[review] Noisex, Scar Tissue, etc (Seattle)
Deprived
It was a 3 hour drive to get from Portland to Seattle in rush hour. The
drive was long, and very tiring, but we made it. It was 9pm, and the
search began for Noisex, so that Kevin could get an interview for Sonic
Boom. Steve from Scar Tissue was wandering around in a great mood, so I
got to spend a few minutes talking to him. It turns out that Phil (the
other member) had just broken his arm, leaving Scar Tissue to play
without him. Luckily, the folks from 3d House of Beef were there to
help out. I had opened for Scar Tissue once without Phil being there,
so I knew to expect a good show, although very different.
For some reason, Scar Tissue was doomed to go on first. In my opinion,
that was a major mistake. Scar Tissue seemed to be the drawing band,
and to put the drawing band on first ... well ... As always, Steve put
on a fantastic show. It was a bit impromptu, but it definately left
most of the crowd smiling. Everyone seemed to have a good time,
everything was going great.
Next up, was a band that had been touring with Noisex since the
beginning. I had the unfortunate experience of spending a few painful
minutes with the lead singer before the show. The band was called
Holocaust Theory. They managed to prove one of my own theories: All it
takes to tour the country is a K2000 and rock-star-hair. I was very far
from impressed, and actually almost fell asleep. Very very simple drum
beats, with a little bit of looped noise (sounded like the same noise
for every song), and some way-too distorted vocals that could have been
an alphated recital for all I know. Needless to say, they belonged
first in the lineup, if there at all.
Finally, Noisex made it on. I didn't know what to really expect ... I
had heard the latest Noisex CD, and with all the label hype about the
inclusion of :wumpscut: songs, I was waiting for something fairly
spectacular. Well, the music sounded nothing like the cd. It was just
a bunch of loops. That would have been great if there had been a stage
presence. Imagine going to see Rapoon, and having less movement on
stage. Finally, the first :wumpscut: song came on ... woo! the crowd
(what was left of them after that second band) went wild. I guess that
was a little too much. They seemed to just get very upset that the
crowd liked :wumpscut: a tad bit more than them, and ended the show by
walking off stage.
Ah well.
It was fun, nonethe less. If you get a chance, go see Scar Tissue, if
you can, at least listen Noisex, but skip that other band.
-Jer (tired from Seattle, and still without a Scar Tissue shirt)
Kevin
: It was fun, nonethe less. If you get a chance, go see Scar Tissue, if
: you can, at least listen Noisex, but skip that other band.
finally, someone admitting that noisex lacked showmanship, holocaust
theory sucking and that scar tissue should have been the headliner. this
show sounds like the SF show. boy was i disappointed. i'm not into scar
tissue but they consistently put on a good show. holocaust theory needs
to try a different vocal effect once in a while - at least turn off the
echo. noisex was so boring: two guys hunched over a small table of
knobs in the back of the stage, including the guy that tried to sing (often
with his back to the crowd). the vocals could barely be heard. i thought
they were having technical problems and trying to fix things, but they
were "performing." i should have known they were going to be bad when
the singer joined in with holocaust theory and couldn't help them sound
any better. with nothing to watch but at least some experimental music to
hear, the lowest point was when the singer from holocaust theory joined in
with noisex and almost made it unlistenable. i knew what noisex sounded
like from their cds; but, i expected more danceable stuff and performance
(at least video) for the live show. i showed up for those reasons plus to
show support for any kind of european band that makes the effort to
travel this far to play so others that i really want to see, like x marks
or placebo effect or suicide commando, will see that they have enough
support here to justify a concert or more. Like Covenant at Industro Rave
'97!! Yeah!!
Kevin
Veronica Kirchoff
ok. hold on there, buddy... you know i love you, Jerry, but i just can't
let this go without comment:
Jerry wrote:
> For some reason, Scar Tissue was doomed to go on first.
since it wasn't REALLY Scar Tissue, and they didn't have a pre-planned
set, Steve Tissue ;) asked that they go on first. i got the call about
Phil Tissue's arm being broken late Tuesday night, and told Steve that
if he could pull it off, i wanted him to play anyway, even if it wasn't
really Scar Tissue. Nial and Phil from 3D House of Beef were available,
and are totally into improv/experimental stuff, so Steve worked it out
with them that they would do some Scar Tissue material but mostly just
tribal/noise collage type stuff. though it wasn't really Scar Tissue, it
was very cool to see them all come together on such short notice in the
true experimental spirit!
> In my opinion,
> that was a major mistake. Scar Tissue seemed to be the drawing band,
> and to put the drawing band on first ... well ...
exactly... that's why Scar Tissue was originally scheduled to go on
second (middle), but as mentioned above, this was no longer "Scar
Tissue," and Steve asked that they open.
> As always, Steve put
> on a fantastic show. It was a bit impromptu, but it definately left
> most of the crowd smiling. Everyone seemed to have a good time,
> everything was going great.
agreed. Nial mentioned that Steve even recorded the show, so who knows
if some of it might turn up somewhere (future Scar Tissue material, side
projects, compilations, etc... hint, hint, Steve...)
> Next up, was a band that had been touring with Noisex since the
> beginning. I had the unfortunate experience of spending a few painful
> minutes with the lead singer before the show.
well, i had the fortunate experience of spending a bit more than a few
minutes with both members before and after the show and they were
anything but painful. i fact, everyone involved in the show that night
was very friendly and amicable... maybe they just respond differently to
different people (as most of us do)... maybe they mirror their
environment???
> The band was called
> Holocaust Theory. They managed to prove one of my own theories: All it
> takes to tour the country is a K2000 and rock-star-hair.
not to mention the ability to handle insane amounts of stress and
sacrifice as well as working your ass off to earn the money to be able
to GO on tour, and be away from your job for howeverlong and friendships
and alliances with people which -- in this business -- are usually
formed on reciprocated terms...
on the flip side of Jerry's review: i was glad to see them. i hadn't
heard any of their material before this show, and i liked what i heard.
> I was very far
> from impressed, and actually almost fell asleep.
maybe you *should* have taken a nap... then you wouldn't be so cranky.
;)
> Very very simple drum
> beats, with a little bit of looped noise (sounded like the same noise
> for every song),
i, myself, am somewhat a fan of minimalism and/or repetition. i also
noticed that the drum beats were pretty simple and unvaried, but i have
to say that the samples and "looped noise" didn't all sound the same to
me. maybe it's one of those situations that's been discusseed here on
rmi very recently: you only hear the difference if you care enough to
listen. a lot of country music and death metal sounds all the same to
me, but in five seconds, my dad can tell you whether you're hearing
Clint Black or Randy Travis and my friend Jeff can tell the difference
between the double bass and barking vocals of Cadaver and Cremator. Hell
if *I* know!
> and some way-too distorted vocals that could have been
> an alphated recital for all I know. Needless to say, they belonged
> first in the lineup, if there at all.
again, i personally find nothing wrong with "way-too-distorted-vocals."
sometimes it works when the voice is used more as another sound in the
mix than as a vehicle for vocal communication. in this case, i think it
worked.
> Finally, Noisex made it on. I didn't know what to really expect ... I
> had heard the latest Noisex CD, and with all the label hype about the
> inclusion of :wumpscut: songs, I was waiting for something fairly
> spectacular. Well, the music sounded nothing like the cd.
actually, i think it sounded enough like the CD(s) that i could pick out
which song they were playing, but enough UNlike the CDs that it still
held my interest. if i wanted to hear exactly what was on the CDs, i'd
listen to the CDs. maybe a lot of the material you didn't recognize was
from the previous release??
> It was just
> a bunch of loops.
not all of it. besides, if you have listened to the latest Cd, you'd
know that much of their material is very minimal and loop-driven...
> That would have been great if there had been a stage
> presence.
unfortunately, i have to agree with you here somewhat... but there
wasn't alot either of them (Raoul or s.alt) could do, being that they
were both running the sequences, loops, effects, etc. live. if it was
mostly on dat, then s.alt could concern himself with the music and Raoul
could entirely do the vocals and be a little more "active."
not that i'm making excuses, but i did talk to Raoul about the
differences between their shows here in the 'States and back home in
Germany and throughout Europe. when they are allowed the time and
resources to do so, they put on quite the production, with Raoul
suspended from the ceiling covered in theatrical blood and animal parts,
etc. that just wasn't practical for this tour, though...
> Finally, the first :wumpscut: song came on ... woo! the crowd
> (what was left of them after that second band) went wild.
agreed. it was also at this point that Raoul started to experience
technical difficulties with the monitors on stage.
> I guess that
> was a little too much. They seemed to just get very upset that the
> crowd liked :wumpscut: a tad bit more than them, and ended the show by
> walking off stage.
that's not it at all, and it's pretty shallow of you to assume that.
Rudy and Raoul are very good friends, and Raoul is in no way threatened
by Rudy/:W:'s popularity. due to the problems Raoul was having with the
monitors, he could not hear the music or his vocals properly. he had
told the guy doing the monitors that if he had problems with feedback,
turn off one or more of the monitors... it turns out that there were
problems with feedback, but the monitors weren't turned off. instead,
somehow the signals crossed and got reversed, and in an attempt to
remedy the situation, the monitor guy accidentally threw the balance off
so that all Raoul was hearing therough the monitors was BASS. no highs,
no lows.
Raoul was VERY upset that he couldn't finish the set, but instead of
doing the :W: songs and having them sound like shit because he can't
hear what he's doing, he'd rather just not do them. it took forever
after the show to get him to realize that the sound out in the audience
was fine, and he didn't need to feel so bad for not finishing the show.
what they DID do was great -- who cares if they didn't do all the :W:
material?? ...evidentally, Jerry does... but *I* was there to see
NOISEX, who happened to be doing some :W: songs as well.
> It was fun, nonethe less.
agreed.
> If you get a chance, go see Scar Tissue,
agreed.
> if
> you can, at least listen Noisex,
agreed... especially since we may not see them over here again for a
long time. ;(
> but skip that other band.
hrmm... i've already deposited my 2 cents on this one... i say give them
a listen if you can, and if they happen to be playing somewhere near
you, go ahead and check it out. the very fact that not *everything*
you've heard about them has been bad (or good) is enough reason to go
check them out for yourself and make your own decision. hell, even if it
WAS all bad, i'd still check them out. different people have different
tastes...
over and out...
:V:
--
Ubel Engel Promotions
http://home.earthlink.net/~ubelengel/
^^newly redesigned^^
[kevorkian death cycle page is
temporarily out of commission]
Catastrophe Records
http://home.earthlink.net/~ubelengel/catastrophe
^^NEW!!^^
Paul Brousseau
: finally, someone admitting that noisex lacked showmanship, holocaust
: show sounds like the SF show. boy was i disappointed.
Well, I talked to Raoul briefly after the show, and he was disspointed as
well. I, however, thought the Noisex part was great! Yes, it was ridden
with technical difficulties, Noisex got NO sound check (what the fuck?!?),
and the :W: songs came across better. But you've got to realized that
Noisex is a NOISE based band. If you ever go to a noise show, that's
probably all you'll bee, people hunched over pedals and effects. Yes,
Noisex applies EBM and techno touches, but recall their logo: In Noise We
Trust.
As for Holocaust Theory, whoever told they they had a live show worth
touring with should be dragged out into the street and shot. Twice. Very
interesting CD, but PLEASE kill the echo effect on the mike! Their music is
simply NOT condusive to the performance they attempt.
Finally, Scar Tissue: fucking brilliant! That's all to be said.
: i showed up for those reasons plus to show support for any kind of
: european band that makes the effort to travel this far to play so others
: that i really want to see, like x marks or placebo effect or suicide
: commando, will see that they have enough support here to justify a concert
: or more. Like Covenant at Industro Rave '97!! Yeah!!
That is pretty cool, and I for one appreciate it. I can't say that I'd go
see XMTP or Placebo Effect for the music, but if it draws groups like PAL or
Imminent Starvation (or, ghod forbid, Deutsch Nepal?) here, I'd do it.
--PBr
Serial.Port.Killer
Deprived (je...@terrorist.org) wrote:
: It was a 3 hour drive to get from Portland to Seattle in rush hour. The
: drive was long, and very tiring, but we made it. It was 9pm, and the
: search began for Noisex, so that Kevin could get an interview for Sonic
: Boom. Steve from Scar Tissue was wandering around in a great mood, so I
: got to spend a few minutes talking to him. It turns out that Phil (the
: other member) had just broken his arm, leaving Scar Tissue to play
: without him. Luckily, the folks from 3d House of Beef were there to
: help out. I had opened for Scar Tissue once without Phil being there,
: so I knew to expect a good show, although very different.
Scartissue with 3D House of Beef worked out far better than I'd
expected. There's something about tribal-industrial that's appealing
live, and boring as shit on CD.
: Next up, was a band that had been touring with Noisex since the
: beginning. I had the unfortunate experience of spending a few painful
: minutes with the lead singer before the show. The band was called
: Holocaust Theory. They managed to prove one of my own theories: All it
: takes to tour the country is a K2000 and rock-star-hair. I was very far
: from impressed, and actually almost fell asleep. Very very simple drum
: beats, with a little bit of looped noise (sounded like the same noise
: for every song), and some way-too distorted vocals that could have been
: an alphated recital for all I know. Needless to say, they belonged
: first in the lineup, if there at all.
*shrug* I enjoyed Holocaust Theory. No, they weren't doing anything too
overly impressive, but they played entertaining, decently programmed
electro, and got me thoroughly worked-up for Noisex, (the beer probably
helped too.) Too bad Noisex bordered on the dissapointing...
: Finally, Noisex made it on. I didn't know what to really expect ... I
: had heard the latest Noisex CD, and with all the label hype about the
: inclusion of :wumpscut: songs, I was waiting for something fairly
: spectacular. Well, the music sounded nothing like the cd. It was just
: a bunch of loops. That would have been great if there had been a stage
: presence. Imagine going to see Rapoon, and having less movement on
: stage. Finally, the first :wumpscut: song came on ... woo! the crowd
: (what was left of them after that second band) went wild. I guess that
: was a little too much. They seemed to just get very upset that the
: crowd liked :wumpscut: a tad bit more than them, and ended the show by
: walking off stage.
You've articulated my problems with the concert really, really well.
After driving five hours to Seattle from Eugene, I was looking forward to
an actual show, and not just the band members hunched over their table o'
technology. Also, the sound-board seemed to be really, really damned
off. I could hardly hear anything but the drum beats during most of
their set.
As far as their dissapearance goes, I don't think the asshole screaming
at Raoul to, "play some more shit" really helped either.
Still, it was a fun concert all in all, and I'more than happy with my
Embryoded poster.
Cheers...
Morgan
--
...Serial.Port.Killer... "When all roads lead to death, there's
mwo...@gladstone.uoregon.edu no sense in running down any of them."
rive...@netcom.com -Robin Hobb
http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~mwolfe
To mail me, use either of the addresses in my .sig file, not the replyto
21st Circuitry
although i wasn't there, i'm glad the impromptu performance by scar
tissue's steve watkins and 3D house of beef worked so well.
since noisex and holocaust theory were touring together for all the
shows, it was noisex that wanted holocaust on second on the west coast
bills, and we agreed in SF because stefan alt is very cool and i wanted
him to be happy. Scar Tissue logically should have been second on such
a bill, signed and having 2 CDs out in stores and performing ever since
even house of usher was going in the early 90's, they have paid their
dues opening shows and impressed enough audiences to go second. But i
guess everyone has to understand that when bands tour together through
the whole US and they know each other well, then of course there ya go,
the newest band gets the second slot.
Seattle demanded scar tissue go second, but with phil's injury steve
asked to go first since it wasn't really scar tissue.
See Scar Tissue play, ...that's right, second on the first night of
industro-rave sat. oct. 11 with Covenant from Sweden, and R.U.O.K?
opening of the new quantum loop label from 21st Circuitry, order your
tickets in advance, the following web page will be up in 2 short
days:::
http://www.21stcircuitry.com/industrorave