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.
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.
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:
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.
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!
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!
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.
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!
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.
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!
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 Bullwho 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.
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!
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!
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
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)
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.
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.
The Fallen Reverend Van Tastik: An ode to a unique artist.
It was June of the year 2023. I had followed Pete Bernhard from The Black Flamingo to Tequila Tattoos, and had been anxiously awaiting the show he was going to do with his band at De Casino. I’ve written at length about that show, but there was a side character of sorts that sorely (and finally) deserves his spotlight. I am talking of course about language specialist, Fallen Reverend and artist extraordinaire: the dishonourable Van Tastik!
We met at the merch-table where he was hocking the wares of opener The Bones of J.R. Jones. Something about me sounding French in my English accent got us talking and made me totally miss the music. A rarity for me to get this distracted when there’s live music THAT good going on. But I am intrigued by this Italian American, who moved to France and has now ended up in Utrecht. I called him an honorary Belgian for his language skills (add a bit of German to the above mix) ,and we start a multilingual conversation about the lighter things in life, such as Belgian politics, rednecks, religion, faith and anarchy. (I love discussing topics most people shy away from, so I feel like I’ve met a soulmate.)
Turns out Van is also a musician in his own right and dear (unholy) god is it good. I had a quick listen outside before the Devilish Three came out after their show, and I was immediately hooked on that voice. I’ll let him describe himself in his own words though:
Welcome to The Church of the Fallen Reverend VAN TASTIK where I tell people to “Shut up and Dance”. Music is meant to bring us together, this I know!
Seriously people, How good is this. ALSO: resonator = love!
Little did I know he was about to release his full album ‘The Church of the Fallen Reverend’ later that year. The day it got out I immediately devoured it front to back. One song caught my ear most and it had an enormous effect on me.
I laughed and cried at the same time. It was healing and hurting. It made me whole and strengthened my resolve. Just LISTEN to this and try not to fall to pieces.
It also got my creative juices flowing again and I started back up with a rounding the edges drawing and made a ‘formal’ version just a few weeks ago.
I absolutely love when art inspires art and music will always be my favourite art form to start from.
So, as you can see, this is again a story about synchronicity of chance encounters in the wake of the trilogy (thrillogy?) of things that was 2023. It would be followed by even more interweaving threads in the web of bands and artists that I’d discover in the months after. Right now for instance, Van Tastik is on tour in the States with Lightning Luke and King Strang of The Bridge City Sinners, which I also wrote a gushing review about.
The Fallen Reverend Van Tastik: Live at Tracks & Tr@vellers club – Knokke Heist November 11th 2023
Six months after meeting the Fallen Reverend, it was finally time to see him perform. ROADTRIP TIME! Off to Knokke I went with my music bestie Jo, who’d been informed about the amazing artist I’d discovered in real time, as we do. This is probably the furthest I’ve gone for a show that wasn’t in another country, but oh my lord, was it worth it! And then some.
Setting the scene of the night: I had no idea Knokke had such a perfect location for music! The Tracks & Tr@vellers blues café is really a treat for a music lover. We’ve only just sat down when Van comes over, shouts ‘Crane!’ and gives me a big bear hug. Seeing his one man band set up on stage is a good omen for what we’re about to experience! ‘Goeienavond, my name is Van Tastik en ik kom uit Virginia. Here’s taste of the sound where I am from in Appalachia.’
It was such a good performance that I sat there completely mesmerised and barely made any notes aside from the songs he played, so I am going to let the videos speak for themselves.
A very different but special rendition of my most favourite song Fire! After which he even got the sadly not so attentive audience (a lot of drinking going on) to join into a sing-along with his cover of John The Revellator.
That voice, that guitar playing, that dexterity in also adding in the drums. And most of all, the purple soul that is Van Tastik who BREATHES his love of music off of the stage into the oxygen deprived world. It was an amazing night I will not soon forget and hope to experience again this year in a Black Flamingo near me!
As a cherry on top of the synchronicitous events that lead to this night, we take this picture under a Jack Daniels Old n° 7 sign, that links back to that Devil Makes Three banger: Old number 7. We have gone full circle now for 2023. It all started with Pete Bernhard, went on an eleven month WILD musical ride with several interlinked turns, to end up here in Knokke-le-Zoute of all places, for the last show of my year in music.
As of last week this disc has been on repeat in my oldtimer car that can only take cd’s. It’s probably the only recent hard copy record I have. All thanks to Jo who bought it for me. See me ride out of the sunset, on another musical ride through 2024!
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
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
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
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!
Anderhalve maand in het nieuwe jaar en toch alweer acht optredens achter de kiezen. (En nog veel meer op de planning.) Een dag eerder nog in The Black Flamingo voor Rabid Jack en Ellis Mane.(Hierover later meer, ooit ofzo.) Op een zalige zondag vliegen een Zwarte Flamingo en een Kraanvogel richting ‘t Stad.
Een kraanvogel, Flamingo & Berang de nog te besprekene artiest
Wie komen ze daar tegen? DE Berang, muzikant die twee weken voor De Maanstenen in de Flamingo speelde met Freddie Webber. (Jaja, ook dat komt ooit nog. OOIT!) Hij die gisteren ook meegenoot van Jack & Ellis in diezelfde Flamingo. (En medemuzikant is op de plaat van Ellis Mane die binnenkort van de persen rolt.) En die ook luistert als Jo zegt: KOMT DAT ZIEN. As everyone should, zoals we ondertussen weten.
Luna en De Maanstenen – Foto credit Briek VerdoodtLuna en De Maanstenen – Foto credit Briek VerdoodtLuna en De Maanstenen – Foto credit Briek Verdoodt
Maar liefst 28 weken na datum en nog geen woord gerept over het geweldige optreden uit juli. Schande! Dan mag het geheugen al eens worden opgefrist. Alsof dat nog nodig was eigenlijk, na hun passage in The Black Flamingo. Maar goed, elk excuus is goed voor een portie Luna en de Maanstenen.
Luna en De Maanstenen – Foto credit Briek Verdoodt
Verrassing, oh verrassing, Julie draait alweer op een slaaptekort van al enkele weken. Dat doseren heb ik dus nog altijd niet geleerd. Anderzijds weet ik dat ik er soms over moet gaan, om boenk op energiepeil 100 te belanden, dus ik neem het zekere voor het onzekere en sleep mij doorheen de dag en richting Nijlen, alwaar ik dankbaar kan meeliften met Flamin’Jo.
Het zal u ook dubbel niet verbazen dat ik ondertussen ook weer het quota aan gsm-opslag had bereikt en dus eerst nog grondig plaats moet maken op mijn telefoon.
Eens aangekomen in het geweldige Caffee Cabron zijn we meteen gewonnen voor de fijne vintage look van bruin café met sterke bierkaart, Tiffany lampjes tegen oude stenen muren en rode fluwelen gordijnen waarvoor de Maanstenen zullen schitteren.
Luna en De Maanstenen – Foto credit Briek Verdoodt
Luna treedt aan met een waanzinnig coole prinsessenjurk en gooit haar bas over de schouder. De Maanstenen beginnen met een knaller van een nieuw nummer, met een heerlijk hevige gitarist Jitse op zang. Het nieuwe nummer klinkt nog net iets ruiger dan we gewoon zijn en de toon is meteen gezet. Het kot moet hier kapot! Er volgen nog nieuwe nummers, waaronder eentje met kraaien en onderstaande over de betweterige luide man die zo nodig zijn mening moest delen met Luna.
Wat een feest! Zitten heb ik de laatste tijd al genoeg gedaan, dus vandaag haal ik mijn beste (HAHA) dansmoves nog eens van onder het stof. Dansen, zweten, zweten en dansen. En ook nog een beetje zweten. Het is daar héét in de Cabron, letterlijk zowel als figuurlijk. Net zoals in de Flamingo spelen ze overigens de akoestische & punkversie van mijn lijflied Gewoon Gewoon.
Gewoon, omdat ze dat kunnen. Opnieuw sta ik versteld van het ongelooflijke bereik van Luna’s stem. Parker beukt lekker op zijn drum en ook Jitse ramt zijn er snaren bijna van af. Wat een afsluiter van een topweekend! Ondanks de korte nacht sta ik maandag op, bomvol nieuwe energie, en stuiter ik enthousiast de dag door. Muziek zal mij altijd blijven opladen.
Deel 1: Luna en De Maanstenen | The Black Flamingo, Nijlen – 29 juli 2023
Afgelopen zomer stond alles in het teken van de vogels. (Nu ook nog, maar toen nog net iets meer.) Ik begin mijn notities hier dan ook met de profetische zwaluw die langs rakelings langs de auto scheert bij het inrijden van de yellow sand road. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes knallen van I believe I can fly uit de speakers, terwijl ik de auto parkeer. 24 u geleden dans ik nog de ziel uit mijn lijf bij hun Belgische tegenhanger, The All Star Wedding Band. 48 uur geleden zwalpen mijn dansbenen nog vrolijk door de Mechelse Kruidtuin op de tonen van Funeral Dress en de punk dj die de avond daar afsloot. Het is weer synchroniciteit al wat de klok slaat.
Deze twee optredens liet me echter lichtjes (ZEER) uitgeput en met een resem spieren die prettig (PIJNLIJK) nazinderden. De week erna zou Brakrock de fantastische Joey Henri opvolgen dus moest ik een beetje doseren. (HAHA) Aldus beloofde ik plechtig van voor een keer niet gelijk een gek in het rond te dansen. Moeilijk, moeilijk, moeilijk. Gelukkig was er daar Jo die speciaal voor mij een relax had gereserveerd, meteen mijn ego én rug in een keer gestreeld!
Snel wat ruimte maken op mijn gsm (afgeladen vol na een hele lente en halve zomer vol muzikaal hoogtepunt na muzikaal hoogtepunt), want ja ik weet nu al dat ik hierover ga schrijven. (Hoewel ik er totaal geen tijd voor heb en ik al hopeloos achter loop, getuige deze vertraging van 6.5 maanden.)
Luna noemde haar eigen verzonnen genre bubblegum punk (al zou kleinkunst-punk ook een treffende benaming zijn) en Jo had me al verteld dat de paarsheid er van af droop. Kan dat dan nog mislopen? Ik denk het niet. (Spoiler alert: it fucking didn’t.)
De energie die van Luna afstraalt en de smack talk die ze verkoopt tegen en over haar maanstenen is verfrissend. De basdrum zindert door de zetel en doet ZO deugd aan mijn pijnlijke rug.
De nummers knallen Nederlandstalig uit de boxen. De humor en zelfspot van de teksten doen me heel sterk denken aan Nele Needs a Holiday, which is always a great thing.
Wat een topstem heeft Luna trouwens, van lieflijk zacht naar lekker ruig zonder verpinken. En een out of this world outfit in haar paarse zijden jurkje met Duvelsokken piepend vanuit haar Doc Martins. Ahja, en de maanstenen Jitse en Parker waren ook wel tof. (Kidding gasten, jullie waren beestig goed!)
Eerlijk is eerlijk, Luna is wel mijn rolmodel. De band verpersoonlijkt overigens wat ik altijd al met mijn droomband zou willen doen. De attitude, de sound en verhalende teksten, YES, meer van dat. En dat zal ik krijgen, een dikke 6 maanden later! Wordt vervolgd.
Voor ik vertrek mag alter ego Polexia nog haar allereerste handtekening plaatsen op Will de metal krokodil. Bij mijn vertrek onder een prachtige sterrenhemel hoor ik vanaf de overkant van de polders Zap Mama zingen. A perfect end to a great night.
Author’s note: I’m mostly going to let the videos speak for themselves this time. (Mostly.) Enjoy.
Joey Henry‘s Dirty Sunshine Club | Saturday, August 12th 2023 – The Black Flamingo, Nijlen
Somewhere in the lush green fields of Nijlen lies the yellow sand road leading to The Black Flamingo. This ain’t Kansas anymore, but a welcome home away from home to puddle photographer & poet Joey Henry. It’s been little over a week since he passed through Heist-op-den-Berg and I’m frankly still reeling. I invited some more Purple people to enjoy the show with me and am greeted by Juice & Rob who got an honourable mention after the WhiskeyDick/Hunnicutt trifecta.
One stroke of the strings, I close my eyes and it’s just me and the music. The first notes hit home like nothing else. The approving murmurings reveal we’re in group therapy and there’s still people alongside me to take in the musical medicine. The notes draw the audience in like a virtuous vortex, (or shall I compare it to a Kansas hurricane) and the resulting hushed silence is a nice backdrop to the sound. I knew what to expect and the sound still baffles me.I open my eyes for a second to see some mouths dropping in awe around me.
Joey Henry has a voice like a cathedral and might not even need the microphone to emphasise his songs, judging by how far away he sings from the thing. His voice goes from the deepest bass up so many registers like it’s nothing. He’s a story teller, in true Americana fashion, and every song could be its own little movie. The way he loses himself in his songs is mesmerising to watch. Closing his eyes and chasing the notes across the neck of the beautiful banjo that has seen some miles, judging from the patina on top. He plays that thing like it’s an electrical guitar, pounding the strings and bending to his amp to use the feedback as an additional layer to the music. At some point it sounds like there’s a theremin mixed into it all.
After a pretty wrecking start of summer and first week of August, all my joints hurt to the high heavens.The sound and vibrations of the music are so soothing however that the musical medicine doesn’t just heal my soul but my body as well. Joey breaks out the guitar and asks if there are any requests. Thanks to Juice, Henry goes back to his banjo, rolls up his sleeves and tears into an immensely captivating rendition of Kites. Tears, I love you’s and hugs all around after the song ends. What an experience, being here on this glorious night and letting it all wash over me.
As if all that beauty hadn’t been enough, Joey invites local band Braca’s Seppe and his accordion to the stage.
You might not believe me after seeing that video but they simply conferred two minutes about the chords and then this happened.
They lean into it and the voice and depth of these songs sear into the depths of the soul. There’s a whispered reverence as the set draws to a close with Everything kills us all on the ukulele.
As if all of these weren’t magical enough, after a well deserved break to catch our breaths, (Joey from singing his heart out, the audience from staring breathlessly at the stage.) us lucky few move to the fire pit in the back garden.
A halfmoon and clear and starry sky shines on the encores and an audience unabashedly relishing every last note that gets thrown our way. The fire crisping a happy crescendo to a night well spent.
The start of the new year, in the calm before the storm of a whole series of new events. Perfect time to reminisce about 2023 and catch up on some stories I kept up my sleeve. I wrote the following somewhere in September:
It starts off as another magical walk, reminiscing on the beautiful musical rainbows. I have yet to regale you with the tale of meeting the beautiful ultra-purple person that is Joey Henry, whom I met somewhere at the start of August. I haven’t had the time to find the right words to describe the two nights I spent with him and his music.
Let’s just say that aside from being an immensely talented musician, he’s also a phenomenal photographer. I snagged one of his prints, Kansas rainbow included, at the first of his shows I saw at Den Oude Ketel. (Yes, the very same spot where I saw that other impossible rainbow months earlier, after that magical James Hunnicutt set.)
Kansas Rainbow by Joey Henry
Today is the day I finally try and demystify the wonderful moments of musical medicine I got to experience at the start of August. It started out with a good bad decision on account of a bad case of FOMO. Joey Henry‘s Dirty Sunshine Club was to hit the stage at The Black Flamingo on August 12th and Jo had hinted to me it was going to be legendary.
Joey Henry @ Den Oude Ketel | Photo : Bakkie Photography – August 3rd 2023
I took note and saw he was also going to play Den Oude Ketel in Heist-op-den-Berg as well and I was faced with a terrible conundrum. Was I going to keel over if I added another day of music to the Brakrock weekend that would follow? The answer turned out to be yes, in hindsight, but luckily I managed to stay on my feet until after every bit of music had transpired.
Joey Henry‘s Dirty Sunshine Club | Thursday, August 3rd 2023 – Den Oude Ketel, Heist Op Den Berg
So, following my FOMO, I ventured out but promised myself I was just going to enjoy the show and leave lovely Polexia at home. It was no use, the music hadn’t even started yet and she came out to play! Had a nice talk with Joey (quote: ‘Jo and the Black Flamingo peeps are like family.’), ‘WhiskeyDick drummer’ Raf and then spotted Bakkie Photography. I knew then I was going to write about it anyway, so I went ahead and asked for a pre-show selfie this time. (Thinking I wouldn’t be tempted to hang out too long after the show. WRONG.)
True to my brand, I start my notes with three mentions of my top favourite instrument of 2023, the banjo!
Banjoolooooo
Special banjo with distortion
Remind me to ask him about the special banjo
Needless to say, I was already pretty excited and planted my ass smack dab in front of the stage. I managed to barely see any of the performance because I had my eyes closed from sheer delight, as can be observed in the following excerpt. (I also forgot to ask about the special banjo…)
I’m afraid I also wasn’t very diligent in my note taking. Suffice it to say the man is a musical and visual poet! His photos are like still music videos for his tunes. It all blends beautifully together. His robust yet delicate voice is a delight on this warm summer night. When he starts up the gospel tune called ‘We all fuck up’, I wrote down I found my new theme song.
Joey Henry @ Den Oude Ketel | Photo : Bakkie Photography – August 3rd 2023
I smile a thank you to the people shushing some loud talkers, because how can you not shut the fuck up when these melodies float into the world. And believe me, I know how hard shutting the fuck up is. But no words from me at this point. Joey mentions he’s having too much fun on the banjo to switch to the guitar and really, I ain’t complaining here!
Joey Henry @ Den Oude Ketel | Photo : Bakkie Photography – August 3rd 2023
He tells us to invite our ghosts here, before staring into the beautiful ballad I dream of horses, which leaves me crying for the second time centre stage at Den Oude Ketel. His lyrics are beautiful and speak to the imagination. I managed to write down a few snippets as I heard them.
Sleep baby, sleep, sing in the morning if that’s what you need from me.
Building a house for your heart and digging a basement in case you meet a human tornado.
She is like a seatbelt for my soul.
Very honourable mention to his amazing song about adventurous aviator Amelia Earhart.
Joey explains he is writing without worrying about genres, writing as a medicine for his people, to get the musical medicine back from his audience. He calls his shows group therapy and he is not wrong. I leave the show elated and so so happy I made the good bad decision of following the fear of missing out. I end my notes with another very excited ‘Banjoolooooo’ and a happy feeling to have more Joey Henry’s Dirty Sunshine Club ahead of me that month.
Huge thanks to Bakkie for another series of wonderful pictures!
September 22nd had been excitedly marked in my calendar since April, when I saw Clyde McGee open for Pete Bernhard. As with Pete, I knew the band by music, but not the individual members, so I only found out Clyde was one of The Bridge City Sinners on that fateful day in Hulshout. He told me about the Sinners’ European tour in September and October and I was BEYOND stoked to see a Belgian date. I was even more thrilled to be able to share this experience with my newfound friends I’d acquired through the synchronicity of music since his solo performance.
I was planning on taking an entire day to get ready, dolled up and taking my sweet time going to Ghent. Afterwards driving on to the Belgian coast for a much needed holiday. Alas, fate decided otherwise as an unforeseen and also unmissable event was planned on the same day. My stress level was through the roof in the weeks and days beforehand trying to get my head around a literal (no, really!) rollercoaster of a day into a night where I had to drive myself to a city I didn’t know very well. Let me tell ya, all that stress was so fucking unfounded, when I think back on it now it is almost amusing.
The day of started earlier than usual and I faced fears I had talked myself into over the years. I used to be brave and fearless, but over the last years depression and battle with neurodivergence had made me small. Small and afraid of EVERYTHING. Doubting I could do ANYTHING. The day was a therapy group outing to an amusement park and to say I was DREADING all of it would be the understatement of the century. Luckily, therapy is teaching me how to face my fears head on. So I did. In line for the first roller coaster, I was hopping from one leg to another, thoughts racing this way and that. I eventually decided to just get over it and DO it, and got on the fucking roller coaster. It was scary at first, but then it was EXHILARATING! After that, I still felt a little trepidation getting on a new coaster, but by the end of the day I was unstoppable. I had faced my fears and WON, telling my brain to shut the fuck up and it actually shutting the fuck up. I had an AMAZING day and was living on adrenaline alone.
In getting home, the adrenaline unfortunately wore off and I was tired from all the mental and physical gymnastics of the day. So getting ready for the show felt like I was moving in slow motion while getting anxious again for the drive through traffic and rain, on a road I was not familiar with, in a time frame that would mean I would almost definitely miss the opener. I was sad but resigned to the fact that I wouldn’t get the full experience of this night I had been looking forward to for almost 6 months.
I managed to get my ass on the road eventually and powered through those fears to eventually arrive at my destination. In a daze, I hurriedly speed walked from my parking spot on the outskirts of Ghent to the venue, when I abruptly stopped in my tracks in awe of this quote on the building. Good thing I halted, because in my haste I had almost run past where I actually needed to be and made myself even later.
First I feel I need to emphasise what an AMAZING place Trefpunt is. As if I wasn’t sweaty enough already from the walk there, the indian-summer heat inside was enough to almost melt me away. So yeah, it was sweaty as fuck, punk as fuck but filled to the brim with a merry band of misfits that oozed Purple vibes. It felt like coming home to a room full of strangers. And then I spotted my musical friends I made this year and the last ounce of stress and self-doubt fell off of my sweaty shoulders. I HAD MADE IT!
I even made it in time for the opener Tuesday Violence and HOLY HELL I am so glad I did. A three headed band started during lockdown. You have Daveney, originally from the Netherlands but emigrated here 9 years ago, on drums & vocals. Bruxelloise Crystal is on organ (!) and vocals and Niels from Ghent is on guitar. The sound they produce together is almost indescribable. I wrote it up as incredible punk & roll but they describe it as primitive garage punk. Call it what you will, I will just refer to their sound as extraordinarily FANTASTIC. Crystal & Deveney’s voices were reminiscent of some of my favourite female punkers, like Brody Dalle & the ladies from Maid of Ace. The energy of their set was exhilarating and set the pace for the rest of the night.
Crystal, Deveney and Niels + yours truly
Aside from being fired up on stage, they were super nice and kind off stage. I got to talking to Deveney & Crystal who told me all about how they started and the amazing backstory on that beautiful organ she was playing on stage. My reference to Maid of Ace (another experience I still have to write about) led to vague plans for a possible ALL FEMALE (and Niels) double bill of both Tuesday Violence & the Maids at the Black Flamingo! (Fingers crossed we can set this up for 2024.)
In the meantime: check out Tuesday Violence newly released album!
Talking to these ladies was such intriguing fun, we almost missed the start of The Bridge City Sinners set! Time to run back in and claim a place for a piece of musical history Ghent will not soon forget. My lackadaisical approach to picture/video taking should tell you how good of a night it really was. These are meant as mere mementos more than actual good visual and/or auditory representation.
My notes start off with a simple OMG. Because Oh My unholy GOD, if I thought I already adored The Bridge City Sinners on record, it’s a WHOLE other thing seeing them live. I am staring at that stage in ABSOLUTE LOVE and AWE of the glorious mayhem of strings and vocals. The music feels so much more layered while seeing it live, because you can pick apart all the scrumptious little details. I made a video that gives only a vague idea about how epic of a performance it was. (Trust me, it does the evening NO justice at all, but it may give you a slight idea as to what you’ve missed.)
There is just so so much fucking talent on that ONE tiny stage! They all sing (and very well I might add), they all play multiple instruments which they casually switch during the set, like it’s nothing. From banjos to fiddles, from guitars to dobros; topped with a standing bass and a side of madness.
Aside from the Sinners, they all have several other bands and solo projects going on. That’s the thing about good music. It’s not just a series of notes and words reiterated on a stage. Good musicians and bands LIVE for their music. They breathe the music like it is their oxygen, and every night they play, they exchange that life force with their audience. Only to get recharged night after night and in the meantime honing their skills and getting more extraordinary with every gig.
This is what is happening here, it’s a band of exceptionally talented and dedicated musicians who LOVE what they do and the people they do it with. Every one of them gets their chance to shine on stage, with the wonderful Libby as a master of ceremonies directing her friends to their own spotlight. My hazy notes tell me I was again very much impressed by Clyde’s voice and taken aback when he started grunting during one song. The banjolos(not one BUT AT LEAST TWO) were mentioned as well. I was also very impressed by Lightin’ Luke and his fiddlework and something else he was doing because I wrote down ‘The fuck is he playing? Woap wap?’. Alas, I have no clue what I am referencing here, but all of these weird obscure scribblings just prove it was such a good show, I lost all sense of making sense. And that’s the way I like it.
My notes do however mention my admiration of Joey Steel, who acts as the tour manager for The Sinners’ European Vacation. He’s running around before, during and after the gig, setting everything up so that the band can just focus on doing what they do best. Meanwhile, he still makes the time to greet me with a big hug, in between all his hauling around and setting up. Joey Steel, hardest working man in showbiz and still so fucking nice!💜 (We’ll even forgive him for turning on the venue’s lights for that one brief moment where he paused and leaned against the wall!)
Near the end of their set, there is one special moment where Libby dedicates the following song to Tomas, their friend and the lead singer of Profane Sass who died on the road. The song was written for him, upon learning of his untimely death. The ways she talked about him and in reading up on him, it seems he was one of those one of a kind, magical people who radiated goodness and life force all around. He lived for the music and what that music could bring to people. I never knew him while he was alive, but it’s beautiful to see he’s still on the road, through his friends and touching people’s hearts.
The set up until then had already been absolutely amazing, but this was a beautiful moment that put the cherry on top. A moment of musical synchronicity for me, especially when she sang the words “Out of the darkness and heading out to sea”. I reflected on my own journey out of the darkness surrounding death and my journey ahead to the sea. The lyrics would prove to be even more synchronicitous a few days later when I yelled them into the surf. It’s one of those moments I will never forget. A moment, a story, a song and a band etched onto my soul forever.
The Bridge City Sinners probably don’t even fully know just how phenomenal and rare it is what they do, what they bring to their audience. If they do, it certainly doesn’t show in their attitudes because the Sinners I got to talk to are wonderfully down to earth.
There are no accurate words to describe the atmosphere in that venue, which was bulging at the seams at this impossibly perfect event. The band said it themselves, this would probably be the last tour they’ll be able to play smaller and more intimate venues like Trefpunt. I am SO ecstatic I got to be there, to experience up close and personal the intoxicating chaos and fury with which the Sinners approach their live sets.
After the show I still have a ways to go even though I wrote down that I am not sure just how my legs are still functional. I am completely running on fumes and adrenaline. I walk back to the car with Jo & Tiho through a calm and peaceful city and drive up to the coast where I still find a last mere ounce of fuel to unload all my shit. I then collapse onto the bed for a happy and well earned slumber, not yet fully aware of the catharsis I just experienced and the one that still lays ahead.
DownSideUp 