Eurovision Song Contest 2013

You can listen to 'Only teardrops' here.

Being at a birthday of family made me look at and listen to the European Song Contest for the first time since I do not know when. In the 70s I was stuck to the tv, like everyone else of my generation that grew up with two channels. We saw Vicky Leandros win, Anne-Marie David, ABBA, Teach-In, but after that it slowly becomes a blur and not much later a total no-go zone. The music was not to my taste, so why watch? In the past ten years I saw headlines complaining on the east-Europeans supporting each other to victories with horrendous show songs of no quality. Blissfully it all went past me, including the Dutch delegation that never reached finals any more. (People, as Doe Maar sang in 1982: "There's a button on your TV!) So here I am in 2013. The first birthday I was at for years also in which we watched tv. What conclusions did I arrive at?

A show is a show. The Swedish organisation knows how to make a show. The Malmö Arena was packed and the visuals were all well done. Some corny tries at humor aside, the show part was flawless. Directed well and aimed at presenting a huge party to the audience and viewers. No complaints there.

The first entry, by France, surprised me. This lady, Amadine Bourgeois, rocked pretty hard and I found myself appreciating the song to some extend. I've heard better songs like this one about hell (l'enfer), but she rocked in music and voice. Looking back this may have been my winner, although it is hard to pick out one song of 27.

Straight away I noticed a big difference with let's say 1980: the entries could have been play-backing. The huge orchestra with a national conductor per song in front of it had been let go and replaced by a tape or cd. Just singing and backing vocals, nothing else. If there were instruments on stage, some were bands, it was all playback. Another major difference was the show element. All the dancing, the gimmicks, etc.. There was a lot that had nothing to do with singing, but with show. 1800 drummer boys, small stage elevators enveloped by endlessly long dresses, Japanese drumming, a giant carrying the singer, nothing was too weird. Azerbaijan was best. The caged image to the singer was very well thought out and executed. The spider man got the girl, that was surprising. I'm sure that if the Greek Gogol Bordello-like entry had had an inflatable boat to do some crowd surfing in, it would have become second. Almost all hated this song, but I thought it pretty good. A combination of traditional Greek music with punkrock, sheer fun.

The bottom was reached with Romania. I suppose this is what people call camp, but a castrato singing opera over a modernised disco beat is what I call plain stupid, especially wearing a Dracula cape and being elevated on stage, long cape and all, in the same way as the fellow Romanians from Moldavia. The only thing I could do to save myself was scream back at the tv screen.

What I also noticed is that the countries accused of gimmicks had some real European songcontest songs. Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaidjan, Estonia, all had serious entries and what I call European Song Contest songs. What we call in the Netherlands neither fish nor meat, but well sung. There were some modern dance influenced songs, like Germany, Denmark. The last one, as we know now, won. Denmark delivered a diddle, a catchy melody, but absolutely nothing worth memorising or spending more than a second on. Some did "power ballads". The Scorpions found out that they ought to be very popular in Armenia. (Better send System of a Down next year.) In Italy the songs haven't changed in thirty years. Zucchero must be happy. Finland was still bringing political messages. This time pro gay marriage.

In the scoring was some matchfixing if I ever saw one. If things were only as obvious in football... The scoring never really got exciting. Denmark got on top and never really was in danger. Clearly it is possible to predict the winner. As my son said, they better hire these bookmakers than the current research agencies predicting political outcomes.

And Anouk? When I heard the song for the first time I thought: this will make the final. 'Birds' is a special song, a weird one, but not a good one. It is impossible to memorise, hard to sing along with and infinitesimally sad. But 'Birds' has quality and is a daring entry. The ninth place was well deserved. Anouk sang well, with a slight quiver in the second line, but after she that relaxed, seemed sure of her self and she looked happy to be there. I found that she is able to smile. Didn't know that, actually. 'Birds' stood out, but was not a winner. Anouk is more famous in Europe now, with a somewhat a-typical song for her. She looked pretty, authentic and carried this song that could be on the repertoire of someone like Frank Sinatra very well. I like some of her rock tracks a lot better.

So, you just learned of my unsuspected tv adventure. Don't expect reports in the coming years though.

Wo.

The Wood Brothers live in QBus Leiden

You can listen to 'Mary Anna' here.

The Wood Brothers are singer/guitarist Oliver and bass/harmonica/background vocalist Chris with drummer/melodica/chitar/backing vocalist Jano Rix. The trio plays everything on the verge of rhythm and blues, soul, gospel, folk, jazz and blues. All in this pleasant way. Every song has this melody that is explored in depth and the most is gotten out of one harmony wise. Musically there is never a dull moment, as this trio is good. Songs are flowing freely, organically and musically. Not only listening is advised when attending the Wood Brothers, watching how they play is also. All three are extremely proficient on their instruments.

It is safe to say that The Wood Brothers are descendants from The Band. The melodica is the poor man's replica of Garth Hudson's accordion. I just could not help picturing Hudson on stage at those moments. The rough voice of Levon Helm is missing in the Wood Brothers, but the rest is there, including an encore of 'Ain't no more cane'. (Not the first time that I heard that song in the Q Bus!) Thus all directions of Americana, old and new, were explored by the trio. It made for a very diversified evening, 'Across the great divide' and back..

There are some things that stand out. The drummer picks up a, cheap looking, guitar before the first song and this melodica. The guitar however is his version of a charismo. Miked-up, all sorts of percussive sounds come from the instrument, more a bongo with all sorts of embellishments. In between he plays keyboard parts. Chris Wood plays a stand up bass so old that it looks like it traversed the Wild West and everything since. Still all these beautiful, smooth sounds come out of it, belying its looks. A little harmonica is played as well. Oliver sings with a bit nasal sound, close to a Southern drawl we know from the movies, but has a fine, clear voice. As soon as Chris and Jano weave themselves around Oliver's voice, magic is in the air. Jano displays all these tricks with drumming, incorporating percussive instruments into the drumming and adds major to the sounds of the two brothers and sings great in his own right as well.

A major highlight was Chris Wood doing a Ry Cooder, 'Paris, Texas' trick on his bass. Bowing the instrument he played this desolate blues with all the wines and stops like Cooder does on the soundtrack of Wim Wenders' famous desert movie. This was pretty amazing. With naming Ry Cooder here's another big name the Wood Brothers compare to and favorably. Both explore American music of the past and bring it to the here and now.

To conclude. This was a fun evening with great musicians. They plan to be around again next year, I would not miss them if I were you.

Wo.

You an order 'Loaded' here


or 'Smoke ring halo' here

The Jason Serious Band Live in QBus Leiden

You can listen to 'Jessie's reel' here.

The Jason Serious Band comes from Munich in Germany and is comprised of an American singer and an Australian banjo player with a German rhythm section. The band tours behind its first record 'Undercover folk'. Up to this day I had never heard of this band, did not even know it existed and still it is possible to enjoy the music live. The front three, Alto on bass, Jason on acoustic guitar and Dave on banjo, kicked off the show in a three piece harmony and I knew in that one moment that this support act would not go wrong. And it didn't. (Joschi plays drums.)

The Jason Serious Band plays good old country music with a modern and a somewhat more traditional twist, but never keeled over into the sort of country that sends shivers up my spine for the wrong reasons. In a song when it came close to that happening, Jason led the band into this bridge that made everything o.k. Just plain beauty. There were more of these moments, especially during the three piece harmony singing.

The band shows that it has several folk and country styles under the belt. The Irish influenced 'Jessie's reel' was one of the highlights. Not in the least because of the very fluent electric bass solo. Ballads went really well, as well as more up tempo songs. The variation did its work very well, making the show fun to listen to with unexpected bends and curves.

Not that anything special happened. There are no virtuoso in this band, but The Jason Serious Band knows how to write a good song and play it well. My attention never wavered for a second, although my best guess is that I would never play a record often. Perhaps I'm wrong, but will not find out right now. If I can find it on Spotify and like it I will let you know.

If you like this sort of music and The Jason Serious Band is in town, you can't go wrong. Don't expect fireworks, but decent playing and good singing. There are evenings that I do not ask for much more.

Wo.

You can order 'Under cover folk' here.

The next day. David Bowie (2)

Je kunt hier naar 'The stars (are out tonight)' luisteren.

Nadat eerder Wo. de eerste single 'Where are we now?' (klik hier) en The next day (klik hier) besprak, is het nu de beurt aan Erwin Zijleman.

Wie een paar maanden geleden een nieuwe plaat van David Bowie had voorspeld, zou waarschijnlijk voor gek zijn verklaard. Bowie leek na zijn serieuze gezondheidsproblemen van een aantal jaren geleden definitief de stekker uit zijn actieve carrière te hebben getrokken en tot voor kort wees helemaal niets op een terugkeer. Inmiddels weten we beter. David Bowie is terug met The Next Day en staat opeens weer in het middelpunt van de belangstelling. Op basis van de single is The Next Day al door menigeen uitgeroepen tot de beste Bowie plaat in een aantal decennia, waardoor mijn verwachtingen op zijn minst hooggespannen waren. Nu zegt de beste Bowie plaat in een aantal decennia niet zo gek veel. Voor zijn laatste wapenfeiten moeten we minstens tien jaar terug in de tijd en komen we terecht bij de aardige maar zeker niet opzienbarende platen als Reality, Heathen en Hours. Hiervoor zaten een aantal platen waarvan ik geen chocola kon maken (Earthling en Outside) en flink wat zwakke broeders (Black Tie White Noise, Never Let Me Down, Tonight en in iets mindere mate Let’s Dance). Hiervoor kwam de laatste echt goede Bowie plaat, Scary Monsters, maar die plaat is inmiddels al 33 (!) jaar oud. Van Scary Monsters naar Heroes is maar een stapje van drie jaar en Heroes is naar verluid een belangrijke inspiratiebron geweest voor The Next Day. Dat zie je op de hoes, die voor een belangrijk deel is gebaseerd op de hoes van Heroes, maar je hoort het ook terug in een aantal tracks op The Next Day. The Next Day blijft echter zeker niet hangen in de Berlijnse jaren van David Bowie, maar lijkt vrijwel zijn hele oeuvre te recyclen. Als je goed naar The Next Day luistert, hoor je zo ongeveer de hele carrière van David Bowie voorbij komen, maar een herhalingsoefening is de plaat zeker niet. Zeker in de beste tracks op de plaat horen we de David Bowie die we al heel lang niet meer gehoord hadden. Bowie is nog altijd uitstekend bij stem, heeft zich omringd met muzikanten uit zijn rijke verleden en wist niemand dan oude meester Tony Visconti te strikken voor de productie. Veel belangrijker is het feit dat Bowie eindelijk weer eens geïnspireerd en urgent klinkt en dat hij eindelijk weer eens songs heeft geschreven die iets memorabels in zich hebben. De luxe editie van de plaat bevat 17 songs en dat is misschien wat veel van het goede, maar tussen deze 17 songs zitten er zeker 10 en misschien zelfs wel 12 die je weten te betoveren. Met name de songs die refereren aan de muziek die Bowie in zijn beste jaren maakte en de meer gitaar georiënteerde songs weten steeds meer te imponeren, vooral omdat Bowie er op één of andere manier in slaagt om de inspiratie uit het verleden om te vormen tot een fris en eigentijds geluid. The Next Day is uiteindelijk op meerdere manieren te beoordelen. Wanneer je de plaat vergelijkt met de klassiekers uit Bowie’s rijke oeuvre, volgt The Next Day op bescheiden afstand in de subtop. Als je de plaat vergelijkt met alles wat Bowie sinds Scary Monsters heeft gemaakt, steekt The Next Day er met kop en schouders bovenuit. Uiteindelijk kun je de plaat misschien maar het beste als een op zichzelf staande plaat beoordelen. In dat geval doet David Bowie mee met de betere platen van het moment. Wie had dat een aantal maanden geleden durven voorspellen? Ik niet.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt The next day hier bestellen


of hier

Ladera. Shane Alexander

You can listen to a few songs here.

One of my favourite records of 2010 was 'Mono solo' by Shane Alexander. Several songs he wrote on 'Mono solo' were the best he'd ever written. In 2011 I did an interview with Shane for WoNo Magazine that was later published on the blog also (click here). In 2012 he released The Greater Good together with Dennis Koolen and Eugene Ruffalo (click here). At the trio's show last fall (click here) Shane showed me the cover photo of Ladera. And as you can now see it has turned out to be a beautiful cover, his best to date.

Shane Alexander and I musically go back to 2003 when he released his first full length album. On the cover of 'The middle way' you can see a lone man walking, guitar case in hand. This invoked the image in me of a lone, harsh singer-songwriter or a young Bob Dylan. I always thought that the image did not relate to the music on the record, which I liked, but did not yet think was special. This only changed with 'Mono solo'. And now Ladera his here, his fifth album. An album he funded through crowd sourcing.

In short, Ladera totally convinces. On his new album Shane Alexander continues the quality of 'Mono solo' and even takes it to new levels. Opening song 'One so young' rivals many a Simon & Garfunkel song and would not look bad in between the better The Beatles ballads. That the song at its finish goes off into psychedelic overtones, which are there in atmosphere not performance during the whole song, with Arab sounding guitar notes, does not matter. The tone for Ladera is set.

On Ladera Alexander gives his audience songs in a (near) solo setting as well as in a band setting. In the former we hear just his voice, his beautifully sounding, clean voice and his guitar playing singer-songwriter motives, in the latter he allows himself to rock in a dignified way or swoons in the slow rhythms of 'Far as I can tell'. This ballad is so beautiful. The screaming guitar, mixed to a soft level in one ear, a banjo going for it in the other, together with an organ give 'Far as I can tell' its own unique texture. A lot of attention went into details, as the sparse accompaniment in several songs shows. All in the right place and time. Just listen to 'Open your eyes' to know what I mean. 'Rainclouds of knowable things' is a great example of a song that is 100% Shane Alexander.

With Ladera Shane Alexander lifts along a little on the new psychedelic rage, but without leaving himself behind. In the end he has to play these songs on his own with just his guitar and perhaps a friend harmonising at times (like Dennis Koolen in The Netherlands). The psychedelica is not so much evident as it is this undercurrent on the record. An organ back in the mix, an ooh-aah chorus, not much more than that. What I also appreciate is the slow played banjo in a few songs. e.g. 'The enemy inside'. Of course this makes a song nudge towards a country setting and certainly so if a pedal steel is added as well. Again it does not make 'The enemy inside' an un-Shane Alexander song. To the contrary.

In the lyrics Shane Alexander in doing some soul searching. Reflectively taking stock of who he is and where he came from. Looking back at his life and family. In the final song 'Ladera' he's hiding from the ghost inside. Again, 'Ladera' is a great song, special.

With Ladera Shane Alexander has made a record that is different in small details from his previous ones. Ladera is more subtle. Instruments really stand out, giving each song its own signature. In this the growth of Shane Alexander's career shows through. He is more interesting to follow with each new record.

Wo.

You can order Ladera here