Live Review: Freddie Gibbs at The Studio, Auckland

When he calls himself Freddie “Gansta” Gibbs you better believe it.

I’ve seen a few rappers in my time, but none seem as thug as Freddie Gibbs.

Gibbs had a DJ providing backing beats, and was also joined onstage by two big black men from his entourage. These two men didn’t seem to have any musical role so I assume that they were bodyguards or security. They spent the whole time drinking and smoking. $10 says it wasn’t tobacco, either.

I swear every song ended with Gibbs saying “Give it up for this motherfucker” and the DJ making an obnoxious horn noise, followed by Gibbs starting the chants “Fuck the Po-lice” and “When I say ES, you say GN!” [Evil Seeds Grow Naturally, the name of Gibb’s début album and clothing label.]

Every. Single. Song.

The dude would give South Park a run for its money in a swearing competition. “Fuck the Police! Smoke yo weed!” he shouted. “Who gets high and shows up for work?” he asked. “That’s what I do!”

This was the first time I had attended a hip hop gig in Auckland. When I first walked into the venue I was impressed. It was nice and big with balconies running around the perimeter of the room. And air conditioning – something that most Wellington venues seriously need to work on.

Gibbs was advertised to start at 9.45pm. I was surprised then, to see a younger rapper come onstage at 10pm. Turns out it was Wellington based support act Name UL.

He did well. He worked the crowd up, as any good opener should. And the once he finished we waited.

And waited.

And waited. For over an hour. Any hype that Name UL had caused had long worn off.

When Gibbs finally came on stage he said “We don’t have much time for this shit so let’s get going”.

Gibbs then delivered a solid half hour set. His rhymes were tight and his delivery impeccable. The crowd was lapping it up. Many of the songs were from his most recent release, Pinata. Half of what he did was a Capella, making it more impressive in stark comparison.

Then Gibbs left the stage. The DJ started a song and Gibbs ran back to do a song. Then he left. Then he came back. It was very confusing. Was he hoping that we chant for an encore? Clearly I wasn’t the only one confused because the crowd was noticeably thinning.

The DJ proceeded to play about four songs while Gibbs watched from a balcony upstairs. Then Gibbs came down and started dancing. Then he left again.

Was he going to rap again? Why had Gibbs said that he was short on time? If he had enough time to dance around surely he had enough time to rap a few more songs? Is it over?

I showed up to the show around 9.30pm and left at 12.20am. I barely saw an hour’s worth of live rapping during that time. I don’t feel like I got $60 worth. I paid money to see a rapper perform. If I wanted to listen to recorded hip hop I would have played some through my own speakers at home.

There’s no denying Gibbs has talent. He spits lyrics as well as the rest of them. But maybe if he had spent more time onstage instead of making me wait while he smoked weed I would have left with a more favourable opinion of him.

Live Review: Dragonforce at Valhalla, Wellington

Dragonforce

w/ Red Dawn

Valhalla, Wellington

Wednesday 18 February 2015

Saul Hudson often tops those “100 greatest guitarists of all time” polls. You may know him better as Slash (of Gun n Roses and Velvet Revolver fame). He played in Wellington tonight at TSB Arena. But I didn’t go.

You see, I’ve already seen Slash perform twice in the past. He puts on a fun show. His band is good and his set is riddled with nostalgic tracks. But I chose instead to go see powermetal act Dragonforce, who were also playing in Wellington. Despite Slash’s reputation as a guitarist, Dragonforce promised to put on a far more impressive display of guitar pyrotechnics.

Dragonforce are Iron Maiden on speed. Extreme, epic metal sped up and filled with insane guitar shredding and drum blastbeats. Some have classified them as ‘nintendo metal’. Fitting, seeing how the rose to fame through association with the Guitar Hero video game franchise. Their biggest hit, “Through The Fire And Flames” featured as the hardest song on Guitar Hero 3. Fans of the game spent many, many hours of their lives attempting to achieve the perfect score. No small feat, considering how long and fast the song is.

True to expectations, Dragonforce gave every bit the entertaining performance I was hoping for. Ex-Wellingtonian Sam Totman shared guitar duties with Herman Li, the two of them playing out long alternating solos, sometimes even switching out with Vadim Pruzhanov on keytar. Between them they showed off impressive virtuoso skills as they riffed, strummed, tapped and soloed throughout the night. Frédéric Leclercq held the groove on five string bass as singer Marc Hudson wailed dramatically into the microphone.

I must note that the new drummer was introduced as “Gee Anzalone”, but I suspect that he was really Thorin Oakenshield in disguise. This is clearly how the band so effectively incorporates a fantasy element into their songwriting. Oakenshield has done well trading his kingly throne for a drum throne. I don’t envy any drummer who has to play at that tempo for so long, but Anzalone seemed right at home behind his two bass drums, spinning and twirling his sticks as he played.

Thorin Oakenshield, left, and Gee Anzalone, right

Valhalla was a no-brainer when it came to venue choice. Formerly known as Valve, Hole In The Wall, and Medusa, Valhalla has long been Wellington’s dedicated metal bar. The tiny venue made the gig all the more intimate, with hundreds of bogans crammed in together and the bands playing literally right in front of the mosh pit. The stage seemed almost too small to hold the six piece but they didn’t let it stop them from moving about as they took turns as the centre of attention.

I expected every second person in the crowd to wear denim vests and leather jackets adorned with band patches and studs. But surprisingly, the stereotypical long-haired headbangers were in short supply. There were more long beards than long heads of hair. The bar was jam-packed, to the point that at the end of the set the band didn’t even bother trying to leave the stage, because they knew they’d have to squeeze their way back for the encore. In a typical kiwi fashion, chants started up for band members to drink. The keyboardist even joined in the heckling, shouting out that the band needed to play some Slayer.

One blonde haired girl deserves a special mention. She was the first to crowd surf (with her handbag clenched tightly between her teeth). Then she generously wiped sweat off her brow and onto my cheek. After that she and a friend pushed their way onstage to dance, and she proceeded to lick her hand and wipe it on the back of Herman’s head. Herman didn’t seem to appreciate this. “Who ordered the strippers that didn’t take their clothes off?” He asked, “I feel ripped off!” The girl was a bit of a state all night. Her shoes had disintegrated over the course of the evening and at the end of the night she only had straps around her ankles. Parts of the soles and heels were in pieces strewn around the floor.

I’ve heard rumours before that Dragonforce can’t cut it live. “They record their song in the studio and speed it up on a computer”, people have said, “they get really drunk on stage to cover up the fact they can’t actually play that well.” I saw no shortage of talent. And I can forgive a musician for not being able to play complex songs note for note every time, but I didn’t need to, because the members of Dragonforce were more than proficient. The songs were fast but tight, and the vocal harmonies sounded great once the mic levels increased. They made their work look easy.

One of the themes in the latest Dragonforce album, Maximum Overload, is how we get overwhelmed and overstimulated by technology. It seems a bit ironic then, that so many people had their smartphones out, recording the band’s every movements. I wouldn’t have wanted to get my phone out, for fear that someone spill beer on it. But I can see why one would want to film such a spectacle.

I had hoped to see Dragonforce play in Los Angeles when I was on holiday there three years ago. Unfortunately it didn’t work out. I never really got over missing that opportunity. But after witnessing such a stellar show tonight I can finally let it go.

The line-up may have changed slightly, but I can finally say that I’ve seen that ridiculous band from Guitar Hero. And I enjoyed every moment.

Joseph James

The set list

Album Review: Frank Turner – The Third Three Years (B-sides collection)

Folk-punk troubadour Frank Turner stays true to his DIY hardcore roots by releasing a third b-sides collection with a nod to Black Flag.

Turner had hardcore/punk origins as front man of the band Million Dead. After Million Dead, er … died, Turner began a solo career with a folk sound along the lines of Billy Bragg and the late Joe Strummer. He’s worked hard touring and recording consistently over the years, and now has begun to achieve relative commercial success, having headlined at Wembley Arena and played at the London Olympics opening ceremony in recent years.

This is Turner’s third collection of b-sides, following his last album Tape Deck Heart. The title and album art are inspired by The First Four Years from seminal hardcore outfit Black Flag.

I’m a bit late to the party reviewing this album, but sometimes it takes a while for things to arrive in New Zealand when I have to order them from overseas. It was worth the wait though.

I’ve kept up with some of Turner’s non-album output, such as Daytrotter sessions, but I was pleased to discover that Third Three Years contained music that was almost entirely new to me, including some unreleased gems. The collection comprises of covers, b-sides from EP’s and singles and obscure recording sessions.

In fact, nearly half the collection are up of covers. Turner covers his bases with his choices. There are classic bands (Queen, Tom Petty), folk singers (Townes Van Zandt) and punk artists (Tony Sly, The Weakerthans). These covers do well to encompass Turner’s very British style of folk-punk. Many of the covers are stripped back, giving the overall album a more somber feel. But hey, anybody who can take on a song by Freddie Mercury and do it justice deserves a thumbs up in my books.

There are a few alternative outtakes from his latest album, Tape Deck Heart. My favourite from that album, “The Way I Tend To Be” is given different treatment with extra mandolin and piano.

There are two collaborations with other artists. “Happy New Year” is a humourous and unpretentious ditty with Jon Snodgrass and “Fields Of June” is a country number by Emily Barker that Turner features on. These duets work nicely to add a bit of variety to the mix.

The rest of the songs are just what you’d expect, punk ethos singer-songwriter music with breathless singing and swear-word filled shouting. Although this is what I expected, I didn’t expect so much solo work. Turner’s touring band, The Sleeping Souls seem absent from these recordings. A few songs are collaborations with other musicians – Revival Tour style DIY camaraderie – but other than a mandolin, organ or added guitar accompaniment here or there, there is a marked lack of a full band of most tracks. The Sleeping Souls are credited on nine songs, but it’s pretty subtle because they’re hard to detect.

B-sides collections like these are never as strong as a cohesive studio album, but can offer rare gems for the diehard fans. There are a lot of songs (21!), and although most are not considered ‘good enough’ to make the cut, fans won’t be disappointed. And they should know what to expect, because any serious Frank Turner will likely have The First Three Years and The Second Three Years anyway.

Overall this album is a bit too sedate to get regular play through my speakers. There is more of a folk focus than punk. I’m more likely to select the handful of songs that I enjoy more and include them in playlists than listen to the entire collection. But just to show that he’s not getting soft, Turner closes off the CD with a rip-roaring live version of “Dan’s Song”. It’s furiously fast and explosive, just like punk music should be.

Frank Turner put on an excellent show in Wellington in April 2013 with his backing band, The Sleeping Souls. He’s returning this April to play sideshows from the Byron Bay Bluesfest. Details can be found through the Chicks That Scream Facebook page.

Joseph James

Album Review: Platonick Dive – Overflow

As much as I love post-rock and associated instrumental music, I seldom venture into digital based music. I’m a purist that likes to listen to music played on instruments instead of computers. I know that some post-rock bands and lots of hip-hop artists I listen to are quite sample heavy, but I always prefer live instrumentation. For example, I’ve enjoyed seeing some hip-hop bands like The Roots and David Dallas (with his backing band The Daylight Robbery) far more than seeing other rappers that have DJs or backing tracks.

Maybe I need to get with the times. Many of New Zealand’s major current music exports (Kimbra, Lorde, Broods, Brooke Fraser) are all headed in that direction, but I’m not really interested most of that stuff.

So when I listened to Overflow, the forthcoming album from Italian four piece Platonick Dive, my opinion was quite divided. A lot of it sounds like 65daysofstatic to me – post-rock with a heavy electronic element. I don’t mind music like that, but it’s certainly not my preference. That said, sections of Overflow were really striking and caught my attention.

I’ve previously listened to the song “Træ” from Platonick Dive that featured on a Nothing But Hope and Passion compilation. This was off Platonick Dive’s first album “Therapeutic Portrait”. I liked the song but it isn’t a fair introduction to Overflow, because the second album is a change of direction for the band. This is a deliberate move. “We are in a continuous artistic movement”, their press release says, “the most dangerous thing you can do is to stay still”. This is a band that is ever changing, and always experimenting. Trying to push the envelope is one thing, but does it make the music convoluted when it’s heading in too many directions?

Not really. There is a lot of influences at play here, but it seems to work. The album is well produced. Parts reminds me of one of Platonick Dives’ contemporaries – electro/ambient outfit worriedaboutsatan. The music is crisp, deliberate, moody. And plenty of it is clearly electronic. The track “From Seattle To Berlin” is full of glitches and DJ style scratches, a feel that continues throughout the album.

The instrumentation is interesting. I am a drummer, so of course the excellent drumming and percussion stood out to me. Keyboards are quite dominant. There are all sorts of other sounds and instruments utilised, many of which come from a computer. I quite liked the part in “High Tide” that sounded like marimba or xylophone.

Some songs feature singing. The vocals on “Mirror” especially stood out to me. For a predominantly instrumental band, I suggest they have a serious rethink about their style. Hiding a voice as good as that is wasteful.

And of course the album includes the obligatory samples, like Maybeshewill would use in their early material. “Geometric Lace” features a sample about marijuana, and “Back Home Boulevard” includes a quote about junkies, so I think it’s fair to say drugs influence the band in some way.

I feel like I’m a bit out of my element here because although it’s similar to some music I listen to, it’s at the same time quite different. I could allude to genres like electronica, trip-hop, dubstep, house… but I’m really not an authority on those matters. If I had to describe the songs “Above You” and “Reverb Nation” I’d have to use the phrase “beep boop boop”. Platonick Dive’s Facebook page categorises their genre as “Electronic Therapy With Feedback Explosions”, so I guess “beep boop boop BOOOOOM” would be more apt.

This is an album that I would expect to hear in a café. Background music that is a bit unusual and ‘arty’, but not something I’d chose to listen to at home. It is well crafted, and I enjoy parts of it, but I think at the end of the day I still prefer to listen to music that is actually played by people, more so than computers.

If you like post-rock and you’re not as uptight as I am about music being ‘real’ or ‘live’, then I’m sure you will enjoy Overflow.

Overflow releases on February 17th 2015

Live Review: Nas performing Illmatic at James Cabaret, Wellington

Nas

James Cabaret

Sunday 18 January 2015

Last time Nas played in New Zealand he was touring with Damian Marley promoting their collaborative album Distant Relatives. The time before that he opened for Kanye West.

Nasty Nas, widely considered one of the greatest emcees ever, opening for Kanye? Why wasn’t he headlining? I’d suggest it’s because Kanye gets radio play, and Nas doesn’t.

But fans at the Nas show last night knew better and turned out in force to witness the rap legend in the flesh. Nas may not get the mainstream radio play that Kanye does, but he has still more than earned a loyal following. And two sold out shows was enough to prove it.

And the fans were richly rewarded. Not only did they get to see one of their favourite rappers, but they got to see him perform his most acclaimed album. As advertised, Nas played his groundbreaking début album Illmatic from start to finish, to celebrate its 20th anniversary. DJ Green Lantern oversaw the music and provided backing vocals, while Nas tore through the hit-heavy set.

The setup was fairly unimposing. Nas wore a plain camo green tshirt, a discreet necklace and sunglasses. There was a screen at the back of the stage with videos. But the emphasis wasn’t on showy gimmicks, it was on the music.

The songs from Illmatic were firmly imprinted in the minds of everyone in the audience, most of whom were singing along. They best sing along moment was during “NY York State Of Mind” when everyone shouted “I never sleep, because sleep is the cousin of death!” The crowd had showed up to relive that enduring album, and Nas delivered exactly what they wanted, playing it all, followed by more songs from later in his career.

The set was a trip down nostalgia lane. The Illmatic singles all featured, like “The World Is Yours”, “One Love” and “Halftime”. There was a shout out to the late Michael Jackson for allowing his music to be sampled on “It Ain’t Hard To Tell”, as well several other late rappers on “Represent”

The second half of the set was less exciting. Nas gave an impressive cross-section of his career through the ages, but Illmatic was the attraction that had set the benchmark.

Nas clearly loved what he was doing. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and I’ll keep doing it for 20 more, because you guys keep coming back!” he shouted. “I need to keep coming back here more often.”

A number of fans had brought their LP copies of Illmatic to the show and were waving them in the air. “You want me to sign that?” Nas asked, “Help me out and take the plastic off. You got a pen?” After 20 years of touring he still appeared stunned at his fans devotion “A real vinyl record!” he muttered in disbelief as he scrawled his signature on the cover.

My only complaint was that it was extremely hot in the venue. There was no noticeable air conditioning. I was wanting the show to finish half way through the set, just so I could escape the humidity. A sold out gig and a small venue means lots of body heat if going to get generated. Nas himself kept complaining about the heat too, asking the lighting technicians to turn down the onstage lights several times.

No pass outs and no ventilation means no escape from the heat. I wonder if this is a deliberate method of selling more drinks? Apparently it was too hot and crowded at the Run The Jewels/Joey Badass gig the previous week as well, and the gig had been advertised to start far earlier than it actually did, meaning people had been trapped inside with the heat for even longer. If this continues I’ll consider avoiding shows at James Cabaret in the future.

Joseph James.

Will Not Fade

Content for music lovers

Author: Joseph James