Tonight was my first visit to Club SSAM. Four bands were scheduled to play at the ‘New Romance Party’. There was certainly nothing romantic about the door fee, 18,000 won.
First up were Korean band ‘Gullivers’. They were not that bad at all. They reminded me of bands like Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr and Pavement. That is, they were shoegazers. There were some interesting vocal melodies, which were complemented by creative basslines. The guitars worked well together and I liked the guitar distortion. Gullivers were a nice introduction to the evening.
Pika was next up. This performance got my attention. She used a synth and loop pedal to create looped noise patterns, and sang creative, penetrating lyrics over the top. Her style was almost theatrical. At times I felt like I was watching a play or musical, as she almost 'acted' in a Cinderella, fairytale type way. The music was well complemented by Jittery dancing and a background movie. I admired her ability to create interesting melodies.
Trampauline were the third act. Quickly into the performance I realized that Trampauline are very inspired by 80’s music. Infact, the room lit up with an 80’s vibe as they played. In my head I thought of Top Gun, ET, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Buellers Day Off, Dirty Dancing, Gloria Estefan, Whitney Houston and 80’s pop. It was kind of cool.
The singer wore a bright colorful jacket with sneakers which added to the 80s feel. Infact the colorful nature of her jacket reminded me of UK TV presenter 'Timmy Mallet'. The singer would bounce around her Roland keyboard, waving her arms, in a way that would make ‘Molly Ringwald’ feel proud. Trampauline’s blend of electro-pop is a unique feature of the Seoul music scene.
No disrespect to the last band Starry Eyed, but I didn’t remain for the duration of their performance. It was not my thing that evening. Sorry guys.
On the night, for me, Trampauline stole the show, with Pika in second, Gullivers in third.
Oliver Philpott
Showing posts with label Gig Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gig Reviews. Show all posts
Sunday, 30 January 2011
Saturday, 22 January 2011
Big Phony, Idiotape and Apollo 18 at Seoulsonic: Friday, January 21st 2011
This was a gig that I was looking forward to but I went to with no expectations. Armed with an open mind and intrigue I hopped on subway line three and headed for Seoul’s ‘Welcomm Theater’. It was to be an interesting night, full of surprises.
The first surprise was the venue itself. I realized before hand, after looking at the website, that it was going to be a kind of art gallery or art space. What I hadn’t accounted for was that the gig would be all seating. It was also full and deathly quiet upon entrance. Packed with people who were respectfully waiting for the bands all I could think was, ‘where is the beer?’ ‘Hell, I’ll even settle for Vodka’, I thought. Alas, I quickly realized that this gig, or perhaps ‘artistic showcase’ is a better word, yes this ‘artistic’ ‘showcase’ was to be alcohol free. Great. I decided to try and find a ‘pew’ in this strange ‘pristine’ environment. I decided to stop worrying about the surroundings and focus on the music.
First up was a deviation from the advertised gig. Singer-guitarist ‘Big Phony’ took to the stage. Admittedly, it wasn’t a great environment for any performer so I could understand any discomfort with playing here. However, Big Phony was clearly nervous which showed in his performance. He never really got settled into any kind of ‘groove’.
He opened with some beautiful and admirable guitar and vocal work. Generally he had a good voice, some interesting melodic ideas and a beautiful guitar sound. The song ‘Short Intermission’ was a highlight. But, for whatever reason, his songs really never ‘took off’. The verses were great but I was waiting for a defining chorus, or a bridge, or anything to take me to the next step. I was waiting in vain. Big Phony’s potential never came to fruition at this gig. However, I sense that there is more to come from this artist.
Next up were electro-rockers ‘Idiotape’. With a mixture of solid syncopated beats, intelligent synth playing and sampling, layering and changes in rhythm they created a sense of ‘orchestrated madness’. The set grew into something which sounded really professional. It was the co-ordination of the instruments, intelligent synth lines and loudness of the live drums which helped create feelings of emotion and intensity. Each song was better than the last. However, there was a point where the sound seemed directionless.
Around halfway through the set, from a spectacular peak, the performance dipped dramatically. The music felt repetitive, unoriginal and ‘wanting’ to be emotional. However, as quickly as they fell, Idiotape picked themselves up again. Overall there was some genius synth work. The songs peaked into something totally original. I considered that Idiotapes performance would be hard to beat. I was about to be proved wrong.
When heavy rockers Apollo 18 stepped on stage they had an appearance which said ‘I am going to kill you’, which I loved! They were the tightest sounding band of the night and were very energetic, making full use of the stage. Indeed, at one point the singer proceeded off stage, ending up somewhere in the crowd. The singer was successful in charming his audience with passionate guitar work and charming conversation.
Apollo 18 were ‘gentlemen and killers’, creating beauty in noise. There were some great reverberating vocals, followed by massiveness, screaming and self depravity. ‘Kill me I want to die, kill me I want to die’, I kept muttering to myself as I listened. At times it also felt quite ‘Mogwaiesque’ and the post-rock influences shone though during intricate, beautiful and masterful guitar work. The pounding bass fitted well with the heavy hitting drums and heavily distorted guitar. Overall this performance was beautiful.
After Apollo 18 had left the stage the crowd was left visibly shaking. My head couldn’t physically handle anymore noise and I was forced to make an early exit from the venue. Apollo 18 had killed me. This was no disrespect to the other talented artists. Apollo 18 were just leagues apart.
I arrived at Seoulsonic with few expectations and I left in a state of shock and awe.
Oliver Philpott
The first surprise was the venue itself. I realized before hand, after looking at the website, that it was going to be a kind of art gallery or art space. What I hadn’t accounted for was that the gig would be all seating. It was also full and deathly quiet upon entrance. Packed with people who were respectfully waiting for the bands all I could think was, ‘where is the beer?’ ‘Hell, I’ll even settle for Vodka’, I thought. Alas, I quickly realized that this gig, or perhaps ‘artistic showcase’ is a better word, yes this ‘artistic’ ‘showcase’ was to be alcohol free. Great. I decided to try and find a ‘pew’ in this strange ‘pristine’ environment. I decided to stop worrying about the surroundings and focus on the music.
First up was a deviation from the advertised gig. Singer-guitarist ‘Big Phony’ took to the stage. Admittedly, it wasn’t a great environment for any performer so I could understand any discomfort with playing here. However, Big Phony was clearly nervous which showed in his performance. He never really got settled into any kind of ‘groove’.
He opened with some beautiful and admirable guitar and vocal work. Generally he had a good voice, some interesting melodic ideas and a beautiful guitar sound. The song ‘Short Intermission’ was a highlight. But, for whatever reason, his songs really never ‘took off’. The verses were great but I was waiting for a defining chorus, or a bridge, or anything to take me to the next step. I was waiting in vain. Big Phony’s potential never came to fruition at this gig. However, I sense that there is more to come from this artist.
Next up were electro-rockers ‘Idiotape’. With a mixture of solid syncopated beats, intelligent synth playing and sampling, layering and changes in rhythm they created a sense of ‘orchestrated madness’. The set grew into something which sounded really professional. It was the co-ordination of the instruments, intelligent synth lines and loudness of the live drums which helped create feelings of emotion and intensity. Each song was better than the last. However, there was a point where the sound seemed directionless.
Around halfway through the set, from a spectacular peak, the performance dipped dramatically. The music felt repetitive, unoriginal and ‘wanting’ to be emotional. However, as quickly as they fell, Idiotape picked themselves up again. Overall there was some genius synth work. The songs peaked into something totally original. I considered that Idiotapes performance would be hard to beat. I was about to be proved wrong.
When heavy rockers Apollo 18 stepped on stage they had an appearance which said ‘I am going to kill you’, which I loved! They were the tightest sounding band of the night and were very energetic, making full use of the stage. Indeed, at one point the singer proceeded off stage, ending up somewhere in the crowd. The singer was successful in charming his audience with passionate guitar work and charming conversation.
Apollo 18 were ‘gentlemen and killers’, creating beauty in noise. There were some great reverberating vocals, followed by massiveness, screaming and self depravity. ‘Kill me I want to die, kill me I want to die’, I kept muttering to myself as I listened. At times it also felt quite ‘Mogwaiesque’ and the post-rock influences shone though during intricate, beautiful and masterful guitar work. The pounding bass fitted well with the heavy hitting drums and heavily distorted guitar. Overall this performance was beautiful.
After Apollo 18 had left the stage the crowd was left visibly shaking. My head couldn’t physically handle anymore noise and I was forced to make an early exit from the venue. Apollo 18 had killed me. This was no disrespect to the other talented artists. Apollo 18 were just leagues apart.
I arrived at Seoulsonic with few expectations and I left in a state of shock and awe.
Oliver Philpott
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