All BXhelL breaks loose!

http://www.hetkampioenschapvanbrussel.be/

Kultuurcafé, 13th October 2011

I've been looking forward to tonight, as it's 'rough' night. And after last week, I could do with some real-proper-rock'n'roll.

Blast Year Zero

I missed them, but had reports that they were a good metal act, very tight, very energetic, not terribly original.

Sons of Disaster

Good, tight, heavy, fabulous lead guitarist, these guys rock hard and loud. They evidently love what they do, somewhere between Motorhead, Metallica and Iron Maiden, and they do it with an infectious cheek that pretty much contaminates the whole audience.

First band I've seen, and they're already better than any of the acts I saw last week.

A comparatively varied set, with no room for ego-trips is rounded off with their mission statement: We want to drink, fight, rock and fuck.

Great show, pure rock, and for me, biggest grins and best stage show of the night.

Horse Antlers

Judging by the Telecasters and Fender amps that have appeared, we're in for something a bit more bluesy and intellectual.

Sure enough, the sound is heavy, psychedelic, dark blues, with a hint of U2 (around The Joshua Tree), and a good dose of Suzi Quatro.

I was impressed with the sound, the song writing, the singer, everything about this band is excellent. The only disappointment was that they only played 4 songs (and the last one was instrumental). Not long enough.

On a purely musical level, best band of the night. By far, and that's saying something. I'll definitely go back and see them for a full set.

Humanotronic

Metal suggests a series of clichés to most of us, and Humanotronic have worked hard to incorporate most of them into their show. Vomiting unintelligibly into the microphone, a megaphone, overly bass-heavy guitars, amps on 11, carefully choreographed pogoing.

Unfortunately, clichés don't make a good song, and the audience seems to share my indifference.

Thieves of Silence

Despite being the youngest band of the night, this lot have already opened for Gang of Four and Shadowplay (with Peter Hook headlining). Will they pull of being the only band without a drummer?

Cure, Editors, Talking Heads, Gang of Four. With the most aggressive bass of the night, you can see why the local Darkwave community have picked up on them. They have brought a new kid in to press the buttons and play the synth parts. With a result that they thunder through the set almost without pause. They have done a huge amount of work on their sound since I last saw them at La Porte Noire, and the show is much the better for it.

Short and intense, the best band of the night for me. But it's only their tunes and originality that just edge them ahead. They're must be the band most likely to take off and fill the AB, so definitely ones to watch.

Kamperen in Frankrijk

A tangled mess of cables, no bass, a guy sat on the floor with a laptop, a barbeque, and a banner announcing "A new golden century". So I'm fully expecting something a bit Portishead like.

However, the sound is atrocious, with one of the guitars not going through the PA, the electronica muddy, and the bass synth suffering from painful distortion. The drummer, fortunately, has a click to play along to, but it seems even that has it's glitches. She certainly doesn't manage to vary the very straight beats, and drum rolls or other embellishment is out of the question. Drab vocals and a farcical attempt at a guitar wall-of-noise over 2 chords give a distinct impression of something more at home in a circus than on a stage.

"We do weddings" they said. If I were them, I'd stick to divorces. And I'm not hanging around for the threat of an Eric Clapton cover.

Overall

I have seen 3 excellent bands tonight. (not counting the one that I missed). I have to wonder why the Brussels region does not subsidise venues like the Flemish do. There's a message there that Brussels has a huge amount of talent to offer, and it's gagging to get out. It just needs a little help.