saw a viral internet sensation play. The awkward humour could have been cringe, but the music was danceable, and Liebe Hart was such an entertaining character that all reservations were quickly dispelled.

David Liebe Hart links:

Website: http://artbyliebehart.com/

Bandcamp: https://davidliebehart.bandcamp.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidLiebeHart

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidliebehart2/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/artbyliebehart

Tumblr: https://artbyliebehart.tumblr.com/

All words and images by Joseph James except the tour poster.

Album Review: Body Count – Bloodlust

These days Ice-T is likely best known for his acting career, and then his solo rapping career. But his metal side-project Body Count deserves as much recognition – especially after having just released their intense sixth album Bloodlust.

Body Count started as a group of friends interested in heavy music at high school. And they sound mean. They combine gangsta rap mentality with heavy rock and metal music to create an aggressive sound verging on hardcore.

If my description doesn’t sum it up well enough for your liking, then try Ice-T’s explanation, taking from the vocal intro to their cover of Slayer’s “Raining Blood”

” Body Count is a band I put together just to let one of my best friends, Ernie C play his guitar. He’s always been playing guitar, we all went to Crenshaw High School together in South Central Los Angeles. And I had the idea of let’s make a metal band, let’s make a rock band, ’cause I had been to Europe and I noticed that the kids would mosh off of hip-hop. So we put the band together and I used the three bands that were my favourites at the time to set the tone. We used the impending doom of a group like Black Sabbath, who pretty much invented metal; the punk sensibility of somebody like Suicidal, who basically put that gangbanger style from Venice, California into the game; and the speed and the precision of Slayer – one of my favourite groups and always will be. “

Not only do Body Count take inspiration from some of the big names in metal, but they also collaborate with a few of them on this album, including Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine, Sepultura’s Max Cavalera and Lamb Of God’s Randy Blythe.

As you would expect from that explanation, the music is in-your-face. Tight, fast drums, distorted riffs, squealing solos, and punk-meets-thrash delivered vocals.

The lyrical and thematically content seems contradictory within the album, with Ice-T bragging about criminal activities on one track, whilst protesting black stereotypes on another. I acknowledge that maintaining a tough guy persona is an integral aspect of the band’s image, but I would argue that singing about violence would further perpetuate negative stereotypes. Ice-T tackles issues like racism, poverty, street violence and police brutality, but also paints himself in an intimidating light.

Sure Black Lives Matter is worth acknowledging, but singing that you “gotta get paid the ski mask way” and discussing your thirst for bloodshed is a surefire way to become another statistic at the hands of a trigger happy cop.

Not that this criticism is exclusive to Body Count. Many political charged rappers walk that line between voicing out against injustice and playing to clichéd hiphop conventions of being a drug dealing gang banger.

Body Count use voice to add variety to the tracks. The opening passage on the album features Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine taking on the role of the broadcaster who delivers a faux broadcast from a dystopian president announcing martial law, before delving into a blistering guitar solo. Samples from news clips in “No Lives Matter” paint a picture of how it many young black men are being shot and killed by police in America. Ice-T also switches up his own style, providing monologues to preface a few songs, aping Tom Araya’s bark in the cover of Slayer’s “Raining Blood”, and acting out a bank hold up during the break down of “The Ski Mask Way”.

Bloodlust is a great introduction for those uninitiated to Body Count’s work. The slick production sounds great – especially when compared against the band’s early work from the ’90s. Ice-T gives a few explanations at the start of some tracks, which give insight into how the band came about and what drives them. The music is energetic and tight, and the topics touch on some issues that need to be addressed.

It is a real shame that the braggadocio attitude dilutes the genuine attempts to raise awareness for social issues, but the music and delivery on Bloodlust is killer. Mean metal with real gangsta swagger, loaded with memorable hooks and filled with intensity.

Body Count links:

Website: http://bodycountband.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bodycountofficial/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BodyCountBand

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bodycountofficial/

Joseph James

Album Review: Defend The Rhino – Static Breeze

Despite the very pop-punk sounding name, Edmonton’s Defend The Rhino is a solo cinematic instrumental project from singer-songwriter / composer / audio engineer Nathaniel Sutton. With a CV like that, Sutton sounds more than qualified to release an album.

Said album, entitled Static Breeze, is actually the second Defend The Rhino release, featuring ten short tracks that would all fit comfortably within the context of a film.

The album has a somber start ,with soothing waves of soft pads and heartfelt violins, broken up with lingering single piano notes. The second track progresses to using chords on the piano instead of singular notes, and drums add a welcome element.

There are some great elements in said track, “Sound The Alarm”, that are hard to pick up on unless you pay close attention. For example, the bass line at the start is adds awesome feel, but is hidden deep in the mix. Towards the end we hear some brilliant tinkling xylophone that should really stand out, but is again lost and ends up as a minor detail. This is among my favourites on the album because the drum beat and piano ostinato add such energy and liveliness to this song .

The bass notes on “Fade To Dusk” are well captured. I can visualise the thick, dense strings vibrating each time we hear it played. It is here that we are introduced to a ghostly coo that Sutton employs in a few songs – an odd mournful wailing effect that makes the song sound ominous.

Most of these tracks a short and direct, unlike a lot of instrumental music I listen to. They tend to keep the same theme throughout without delineating far from the key melody or beat. The drums especially make the songs appear straightforward, with the same simple beat dominating many tracks. I can tell that they aren’t programmed – there are little giveaways like rapping on the rims in “Dim Lights” and the snare drags in “Fallen Leaf” – but they feel rigid enough that I can tell that the person behind the kit would feel more at home playing another instrument.

“Fallen Leaf” features a funky electric organ tune reminiscent of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”, and “Running In The Dark” just screams David Bowie’s “Heroes”. The latter is the only track on the album with vocals. Hoarse and almost whispered, the singing mirrors Bowie’s delivery of holding back until the chorus, creating suspense as we wait for the crescendo.

This is first and foremost a cinematic piano record. Beautiful evocative, it provokes my imagination into conjuring up all kinds of scenes to fit the music. Sutton includes a variety of instruments and effects to colour in the sounds, making for a varied listen. Static Breeze would be the perfect study album, with pleasant sounds in the background that could help you focus and lift your mood. And of course, it would work brilliantly soundtracking a film, seeing as it is so cinematic in nature.

Static Breeze is due out April 7th through Mint 400 Records,

Defend The Rhino links:

Website: www.nathanielsutton.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/defendtherhino
Twitter: www.twitter.com/defendtherhino
Instagram: www.instagram.com/defendtherhino

EP Review: Far From Here – The Loss

It’s the type of morning that only a place like Karori can put on. It’s cold. Not cold enough that I can see my breath, but certainly enough to warrant a few extra layers of clothing. Everything is grey. Between the concrete roads, the overcast skies and the dense fog, there is little colour to be seen as I walk to work. But the music I’m listening to keeps me in good spirits.

I’ll discuss the music in a minute, but first I’ll tell you a story to give you context.

Image: Sam Blythe Photography

When I first met Hamish Dobbie seven years ago his favourite band was Dream Theater. We tried to form a band together at one point, but nothing eventuated from it. Later on down the track he joined some of our mutual friends as bass player for their hardcore band Declaration AD [My review of Declaration AD opening for Bangs is one of my favourite things I’ve ever written]. This was then followed by a string of other hardcore/metal projects, making Dobbie one of the busiest people in the local scene for a year or two.

But now he has tried his hand at a different style.

It’s almost clichéd – going from hardcore to acoustic. Dave Baxter from The Chase started Avalanche City. Dallas Green from Alexisonfire started City and Colour. Derek Archambault from Defeater started Alcoa. And then we have the many punk singers who feature on the Revival Tour: Frank Turner, Chuck Ragan, Jon Snodgrass, Dave Hause etc…

And Hamish Dobbie from the local hardcore scene started Far From Here.

His first release is a five track EP called The Loss – poignant pop music with a dash of electronica dance beats.

The EP has been a few years in the making. Dobbie started working as a youth worker in his last year at university, and recently switched to work in the mental health sector. Not easy jobs by any means.The Loss was written in the midst of inner turmoil, and as an attempt to put a language to the experience of suffering.

And rather than writing music in the vein of Terror and Advent, he turned to other musical influences like Broods, JOY, Bon Iver, and Imogen Heap.

It makes for nice listening. The titular opening track sets a tone of mourning through use of guitar and delay, not unlike something Explosions In The Sky would do. A dance beat slowly emerges before everything cuts out. It’s a delicate balance – the sad guitars and the uptempo beat – and although the two elements shouldn’t work together on paper, they somehow create something compelling radiates hope. Just as it seems to gain momentum, the song ends. I wish it was longer.

Two things can be learnt from this first song: first, Dobbie does dynamics well. And secondly, he absolutely nails the guitar tones on this EP.

Despite his best efforts, Dobbie is not the strongest singer. Nor does he pretend that he is. He recruits two friends to help him out in that department. Andy Hockey tackles a verse in “Distance”, and does well to mirror Dobbie’s aching. And Mimi Gilbert features in “I’ve Failed You”. Gilbert’s voice is a showstopper. She recorded it from her home studio in Portland, Oregon, and it took her less than an hour to record all her takes for that song. The vocal harmonies at the end of that track are my highlight of the EP.

If stunning guitar tone paired with Postal Service-esque beats sounds appealing to you, then give Far From Here a listen. If that doesn’t sell it to you, how does incredible vocal harmonies, sublime moodiness and brilliant production sound?

I can think of nothing better on a bleak, foggy morning like this.

Far From Here links:

Bandcamp: https://farfromherenz.bandcamp.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/farfromherenz/

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/farfromherenz/tracks

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/farfromherenz/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2ecTxAhzY04Dlh7p4fboeg

Album Review: Dan Caine – Transitions

Some mean bluesy guitar soloing sets a relaxed mood for Dan Caine’s latest effort, his new solo record Transitions, out on Fluttery Records.

The soaring solos on opening track “Peripeteia” rise above some picking and steel guitar that will call to your inner redneck. An odd combo of three guitar styles that all work together nicely. Just as well it does work, because there is little else at play here throughout the album, other than some light percussion. In my experience, most solo post-rock acts play all the elements of a full band using the magic of technology. Caine has chosen instead to focus on his key instrument, and to be honest the music doesn’t suffer for the lack of bass, drums and keys, but rather is enhanced by the simplicity.

Hailey Rose, Caine’s band mate from Lunar Sol, provides some lush vocal harmonies on “Aka’Aka” (Laughter) and “Wolf’s Moon”. I like that she sings in Hawaiian, rather than English. Not only does it make the singing more exotic, but it also reminds me of Te Reo Māori, the language spoken by the indigenous peoples here in New Zealand [Here’s an example of the Māori language for those interested – “Kawea Tātou Ki Ngā Hiwi” by Kerretta]. Rose has a lovely voice, with some ephemeral effects and harmonies making her voice sound simply gorgeous. In fact, for Wolf’s Moon” she doesn’t even sing lyrics, but uses her voice as an instrument, adding stunning harmonies by cooing and wailing.

“A New Chapter” is my favourite track on this album. It sounds laid back and cheerful, the soundtrack for relaxing in the tropics. The album info Caine sent me uses the term “blissful peace” to describe the track. I could think of no more apt a description.

Transitions is a short, sweet sample of Caine’s work, with seven tracks lasting 32 minutes. It is an atmospheric guitar album, and truth be told, Caine’s guitar abilities are fantastic. By using different techniques layered atop each other he constructs some brilliant moody tracks that will have you reaching for your air guitar in no time.

Dan Caine Links:

Bandcamp: https://dan-caine.bandcamp.com/album/transitions

Website: http://dancainemusic.wixsite.com/music

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dancainemusic/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/dancainemusic

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/dan-caine

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxQ7TsRkbZYYvnmaKWueRrg

Label: http://www.flutteryrecords.com/

Lunar Sol (Side project with Hailey Rose): http://www.lunarsolband.com/

Joseph James

Will Not Fade

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Author: Joseph James