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When I got back home from work this Thursday, a friend of mine was asking if someone was interested in seeing the band Embryo at the Roots (a very small and nice reggae bar in Darmstadt). We got there at about 21:00 and found a nice place on a couch in the music room (roughly the size of my bedroom :-O ).

The band itself arrived around 22:00 and sat down for a late african dinner. After moving in all those diverse instruments (e-guitar, bass, vibraphone, keyboard, trombone and some indian double-sided drum) they started playing. Their sound reminded me a lot of a more psychedelic version of the early Santana. I massively enjoyed those chilled tunes relaxing on the comfy couch. They played till 01:00, but it felt way shorter as I was so immersed into the sound.

After this concert, the musical balance of this week is regained (see prev. post).

Earlier this week I thought about seeing Gogol Bordello at the “Alte Feuerwache” in Mannheim. During the day at work I tended towards not going (it’s a 40min ride by car) when I heard a song of them on Radio Paradise. I decided to go to Mannheim and I bought a (not so cheap) ticket online.

In the evening I drove down to Mannheim and found a parking spot in the area after a few minutes search. I got to the venue around 9ish and had a unpleasant encounter at the entry. They refused to let me take my camera (non-SLR that is) inside! I really didn’t expect this from a band who call themselves punks. On the other hand I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised to see that the fully virtual ticket process went smoothly; as I don’t have a printer hooked up to my computer, I stored the ticket PDF I got online on my mobile and presented it to them. The girl typed in the number underneath the barcode and I could enter. I still wonder though if it is possible to scan the barcode from a display?

Inside, I got me a shandy and a few minutes later the band started. Soon I realised that their studio recordings were way better then their live show. The drumset was mixed way too loud, blowing everything else to pieces, which is especially sad, as they run a very interesting mix of instruments (e-violin, acoustic guitar, washboard percussion, …). Also their appearance on stage did not feel authentic, more like a well choreographed freak show. Being rather dissappointed, I just left about 1 hour into the show.

I guess one can’t always be lucky with the concerts, though the majority of the recent concerts was really good.

By coincidence I discovered an interesting upcoming concert in Frankfurt just that day. A “family run” balkan brass group.
“The quintessential brass Balkan band, originating from Vladicin Han, Southern Serbia, once again captures the mantle of leading band of Serbia (a title for which they have remained crowned since the late 80’s). Their music, performed by a twelve-piece strong band, is wholly defined by their own gypsy lineage whilst giving a knowing nod towards other musical and cultural backgrounds closely related to that of the Romani’s.” (myspace)
Father Boban is passing on the leadership of this group to his son Marko, which was nicely visible during the concert. At first Boban was in the center, directing the musicians. During the evening this slowly shifted, with Marko moving more and more into the center. My impression was that this also reflected in the music, getting more playful and incorporating modern, almost pop, elements. Definately a great concert, not at all what the prejudices reagarding brass bands in Germany are (old-folks stuff, …).