De Affaire pt. 6 - Maskesmachine

After some Konono bliss, we climbed the hill to the ruin again to hear a female trio from Belgium.... Unfortunately I was unable to make it downtown for the last two nights of De Affaire (meaning that I missed Herman Dune and Z'EV), so this will be the last post from this incredible week of free shows downtown Nijmegen.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007, 22:00 - Maskesmachine
Maskesmachine was rather bizarre. I had never heard of them before, and the description on the flier was rather misleading. However, I did enjoy their show. It was arty with a subtle absurdist punk aesthetic. There were visual aids such as a video projector that was very synchronized with the music, and with the movements of the band. They had developed "fitness routines" to go along with the music. Using keyboards, electric guitar, drums, violin, and very interesting and coordinated vocal interplay between the three members, they achieve a very entertaining sound.
Here you can get a taste, though it was a bit dark:

De Affaire pt. 5 - Konono N° 1

Yesterday evening was beautiful along the Waal river downtown Nijmegen... The sun was setting over the river and my wife and I were dancing (a little) to some excellent live music thanks to another great group featured in De Affaire. This was the third night in a row we'd made our way through the maddening crowds to the Valkhof park for this section of Nijmegen's week-long free open-air concerts...

Wednesday, July 18, 2007, 20:30 - Konono N° 1
Hailing from the Congo region of Africa, this group mixes a traditional sound with modern experimental aesthetics... Originally this mix, which has gained them so much popularity, was unintentional. Now they embrace it. Three likembe, or thumb piano, players are joined by percussionists to create beautiful grooves. These likembes are all amplified through homemade electronic systems, which distort the sound in the most trance-inducing way... So what you hear is beautiful, otherworldly African music with a slightly psychedelic and noisy twist that will definitely make you start moving. There was a dancer on stage who also helped out on vocals occasionally. The group plays very long songs alternating between a theme on the likembes (treble, middle, and bass) and vocal segments where the likembes do rhythmic backing, with the percussion pounding away the whole time. The bass likembe was incredible, and they played such haunting melodies on the other two... It was really an unforgettable experience there on the river banks in the sunset.

I had heard of this group through a fellow worker (Bo) at Manifest Discs in North Carolina a year or so ago while I was working there. He had seen them live in New York, I believe, and played the CD for us in the store. I remember loving it, but I hadn't heard them since, so I was thrilled to get to see them live here in my own town! This is what I have to share with you:

De Affaire pt. 4 - Machinefabriek

It seems every single night of the week there is something worth seeing downtown Nijmegen at De Affaire... Two nights ago I went to see an electronic artist whose songs I had heard on the internet. I had only heard a couple, mind you, and thought they were interesting, but it wasn't enough to really capture my fancy. Then I saw he would be performing here and I read his description on the flier, and two comparisons jumped out at me: Fennesz and Stars of the Lid. I must have heard the wrong songs on the internet...

Tuesday, July 17, 2007, 22:00 - Machinefabriek
Machinefabriek is Rutger Zuyderfeldt from Arnhem, here in the Netherlands. He is an electronic artist whose music ranges from ambient to harsh noise, drones, and everything in between. I was blown away by his live performance at the chapel ruins Tuesday night. He was joined by Robert Deters and the vocal assistance of a young lady known as Soccer Committee. Two tables full of electronic equipment, pedals, sound boards, wires, etc... manned by Rutger and Robert started the show off with some nice mounting pulses, which were joined by lovely vocal emanations from Soccer Committee. The vocals were blended into the mix so wonderfully that it took a second to recognize that what you were hearing was a female voice. A beautiful wall of sound was produced with much knob twiddling, so that the many layered textures could be slightly altered in turn. The sound was never still... Towards the end things began to get noisier, and by the very end Rutger had completely phased out everything but noise which he skillfully twisted and mangled a la Merzbow. It was excellent. The beautifully lit setting of the Ruin added the perfect atmosphere. Comparisons to Fennesz were not off the mark, but this particular session was not as ambient oriented as Stars of the Lid. The beginning could have been thought of as ambient music, except that it was LOUD. I'd say the whole thing was like Fennesz and Tim Hecker at their most abstract running into Merzbow. Except that Machinefabriek doesn't use a laptop! Anyway, it was an incredible performance and I'm now a fan. I only wish it had gone on longer... It was rather a short show. You can hear mp3s and check out more about Machinefabriek HERE. Here are my photos and video clips from my favorite performance so far in this week of free open-air concerts:

De Affaire pt. 3 - Animal Collective

After Leafcutter John wound up I made my way out of the geodesic dome and over to the larger open-air stage nearby, the Saddlespan stage sponsored by Doornroosje (cultural center/concert venue). The band was getting set up, so I was there just in time...

Monday, July 16, 2007, 22:45 - Animal Collective
Animal Collective had a much more elaborate setup... lots of electronic equipment, keyboards, mixers, and gadgetry I don't know much about at all due to my lack of finances... The only acoustic instruments I could see were a floor tom and some cymbals. They started out with a familiar tune, very nice vocal interplay between band members and a great mixture of electric beats with banging away on the drum and cymbals. Of course, vocals were all heavily delayed, and keyboard samples abounded. It all sounded very good, and was really fun, but it was rather different from what I was expecting, having heard a few of their albums. It was sort of like a weird trance or techno concert... deep bass beats and electronic loops. I didn't recognize many songs. But hey, it was good dancing music... They knew what they were doing up there. I was kind of out in the middle of the crowd, so it was hard to get a decent photo, but here they are.

De Affaire pt. 2 - Leafcutter John

The great lineups for Nijmegen's free week-long open-air music festival again drew me out to that historic hill where a castle keep once stood, the Valkhof park, to hear two groups. The first:

Monday, July 16, 2007, 21:45 - Leafcutter John
Leafcutter John is London-based John Burton, but here he was joined by a redheaded young lady who also sang and assisted with various noises as well as a melodica. Unfortunately I didn't catch her name. Again, the sound crew didn't do the best job... but it was very pleasant nonetheless. A classical guitar, laptop, voices, and an arsenal of noise-making trinkets (including a metal slinky) blended wonderfully, assisted by various loops, to create folk or singer-songwriter based songs. Noisy interludes and improvisational moments brought a special atmosphere to John's beautiful songs. The electronic aspect was nice, but the melodies on guitar and vocals were really what stood out. At times his melodies were reminiscent of Radiohead... Highlights included an improvised song about a horse named Stephen Hawkins at the crowd's request, as well as a moment when they invited a little boy named Boris from the audience to join them on stage and play a slide whistle. Oh, and the slinky of course! I tried to take a couple of videos, but the sound came out very mediocre. At least it looks nice, right? I suppose the photos turned out ok.

De Affaire pt. 1 - A Hawk and a Hacksaw

I was very pleased to see that several excellent musical entities were on the list for Nijmegen's week-long music festivities. I'm specifically talking about the section of those festivities held in the Valkhof park, called "De Affaire". The greatest part about it all is that it's free and it's held in open tents or just on open air stages...

Sunday, July 15, 2007, 21:45 - A Hawk and a Hacksaw

Last night my wife and I went into town to see A Hawk and a Hacksaw. They were playing under a sort of geodesic dome that was open on the side opposite the stage. I don't think the sound crew was that great, but that didn't stop the duo from sounding wonderful...

A Hawk and a Hacksaw's live sound was very loud. They played a set of traditional and traditional-style Balkan folk tunes on violin and accordion... Jeremy Barnes also had percussion set up that he could play with his feet. The percussion added a lot to their sound; crashing crescendos and booming bass-drum beats resulted in some very dynamic moments. It was all very danceable thanks to the bass drum that resembled a bodhran to my eye...

Heather Trost, the violinist, really added to the atmosphere of Barnes' music, complimenting his virtuosic polkas beautifully. He whistled on one tune, and they both sang on a couple of others. He kept bringing up how great it is that in Holland your tax money goes to things like free concerts instead of spending it on the military like in the U.S....

The highlight of the show had to have been when the power in the dome went out, and they came down into the crowd to play acoustic. Overall it was a great show, slightly different from what you hear on their albums (both on the post-everything Leaf label). I recommend seeing them live, it was great fun.

Here are the photos I got, some better than others....