The first thing you notice once you enter the venue called Trix is that not many people have showed up to see the next big hype from England. Maybe they’re waiting and will come later, I thought, as first we had to see Waldorf.
Waldorf are a Belgian band who are already around since 2001 but most of the members were seeking other places (one member went to Soulwax) but the brain from this band, Wolfgang Vanwymeersch kept on believing in himself which ended up in their debutalbum on the quite legendary Belgian label Kinky Star.
So far the history, the music is something totally different as a friend already told me they were quite like Queens Of The Stone Age. You can blame me but if I hear QOTSA as a reference, the alarmbell in me goes ringing cuz if there’s one thing I cann’t stand it must be stoner rock. Waldorf were not different, average songs played with a lack of enthusiasm. They did their thing, they brought 6 or 7 songs but as soon as the gig was over none of my braincells got touched.
If there is one positive thing about Waldorf then it must be their drummer Brecht Decroos, one of the best Belgian drummers I ever saw but as you can guess a brilliant drummer doesn’t makes a band good….
And there was Big Pink. Big Pink are huge in the UK, not only have they won the NME-award for best new act but the album “A brief history of love” that’s been released on 4-AD was seen in every list.
You can blame the British press for their hunger for hypes but the hype around this London-based electronic duo is at its place. You just don’t feel that vibe in Belgium yet cos the cosy venue was filled with 150 people who wanted to see what’s it all about. But as always it were only those who weren’t there who were wrong cuz from the very first second you saw that Big Pink are a band who do more than just play their album.
While their album is pretty poppy and at times quite like Placebo, the sound they produce on stage is totally different. It’s no wonder that singer/guitarist Robbie Furze used to be the guitarist from Alec Empire because all they wanna do is letting your ears tremble. A constant noisy fuzzguitar dominates the whole sound while keyboardplayer Milo Cordell conjures magnificent industrial sounds, and from someone who wears an Einsturzende Neubauten-jacket you know what you can expect.
The sound was so loud that you couldn’t hear Akiko’s drumming, but apart for her, nobody complained because watching Big Pink was as exciting as seeing Jesus & The Mary Chain during their” Psychocandy”-years.
Some people will be complaining that the band are seeking more industrial sounds for their concerts but it’s just that add which gives it an extra touch, even such a touch that after seeing them live you can accuse them of having made an album with a rather lame sound. Superb.
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