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The Best of Swiss Underground
I'm a big supporter of Swiss Bands, especially young ones who play cool music but haven't managed to make a break-through yet. So before going to the US I wanted to compile a playlist featuring songs from my favorite Swiss bands (one apiece).
Here goes:
Labels: coldeve, Labia, Marylane, Music, Switzerland
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Ill Niño, Labia & A.S.P. @ Salzhaus Winterthur
Yesterday marked a special day for Labia. It was the first time they were the opening act for an internationally famous band. Admitted they already played at several Festivals in front of big crowds, but a club show where everyone is there for either the main or the opening act is definitely another pair of shoes.
A little bit of back story: Ill Niño wanted to make a stop in Switzerland during their European Tour but were lacking support acts. The organization of these supporting acts fells to the manager of the Salzhaus in Winterthur, where the gig took place. He remembered seeing Labia in a concert and thinking that they were pretty cool. So he phoned Labia's guitarist to check if they were available and if they knew of another supporting act which could join them. The band was very pleased by this offer and accepted swiftly, proposing Aggressive Sound Painters (A.S.P.) as additional supporting act, having already played with them in Davos.
So that's the story how Labia got hold of this special gig. Now to the concert itself. A.S.P. were the first to play and even though they had a tough start, with many people still queuing outside or lingering around the bar, they played a solid show which slowly drew the people closer to the stage and could even animate some to dance along. I liked their performance a lot and was a bit sad to see them go after only 25 minutes. But that's show business. By the way, if you were wondering what A.S.P. sound like: imagine the first album of Disturbed ("The Sickness") with occasional and brief visits of Serj Tankjan. This time I was fast enough after the concert and I got hold of one of their CDs.
Next up were Labia and they started without warm-up directly with their harder songs. By now the room was decently full and around 400 of the 500 expected visitors were observing the show. Labia played a cool gig, showcasing all their best tunes and they were well received for it. The audience participation was very good and many people clapped, (tried to) dance along and there was even a small moshpit during two songs. During this gig I became aware of a peculiarity of Labia's sound and its effects on the uninitiated. Many people were dancing along, jumping around or headbanging but they were frequently distracted by the breaks and tempi changes in the songs. For me as a long time fan this was no problem, I knew where change my movements, but the newcomers to Labia's sound had a harder time. However, this variety is what I like most about Labia's music and I wouldn't want to miss it and I'm sure that this gig was a big success for them and hopefully brought many new listeners.
Last up were Ill Niño, obviously the main act of the evening because the Bar was now completely deserted ;). All in all they played a good concert including all their greatest hits and a couple of cover songs from bands such as Sepultura and Slayer. These cover songs were my personal highlights of their show, however, they couldn't convince me to buy one of their CDs. Yet the majority of people seemed pretty pleased.
And so ended the day which featured my 33rd Labia concert :)Labels: Concert, Labia, Music
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Labia, Aggressive Sound Painters & Pure Soundart @ Box, Davos
This surely had to be a new record: The longest distance I ever covered to get to a Labia concert. But with the winter nearing its end and the chance to go sledding (for the first time this winter) were strong enough arguments to go ahead with this undertaking.
The Box in Davos is an insider club in the alternative/punk-scene. It was such an insider tip, that we had to circle the block four times, before finding the correct entrance ;).
Pure Soundart opened this evening. Unfortunately their bassist couldn't make the trip (he only canceled at the last minute) and so they played an improvised unplugged gig instead. Considering these circumstances they did a good job. They even covered (more or less successfully) a song by Die Ärzte.
Next were the Aggressive Sound Painters from Zürich. Their innovative Modern Rock songs found approval and several people were dancing/head-banging right at the front of the stage from the very beginning. Even I was awakened from my slumber (it was a hard week and I just got over a harsh cold) and joined the first row to appreciate their show. I even would have bought one of their CDs, if the merchandise stand hadn't packed up too soon ^^.
Then, finally, it was Labia's time. Their first performance in Davos was received very well amongst the locals and the other bands. The crowd again was right in front of the stage from the first song and a minor moshpit was always on the verge of breaking out ^^. To follow a tradition or an old charter or something, Labia again had technical problems, this time Fernando's mike stopped working halfway through the first song... but they took this in their stride, finished the song and played an extended opening for the second song while the mike cable was exchanged. To our relief from then on everything went smoothly. I was extremely happy to have so many people partying along with me (I do remember gigs where I was the only one in front of the stage) and took the time to take pictures in between. Labia's set list was well thought out and contained both old favorites like 'Shiva' and 'Take it' as well as a brand new song 'Slice by Slice', which proves once again that they're steadily moving forward and another CD release might be possible in the near future. After almost an hour Labia left the stage to loud applause and only the closing time stopped them from playing another encore.
Mark Scherrer deserves a special mention, the bassist of Labia and Aggressive Sound Painters played two perfect gigs back to back and hardly broke a sweat nor missed a note.Labels: Labia, Music, Switzerland
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Dreiraumkultur: Music, Art and Culture in Wohlen
A special event took place in Wohlen this weekend. Three local cultural places teamed up to present two days of Music, Art and Culture, offering concerts, art exhibitions and short movies.
Yesterday evening started with a concert by BBFrances in the Kulturbeiz. BBFrances is a Singer/Songwriter with her heart and soul. This devotion is apparent in her songs, which are sometimes sad and sometimes uplifting, but always true and honest, as well as in her manner, not put out by a missed chord or a forgotten text passage she elegantly improvises and moves on to the next part. The memorable gig ended with an improvised song about the Kulturbeiz and its customers :)
The next concert took place in the Atelier Art & Bar. The room where the concert was held was tiny and with about 50 people present quite full. But on to the gig: Arise a nuMetal band took the stage and quickly showed us what they're trade was. However, the small room took its tolls, it was extremely loud and the singer was for the most part lost in the hubbub and I couldn't understand a word he was singing. It even took me awhile to recognize the Slipknot cover they played as an encore. The highlight of this gig was the quieter songs where they included a didgeridoo.
The Atelier Art & Bar had three rooms in total and they were all adorned by art from Kathrin Giger. Her paintings were very intriguing, but had a very dark recurring theme, way too depressing to hang them up in my room.
The third concert took place in the third premise, the Plattform, which was about three times the size of the Atelier and already filled to the brim by the time we arrived. Which didn't stop more people from arriving during the concert of Just A Hype. It is impossible to describe Just a Hype's musical genre, because they play everything. The one underlying theme that I could make out was that their music was very danceable in an indie easy listening rock kind of way. The crowd at least was very pleased with them and probably asked for several encores. I, however, didn't experience them because I needed fresh air and didn't want to miss the start of the last gig of the night.
Last up were Labia in the Atelier Art & Bar. I knew from Arise, that it would be loud so I equipped myself with earplugs. Unfortunately not everyone had so much foresight and several people left early because of the sound level. But let's backtrack a bit and cover some basic ground. This gig was a special one for Labia in three ways: First it was probably the smallest location they ever played in, second it was the first gig of Mark, Labia's new bassist and third they had a new song in their repertoire.
Right from the start they proved that the change of bass was not a burden but a refreshment. Mark fit in very well, bringing new influences and nuances to well known songs, at least well known to me, this being my 31st gig :). One hit song followed another slowly building up to the new song, but we never got there, because suddenly the police arrived, reporting that a neighbor complained about the noise (it was well past midnight at that stage)... So we did not get to hear the new song, but having the gig ended by the police is something special as well, even if this was the third time that it happened in Labia's history.
What remains after the gig are two thoughts:
1. Mark is a very good addition to the band, even though he is more relaxed and reserved on stage than Armando was, it didn't stop the flow of energy reaching out from the band to the audience. I do have high expectations of the new songs that will now surely display some new influences, bringing them to another level.
2. What bothered me most was the fact that only about twenty people turned up for the last concert, admittedly it was very loud but I was expecting at least some of the guys who partied with Arise back. Where is the curiosity to get to know new bands? I'm always making it a point to see bands I don't know if I happen to be in the vicinity...
Nevertheless I enjoyed myself a lot, as can be seen in this picture (I'm the guy in the orange t-shirt *g*):
 Labels: Labia, Music, Switzerland
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Goodbye Party @ GASB Uster
Two years after their first unplugged concert at the GASB in Uster (read more about it), Labia was asked to return once more to perform at GASB's Goodbye party.
This time, however, only Ari and Fernando, the Spanish speaking part of the band, took to the stage. To make the event even more special they covered a selection of their favorite songs such as 'Everyday is exactly the same' by Nine Inch Nails, 'Meds' by Placebo and 'Say it aint so' by Weezer. Nevertheless they didn't hesitate to add their own interpretation to the tunes and the result was breathtaking. Ari and Fernando both displayed their immense talent and the concert was over far too soon.
By the way, if I counted this as a Labia gig it would have been my 30st gig anniversary!
Same as last time the main act of the evening were Gigimoto and Jean-Pierre von Dach, who played a two set concert to great applause. Making this another great evening. It's a pity though that it was the last of its kind in this charming venue.
Ari and Fernando's song list:
- Hurt by Johnny Cash
- Go with the flow by Queens of the Stone Age
- Meds by Placebo
- Karma Police by Radiohead
- Feeling Good by Nina Simone
- Say it aint so by Weezer
Labels: Labia, Music
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Labia @ Sleepless in Bremgarten
Yesterdays Labia concert happened on a special occasion. Bassist Armando celebrated his 25th birthday and so he received his birthday cake on stage! But back to the beginning. The gig happened at the Sleepless Party in Bremgarten. The location was hard to find by car, because all of central Bremgarten is car-free and so I had to drive a big detour.
The Reussbrücke Saal which hosted the party is actually gymnasium. This led to a feeling of a big school ball, this was enforced by the music the DJ played (oldies, rock, party tunes). The advantage of the big location was the huge stage that was available for the bands, on the other hand there was lots of empty space to fill. And the about 100 people present still left a feeling of a lot of potential for more. Rapertoir Rüsstal were the opening act. That's about all I'm going to say about that, except that Rap just isn't my favorite kind of tea...
Then finally Labia took the stage. And they performed a breathtaking show, full of energy and enthusiasm that well deserved to be captured on DVD. Which, if everything goes according to plan, will happen. It's a pity though, that not more people were present to enliven the atmosphere. Even though a the people were enjoying the gig, the cheering was almost lost in the big hall...
Last to play were Metal on the Rocks, a metal/hard-rock band from the canton of Aargau, which deserve a special mention because of their use of a cello. Unfortunately the cello was at times lost in their energetic music.
The drive back was quite interesting as well, I spotted two foxes and one marten on respectively next to the road.Labels: Concert, Labia
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Andreas Thiel, Les Papillons & Labia
My Saturday evening started with something a bit more political: We went to the Theater am Hechtplatz in Zürich to view Politsatire 2 the new program of Andreas Thiel with Les Papillons as "Supporting Act". Thiel built his program on the success factors of the past: again he was on stage with a continuously refilling glass of champagne, again he had fun playing with the light (entering onto a pitch-dark stage, asking for house light to see the audience) and again his jokes were very sophisticated and not politically correct at all. But these are the reasons why I did go to see his show and I had a blast :). Les Papillons, actually the main act of the evening, Thiel was only making the announcements between their pieces, played a more dramatic and earnest set, giving their funnier arrangements a miss for once. They even managed to play an extremely political piece questioning America's foreign policy (as a reminder: Les Papillons are a violinist and a pianist and they play arrangements of existing compositions)! To sum up: it was a full success. The audience clapped so insistently that Thiel gave one of the famous Don Serapio sketches as an encore.
But the evening didn't end there! After a short reprieve at the lake, the weather is just fantastic!, I went to the next gig. A concert by Labia in the occupied house, formerly known as Juventus school. For an occupied house the party rooms were pretty decent. There was a bar with cheap drinks, a couple of sofas to hang around and enough electricity for the music. The atmosphere reminded me of a band room. Only the drum kit was on a small stage. Everything else was on the same floor as the audience and thus it was possible to dance between the band :). The quality of the concert was pretty bad, first off the sound equipment wasn't too good, then there was no mixer present and so Fernando had to change the settings between the songs himself. As if this wasn't bad enough, Fernando's hair got caught in Ari's guitar after the second song, leaving the guitar out of tune. Ari tried to do his best with tuning the guitar, but it was hard with so much background noise. Despite all these difficulties Labia managed to complete their set and entertain the audience, which gladly danced away. There wasn't such a big moshpit as in Winterthur but at least there was some action. What I liked most during this concert was the atmosphere. Being so close to (even between the band at times) was very special.
And thus this evening will remain in my memories for a while :).Labels: Concert, Labia
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An (almost) perfect Saturday
Yesterday was one of those days that are almost perfect and great fun to experience.
First up was a board-game / karaoke afternoon at Melissa's place. There I've learned a couple of useful things during karaoke, besides the fact that I can't sing, but I already knew that before. 1. Don't try to sing a song from Papa Roach if you don't know the Rap-parts by heart. 2. Breaking the Habit on the other hand did work, if you ignore the fact that I almost lost my voice trying to get up high enough *g*. 3. Do sing classic pop songs such as "Always look at the bright side of Life" (from Life of Brian) and "Chim Chimeree" (from Marry Poppins), because they're just terrific fun :)
But it didn't end there. The evening continued in Lucerne. There I attended a concert by Anxiety, Mole and (did you guess already?) Labia. The Kulturzentrum Boa couldn't have been a bigger contrast to their last gig in Erstfeld. The room was tiny, as was the stage. However there were enough people to fill the room and they were intent on having a good time and were supporting the bands avidly. To the bands. First up was Anxiety from Langenthal. They describe themselves as Death Rock and, to be frank, for me it was too much Death and not enough Rock ;). Anyways they did a good job and the crowd was pleased. Next up was Labia, who played another fantastic hardcore set. To my great delight I wasn't the only guy in front of the stage head banging, that's quite a change to the last two gigs. So it is fair to say, that this was one of their best shows recently, they played very powerful and accurate. In addition they managed to transfer their energy and enthusiasm to the audience who gladly accepted and had a great time. Last to play were Mole from Basel. They presented a technically top notch performance and convinced me to buy their latest EP to appreciate their music more regularly :).
But the night didn't end there either. Next was a visit to the Abart. There the Masters of Rock party was just slowing down, by the time I arrived. It was 3am after all. Still the songs the dj's played were very cool and a couple of my favorites were among them. In addition I had time to chat with a couple of friends I haven't seen in a while.
And that's all folks. I got home extremely tired but very happy :).Labels: abart, Concert, Labia
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Labia: 25
It may seem hard to belief, but I visited my 25th Labia concert yesterday :). Well actually it was only a very short show, taking place at the Swiss Metal Battle in the club Transilvania in Erstfeld. Two of the five participating bands could win a ticket for the Swiss Final in the Salzhaus in Winterthur.
First to the club itself: It is an extremely cool location, well decorated with lots of space. This turned out to be a drawback, however, because there weren't enough people around to fill the empty places...
Labia's gig was great, they played a very powerful and hard-core set consisting of three new(er) Songs as well as the old favorite Shiva. Looked at from a technical aspect, Labia was far superior to most of the other contestants. Unfortunately, the jury was looking for a strait metal band and they didn't appreciate Labia's more melodious side. So two other bands made the cut. To be fair, SAC played a very solid, if a bit monotonous set. On the other hand I can't quite agree with the nomination of the second band, of course I'm biased, but even when they were playing I couldn't get the hang of their drummer, whose base drum seemed quite out of synch with the rest of the band at times.
Anyways, this event just goes to show again that Labia cannot be pigeonholed into a genre and thus form a league of their own ;).
It being such a special event for me (25 gigs is quite an achievement, I think *g*), we took a picture with the band:
 Labels: Concert, Labia
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Labia & Henchman @ Böröm Pöm Pöm
Having missed the last two Labia concerts in December because of my vacation, it was a no-brains decision to go support them in Oberentfelden.
Böröm Pöm Pöm, was the location of this gig. A small, but neat party location in the industry zone of Oberengstringen. It may sound like the end of the world, but there is a connection to the autobahn just down the road.
Labia played a very powerful and energetic metal set. And, as usual, I was happily head-banging in the first row :). At times I almost missed the older quieter songs, I could have used them to get my breath back. Five new songs (either all new or songs that I haven't heard before) were part of their set, showing a tendency to harder metal, maybe a consequence of the addition of Phillip on the drums. I very much liked what I heard and had a fantastic time. My neck still feels like it isn't sure if it wants to stay connected to my head ;).
Headlining the evening were Henchman, promoting their new album Unmistaken. They convinced with solid, energetic alternative rock, definitely a band to keep an ear out for. Which shouldn't be too hard, with their CD now part of my modest music collection :).
Between the two concerts I used the free time to have a look at the approaching lunar eclipse. I even spotted the red moon at the hight of the eclipse after the gig, unfortunately there were a lot of clouds around and I couldn't get a picture... Maybe next time in 20 years or so :).Labels: Concert, Labia
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Pre-Halloween Concert
A Pre-Halloween Concert with Labia and Mephisto System brought me to Zug. To honour the occasion I went dressed as a soldier (with the armor I bought that morning). Needless to say, I was the only one in a costume, unless you consider Goths as people wearing costumes ;). Anyways, it was the second concert from Labia with their new drummer Phillip. This time they presented two new songs which promise interesting times to come :)
 Labels: Concert, Labia
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Schnirkel Openair
After a long absence Labia finally made a return to the stage. They spent the last couple of weeks practicing with their new drummer Philipp (formerly PX-Pain). The difference was apparent. The drum is twice as big as before and the music got a bit harder, nevertheless, the famous variability is still present.
But back to some more ordered thoughts. Labia rocked as the last band at midnight in front of a couple of hundred people at the quaint Schnirkel Openair in Glattfelden. The show was fantastic! Labia even played a song from Slayer in the middle of their set. The audience received them very well and didn't stop asking for encores, which unfortunately couldn't be fulfilled.
I've seen Labia 22 times now and I can't wait for the next show!Labels: Concert, Labia
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Labia: 20 times
After a long absence I visited another Labia concert yesterday. It took place close to Zurich in a small club called Rock City. The concert was great, unfortunately there was almost no one there... This was the first time I saw their new drummer, and I was impressed by his performance, he seems to fit very well into the band. Actually I just realized a couple of minutes ago, that this was the twenties time that I've seen them live. Sometimes time really seems to fly...Labels: Concert, Labia
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Another concert
There's just no time to relax. In the Grabenhalle in St. Gallen was another great concert. Mostly Harmless opened the evening. They played a really cool set. I was headbanging so hard, that my neck started to hurt really bad. After a short break Labia came on stage. They played almost the same set as yesterday, but today they inserted a cover of "50 cent". There was a lot going on in front of the stage, it took me a while till I found myself in the front row... Labia played mostly their newer songs including my current favorites "Number 1" and "Take it". After an hour the show was over and I desperately needed something to drink and a place to relax. The last band to play this evening was Mephisto System. However, their show didn't quite convince me, everything sounded kinda similar... Anyway it was a fantastic evening... And my neck is slowly starting to recover ;-).Labels: Concert, Labia
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Openair Grienen
A small open air festival near Winterthur on an old farm. Labia was headlining. The concert was very cool, unfortunately only 60 people were around. But those who were there seemed to enjoy it.Labels: Concert, Labia
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Finally
After a long absence Labia returned to the stage. The first concert of this year took place in the "Kraftfeld" in Winterthur. The location was packed, especially during the concerts. Labia played a great gig, which was very well received by the audience. During the show they played three new songs which will be on the forthcoming EP. The new songs focus a bit more on melodies, they show the versatility of the band perfectly. That's what I like about them so much, the diversity of their songs. All in all, the concert was fantastic, I had a great time.
The second band of the evening was Backwash, they play old-school kick-ass rock n' roll. They had good songs and enthusiastic fans, however I was content with sitting at the back and relaxing a bit.Labels: Concert, Labia
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Last Week
I do have problems with my internet connections at home so I'll keep this one brief.
Last Tuesday I went to a concert by Corvus Corax, they played an acoustic concert with 5 people playing bagpipes, flutes and other strange medieval instruments and 3 people playing drums. Great Show and an enthusiastic audience :-).
On Friday I went to a concert by Subway to Sally and, as usual, they played a fantastic two hour set.
Saturday was a Halloween party where Krüger23 and Labia played live. It was a very interesting show because Labia played a couple of cover songs (so cold from Static-X, Cape Fear from Fantomas, a song from Deftones, one from Marilyn Manson and one from Ministry). They faced minor difficulties with the technical equipment and they still managed to play a very convincing gig. I had a great time :-).
Monday my parents opened their new restaurant "Spycher" with an opening ceremony which was a huge success, I arrived only later in the evening because I had school for the whole day, but the place was still packed.
Last but not least, I managed to put the pictures of my Ireland trip online -->.Labels: Concert, Labia
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Unlucky 13?
Yesterday was another concert of Labia, they played as opening act for Gigimoto at the GASB in Uster. Before the concert I had time to chat with the band and I could take a picture with them (see below) ;-) . This was the 13th time I've seen Labia in concert, this time they played one of their rare, maybe even their last, acoustic concert. However there was nothing unfortunate about this gig. Labia played a, at least in my eyes, flawless concert and the crowd was well pleased, they even asked for an encore. They played four of their softer songs (About, Without a Trace, Unique and another one) and two covers (one from Radiohead and one from Wheezer) and even though they only played the covers for the second time (first time was on Wednesday to practice) they sounded extremely solid.
After a short break Gigimoto and Jean-Pierre von Dach entered the small stage. They played a great show, which concluded a successful evening.
However I had not yet enough, so I went to the Abart. The party of the evening was Maximum Kick (nu metal, crossover, industrial & old school), and it held what it promised. After half an hour I was already totally exhausted. In the end I stayed till 3 am and I was quite happy to finally catch up with a bit of sleep.Labels: Concert, Labia
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