Tag: Gonzo Journalism

Hope Erodes | Part 1: A gushing review of The Crown

I had learned about them over a year before actually encountering them, from their previous guitarist. Funnily enough, it would turn out I actually knew the current guitarist Tim since way back when. The purple thread of people and tunes keeps on guiding me towards the gems of the music scene.

Since hearing them, I have fallen head over heels in love with their music and energetic stage presence. After going through a few line-up changes, specifically with new additions Tim on guitar and Koen on vocals they’ve been working on their new and improved sound and I AM HERE FOR IT.

I have the immense pleasure of reporting that the final song, As Hope Erodes, off their new EP will drop this Friday the 21st! Another amazing tidbit of news they got to release last week, is that they will be playing at Alcatraz festival this year. Grab your tickets while they’re hot, you will want to be front and centre for this!

The Crown, the EP in question, showcases a fresh and unique voice in the Belgian Metal scene. It is a combination of aggressive rhythms and riffs, with dark and thought provoking lyrics screamed into the airwaves. This album will grab you by the throat and not free you from its claws until the last notes fade away. I usually do not write album reviews, so this post alone should tell you they are the band to look out for!

First up: title song and first release: The Crown.
The searing riffs by Tim & Wim, underlined by an intense thrum of rhythm by Jelle on bass and Hans on drums, will surely quicken your pulse. The lyrics will speak to you of misery and desperation and will leave you melancholy.

Feast yourself on the accompanying music video which should already give you an idea of their live energy.

Building brick by brick
A way to tear me down
Construct my own demise
Possibilities
Of what could be
Saturate my mind

Kingdom of my own misery
Someone help me take it down
You can take the crown,
Take the crown

Save me, all I do is suffer
Save me, all I do is drown
Why won’t you save me
I’ll embrace it
I don’t want to wear the crown

Next up is Burning Ghosts, another dark glimpse into the abyss, albeit with a slightly more melodic undertone. Having said that, the roaring guitars, voice and rhythm section will still tear straight through your soul.

You’ll never walk alone
They whisper haunting me
I’ve got ghosts that lead the way
Feeding on my decay
The ghosts that haunt me
Are living amongst us
My boundaries
They cross them
Ignore them
So unaware
Time to burn
Burn their bridges down

On to my absolute favourite song off the album: Into The Void.
Don’t let the slower buildup to the wall of sound fool you, this one might be the roughest of the bunch, both literally and metaphorically speaking. A raunchy melody with words that will speak to the dirtiest of minds. A song of taking and surrendering control fueled by scorching riffs and a rhythm that penetrates your core.

Bow down
The impulse is taking over me
I want to put
My hands around your throat
Taking control of me
This part I can’t resist
Can’t hold back
Let it out
Bow for me
White to black
I am in control
Eyes roll back
Into the void
Carefully selecting
Instruments to bruise
Not to break
To mark, to use
Shivers down my spine
Shivers down my spine
Admire the marks as you
Pull the ropes
Around your wrists

‘Nough said?

On As Hope Erodes, which will be released this Friday, I will leave you guessing so as not to spoil the surprise. Suffice it to say, it will shatter your heart in a million pieces, and glue it back together again over the course of five minutes and 7 seconds.

All together this EP goes from a hope that is beyond erosion and builds up to a newfound light at the end of the tunnel, all the while moving both your body and your soul.

I have it on good authority they’re already working on some new tunes, and having heard snippets (aah, the joys of being a writer and confidant), they will provide even more of the same eardrum-blowing music and lyrics that will tug on your heartstrings. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, go see them live already! Or if you need some more convincing before you do, wait until part two of this series, where I follow the guys on a wild touralong.

If you still don’t believe me, just read what these industry specialists have to say about Hope Erodes:

“Keep an eye on those guys”

Andries Beckers, De Zwaarste Show – STUBRU

“Awesome OG Metalcore Riffage!“

Jasper De Petter, Staalhard – WILLY

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Back to Brak 2024 | Part 2: New to Me (Love Equals Death, Comeback Kid, The Queers & Cancer Bats)

With extreme giddy anticipation I’ve been looking forward to the 2025 edition of Brakrock on August 1st and 2nd. In true downsideup tradition, the two week lead up to this year’s Brakrock is for reminiscing about the previous edition. And what a year it was! 

In part two, I take you with me along some new discoveries. Part one, about the Bridge City Sinners (also known as part 5 in the Clyde McGee and Lightnin’ Luke touralong saga) can be read here!

LOVE EQUALS DEATH (August 2nd 2024)

After strolling around the site and taking in the sights, I venture over to the River stage to take my spot centre stage for the Bridge City Sinners well in advance. I hadn’t put them on the planning, but I am pleasantly surprised by getting to see Love Equals Death.

First off, a little preface of the news that broke nine days after their show at Brakrock.Chon Travis, the band’s lead vocalist sadly passed away in his hotel room, just prior to their show in Stafford. Heartbreaking having just discovered them, along with so many other people who got enamored and hearing about this so soon after.

Chon seems to have been an incredibly beautiful person if the outpour of messages of fellow artists can be believed. I want to honour him and his band with the real excitement of discovering them, so I leave the melancholy and sadness here, and describe the vibrance of their incredible set.

Love Equals Death starts my Brakrock 2024 experience off with a BANG! They’re loud, fast and in your fucking face with boundless energy pouring off the stage, even in this bloody heat! Feeling that drum vibrate through my body is heaven. I’m instantly a fan and thank the purple thread of music guiding me to this moment. I’m certainly not the only one to think so, because little by little, the crowd is growing nicely.

COMEBACK KID (August 2nd 2024)

Comback Kid ringsa bell from my early nillies punk days. I never really looked into them, (I am not always great at discovering music by myself.) but here’s me saying I should well have. Sadly my body has betrayed me from all the stomping around all day, so I take a seat on the side bleachers of the river stage. I wish I had more energy and less aches so I could follow from the pit especially since the vibe there seems lit as fuck.

Well, whatever, it already sounds amazing from afar, one day I will catch up with them on the first row. Another addition to the punk filled playlist, this is! My pen is dying and I can barely see what I’ve written down after this. Suffice it to say I was thoroughly impressed with the energy and sound. It sounds so incredibly nostalgic and I am here for it! I’ll just let the music speak for itself for now and will get back to them next time I see them pass through!

QUEERS (August 3nd 2024)

Kicking off day two a little later than planned since it took me a long while to get my broken body into gear. Made it just in time for the second band I had on my planning for the day. The atmosphere already feels amazing, everyone is as stoked as I am for this new day of festivities!

I’m loving their old skool punk style and bob along to the music happily. It’s a great and pure no nonsense sound, no breaks, just fucking rocking it. Their stamina and intensity rolls over an exhilarated audience.

The guitarist is obviously as amped (ha!) as the crowd and tears over his strings with dedication. Speaking of, at the end of the show he threw some guitar picks in the audience and I only noticed afterwards that my cup had accidentally caught one. SCORE.

After the show, a little drizzle cools us all off before we hit the next landmark gig!

CANCER BATS (August 3nd 2024)

So far so good, aside from missing the start of my day, I am currently still on schedule! Another name that was somewhere stored in the back of my brain from way back when, without any music attached to it. But just LOOK AT THEM GO! They are definitely excited to be here, as are we all!

The wave of sound is intense and so very soothing to my sore muscles. The near wave of sweat dripping off the stage is also a sight to see.

I’m finding it hard to find synonyms for describing the energy of all the Brakrock bands. I don’t think there’s enough words in the English language to describe all of it.

This band doesn’t play around! The bassist is circling like a madman, throwing his bass every which way. He slides all over the neck of the thing at lightning speed. The guitarist shreds his 6 string flying V, the singer pours his heart out and the drumls provide a searing tempo to rile them all up even more.

I’m getting tired from just watching them jump around the stage. Good thing I have a bit of rest before I regale you on the rest of my Brakrock adventure where I get hit hard with a throwback to Punk in Drublic thanks to Ignite and Talco!

Brakrock – Kasteel ter Elst – Duffel – August 4th & 5th 2023

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Maria Moctezuma & Rayna Avila live, aka utterances of what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck.

Maria Moctezuma & Rayna Avila | Friday, October 26th 2024, Live @ Muztic, Mechelen.

I know. I have said this time and time again. ‘This was the best show I have seen (this year).’ But this time, this time it might actually be true. It is hard to decide when you see so many wonderful things as I do, but this one, this was something else. I’d heard about Maria last year from Ann, who has never steered me wrong in her recommendations, but sadly I couldn’t go that time. After last night and knowing that coincidence doesn’t exist and it’s all about the synchronicitous roller coaster I am on, I understand that it wasn’t the time then. 

We arrive at the location and are immediately blown away. How can this have existed in my city without me knowing about it? The very warm and inviting space, a beautiful outside area and the cosy cellar stage bode well for what is to come. 

Reyna Avila, a Mexican artist who now lives in Antwerp sets off, telling us all about the theme of the night Dia de Los Muertos. Loyal readers of this blog already know how enamoured I am with this concept and how it fit into last year’s purple thread of music I had followed. It won’t surprise you to learn then, that I felt the tears well up from the first impeccable note she sang. There’s no way I can find the words to fully explain the why, so I will let the video speak for itself. 

She follows up with another heart wrenching traditional Mexican song about a cicada. Reyna tells us that the moment you hear the cicada sing is right before it is going to die. She tells it to hush because she doesn’t want it to die, but if it does, she wants to go with it singing into death. I, along with the rest of the crowd are listening breathlessly and it feels like we’re all living in an impossible bubble in time and space. Unencumbered about anything that might be happening outside of it, soothed wholly by Reyna’s amazing voice. 

Maria weaves her way through the crowd wearing a majestic feathered headpiece and blowing a beautiful eerie sound on a conch shell, her gorgeous dress swaying to her delicate movements. She starts setting the scene with her loop pedal, effortlessly tapping the buttons with her bare feet. It creates a magical ritualistic atmosphere and the crowd is listening completely spellbound. The spell is broken for a fraction of a second when she starts to sing, if only because her voice adds another layer to that otherworldly sound.

Maria has an incredibly versatile voice and vocal range that engulfs the audience in a tender, warm embrace. Not to mention the graceful ease with which her fingers dart in complicated, frantic patterns over the necks of her guitar, bass and accordion. There is no better place to be than right here and right now and I’m basking in this moment, hoping it can last forever. 

When Maria invites us to think of the people we’ve lost to sit alongside us and share in the energy I just about lose it. I’m sitting next to Jo who has lost his beautiful wife Binne only ten days earlier. This is what I meant when I said it wasn’t the time to see her last year. The added layer of feeling and hearing the music and incessant symbolism crashing over Jo, comforting him in this difficult time makes this all just that much more beautiful. You can just feel the energy in that small cellar change, it feels like a religious experience. 

Shout out to local lad Udo who joined them on stage for a bit accordion in hand.

I could go on and on trying to find the words to describe this night, but the words truly escape me. During the break and after the show, I can barely string two words together coherently and have to communicate with just sighs and saying what the fuck. (Hence the title of this blog.) I’ll just let the music speak for itself and end this off by imploring you to go see these two breathtakingly beautiful women every chance you get. I know I sure will.

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Angry Zeta, Live at Long Last!

Angry Zeta | Wednesday, July 10th 2024, Live @ Bar Bricolage, Ghent.

This is yet another story about connectivity and synchronicity. Of letting the music and the people lead me to more people and music. All these coincidences that somehow feel fated, and me just happily along for the ride. 

Around February Jo told me that Rabid Jack was going to play at The Black Flamingo. He insisted I should check out Jack’s episode of Raving with Rua, a full hour interview by Daithy Rua for his YouTube channel. I had yet to discover The Songs from the Rua room, but this broadcast had me hooked, as you can clearly tell from my ode earlier this year.

From the first song Rabid Jack played live on that livestream, I was instantly charmed by his lyrics and sound that is an amalgamation of genres. 

At some point he started raving about his love for Angry Zeta, and how they really influenced his music. This was the seedling that led me to discover this lively rag tag of a band and instantly being blown away by their sound. They posted their European tour dates and three shows were near(ish) me, HURRAH. I decided I absolutely had to see them live, because they’re just the type of band that promised to sound even better in person. (Spoiler alert: they fucking do!)

Sadly, one of the dates coincided with the Liege date of Clyde and the Milltailers so I had to scratch that one off the list. That left me with two dates, the first of which I missed as well since my body had not survived my first introduction to Carrie Nation. Luckily the stars finally aligned and I was free and at least somewhat able bodied to catch the last remaining date of the three! The morning of, I looked up the address and I saw that the date of the event was set a week earlier. Damn and blast, this tour-along seemed cursed from the get-go! Fortunately, after a panicked message to singer Zeta Bodrio, it turned out to be a mistake on the event page. Relieved and cheerful, I set off to the sunny sights of Ghent!

I arrive at Bar Bricolage and immediately fall head over heels for this place, with its hidden corners and chill atmosphere under a green canopy. The sound of birds singing a sunset song and a breeze through the trees fills my ears. I find my way to the cosy spot where Angry Zeta will be killing it later, and unknowingly sit down next to Rabid Jack himself!

After doing a double take, I tell him he’s the reason I am here in the first place. If I am excited already, it is nothing compared to him. He’s nearly bouncing up and down from the merch to his seat in pure excitement, in celebration of the show he’d been looking forward to all year. He even manages to to exchange his own Lidl socks for an Angry Zeta pair, causing much merriment for him and amusement to his wife who wonders why anyone would want a worn pair of socks.

The band is filing into the arena and I get a big hug and happy greeting from Zeta, thanking me for making the show. I tell him how sad I am I had already missed them twice, and a little back and forth ensues about all the bands and artists I’d seen that year. It doesn’t surprise me to hear that he ran into nearly all of them during their European tour. Another comment to the first reel I’ll post, this time from Sean K. Preston asking me to say hi. The purple thread and all that, which isn’t done surprising me tonight! In running over to the bar, I spot a happy smiling Noah!

I’d met him over a year ago after The Devil Makes Three and right at the time the idea of the Purple People was incubating in my brain. Random luck finding him on the terrace, because he didn’t even know that Angry Zeta was about to perform. Turns out he’s a big fan so there’s another bout of merrily jumping up and down before running toward the stage. Before getting back to my seat (Too exhausted to dance right now *sad face*) I see yet another familiar face, I’d met thanks to the music. It’s Natasha, who I’d encountered at Kiel Grove & Gipsy Rufina’s gig at De Floeren Aap. I might often set off alone, but the music always surrounds me in an embrace of familiarity.

OK! After this entire tangent of the people, it’s finally time to hear the music come alive. A violin (Of course, this IS the year of the violin), a standing bass, a leopard printed banjo, a guitar, a washboard and one shared mic front and centre, all foreboding one hell of a show. 

  • Pictures courtesy of Jozef Durnez

This, this is something else entirely. Angry Zeta’s vibrant charisma and love for their art radiates off of the stage and lights a fire under the crowd in front of it. Like pied pipers, they draw everyone in and make them lose all sense of reality. Note by note, the audience swells with more and more joyously dancing bodies. I’ve only seen this level of frenzied, feisty and impassioned playing once before in Gogol Bordello. I also haven’t seen so many Belgians dancing as enthusiastically since then. This band is like a drug, an infectious virus that induces a trance-like state, wherein you forget about everything aside from what is happening on that stage. 

Midway through we get some reprieve to come up for air when they announce a little break before part two. More bands should be doing this because I refuse to get up during a set. One of these days this determination on my part is going to lead to a dizzy dehydrated fainting spell or a painful UTI. Plus it’s a win win, more time for the band to sell their merch and the venue is happy because there’s more room for drinks sales. Take note!

A few of the band members have returned and instead of waiting for the others, they just start playing to lure their mates in from wherever they’re at. They start off the second part of the set with an unexpected Johnny Cash cover, with a searing violin solo, as befits this year of the violin. They end the night by breaking up the crowd and going in for an ecstatic acoustic encore topped with some insane but expertly executed five finger fillet. (No artists were harmed in this video!)

The moving mob in near worship of this band is an incredible sight to behold and I am living vicariously through their dancing delight. Every fibre of my being is begging me to join the celebration, but I somehow manage to keep my wrecked body sitting on the sideline to spare myself for the shows yet to come. At this point I am wondering if I’ve brought enough paper to cover this performance. In the end I fill up the last page of my notebook just before the end of the set. In hindsight though, 90% of my rambling notes boil down to the following:

  • HOLY SHIT / WHAT THE FUCK
  • Happy smiles, happy faces
  • That ENERGY
  • Crowd goes WILD
  • What even is this?
  • Unfinished borderline indecipherable nonsensical sentences

The above full length video, courtesy of photo- and videographer Jozef Durnez, can fill in the blanks where my words and reels fail to convey just how extraordinary it is to witness Angry Zeta live on stage. To top it all off, they are extremely humble and just an all around warm bunch of beautiful humans! When I ask to get my poster signed they pass it around and make sure they’re all represented, after which they rally everyone around for the obligatory post-show selfie.

Suffice it to say, this band is fucking special and will from now on be a calendar priority for me when they come back. The energy hangover they must feel coming home, with this level of intensity night after night must be epic. I know I was reeling and revelling in it for some days after. 

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On the road with Carrie Nation & the Speakeasy, a trilogy in one part | Live in Aarschot, Turnhout and Herselt.

She can write short form like a one part series too? Absolutely, I do whatever I damn well please! Though I must admit that this band most definitely deserves more parts than I can give them at this time. Envisioning a few hefty series in the near future, I swore to take off my journalist hat and just enjoy the music. Fat chance when the music is THIS GOOD. So I danced and didn’t write anything down. But the memory is enough to sustain at least one blog, with a solemn promise to do better the next time they wind up on our shores again.

It all started with a recommendation, as all good things tend to do these days. Since meeting Ann and Dev last year during the WhiskeyDick/James Hunnicutt tour (and many more thereafter), I’ve learned we are kindred spirits in our love of music. So when either of them tells me I NEED TO see X or Y, I know to listen. (Re: Shawn James!!!) So, no ifs or buts, I tentatively circled two possible dates in my calendar for this band I had yet to discover. 

SPOILER ALERT: One minute into show one and ‘tentatively’ became definitely and I added another in between.  

That fateful first performance was in the city of Aarschot, which had left me with a bad taste in the mouth after some regrettable life choices as a teen. (Read: awful techno parties where I felt so out of place, I turned to alcohol to get me through them. Which led to MORE regrettable choices, but I digress.) Aarschot however proved its worth, it turns out to have another side to it, full of dazzling music and wonderful people. 

  • Foto’s met dank aan Ronny Van Casteren


On a nice summer evening with just a sprinkling of rain, I arrive at the barn where over the course of the night, a lot of sweat was shed. A little bit of a bummer that the promised showers had made the actual circle outside a risky bet, after which the organisers decided to choose certainty in a roof over our heads. No matter, on with the show!

Foto met dank aan Ronny Van Casteren

With the first sounds emanating from the stage, my body starts involuntarily dancing. Limbs go this way and that and I lose myself completely in the music and barely notice the world around. Except for that band, their impossibly magnetic tunes that put some sort of spell over me. It had been a at least a year since my limbs had done their wacky waving inflatable arm flaily tube man thing but fuck me if the adrenaline from it didn’t render me incredibly ecstatic. 

Smiling and sweaty I start to stumble outside, but not before yelling at (and probably alarming) drummer Bryce who’s calmly gathering his things on stage. “HOLY FUCK MAN. I mean… HOLYYYYYY FUCK!’ I later catch up with him outside to let him know I am not a madwoman, I just get really REALLY excited sometimes.

Shiny happy Julie with the wonderful drummer man Bryce

Sometime after that, I regain my composure and connect with a few of the lovely people in the audience, new and old friends alike. I meet Carine and Gerrit, who’ve apparently unknowingly crossed my path a few times in the past already. I’m intensely moved by their story that led them to be here. Their son Jens was in a horrible motorcycle accident and passed away years earlier. To keep his memory alive, Carine and Gerrit decided to follow the music along the venues and artists their son had loved. 

Carine’s patched up vest, with a lot of names that ring a bell!

Much later, after most people have filed out, with the last hangers-on we set off into the night, for a good time that will lead us into the early hours.

Last ones standing!

Sidenote: Thanks to my unexpected and erratically uncoordinated dance moves, I managed to damage my body so badly, I could hardly get out of bed for two days after. This unfortunately meant I had to miss Angry Zeta who I’d enthusiastically planned to see the day after at Lou’s bar in Liege. Fortunately for me, I would get another chance, a night not easily forgotten, which will be immortalised after these ones here!

After having just gained back control over my limbs, I endanger my body some more by risking the dance inducing sorcery that is Carrie Nation once more. Hey, I’ll live while I’m alive and dance as long as I can stand up, right? This time I roll up in Turnhout, at the scenic site of Barzoen. 

In the middle of the terrace, wrapped around a huge tree, the striking (though apparently impractical) stage in the warm outside air, the location lends a distinctly different vibe to the show. Again I am completely enamoured and enraptured by that fun, frantic and full sound. 

Lastly I end up at Café Pallieter in Herselt for the first time ever, exactly a week before my Clyde & Luke tour-along would set off there. 

Another sidenote: I’ll find out later that these two had met Carrie Nation in the interval between the two Pallieter shows. Aside from that Kiel Grove (yet another one of Ann’s recommendations) sends me a message to say hi to his mates in Carrie Nation for him, much like James Hunnicutt & Joey Henry commented the same when I saw Kiel in Mechelen. And even though it’s my first time at the Pallieter, I already spot more than a few familiar faces here. The kindred spirits in music weave themselves into an ever growing net of kinship. Everything is interconnected, the purple string of music intertwining through my life and soul. Anyway, philosophical ruminations aside, back to the band at hand.

For the third and final time I see them, and I am again wholly bewildered by the way the instruments sing alongside the vocals in a harmony of their own. How seemingly effortlessly they all play off of each other, blending into a true feast for the senses. The force of that hoarse voice, the comfortable ease of Bryce’s drumming meshing with that deep bouncing bass and exhilarating brass. It’s a true speakeasy spectacular!

Special shout out to Tyler who not only switches seamlessly between his trombone and that divine mandolin, but plays them both so well and with so much soul and fervour you can not help but float away in mesmerised delight. The emphatic way the newest addition to the ranks, Eric McMyermick on harmonica completely loses himself in the music is truly captivating to behold.

So yeah, all of this to say I feel an instant love for this band with their killer instruments and overwhelming passion for playing them. The combination of the trombone, trumpet, harmonica, the essential standing bass and most alluring mandolin, topped by a guitarist with an unparalleled voice, makes it a ridiculously pleasurable performance. All of these instruments and vocal cords, attacked by musicians with ferocious fire fuelling through their veins. Sparks shooting from their eyes, while basking in the moment of their music. All of this of course mirrored by the crowd in front of the stage who’re left gobsmacked and delirious from the ride.

Next time they’re in my part of the world, I’ll be there for another tour-along and subsequent superlative filled series. You can bet on that!

CARRIE NATION & THE SPEAKEASY LIVE, JUNE 2024

  • Circle of Strings – Aarschot – June 22nd 2024
  • Barzoen – Turnhout – June 26th 2024
  • Palieter – Herselt – June 27th 2024

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Luke, me and Mister McGee. Tour-along journal, a trilogy in five parts. | Part 5: Apotheosis at Brakrock /AND/ Back to Brak: A continued love song to my favourite festival | Part 1: Bridge City Sinners

Tying up one series and starting on the next, this post is a double whammy! After seeing the guys solo four times, I get to see them in action with the incomparable Bridge City Sinners at my beloved Brakrock. The purple thread of music keeps stringing me along and tying up all the threads into a glorious amalgamation of sound, people and places. Prepare for the final instalment of my tour-along journal which is also part 1 of the 2024 edition of my love song to Brakrock. 

I have been counting the months, weeks, days and minutes in eager anticipation to this moment in time! My first Brakrock day starts off at the River stage where I am anxiously awaiting Bridge City Sinners to take the stage. During their soundcheck I can already feel my heart rate spiking (144 bpm and counting!) for the show I’ve been looking forward to the most on day one of the 2024 edition of Brakrock. The best festival in all of Flanders, shaded by foliage, filled to the brim with beautiful people and with a picturesque ruin as a backdrop. I AM HERE FOR IT. 

  • Photo courtesy of Peter Verstraeten of Event Photography Peter
  • Photo courtesy of Peter Verstraeten of Event Photography Peter

Time to fawn over those magnificent musical instruments as they get tuned up to perfection. Strang’s gorgeous guitar (HEARTS!) Libby’s cute pocket banjolele & Clyde’s big black one and that stand out stand up bass, plus the fiddle and its stick that’s been played so hard it’s hanging on by a thread! Meanwhile, tour manager Joey is looking all serious and focused as fuck, making sure every little detail is put into place to perfection for his band, as is his modus operandi. 

When the soundcheck already has the crowd all riled up, you just know this promises to be a GOOD time! I might just be a little biased, but I note down that I truly don’t understand why they’re playing so early. I can confidently say this is going to be one of the best bits of Brakrock, before even having seen the rest of the bands. In hindsight too, I was totally fucking right in that assumption. Bridge City Sinners immediately take the crowd by storm! In saying that, I get the sudden realisation that programming them early on does get everyone fired up for the day and sets a high bar for all the bands to follow! Smart move Brakrock!

Having seen them just under a year ago at Trefpunt in Ghent I was at least a tiny bit better prepared for what I was about to witness. Still, memories are one thing, reality is another and I let out a shrill FUUUUUCK YES and a lot of WOOOOOO’s. (Apologies to the eardrums around me, I seriously cannot help myself.) I am in AWE and LOVE (exactly like last time) with Libby’s absolutely electric stage presence! One HELL of a voice too, which lends itself amazingly to the Sinners’ unique style. 

  • Photo courtesy of Peter Verstraeten of Event Photography Peter
  • Photo courtesy of Peter Verstraeten of Event Photography Peter
  • Photo courtesy of Peter Verstraeten of Event Photography Peter

It’s impossible to box them into one or even several genres of music, since nearly every song and album they bring out has a feel of its own. It’s what I adore most about them, the limitlessness of what they bring, from jazzy speakeasy sounds, to punk with hints of bluegrass, dark folk and much much more. 

My notes are again insufferably insufficient and damn near useless in describing in any way, shape or form how fucking fantastic I feel living in this moment, up close to this stage. The band is just such a well attuned entity, with one of a kind harmonious strengths that directly amplify each other. These five people radiating talent and passion for what they do, the sum of their individual skills heightening the whole. Their energies feed off of each other and flow into the crowd that just spews it right back at them, which makes Bridge City Sinners one of the best live bands you’ll ever experience. 

Bridge City Sinners’ new album ‘In the Age of Doubt’ has been out for a little over a month now and the response to it is phenomenal. They hit the Billboard charts full force and already amassed over 3 million streams on Spotify alone. No doubt a bunch of those can be attributed to me because I’ve been playing this record front to back ever since it came out. I vehemently recommend you to do the same.

Check out the first video for one of the most heart wrenching songs on the album. 

After unexpectedly acquiring a spiffy second hand record player at the end of July, I saw it as a sure sign that this album should be the first vinyl I’ve ever bought. No doubt starting a very expensive hobby my wallet, though never myself, might come to regret. 

As evidenced above, I might have yet again gone a little overboard at the merch table, but hey, at least it’s not another black band shirt, amirite? Plus it’s always worth it to support artists and get something tangible to catapult you back into those memories every time you come across it. 

In conclusion, whenever Clyde, Luke and any or all of the other Sinners cross the pond again, I will never not be front stage and centre. And you dear reader, will not be disappointed if you follow me there.

THE BRIDGE CITY SINNERS LIVE AT BRAKROCK,
August 2nd 2024

And so falls the curtain on this tour-along series which will from now on hold a special place in my core memories. However, it is just the start of the Brakrock 2024 series, which will be continued after I tie up a few loose ends of some events that transpired in July. Stay tuned!

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A love song to Brakrock 2023 | Part 6: Ode to the wondrous women of Brakrock! (The Venomous Pinks, Jen Razavi and Bad Cop / Bad Cop.)

With extreme giddy anticipation I’ve been looking forward to the 2024 edition of Brakrock on August 2nd and 3rd. Perfect time to look back on the previous year and get you guys equally excited with my tribute to the best festival in the world. The best bands, most idyllic location and greatest organisation made for two days that won’t easily be forgotten!

In this final post I look back on the inspiring performances by some of the mighty women that took the stage at Brakrock in 2023. Where are my female role models? HERE THEY FUCKING ARE!

THE VENOMOUS PINKS

In carefully planning which bands I wanted to see at Brakrock 2023, I got really excited when I came across The Venomous Pinks. Marked and highlighted with several exclamation marks, I decided this was a MUST SEE on day two. And booooy, was I in for a treat! 

I had almost missed the mark waiting for Sidekick to kick off, so I had to run like hell from the Ruin to the River stage and made it in the nick of time. I glide through the crowd, already slick from the pouring rain and set up shop in the front row. I can barely keep up with the energy that’s thrown at me from on stage. Their savage set leaves me so breathless and wordless, I can hardly make out the few bits I managed to write down.

Suffice it to say I was very impressed with their enthusiastic spirit and their bad ass stage presence. If I loved their recordings already, it is nothing compared to the live version. With a fierce and passionate intensity they attack their instruments and put on quite a true punk rock powered party. With their fast paced songs, empowering lyrics and rebellious attitude they made a fan for life here!

It’s only mid afternoon and I’m already fired up like there’s no tomorrow. The Venomous Pinks are an absolute highlight out of all the amazing performances I got to witness at Brakrock 2023! 

JEN (POP) RAZAVI UNPLUGGED

Only a little rest for the wicked and then off I go to the next highlight of the day, Bombpop Jen Razavi’s intimate solo set in the cosy (and dry!) atmosphere of The Belgian Beer bar. Got there 40 minutes early to beat the crowds, but only just made it in time to claim the last and quite possibly best spot right next to the little stage. Good foresight because a lot of late arrivals were left out in the rain, craning through the windows of the pop up dive bar to catch a glimpse. 

I had seen Razavi a year earlier with The Bombpops at Punk in Drublic and I already knew she was someone to look out for. I was however NOT at ALL prepared for what I was about to witness. I am immediately blown away by her striking and powerful voice that takes centre stage without the din of a back up band behind it.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean to take away from the brilliant live performance of The Bombpops, which absolutely rocked my world a year earlier. I only emphasise this because my notes are littered with amazement at the stripped down version of that voice over the delicate tones of her guitar.

Which brings me to the fact that she never even intended to accompany herself and tour as a solo artist before the pandemic. We have Stacy Dee (Bad Cop / Bad Cop) to thank for encouraging Jen to go acoustic and go out there on her own. All because she’s addicted to touring and loves it so much, she wanted to maximise her opportunity to play. 

So she taught herself acoustic versions of her band’s songs and then went on to record some of her own. The mix between her own material, a couple of acoustic versions of The Bombpops and a few well reworked covers is splendid! She’s tells the crowd still finding her courage as a solo artist, but no need to be modest Jen, your talent shines through in what you do and how you do it! Pure magic this one.

And look, she even gave me a pic featuring her extremely cute puppy Saloon! Who’s a good boy? 💜

BAD COP / BAD COP

Speaking of Stacy Dee and friends, it’s time for some Bad Cop / Bad Cop action! Women to the front, y’all! Now, if I’d make a wordcloud of my Brakrock notes, I’m pretty sure the word energy would be front and centre. AND THESE LADIES HAVE IT IN ABUNDANCE! The same fuck you attitude as their friends The Venomous Pink and and such a kick ass stage presence too! 

I immediately fall madly in love with Linh’s beautiful bass and Stacy’s gorgeous pink guitar. More importantly though, their grainy voices and rebellious lyrics win me over in mere seconds. These women breathe the punk rock spirit, womanarchists indeed! I’m too busy dancing and enjoying myself to make further notes, but trust me when I say that I’ll be front row if I ever see them playing again near me! Meanwhile, I’ll let the music speak for itself, check out the above videos (and playlist below) for a little idea of why I got so excited!

This is where I decide that the women of Brakrock should have their own space in this Brakrock series. And of course, where I note to PUT ALL THE SONGS IN THE PLAYLIST!

That’s it for my throwback to Brakrock 2023, now it’s time to eagerly await the 2024 iteration. See you there!

Brakrock – Kasteel ter Elst – Duffel – August 4th & 5th 2023

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A love song to Brakrock 2023 | Part 5.2: Front Row Madness! (Day 2: The Lucky Trolls, Voodoo Glow Skulls and Toy Dolls!)

With extreme giddy anticipation I’ve been looking forward to the 2024 edition of Brakrock on August 2nd and 3rd. Perfect time to look back on the previous year and get you guys equally excited with my tribute to the best festival in the world. The best bands, most idyllic location and greatest organisation made for two days that won’t easily be forgotten!

On to day two of Brakrock 2023 where I discover two new favourites and finally get to check off Toy Dolls from my bucket list! Let’s get this party started!

LUCKY ENCOUNTER WITH THE LUCKY TROLLS

After enquiring after and finding my friend’s lost phone, I get sidetracked from my planning again. What’s this I hear emanating from the Wood Stage? The line-up says it’s CF98 but a glance at the backdrop tells me something different. Turns out I am unwittingly at the right place at the right time for a new discovery. Apparently there’s been a last minute change and I AM HERE FOR IT. 

At two am on Friday, The Lucky Trolls were invited to fill in for CF98 who sadly couldn’t make it to the festival. I say sadly, but I’m pretty stoked with the switch up if I’m being completely honest. After a moment’s confusion I am sucked in by that feel-good energy blasting from the stage. 

I’ve been meaning to check out the Walloon music scene, and what an introduction I get with The Lucky Trolls. This magnificent band from Liege has that brilliantly unhinged Gogol Bordello and trashy, folky Days N’ Daze vibe, but with a Celtic punk rock twist. From the moment their first vibrant tones penetrate my ear drums I fall head over heels in love. Day two of Brakrock is starting off with a party, and my feet can’t resist bopping along to this colourful sound. It started raining at this point, but their cheerful music is more than making up for that. 

Straight into my playlist they go, and I immediately run off to the merch hill to add some gear to my ever growing band themed attire. (One of my favourite hoodies to date, I might add!) After having a lovely chat with their friends and demanding they tell the band how they absolutely made my day, I bump into one of the members.

It’s their 5 string bass player François! In true enthusiastic Julie fashion run up I yell out: ‘HEY, aren’t you a Troll‘ and without waiting for an answer start gushing about how much fun I had randomly encountering them on stage. They are firmly on my radar to check out again!

VEMEHENTLY VIBING TO THE VOODOO GLOW SKULLS

Thanks to a friend’s recommendation I wrote up The Voodoo Glow Skulls as a must see for day two. Good decisions all around and I’m promptly pressed into the hedges front row! The crowd is going wild in conjunction with the zealously euphoric buzz the band projects onto them. The band is clearly soaking up the animated reaction from the steadily growing audience in front of them and reflecting it right back.

I’m in awe of singer Efrem Schulz’s relentless intensity in dancing and his lungs out while darting around wildly across the stage. He’s seriously dripping in sweat while simultaneously not missing a beat singing along perfectly in tune. I can’t fathom how they manage to keep up that impossible pace for the entire set, it’s truly out of this world! He’s not the only one breaking a sweat however, the band is equally energised and seemingly inexhaustible in providing a great back up to the pumped up singer’s antics.

Much thanks again to Silvère Vasselin who captured most of my favourites from Brakrock 2023

Even though the rain keeps trying to spoil the party, I eventually have to shed most of my layers because I’m sweating so much from bouncing along to their lively set. I started the day off pretty exhausted after the first day of the festival but the adrenaline is kicking that fatigue to the curb. Eventually even the sun makes its appearance again, lured out by this band of ferociously engaged artists.

I am elated when after the show I get to hand my rainbow pillow over and get it signed by this sensational addition to my ever expanding Brakrock playlist. I’m milling around trying to catch my breath after this magnificent performance, when I run into guitarist Eddie & bassist brother in arms Jorge Casillias, whose bass got run over at the airport and graciously got to borrow one from The Venomous Pinks. (More on them later in the next and final part on Brakrock 2023!)

I let them know they’ll be getting a raving review for their epically enrapturing stage presence and manage to commemorate the moment with this fun shot.

DIGGING THAT TOY DOLLS GROOVE, BABY!

It’s raining heavily on my parade by now but that won’t spoil the fun of finally getting exposed to the dynamic trio that makes up the Toy Dolls. Let me preface this by saying that after hearing one of their songs for the first time, I immediately added their back catalogue to my playlists. I’d missed their passing through Belgium a few times already and this time I would NOT rest until I could check them off my all time bucket list of bands yet to see. And let me tell you, gruesome though it had been, it was well worth the wait and anticipation. 

The Toy Dolls celebrated 44 years of rocking out as the happy go lucky punk phenomenon they so obviously are. What a pleasure to be part of this spectacular anniversary tour. Well, pleasure doesn’t even begin to describe the feelings rushing through my body and soul while seeing them play. From their magnetic stage presence, to the raging riffs, over the hilarious lyrics, all the way to their mad synchronised choreography, there is nothing about this band that won’t put a huge grin on my face. (See picture above.) Of course this is only amplified by seeing it manifest in real life, only a few measly metres away. 

Careful observers can spot me right up front having a blast, singing and moving along with the masses of fans and security alike, who don’t even mildly care that the flood gates have now opened. I put up the hood of my raincoat but immediately drop it back down to just weather the storm and not muffle one bit of the set of these uproariously animated legends of punk.

After this brilliant display I am frolicking around (rather painfully, but still) on cloud nine. The rest of the night passes in a blur, as nothing would compare to what I have just witnessed. Day two of Brakrock was an endless party for me, as evidenced clearly by the smile that was plastered on my face throughout.

Next up: The Women of Brakrock, the last but certainly not least recap of Brakrock 2023 before I gear up for the 2024 edition!

Brakrock – Kasteel ter Elst – Duffel – August 4th & 5th 2023

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A love song to Brakrock 2023 | Part 5.1: Front Row Madness! (Day 1: Good Riddance and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes)

With extreme giddy anticipation I’ve been looking forward to the 2024 edition of Brakrock on August 2nd and 3rd. Perfect time to look back on the previous year and get you guys equally excited with my tribute to the best festival in the world. The best bands, most idyllic location and greatest organisation made for two days that won’t easily be forgotten!

Ready for episode one of part five in my love song to the Brakrock festival? Read all about day one of securing a prime vantage point for one (of two, there’s a pattern here!) of my all time favourites, and having HEAPS of fun in the process. Not to mention being being yelled off stage by a vigilant roadie.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I love Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Well ok, that might be a lie because I’ve already touched on them a few times on this blog, in anticipation to the 2023 edition of Brakrock and the recap of Punk in Drublic by the same wonderful organisers. I make a point of trying to catch them whenever they tour Europe. Alas, this year I missed their passage through Belgium, because I was already too busy with my recent tour-along series. No worries though, as I can revel in the amazing memories from their set on the River Stage at Brakrock in 2023. Here goes!

OFF TO A GOOD START WITH GOOD RIDDANCE

Crappy screenshot of the story Brakrock posted at the beginning of the year where you can see me recording the video linked below!

To make sure I can get as close to the stage as possible, I decide to get there good and early, long before Good Riddance is set to play. In the process I nixed poor old Joe McMahon, who’d play an intimate set at the Belgian Beer Bar, and the last notes of the Satanic Surfers from my carefully curated planning. I’d love to say I am sorry for that, but I cannot in good conscience, as the rest of the night was just too damn fun. 

Good Riddance launches into their set with an energetic vengeance I am sure is felt many miles away. I start off centre stage on the second row, but the crowd weaves and waves so much, keeping my position is nigh impossible. Writing down notes is a bit problematic in that press as well, but who cares when you’re having this much fun. The audience is getting more excited by the minute and the atmosphere is beyond phenomenal. The security folks seem a bit taken aback by the absolute chaos at first, but start visibly enjoying themselves thanks to the love from the people radiating in the direction of the stage.

In the press of the dancing masses I hear Good Riddance go through all their classics, a slew of new material and the crowd, so obviously full of fans, is eating it up! At this point my bruises have bruises, but I can’t emphasise how much I don’t care and how great it feels to be a part of this party. The crowdsurfers are relentlessly careening over the audience, young and old alike.

Faces of vigilance

A word of gratitude for the way the security team anticipates picking up the crowdsurfers and making sure they get down safely. (As evidenced below by the post Me First and the Gimme Gimmes later shared on Instagram.) It also helps me be more aware of the incoming flailing limbs which makes it that much easier to enjoy the show. 

Right near the end of the set I get pushed to the front row by accident, but do I mind? FUCKING NOOOO! (Though my battered knees kinda do at some point, but again, WHO CARES, bruises heal and memories are forever.)

The damage after day one 🙂

I am elated and exhausted and am now even more eagerly awaiting my highlight of day one! Before that though the lovely security guy (Again, can’t stress enough how much I admire the organisation and the people behind it!) secures my infamous rainbow pillow so it doesn’t get smashed to bits in the pit and then manages to get it signed by the band. Hoorah! 💜💜💜

ON TO THE MAGIC OF THE GIMMES

See this ridiculously broad smile? Yeah, I was WAAAY beyond thrilled for Me First and the Gimme Gimmes to take the stage. In reviewing my little booklet of notes, I see that I only managed to write down after the fact that I didn’t write anything down. Nice. I was just too damn busy singing, dancing and trying to survive the pandemonium of an exceedingly excited crowd. I also have ZERO pictures or videos, so I scoured YouTube and found this glorious 15 minute clip! Thank you to my friend I haven’t met yet, Silvère Vasselin, for capturing this. 

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes is a class act and you just KNOW you will get a fantastic performance out of them everytime, the entire time. Their up-tempo covers of all sorts of classic songs that are seared into the collective memory of generations, never fail to put a smile on my face. I always have to make sure to not have any important vocalising to do the day after their performance, because I can guarantee my voice will be useless. 

The River stage area is packed front to back and from all sides. The crowd is equally as ecstatically yelling and bouncing along as I am! Well worth all the bumps and bruises I obtain and which I honestly don’t even really register through the adrenaline rush that is a Gimmes show. They cycle through some amazing tunes when just before the encore Spike belts out ‘Straight up now tell me, do you really wanna love me forever…Or are you just having fun?’ Well, why can’t it be both? Definitely both! 

Cheeky use of a pic of the previous year. I’m sure no one will notice. 😉

The Me First mayhem was so gratifying, it’s stashed safely into my core memories. Much like the aftermath which is most definitely something I will not forget. I aim my best puppy dog eyes at the security for the umpteenth time, and ask to guide my rainbow pillow toward the man who sparked the idea for having it signed by ALL THE PEOPLE at Brakrock in the first place.

The Punk in Drublic version of my magical rainbow pillow, as signed by Spike Slawson himself.

Sadly the band had already rushed off stage, but not to worry because I get hoisted over the barricades and lifted up on stage by my now favourite Brakrock surveillance people, allowing me to try and scurry off backstage. Unfortunately my uncoordinated self can’t find the entrance quickly enough, when the Gimmes’ roadie spots me maniacally looking for it and rushes toward me menacingly. He furiously roars at me to ‘GET OFF THE FUCKING STAGE’. I’m caught like a deer in headlights and fully freeze up so he bellows at me again.

My brain shifts from freeze to flight mode in an instant, and I jump off to safety. Being the Clumsy Crane I am, I am very surprised I did not get hurt on the way up or down that podium which had to be at least two metres high. I dispiritedly run away from the stage and hide in the bushes beside it. I burst into tears from the juxtaposition between the glowing ecstasy induced by the show and almost getting backstage, to being ferociously yelled at.

Thank you Joost, you are a (Toy) Doll!

Joost, who I’d met minutes before Me First’s set, followed me there and consoled the blubbering mess I turned into. In the emotionally flexible state I was, I swiftly burst out laughing at myself and the absurdity of my tears. I was also genuinely moved by a near stranger checking up on me after seeing the display unfold. Such are the ways of the fantastic Brakrock people. Admittedly I had no business stumbling around the stage and the roadie was understandably protective of the band’s gear, so I quickly got over my disappointment at the situation. Sorry for being a perceived nuisance dear vigilant roadie, I promise to be good from now on. 

Be sure to check out Me First and the Gimme Gimmes’ 2024 live album where they ¡Blow it…at Madison’s Quinceañera! following a tradition they started by Ruin(ing) Jonny’s Bar Mitzvah in 2004.

Curtain call on Day 1 of the Front stage Madness. Next up: DAY TWO!

Brakrock – Kasteel ter Elst – Duffel – August 4th & 5th 2023

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Luke, me and Mister McGee. Tour-along journal, a trilogy in five parts. | Part 4: Live @ ‘t Rozenknopje

Clyde and the Milltailers + Lightnin’ Luke | Sunday, July 14th 2024, Live @ ‘t Rozenknopje, Eindhoven (NL)

Part 1: De Pallieter
Part 2: The Black Flamingo
Part 3: Lou’s Bar

While waiting for the Liege show to start, I’d gotten an excited message from Jo who told me he had no choice but to get to Eindhoven a week later to hand over something Clyde had forgotten at The Flamingo. Me being the selfless soul I am, couldn’t let that poor man go all that way alone, so I made a note to tag along. Time for the fourth and unexpected part of my Clydetinerary! Plus a swift change to the title of this blog, turning it into a trilogy in five parts, inspired by the great Douglas Adams. 

After a gruelling week’s wait, made bearable by seeing Angry Zeta on Wednesday and Public Serpents (and friends) on Friday, I get into the car for the third gas guzzling trip that week. After a chill drive, loudly singing along to the Milltailers blaring out the window, I arrive at the canal of Eindhoven. With a refreshing wind in my hair and the sun on my happy face, I walk the scenic route into the city. On the way there, I run into Clyde and Dede, and follow them for an invigorating coffee. We rush back just in time to meet up with Jo and Luke, who’s about to start the night off. 

Set the scene: ‘t Rozenknopje has a unique speakeasy vibe, which will lend itself perfectly for what is soon to unfold on stage. We’re catapulted back through the decades by way of the decor of sparkling art deco lamps and red velvet curtains. A terrific backdrop for another night of dreamily feeling the music energise me after a fulfilling but fatiguing week.

Part 3.1 | Lightnin’ Luke ⚡️

The captive audience fades to the background as I dreamily float away into the warm embrace of the music. It won’t surprise you that in being so blindly transfixed at what is transpiring on stage, the illegibility of my notes reaches its peak form. I do try to write down the lyrics to what I’ve decided should be my new theme song. Throughout the red threads that guided me to this moment, I feel so connected with those words. Sadly, it has not yet been recorded so I’ll have to make due for now with the video I made in Liege.

What fortunate folk we are, when after a while of familiar guitar sounds, Luke directs his attention to the piano on stage.

Through his wandering hands on the keys, he amplifies that speakeasy vibe some more with the first song he bangs out. The second song played for his friend brings with it a more delicate atmosphere washing over us all. 

After a mid-song switch back to that gorgeous guitar, it’s already time to eagerly await part two of the night. While I’m frantically scribbling down some more illegible nonsense, Jo comments that his setup at The Black Flamingo could use a set of keys. I delightedly offer up my barely used keyboard. I can only imagine the wondrous music it will be playing, after being sorely silent due to my inability to teach myself to play it.

Out to the terrace we go for a brief reprieve between sets. After a very animated conversation with Dede about our mutual love of toys, soft comfort plushies and graphic novels whose protagonists seem eerily familiar, we head on back inside. We regretfully barge in during the first song, so I miss my chance of recording one of my favourites off the album that’s been on repeat in the car. (Which Side are you on, in case you were wondering.)

Part 4.2 | Clyde and the Milltailers

(Excuse this horrible excuse for a picture, to focused to focus.)

It’s Clyde’s time to break a string on impact. But the switch out is barely noticed by the crowd. It’s surprising to me that it’s the first one I see faltering under the pressure of him attacking those strings with a loving vengeance. Luke’s bow is also hanging on by a thread by now from all the furious fiddling. Behind them on the velvet curtains, I notice their shadows poetically playing out a silent backing to that full and fierce sound.

Hearing Clyde sing reminds me about what he’d told me earlier. Apparently Sean K. Preston called his voice arresting, a very apt description that I might not have managed to convey. It saves me having to come up with more superlative adjectives of my own. Meanwhile, the perfect harmony of the lower resonator chords from Clyde, meshing with the higher tones of the violin strikes me hard again. My head fills up more with every passing minute and I put my notes and phone aside to just revel in the music. After the best acoustic encore of my tour-along, with the crowd fervently stomping out the beat, the performance part of the day draws to a close. (Or does it?)

Off we go to explore the hidden pleasures of Eindhoven, Belgian beers in hand. We cannot pass up the opportunity to take out some ‘kroket uit de muur’, as it’s a rite of passage for anyone coming to the Netherlands from abroad. We pair it with some actual Dutch beers, to go with the cheesy palette. 

The night eventually leads us to a karaoke bar where the patrons are floored by the musical talent of Clyde and Luke. Special mention to Dede, whose seductive and gloriously passionate act gave them even more fuel to remember this serendipitous passing. 

And with this unexpected ending, the curtains drop on the first four follows in the tour-along series. Next up, it’s time for the last instalment of this five part trilogy, when the guys meet up with the rest of the Bridge City Sinners (and Joey Steel, hooray!) for their 2024 European holiday.  

Que me counting the days until they arrive at the long awaited day one of Brakrock. Meanwhile, I have some more stories of this and the last year to type out. No rest for the wicked!

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Luke, me and Mister McGee. Tour-along journal, a trilogy in five parts. | Part 3: Live @ Lou’s Bar

Clyde and the Milltailers + Lightnin’ Luke | Sunday, July 7th 2024, Live @ Lou’s Bar, Liege.

Part 1: De Pallieter
Part 2: The Black Flamingo

After a nice and surprisingly relaxing drive, I arrive way ahead of time in Liege. I find a spot on the terrace in full view of this quaint and lived through venue. Time to catch up on some writing, beginning with the first part of this tour-along series. I pick up my pen and scribble away. I get a good few paragraphs in, when after some time the guys (and gal, hi Dede!) arrive.

I follow them inside and quickly claim the best spot in the house, hanging at the bar. In retrospect and as evidenced by my videos, it might not have been, with all the passing foot traffic. Not to worry, I still have a (somewhat) first row view to be all up in the music, plus some easy access to the local beers. (Which earn me a dive bar achievement on Untappd. Winning!) Luke joins me, getting between me and a somewhat inebriated man who was edging a little too close for comfort. He regales me with the tales of the crazy campfire antics I’d sadly missed the night before at The Black Flamingo and other tour shenanigans.

Part 3.1 | Lightnin’ Luke ⚡️

Time to hit the stage though! Even though his voice immediately fills the room, I get annoyed by a few people having a very loud conversation near me. I’m trying really hard to suppress the urge to shut them up by trying to convey that message, sending them a few lightning looks with my eyes. (Literal translation from the Flemish dialect ‘bliksemen’ with the eyes, meaning sending angry looks.)

I’ve finally had enough and approach them, because Luke & the fans who drove two hours to see him deserve better than this. I ask them to take their lively conversation outside, a message they don’t necessarily take kindly, but at least they lower the volume just a tad. After having shushed (at least a little bit) of the background noise, I can enjoy the show as intended. 

Not for the first time, I note that Luke’s footwork is as much part of it all as the voice and strings are. The stomping of his red Portland cowboy boots brings the extra rhythm to the sound. Time to close my eyes and let my ears take over, feeling the music coursing through my body. The crowd, even though more numerous than the last gigs, is way less participatory, so I raise my voice and sing along loudly and proudly. (And sometimes I sing them wrong, but nevertheless strong!)

I get utterly captivated again by the set, from the foot-stomping frenzy of 44 Blues and One Night, the sensual sound of I Want to be Seduced all the way over to the merry yodelling. My only complaint about it is that this set is just too short. Luckily the night is not near over yet!

Part 3.2 | Clyde and the Milltailers

Clyde sets the scene for some real audience love with a nice and firm ‘Fuck off if you don’t want to hear the music and make some space so the ones that do want to listen can come closer.’ Good news for the people who had to look on from outside after driving a long way to see these guys in action. HOORAY! The bar promptly gets more crowded with people thoroughly enjoying the night.

The Milltailers in the form of Clyde and Luke set off with a bang. Now there’s two sets of feet skilfully stomping out the beat. The small but clever, adjustable and removable wooden podium lends itself perfectly for it. Plus it has beer holders so the nectar of the gods (grosse bieres!) can’t spill over the equipment. Smart! Meanwhile it’s time for that magnificent banjo to come out and play, with Luke expertly fingering that fiddle alongside it. 

The problem with writing up all these shows is that I run out of ways to say just how gratifying it is to see them in action. Let me just assure you that it does not compare to hearing the recordings, it’s infinitely more pleasurable to see them give their all on stage. Fill in your own EXPLETIVES and SUPERLATIVES along the way. I see happy dancing and merry singing all around. The atmosphere is improving fast with each song they belt out into the bar. Even though it’s completely different from the last two more intimate sessions I saw, I am fully loving the vibe right now. A quick shout out by the way to the magnificent bartenders working their asses off to keep this crowd hydrated!

A cute doggo walks in and doesn’t know what the fuck is going on. His wagging tail and big smile do show that he’s enjoying it as much as we all are. Another animal (See: Caramel the kitty queen of The Flamingo) approval for the band!

All good things must come to an end however, as Clyde & Luke hit the floor for a well deserved and appreciated acoustic encore. This might just be the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off. 

Time to head outside and revel at how lucky I am to be able to experience all of this. Getting places, seeing familiar and new faces, it’ll never get old! Outside, I get to talking to some local music lovers out here to enjoy the artists. One of them is Mikael, who doesn’t hesitate to give me a little musical history about this place and the wonderful people that have graced the stage here. He’d also joyously revelled in the performances this night and I leave him to keep chatting with his mates about all things music. Here’s me telling you to check out his band Comity Roots Reggae as well!

I’m enjoying the summery (sort of) sun when Luke lures me back in with the ominous promise of shots. Afterward, we join Clyde and Dede for some delicious Italian food. (Hold the capers, please.) When in Liege I recommend Alla-Grappa Pizza, I will definitely remember to stop by there the next time I’m coming to Lou’s Bar.

With blissfully filled stomachs, it’s time to clear out and head off from dusk until the early hours wherein  I provide a skillful (Author’s note: LIES!) tour of the city of Liege. End of verse three.

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Luke, me and Mister McGee makes three. Tour-along journal, a trilogy in five parts.|Part 2: Live @ The Black Flamingo

Clyde and the Milltailers + Lightnin’ Luke | Saturday, July 6th 2024, Live @ The Black Flamingo, Nijlen

Part one can be found here!

After a month long and frankly well deserved break for The Black Flamingo, I finally get to go back to my happy place! Not for just any gig, but for the one I have been looking forward to ALL DAMN YEAR. It’s no surprise then I am in the best of spirits driving onto the yellow sand road with the windows down and Clyde and the Milltailers blasting from my speakers. Such a happy homecoming it is, with hugs all around and happy loving faces embracing me to the fullest. 

Because I am already prepared to lose my shit after the show, I quickly round up the guys for a pre-show selfie to seal the deal for this here blog. I got there way too early in my giddy anticipation, but that just leaves more time to catch up with all my purple Flamingo people and my lovely little Caramel who I’ve sorely missed. 

Part 2.1 | Lightnin’ Luke ⚡️

I see Luke set up on the brand new expanded stage and I plop myself down on the best seat in the house, right in front of the stage. From the first strum of the chord, I’m already nearly in tears from how good it feels to be here, in this moment, and get to see this extraordinary talent behind that guitar for the second (but not last) time this week.

I am again amazed at that voice full of passion and that ear piercing beautiful guitar sound that fills this barn I so love. How lucky we are to be in this wondrous space and have those sounds flow through us. 

There’s just so much soul and so much feeling radiating all through that performance. It’s hitting me in ALL the feels and I am on cloud (ninety)nine enjoying every millisecond of all of this.The set is more intimate, with a few breathtaking ballads that leave me speechless. Those lyrics are so impossibly fragile and lived through. This is not just a man with a bewildering voice and talent for playing, but a storyteller who takes you into his worlds and shows you all around the life he’s lived. 

Picture courtesy of the wonderful Tatjana Knoll

When Luke utters the words “What a magical place to be, with 2 rainbows outside and 15 rainbows within”, he is not kidding. Another synchronicitous link to 2023 when rainbows were part of the musical path I stumbled onto as well.

Meanwhile the love is shining off the stage and is mirrored right back at him. Another string can’t handle all the pressure and breaks at exactly the same song as it did in de Pallieter. 

With Clyde’s resonator at hand, Luke tries to teach us all the basics of yodeling (jazz hands included) so we can be his back up band. He tells us how he found his way to write and perform his own music, with people left and right telling him he can’t do what he’s trying to accomplish. Luckily he didn’t listen to a word they said and just kept on keeping on so we can rejoice in all that encompasses this Lightnin’ of an artist. I thought the gig at de Pallieter was the best thing I had seen all year, but this session even tops all that. (Though I have to admit  my deep rooted love for this venue might make me just tad bit biased.)

Part 2.2 | Clyde and the Milltailers

After this performance, everyone needs a little time to process it all, but the guys don’t leave us much to recuperate. Who cares, because this combo is pure heaven and that fiddle is life and seeps into my soul. Again I note how they are so well tuned to each other and how effortlessly they seem to play together.

At this point my notes get completely illegible because I am writing without looking away from the stage. After those few unreadable words, I just stop writing anything down full stop. My brain is melting and I just cannot convey the way all of this is weaving its way into my core. The English language has such a broad vocabulary but I am sure there are not enough superlatives and expletives for what is unfolding in front of me. 

From this point on, I will let the music speak for itself and just add in a the last of the many videos I made. They will speak in volumes as to why I am so astoundingly grateful for the life I am living at this moment in time. Decide for yourselves if I am overreacting or not.

Just one more restful night before I get to do this all over, this time at Lou’s bar in Liege, another place I’ve been wanting to visit for ages. Living life in the fast lane is getting pretty exhausting, but oh so thrillingly rewarding. I can feel the energy soaring through my body and am making memories I won’t forget in a hurry. See you for part three!

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Luke, me and Mister McGee makes three. Tour-along journal, a trilogy in five parts. | Part 1: Live @ Pallieter De Café

Clyde and the Milltailers + Lightnin’ Luke | Thursday, July 4th 2024, Live @ De Pallieter Café, Herselt.

Because of my newfound love of the instrument, I dubbed 2023 the year of the banjo. In november, I declared 2024 would be the year of the violin, ever since Jo had given me the amazing news that Clyde McGee and Lightnin’ Luke would grace the stage of The Black Flamingo. As soon as the EU dates were announced I made my itinerary, from Herselt to Nijlen with a scenic trip to Liège and ending my tour-along in Eindhoven. 

I counted the months until at last it was July. Fitting that 2023 and 2024 should collide in such a masterful way, smack dab in the middle of the year. As some of you might remember, I credit Peter Bernhard & Flamingo Jo for the resurgence of this blog. On day two of following Pete, he brought Clyde McGee along for the ride. At that point I could only spare a few words for this fantastic artist, but I had promised to make it up to him. Later that year, I got to see him and Lightnin’ Luke shine as part of The Bridge City Sinners and made good on that promise. 

New year, new tour so prepare for a stream of words to describe the incredible experience I’ve lived through over the past weeks. Here I am in Liége, in the nice Sunday afternoon air and in full view of Lou’s bar. It’s the third stop on the route of Polexia Miller, self styled band-aid and reporter, where I take some pre-show time to start the writing process of Clyde and Luke’s first stop at Pallieter Café.

It was my second visit to the venue in two weeks. Last time I was here, new discovery Carrie Nation blew the roof off the joint! (Thank you Ann and Dev for the recommendation, as always.) More on that tour-along later, because second things first as I always say! Alrighty then, I arrived just in time for Lightnin’ Luke to kick off my leg of the EU tour-along. What a great spot, nice atmosphere and I am already surrounded by a few familiar faces. Just the way I like it!  

A few excited hello’s to both Clyde and Luke and immediately I start gushing about Luke’s beautiful guitar I spot on stage. Clyde tells me to just wait until I hear it play and he was NOT kidding. After the show, I obviously gush some more to the man himself and he tells me that he picked up that guitar by chance. He was going to join The Coffin Cats on tour, needed some strings and just bought the first and cheapest model he could find. At the end of the tour he decided that this one sounded way better than his nice one at home, kept it and sold the other one. 

Part 1.1 | Lightnin’ Luke ⚡️

The guitar may not have cost a fortune but that sound is solid as all hell. The strings aren’t though, one breaks almost straight off from the sheer conviction with which Luke starts his set. Not to worry, Clyde to the rescue by way of his own beauty of a resonator and expertise of quickly changing the string between songs. On with the show!

From the first note that Luke belts out, me and by extension everyone around is completely captivated. His voice is on another level, it fills the room, as if it’s an entity in its own right. I am completely overwhelmed at the intensity and the masterful music that spills into the crowd. 

Time seems to be standing still and we’re all in a perfect bubble of pure bliss that only a rare breed of musicians seem to be able to create. Luke dares mention at some point that his performance has set the bar low for what we’re about to see with Clyde and the Milltailers. Well, if this is the lower end, I can’t imagine what it would take to get to the higher one. It seems like it is the curse of the best musicians, that they seem to have no concept of just how fucking amazing they are. 

Even though I used a lot of them already, my notes state that no words can describe this. I already thought The Sinners were mind blowing, but this stripped down performance is even more gripping. Check out this song Luke wrote for The Bridge City Sinners. (And tell them as requested he did it better when you see them, at Brakrock 2024 for instance!) 

Part 1.2 | Clyde and the Milltailers

After this set that seemed to only cover one magical minute, we say goodbye for now to Luke, as the stage is set for him & Clyde in Milltailers form. First, a word on Big Bull who sadly had to cancel his appearance as standing bass in what would have been a Milltailer trio. He unfortunately broke his arm, and by this his livelihood and had to cancel. Please support him any way you can and wish him the speediest of recoveries! We missed him, but he was here in spirit, just to the right of the stage.

Clyde and the Milltailers - Lightnin' Luke and Clyde McGee

On with the show though, there is so much to tell I don’t even know where to begin. Let’s just say the notes I wrote came with a LOT of exclamation marks. A small summary of the most note-worthy:

  • Whaaaaassss!!!!
  • That combo!!!
  • So hard to stop recording because omg aaah, see long vid.
  • Everything is goooooold!!!
The long vid as mentioned above.

I also wrote down that it is HANDS DOWN the best thing I have seen all year. And if you check my Instagram reel history, you KNOW I ain’t saying this lightly. Again I note how absolutely gorgeous Clyde’s resonator is, and make an extra note for the new full black banjo which looks incredible as well. As I have already told you last year, Clyde’s voice is a force to be reckoned with. What an astounding talent this man possesses, both on strings, as on vocal cords and he obviously exists by way of his passion for the music. He has been touring non stop it seems, and it shows in an artistry well honed over the years. 

The combination of these men on stage is nothing short of divine, in the spirit of music as a religion. Their intensity of playing, singing and how well their voices & instruments blend is awe inspiring. They mesh so bewitchingly well, that I am just gobsmacked and so glad I get to experience this and document it for future generations. Plus, I have three more shows where I get to relive all this again and again and again. I feel like the luckiest person alive.

Not much more gets written down after all of this because I literally lose all capacity to not stare open mouthed. After the set I just really have to sit down and take a breather. When I see Clyde and Luke come down, I only yell a bunch of expletives at them. Fuck Fuck Fuck. Holy shit. What the fuck. I mean, no but really. Seriously. I MEAN! Something like that, but louder and more out of breath.

A small surprise for me when I learn that we’re in for another band after ALL OF THIS. I feel bad because they have big shoes to fill after the room was awash with all this talent. Credit where credit is due however, The Achievers nailed it and kept everyone dancing until their last note. I don’t have any leftover superlatives however, so I will leave you with this live reel and the fact that they are on my radar now!

I drive home with the windows down, a ridiculous grin plastered all over my face and some newly purchased Clyde and the Milltailers music over the speakers. This is the life.

Two days after, I will see Clyde and Luke again at my home away from home, The Black Flamingo and you won’t be surprised to read that it was even more magical than this gig. To be continued in part 2!

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A love song to Brakrock 2023 | Part 4: Let the people guide you to the music. (Day 1)

chilling at brakrock

With extreme giddy anticipation I’ve been looking forward to the 2024 edition of Brakrock on August 2nd and 3rd. Perfect time to look back on the previous year and get you guys equally excited with my tribute to the best festival in the world. The best bands, most idyllic location and greatest organisation made for two days that won’t easily be forgotten!

Ready for part four in my love song to the Brakrock festival? FINALLY time for some actual words about the performances!

DAY 1: Fuck that planning, follow the music & the people

The good thing about arriving well in time for a festival is that you’ll be one of the first in line to get through the gates. The drawback is that you might have to wait for what seems like hours (to my extremely enthusiastic mind at least) to actually get to walk through the doors. After a gruelling wait, I get access through the crew entrance. Way to make me feel special, Brakrock! ❤

Just in time to quickly grab a much needed drink and on to the first band of the day!
The Stitches bring some old school vibes to the Wood stage and help start the day off with a BANG. The band has a no fucks given punk rock attitude and attack the stage full of energy. Loud, fast and heavy, just the way we like it! I didn’t know them before seeing them live, but they are now proudly featured in my playlists.

I see some first row dancers on mobility scooters and with walkers full of punk rock patches. This leaves me hopeful that even if my body breaks down before my mind and love for music does, I can still be rocking the festivals. 

Even though I came prepared for the worst kinda weather, I am now getting a sunburn and move to the shade of the trees that this lovely location offers. Time to wish the singer a happy 68th birthday, noting how spry and energetic he is at that age and it is already time for the next band.

So far so good on following my meticulously planned out schedule of the bands I wanted to check out, I think. Buuuut then I decide to follow the spirited recommendation of Nick and tag along with him and his friends towards the Ruin Stage. (Sorry, We Outspoken.) I might be missing something at the River, but I can’t say I am very disappointed. On the absolute contrary!

I am greeted by the screaming ska core of the heavy, fast paced and feral sound of Public Serpents. I’m pretty ecstatic I followed Nick here, because boy oh boy I would have hated to have missed this. I quickly write down ‘Ska Metal?’, ‘What a band, what an atmosphere, such energy, that sound, what an absolute party!’ and then put my little black & white book away to enjoy, dance, smile and admire that beautiful sax in the corner. Ear plugs? Meh, I’ll gladly take the hearing damage for this. 

Pictures courtesy of the talented Lad and Misfit photography, one of the other Purple People I met day one!

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUCEMENT:  Want to see these guys live? (Spoiler alert: YOU DO!)

Mark July 12th 2024 in your calendar and get to Kortrijk for the show by Doomed Punx Bookings & Upstroke Records. They’ll be playing alongside Random Hand (UK) and Mise*En*Scene (BE). I haven’t yet discovered these other two, but reading their intros is already triggering me. In good Julie fashion, I will let myself get surprised by the sounds there. 

Fun fact, I first learned of Doomed Punx and Jordy (left in above picture) on the 2nd Brakrock day, late in the evening. (Though we were both happily grinning and rocking out to the band at opposite ends of the stage as evidenced here by this picture by Lad and Misfit Photography.) We were hiding from some drenching rain in the merch tent, with the wonderful Koenraad of The Toy Dolls and got to talking about the Doomed Punx events. It nearly took me a year, but I’ll finally be able to attend one of their amazing events! 

After the Public Serpents show I rush off to the stage and tell them that they’re now my favourite band and I WILL BE WRITING ABOUT THIS. Singer (and ex Choking Victim drummer) Skwert Gunn and the current Serpents drummer Keith Leming are being barraged by others wanting selfies, so I venture on over to Ty Miller who jumped off stage into the circle pit and kept playing his guitar while jumping along. He’s a full time musician and I discover he’s also part of Nomad Punk band Trying to get By and politically charged punk band (are there any other?) Voice of Addiction. As you can see by the pictures of their set, he goes ALL in while playing and is obviously one of those artists made for and by music!

We’re met then by incredible sax Player Eric Molina who is part of Latin Ska Core band Los Mal Hablados & self styled Satanic Ska Band Mephiskapheles . He had just met Public Serpents a few days earlier and filled in for their sick sax player. I love running into these people who just live for the music and seem to be on the road all the time to follow their passion.

Suddenly the three of us realise we’re missing The Slackers, next on my list, and whose Dave Hillyard is actually Eric’s sax teacher. We run in unison to The Wood stage to discover we’ve only missed a few minutes. Phew. The Slackers provide such danceable vibes, I completely forget to take any pictures during their set. Luckily the lovely Lad and Misfit photography has got me covered again!

They offer a chill reprieve from the mayhem we witnessed before. A perfect soundtrack for a great summer day. Their cover of Attitude by The Misfits is absolutely lit and the sax and trombone solos in between were fantastic. I wrote down they were ‘Fucking magically awesome’, as befits one of the bands who put Ska back on the map in the early 90s. I’d been meaning to see them for so long and they did not disappoint! The audience is bouncing and singing along, as the full band sings and plays their hearts out. A truly amazing experience I would HIGHLY recommend!

After their show and in searching for food, I run into Dave and get to yell at him a little how much fun I had during their set, that was frankly way too short in my opinion. See my sweaty happy face for reference.

Alas, I am too tired to run towards the River, so I stay near the Wood stage where I discover Funeral Dress is filling in for H20 who unfortunately couldn’t make it to Duffel.

Read all about the two times in two weeks I saw that legend of a Belgian punk band in the next throwback post to Brakrock!

Brakrock – Kasteel ter Elst – Duffel – August 4th & 5th 2023

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An ode to Songs from the Rua Room: For the love of the music

The Black Flamingo road leads me to discover some great musicians, but also guides me towards some wonderful champions of the music. Jo kept gushing about the Rua Room, the brain child of Irish born artist and music lover Daithi Rua. He’s a singer-songwriter who grew tired of life on the road and turned into a music promoter by way of his home studio and YouTube channel, that features the cream of the crop in singer-songwriters from Belgium and beyond.

Every Monday night he hosts The Singer-Songwriter Show, a YouTube live-stream that features some amazing artists. It shows their (often very creative) music videos, or the live-sessions he records in his own studio. He’s created a beautiful community of musicians and music lovers who tune in every week to discover the sounds of some promising new or established artists, and everything in between.

A snapshot of the interaction with the live chat.

The live chat feature is a great bonding tool for artists and fans alike. To me it’s pretty nostalgic, because it reminds me of the olden days of the Belgian music channels TMF and JimTV, that also featured a live chat while showing the music videos.

The two main differences being:

  • The music is way better at the Rua Room than what was represented on those channels at the start of the 2000’s.
  • The chats revolve all around the music and aren’t inundated with people looking for hook-ups. 🙂

Since discovering the channel, there have been some nice exchanges between artists that played the Rua Room who ended up at The Black Flamingo (above) and vice versa (below)! I’m sure there’s many more to follow in the not too distant future.

Aside from the online presence of the Rua Room, there is an offline component in the showcases Daithi puts on regularly. Yesterday, Jo and me got to experience one of those, Daithi’s birthday edition no less! And let me tell you, what an amazing afternoon it turned out to be.

Sunday May 26th, time for another Flamingo roadtrip ! From Mechelen via Nijlen, (Less than 12 hours after driving home from the Black Flamingo following a beautiful performance by the lovely Jana Nys aka Jana Jane, as seen above, and the lively and incomparable 5dayBoon.) and all the way to Eeklo central, where the festivities were to take place.

  • Revel again in my fantastic ability of taking the fuzziest of selfies when excited about music!

Along the way and arriving there, we were delighted with some torrential downpours. Minutes after the music started however, the sun came back, lured in by the tunes radiating from the Pingouin café. We got to meet the man of the hour for the first time, after getting to know him online. After a few moments of confusion as to ‘who the fuck these people were who gave him the gift’ and where Jo & Julie from the chat were, the penny dropped and a lively conversation ensued. Daithi has an incredible knack in finding the most amazing artists and gives them a three song set to woo their audience, with one performer ending the show with a six (or seven) song set.

We had the pleasure of discovering the live versions of Hondshaai, Bob Theil, Eves Garden, Allan Temple with the cherry on top of the (whipped cream) being Peter Arnout. Added benefit: the mandated and well respected silence while the artists did their thing! Amazing artists all (who deserve all the praise in their own right, but I have to stay on topic JUST A LITTLE), but Peter Arnout especially managed to sweep us completely off our feet. Jo and I sat entranced at the performance from our vantage point of the table right next to the stage.

Over the last year I followed the Red (Rua in Irish, fyi.) Thread of the music, which healed the burnout I had been going through and helped cure the grief in mourning the death of my father. Here I was again, transfixed on an artist he would have loved so much as well. I often call music my religion and in truth, this was the best religious experience one could ask for on a Sunday afternoon.

  • Picture shamelessly stolen from the Rua Room Facebook page, courtesy of Daithi himself.

Peter is a story weaver, a man made for, and made up of music. After the set we had a chance to talk to shower him with well deserved compliments. (And beg him to please grace The Black Flamingo, because that place is made to showcase artists like this incredibly purple man.)

He told us the story of how he acquired his great love, the beautiful guitar that he seemed to be one with. An origin story of pure synchronicity, fate and love at first sight. If I ever get the chance (and work up the courage and find the right questions to ask) to interview this man, I would JUMP at the opportunity. I am sure he’d tell musical and artistic stories that could fill a(n anthology of) book(s).

So in short, any music lover should already be subscribed to the Songs of the Rua Room channel at the very least, try to catch up on a live-stream soon and plan their calendar around some of the showcases yet to follow. I promise you will not be disappointed!

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Bears in Trees + Happy Fits | Live @ Trix, Antwerp

Bears in Trees + Happy Fits | Live @ Trix, Antwerp | Friday, May 10th 2024 – Trix, Antwerp

Part 1: Bears in Trees

Bears in Trees came on my radar by way of some Instagram reels. They immediately won me over with their authentic personalities and wholesome content. I only unearthed their music at a later stage, which is a first for me, because I usually discover my tunes in a downsideup fashion. As in, the music comes first and I barely know what the artists even look like, because that’s obviously less important. (Though their authenticity and general purpleness is of great value since I can’t separate the art from the artist.)

It didn’t take long however to fall in love with their music, their highly personal lyrics and ability to tap into my vivid imagination with word and sound. Bears in Trees are hard to fit into a box genre-wise which is always a plus to me. Their sound ranging from emo punk to 80ies synth-pop over indie rock and other subtle influences, sometimes all of those combined. They call themselves ‘hardcore ukelele punk’ or even a ‘dirtbag boyband’. I call it a sound that gives me the warm fuzzies. Check out their ascent to fame in their own words below. (Subscribe to that channel, and delight in their regular postings.)

So naturally, I was pretty excited when I saw they were coming to Antwerp, in one of my most favourite venues, Trix! They’re playing the cosy Trix Café, which I am happy to experience for the first time.

I get to Trix after a swift and sweaty powerwalk on what feels like one of the first summery nights, to make it just in time for hearing the first notes from right outside. Inside the atmosphere is already one of elated joy, their fans all in and ready for the show. And what a show they bring!

How they don’t melt into puddles of sweat from that bouncy energy they exude is beyond me! I write down that the Trix Café stage almost seems to small to contain their vivacious vibes. Their pleasure for, and playfulness in performing live is apparent and infectious, as you can definitely tell in these lovely pictures, courtesy of the kind Chazz Adnit.

The fans are bouncing around and singing along to their every word. It’s clear that their new album How to Build an Ocean: Instructions has been well received and already properly ingrained in their fan base’s heads, even though it only came out a mere two weeks before. I already adored these guys and their music before, but the live version of them has completely stolen my heart.

At the end of the wonderful Bears in Trees set, I snap a very happy pre-show selfie with cellist Calvin from The Happy Fits, just before they’re about to hit the stage themselves.

On to the next chapter in an already amazing night!

Part 2: The Happy Fits

In my excitement of discovering Bears in Trees were coming to Antwerp, I only barely registered they’d be playing alongside another band. Instagram came to the rescue here as well, because not that long before the actual gig, I got bombarded with some musical reels by The Happy Fits. (Yay, to those algorithms for putting them on my path.) I get triggered immediately by the use of a cello in a rock band, especially because
Calvin has it strapped to his body like a guitar and plays it standing up.

After my initial happy shock, their music bounces around happily in my brain. I started following them and about a week goes by before discovering they’re going on tour with the Bears. Cue giddy excitement on my part, for getting to check out two prodigious young bands for the price of one. After a small break in which I welcome the fresh air outside, they’re ready to start their set.

I am immediately hooked! Good thing I have on my dancing shoes, because I instantly and intuitively start l moving my body and displaying my awkward moves. Much like Bears in Trees, The Happy Fits give their all on stage, pour every bit of their pure spirit into their instruments & vocals and spread it out over their captivated audience.

Sometime during al that cheerful movement, I spot two of the Bears who were enjoying the show along with the audience they just riled up for their tour mates. I rush over to gush about how brilliant their set was and ask for the band-selfie with my alter ego Polexia.

The Happy Fits are rocking us so hard, I don’t want to miss a minute and in my haste I lose all ability of taking selfies. Thankfully, they discover the elevated vantage point at the back of the hall from where I’ve been enjoying the music and jump up beside me. I annoy them once again for a second attempt after the regrettably and extremely hazy first picture. (Informing them it is an integral part of this blog.) I miserably fail again as evidenced above.

My dancing neighbour Sanne sees me struggling and comes to the rescue as she snaps the above lovely picture of us.

Meanwhile I am still digging the waves of delicious music and lively spirit radiating into the room courtesy of The Happy Fits. Note their joyous smiles in these fun snapshots, again thanks to Chazz Adnit who gratiously allowed me to use his full action pictures instead of my blurry smartphone snaps. 💜 It is extremely enjoyable to watch how much they are having a blast playing live.

After the show I regained my composure and managed a non-blurry selfie with my personal photographer Sanne, who incidentally also gave me a happily dancing cameo in the below footage of The Happy Fits.

Turns out she is celebrating her sister’s birthday and came to this show almost by accident, looking for a fun night out and at the last minute ending up at Trix. It appeared to be the right decision on their part because they seemed to be amusing themselves immensely during the two sets.

In conclusion, I will be following both bands very closely moving forward and definitely eagerly await their next live performances! I suggest you do the same.

Bears in Trees + The Happy Fits, may 10th 2024, Trix antwerpen

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Sean K. Preston | Live @ Titanic, Herenthout

Sean K. Preston | Thursday, April 25th 2024 – Titanic, Herenthout

It happened again. Of course it did. It’s all an integral part of the sneaky synchronistic ride the magic of the music is taking me on. It feels fated, whether I like it or not. Note from the author: I don’t just like it though, I absolutely love it. Drawn by the red thread that guides me through my new life, my new sense of me. I should have known better than to think I could avoid writing about this. It only took a couple of songs after which a loud ‘fuuuuuuuuck’ escapes my mouth into the general area around me. Suddenly my notes app has mysteriously opened out of its own volition. I find myself typing various cryptic expressions, full of misspellings and vague references to what I see unfold before me. This? This right here is SPECIAL. 

I did try to fervently resist the urge to document this show at first because both my body and my mind are objecting to my busy schedule. No time or energy for it I proclaimed loudly and clearly to those around me, ALAS and woe is me. And yet every time when I am very much too tired but decide to nevertheless push through the limitations of my near somnambulant body, I am exposed to the most beautiful, exhilarating, inspiring and energy delivering moments in time. (Re: Joey Henry, Maid of Ace, Van Tastik and closer to home, bands like Bad Samaritans, Luna and de Maanstenen and many many more.)

Heading into the Titanic, I already notice this alluring specimen of an instrument. This already released the first I-need-to-write-about-this-pang, (as beautiful musical instruments tend to do) which I deftly still withstood. But let me tell you, the sound drawn from it by the skillful (glittery pink nail polish adorned) fingers of Sean K. Presten even outrivaled even its gorgeous body. I fell in love with it, mind, body and soul at first (auditory) glance. The range he gets out of those keyhole backed strings is unbelievable. From sneering near metal riffs, to bluesy bops, metallic bluegrass plucking and delicate acoustic notes, it goes all over the place. 

It is still nothing compared to the vocal range that Sean brings to the stage! At some points, it seemed to me he was singing in two separate voices. He delights the captivated audience with an out of this world cover of House of the Rising song that leaves me breathless. I’ve heard this song so many times and it feels like I’m discovering it for the first time, here and now in Sean’s unparalleled voice and tempo. The recordings I am listening to while writing this don’t do those vocal chords any justice, even though they sound stupendous in their own right. The live experience is infinitely better, such as it tends to be with exceptional artists like these. 

Sean is an astonishing story teller, a pink haired punk version in the legendary tradition of the likes of Johnny Cash and similar word weavers. Or word smith more like, where he forges a narrative from the fire of his voice, combined with the wielding of his guitar like the most powerful battle axe. An alternate reality of atmospheres that leave me laughing (Snakeskin Boots Boogie), crying (Homeward Bound) and constantly dreamily swaying to the music. 

Speaking of Mister Cash by the way, between songs something draws my eye to the side of the bar. I take a picture of the above stickers and learn by word of Juice that they’re an amazing cover band of the man himself. Not a second later, I hear the opening notes to Ain’t No Grave and squeal in delight. I MEAN. This is NOT a coincidence. It’s the red guiding thread that links all the music I have had the privilege to (re)discover. 

Meanwhile Sean is singing his heart out so hard that the mic falls down, he jumps from the stage into the crowd and both times an attentive audience member jumps to the rescue to untangle the cables. This brings to mind a thought I’ve had a few times already, in seeing artists with this sort of unbridled and unearthly talent. Why is this man ‘limited’ (not meant derogatory but more in terms of the size of the audience that gets to discover them) to such a small stage?

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore these sorts of performances in venues that still breathe the music. (Like in the amazing Titanic where I finally ended up after a year of wanting to discover it.) It’s always such an intimate and breathtaking experience which you can probably never really simulate in a larger venue. But it still baffles me every time and it doesn’t seem fair to the artists that they can’t share the beauty of their art with more people. The menace of the marketing machine in the music scene I suppose.

Rants aside, I am leaning into the wall, feeling the music resonate all through me, my eyes closed, feel it gently fill me up and recharge me again from the inside out. I open my eyes and spot a random passerby in the street, through the window behind the stage. They’re entirely oblivious to the near religious experience (for me at least) they’re missing here. Alas, the last notes fade out, as they sadly always have to. I feel in my bones that this is turning out to be another year of impossibility in deciding which of the performances was better. A year full of highlights? I am totally ready to let it enrapture me. 

I exclaim ‘WHAT THE FUCK WAS THIS’ to Juice and Rob who’ve been right behind me the entire show and have been getting that message in several silent glances throughout the show. Juice, who was Sean (and band’s) driver when they toured in Belgium six years ago, brings me over to the stage to introduce me. I gush a little about the performance and take the obligatory selfie to accompany this blog.

We get to talking and don’t really stop until long after closing. Eventually my body is begging me to finally get the fuck home and rest. So I wistfully say my goodbyes and leave. I eventually collapse into bed content with a bag full of musical memories I won’t soon forget. (And a few remarkable musical recommendations)

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Pat Carter and Luis De Cicco (Rodeo FM) | Live @ The Black Flamingo, Nijlen

Pat Carter and Luis De Cicco (Rodeo FM) | Saturday, March 16th 2024 – The Black Flamingo, Nijlen

This show had already been on my radar since around September ‘23. I remember Jo being thrilled letting me know well in advance that half of Rodeo FM was booked to appear for a stripped down acoustic set at The Black Flamingo in March 2024. Knowing what an excited recommendation like this meant coming from him (and after a brief listen to not spoil too much for myself), I marked my calendar and passed through the ups and downs of another six months, which in hindsight flew by. 

The fateful Saturday of the performance I was more than chuffed to be on the way to see Pat Carter and Luis De Cicco, half of the Berlin based Band Rodeo FM. I arrive in my home away from home, and almost immediately Pat Carter himself walks up to me asking me if I’m the author of DownSideUp. Why yes sir I am! An engaging conversation ensues ranging from musical history to commiserations about working in Communications and Marketing; from Kris Kristofferson to media planning. The tone is already set for an up close and personal musical surprise that is about to unfold before my eyes and ears. 

Lights out, backdrop blinking merrily away behind them and it’s all aboard for Pat & Luis to take us on a journey through stories, time and genres. It’s difficult to label them under any genre but let’s call it a beautiful blend of bluesy, folky, rocking country influences, mixed in with a lot of anarchist punk spirit. 

Rodeo FM has been called a politically left wing country band and Pat Carter remarks that a lot of the songs in the set don’t necessarily emphasise that. The title song to the newest album that came out a year ago (to the day I am writing this all down, as synchronicity would have it) however says it in just three simple words: ‘Right Wing Planet’. Here’s a full band version of that particular song, which suggests a different vibe to the intimate acoustic performance we were served at The Black Flamingo, but should give an idea of that punk mindset I was talking about. 

What isn’t difficult to define, is that the first song in the set immediately travels through my senses straight into my heart. These two are part of that rare variety of artists that unfalteringly, yet effortlessly weave visual tales with mere words and notes. 

Pat plays his acoustic guitar and sings spiritedly in a voice that puts me in mind of that other troubadour, Gipsy Rufina. A powerful yet delicate tone that fits well within this cosy blanket of sound.

Luis lets his fingers follow the notes across the neck of that gorgeous resonator guitar, eyes closed and seemingly one with the music. I’m reminded of one of my favourite Pixar movies of all time, Soul (I’m sorry guys, conformist commercialism incoming, but hear me out:), where musicians let the music flow through them when they get into the rapturous trancelike state of ‘the Zone’. 

The beautiful instrument had caught my eye as soon as I walked into The Black Flamingo to which I noted ‘That is one sexy looking guitar!’ Somewhere further on in my notes I expand that sentiment to the sound of it; “That steel guitar is singing its own song’.

After the show I talk to Luis, fangirling over it (Like I tend to do when I fall in love with the gear). I find out that after admiring the Paul Beard signature resonator some time prior, he fortuitously bought it for a fraction of what it was worth off of a musician who couldn’t take it back with him. Of course a piece like this has its own story.

Back into the comforting arms of the music when I close my eyes myself and drift away, the words and notes flowing through the night. Earnestly I write down: ‘What is this! Love, love, love!’ Immediately I am immersed completely in that spellbinding voice and those strings strung with passion and perfection, and end up wholeheartedly content.

Near the end of the set The Black Flamingo’s most famous resident feline makes an appearance to cuddle and get a front row seat mere seconds after Pat sings ‘Miranda’, a break-up song in which the aforementioned Miranda took the cat, which is in itself a reference to the lyrics of The Way it Goes by Gillian Welch. (Author’s note: the following is not that song, just another great Rodeo FM tune, featuring Caramel getting comfortable.)

After their set, we get talking about instruments, musical influences and again much more. I am  already 100% sure that this is going to be the first 2024 Black Flamingo passing that will appear on this blog. Meanwhile it is after midnight on the 17th of March, exactly a week to the day since that fateful Pete Bernhard gig in 2023. It’s only fitting I explain just how integral The Black Flamingo was to the reinvention of my special space on the web. The energy here tonight felt comparable to that night that marked my rediscovery of my love of music. A synchronicitous series of events to top off an enchanting night.

As a bonus, you have a fresh (and much more professional than my) recording to anticipate, because the duo passed by the recording studio of The Rua Room. 

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Shawn James |Part 2: Live @ Melkweg, Amsterdam

I was trying to resist and contain myself. I needed rest. But when you write the following about a show, and the band is playing a mere two hours away, you cannot NOT GO:

‘From gut wrenching to near growling in an instant. This man and his band are unmissable, I would follow them to the ends of the earth just to experience this again.’

– Clumsy Crane

Fuck the weariness, the energy will build me up front stage. I owe it to myself to not miss this. To drink it all in again. Here we go once more. No rest for the wicked, just the way I like it. I will suffer tomorrow, tonight I live.

After a fun afternoon and some finger-licking good Chinese food with my partners in crime (and a run-in with two not so clumsy cranes), we’re on our merry way to De Melkweg for some sorely missed Shawn James energy.
The neon-light a beacon in the gloom, leading us out of the darkness and into the night.

Author’s note in advance: excuse the potato quality of the pictures and videos. I didn’t have a talented photographer to hook me up this time, so I have to work with what I’ve got. The images will give you some idea of the atmosphere though. Enjoy!

Shawn James | Tuesday, March 12th 2024, Live @ Melkweg, Amsterdam (Part 2 of 2)

Last time at De Casino, I was too busy yelling in Jo’s ear to capture the start of it all. This time I was somewhat prepared to use my great front row vantage point, to give you an actual taste, what that build up of the first song does to a person.

In Sint-Niklaas I was completely transfixed from that first note on. And again, I get wholly sucked into the music and stay there, mesmerised by what is unfolding before my eyes. Or rather, my ears because I am pretty sure my eyes close as I am gently swaying to this glorious sound, that hits me deep and intertwines with my soul.

I feel the vibrations of the sound hit my chest, travel through my bones and find their way to my gut. The surreal beauty of the moment, of the resonance of Shawn James’ voice and the fragility of the song. Two minutes in, the sound of Sage’s violin latches on, to be followed by the rest of the cavalry. That beautiful bass & expert drum follow suit. It’s on.

During Burn The Witch the whole crowd chants along and the tone is set, relishing a performance rivalling the one in Sint-Niklaas. A completely different point of view compared to last time, where I was as far back from stage as possible, on the balcony overlooking the Belgian crowd. This time however I find myself front row, right in the midst of the action. An altogether different experience to say the least, to be front stage and really get to take in the interactions with the crowd. Incoming: a rendition of Ain’t No Sunshine, that cuts straight to the heart.

HOLY FLAWLESS, I quickly scribble between songs. It’s completely unreal, near impossible, how immaculate this set, the voice and the whole of the music resonates. It seems unimaginable how this execution is actually live, so perfectly performed it is.

I am so overwhelmed that none of my subsequent notes make any sense to me in the daylight after last night. It is what it is.

Again I did not manage to put a face to the Dublin Drummer though, which I set out to do because he also deserved the spotlight. Alas, no such luck, his cymbals kept him mysteriously out of view. Next time, I suppose! Because there will be a next time.

The last note I managed to write down and can actually still interpret is: ‘Ok, crying’. If a show leaves me in (happy) tears, I know it’s been worthwhile to venture out for.

Even if I was way too tired to start with, I walk away from the venue exhilarated, invigorated and whole again. Only after darling Polexia goes for the obligatory post-show selfies, of course.

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Shawn James |Part 1: Live @ De Casino, Sint-Niklaas

Shawn James | Tuesday, February 20th 2024, Live @ De Casino, Sint-Niklaas (Part 1 of 2)

It is well past midnight and I just got home. Adrenaline alone is going to fuel this story of yet another incredible evening in music’s embrace. When you write down ‘How can this year get any better than this?’ when it’s not even Spring yet, you know it was a fucking treat. (Especially knowing what I know of summer highlights yet to come! Clyde & The Milltailers, Bridge City Sinners, Whiskeydick & James Hunnicutt. Probably forgetting a bunch. But anyway, back to tonight!)

For synchronicity’s sake, I got invited to see Shawn James by two completely unrelated people at the same time, give or take a couple of minutes. There’s a whole other story I could tell about just how crazy coincidental it all is, and how it ties into all the synchronicity of threes in 2023, but it would take me too far off course. I NEED to tell you about what I got to experience tonight. Right now. This fucking instant.

Set the stage. 

A piano. 
A long haired man in a hat. 
A voice that reaches inside and touches your soul from the first note on. 

I rather enthusiastically go ‘WAAAHAAAHAAAHAAJAAAA’ into Jo’s ear (Sorry not sorry). The room goes completely silent and a huge smile is plastered on my face. It hath begun. I have fallen in love. Instantly. Wholeheartedly. Closing my eyes and becoming one with the sweet sweet music.

  • Shawn James @ De Casino| Foto: Sven Dullaert – Feb 20th 2024
    Shawn James @ De Casino| Foto: Sven Dullaert – Feb 20th 2024
  • Shawn James @ De Casino| Foto: Sven Dullaert – Feb 20th 2024
    Shawn James @ De Casino| Foto: Sven Dullaert – Feb 20th 2024
  • Shawn James @ De Casino| Foto: Sven Dullaert – Feb 20th 2024
    Shawn James @ De Casino| Foto: Sven Dullaert – Feb 20th 2024
  • Shawn James @ De Casino| Foto: Sven Dullaert – Feb 20th 2024
    Shawn James @ De Casino| Foto: Sven Dullaert – Feb 20th 2024
  • Shawn James @ De Casino| Foto: Sven Dullaert – Feb 20th 2024
    Shawn James @ De Casino| Foto: Sven Dullaert – Feb 20th 2024

After a breathtaking and intimate moment between a man and his piano, Shawn is joined on stage by a fiddler, drummer and bassist and trades in his keys for an acoustic guitar. It is on!

  • Shawn James @ De Casino| Foto: Sven Dullaert – Feb 20th 2024
    Shawn James @ De Casino| Foto: Sven Dullaert – Feb 20th 2024
  • Shawn James @ De Casino| Foto: Sven Dullaert – Feb 20th 2024
    Shawn James @ De Casino| Foto: Sven Dullaert – Feb 20th 2024
  • Look at this AMAZING collection of sound. Arch top bass in front. ❤
  • Julie & ‘amazing’ bassist Zackary Sawyer

Firstly, I have to tell you about the amazing (Ha, I said it again. I told him yesterday 20 times how amazingly amazing this amazing instrument was. There’s no better word for it though, he agreed.) arch top bass. What a beautiful instrument! Look at it SHINE:

  • Shawn James @ De Casino| Foto: Sven Dullaert – Feb 20th 2024
    Shawn James @ De Casino| Foto: Sven Dullaert – Feb 20th 2024
  • Shawn James @ De Casino| Foto: Sven Dullaert – Feb 20th 2024
    Shawn James @ De Casino| Foto: Sven Dullaert – Feb 20th 2024
  • Shawn James @ De Casino| Foto: Sven Dullaert – Feb 20th 2024
    Shawn James @ De Casino| Foto: Sven Dullaert – Feb 20th 2024

Aside from that, would you believe the crazy sounds coming from ‘Rage’ Sage’s fiddling? The energy that man exudes is completely enchanting from the moments he gets on stage.

  • Julie, Sage & Ann (thanks for the invite, babe!)

In his own words: The most metal fiddle player you know. If 2023 was the year of the banjo, 2024 is sure to turn out to be the year of the fiddle! (Ain’t that right, mister Lighting Luke!)

Especially when the instrument is played with such melancholy and pure heart. In true Julie fashion, it makes several appearances in the notes:

  • Have I mentioned here how much I ADORE the violin? 
  • Man oh man (or mannekes for the Flemish people) that VIOLIN!
  • THAT VIOLIN!
  • Instant goosebumps, that violin. 
  • Fiddle Baby!
  • Guitar & Fiddle 💜
  • Go Violinist GOOOOOOOO!

Yes Shawn, you were singing? Love will find a way? Oh yeah baby, all the love from the audience is directed at the stage. I write down ‘FUCK FUCK FUCK, what a voice, what a band, what a sound.’ And we’re just about at song two. We still have an hour and a half of this rollercoaster of bewilderment ahead.

This voice, it is all around.
I feel it in my bones.
My gut.
My heart.
I am rejoicing in the vocals and bathing in the music.

There aren’t enough adjectives in the world to describe the range Shawn has, it is beyond incredible. From gut wrenching to near growling in an instant. This man and his band are unmissable, I would follow them to the ends of the world just to experience this again. 

Ear shattering chills to the bone. I use the term goosebumps so much it almost starts to lose its power. Almost. This performance brings highlight after highlight. From acoustic to borderline metal as fuck, this band and this man with that astonishing voice can do it all to near perfection. Few words can describe this musical frenzy we’ve found here in the city of Sint-Niklaas.

Some more nonsense that should tell you all about what it evoked (people familiar with my writing know this only comes out when I lose all other words for what is happening.):

  • Wahaaahooo!
  • Ohohohog
  • Hohohohoooo.
  • Whaaaatwhaaaatwhaaat.
  • Love! Love! Love!

If my smile could get any wider, I would become The Joker. Seriously, this show is nearly unrivalled and I have gotten to experience so much beauty in such a short time, that alone should tell you something. I haven’t often seen such a completely captivated audience, especially in larger venues. 

And who should we run into after the show but beard men Rob & Juice who were at The Black Flamingo for Whiskeydick/James Hunnicutt where I also met Ann & David? YES!

De Casino, I love you! (And your Kerel Saison beer, YUM!)
You bet it was a badass Tuesday, Shawn, the badassessed of the badass. We want more and we get more. Encore after encore after encore. We eat it up. The acoustic guitar has been switched for an electric and then another gorgeous arch top. Could this night get any better? You’d think it couldn’t, but it incrementally got better, better and best. 

PS: Honourable mention to the fantastic drummer from Dublin who more than kept up with the rhythmic variations in the set. Much love!
PPS: Actual pictures taken by a serious photographer incoming, but I just could NOT wait to throw this online!

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