I always thought that building walls between places with a shared cultural history was a thing of the past. Guess I was wrong because new divides are rising up high again in for example the southern states of the US. Here the cultural exchange between north and south goes back for a long time and strongly echoes through in today’s society. A fine musical example of all of this comes from Austin based latin group Grupo Fantasma who in their turn laid the foundations for The Echocentrics that are under review right now. Continue reading
[Live Review] Elton John – Ziggo Dome Amsterdam
In a continuing effort to catch as many old farts live on stage as I possibly can in 2016, I bought a ticket for Elton John’s Wonderful Crazy Night Tour, and ended up having a whale of a time. Here’s what I thought.
[Live Review] Europe – TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht
Oh my, has it been thirty years already since Europe released The Final Countdown? It must be, because they’re celebrating exactly that. We went to check out the party. Continue reading
[Live Review] Le Guess Who? 2016, Various Locations Utrecht
A big congratulations for Le Guess Who? is in place this year because for ten consecutive years the festival brings new and exciting music to Utrecht. Since a few years the Le Guess Who? festival also gives the city an international buzz and for this reason alone, can’t be missed by people like us. We chose Saturday the 12th of November to be our festival night and here is how we experienced it.
Blues Pills – Lady in Gold
Blues Pills return with the long-awaited follow-up to their excellent debut album. But does Lady in Gold live up to the hype? Continue reading
Heron Oblivion – Heron Oblivion
It’s inevitable; with autumn comes melancholy. As cold winds and rain spells take over the northern hemisphere people like me usually look for a piece of sad bastard music to watch and see the leaves turn red and gold by. Luckily there is enough of that to goes around nowadays, so between all those different shades of grey I chose the psychedelic folk of Heron Oblivion to be my annual soundtrack for autumn-gazing. Continue reading
[Film Review] The Beatles: Eight Days a Week
When it turned out my local cinema was doing two screenings of Eight Days a Week, the new documentary about The Beatles’ touring days, I was immediately keen and got myself a ticket. I was not disappointed. Here’s what I thought. Continue reading
[Live review] PJ Harvey – Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam
Hi there! If you have been following us around lately you might remember that PJ Harvey most recent record got a mixed review here. It’s not that we don’t like Polly Jean anymore, on the contrary, we still think she is one of the best singer-songwriters around and couldn’t be happier she touched down in Amsterdam yesterday.
Running Wild – Rapid Foray
Heavy metal buccaneers Running Wild return to form on their sixteenth album, successfully building a bridge to their glory days. Here’s what we thought of Rapid Foray. Continue reading
Ensemble Dal Niente / Deerhoof – Balter / Saunier
Earlier this year I talked a bit about about Anna Meredith’s move from the classical scene to the world of electronica. Nowadays this sort of crossovers are not that uncommon anymore. Naturally avant-garde rock band Deerhoof could not hang back with this hype going on and melted together with the classical outfit of Ensemble Dal Niente to chip in. And oh man, it’s exciting! Continue reading
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