| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Crispy Water |
Posted - 10/12/2005 : 13:44:55
Damo Suzuki is touring Canada this week and next, and hitting my home grounds next Thursday.
Do you understand how great this is? This is DAMO SUZUKI!!! A stupid computer cannot possibly convey my excitement.
Dates:
October 11 Hamilton
October 12 Waterloo
October 13 London
October 14 Ottawa
October 16 Toronto
October 20 Edmonton
October 23 Calgary
I know one of them is already past, but I put these all here in case you have any interest and didn't already know. I didn't find out about this until late last night.
http://www.damosuzuki.de
Nothing is ever something. |
| 29 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Crispy Water |
Posted - 11/09/2005 : 19:29:49
Ah yes, there was a review in one of the local free weeklies. Culled from the October 27 edition of See Magazine:
Brain candy
Damo Suzuki stuns music geeks with a unique performance
Damo Suzuki w/Ron DeJong, Kris Burwash, Gavin Dunn, Nickelas Johnson, and Lane Arndt, Thu, Oct 20, Sidetrack Café
"I don't speak any language," exclaimed Kenji "Damo" Suzuki on CJSR's "You're Soaking In It" that afternoon.
As he talked softly into the microphone, the tiny Japanese-born man said to have contributed in incommensurable ways to the development of modern music through his work with kraut-rock legends Can in the early 1970s, gave off a certain sense of serenity, a delicate aura of quiet leadership.
It was hard to believe we were standing next to a true underground music legend, a man so completely dedicated to his craft (yet, strangely detached) that it was only natural for him to expose himself without any hesitation in a strange combination of Japanese-infused English slightly touched with the characteristic tinges of a German accent.
However, maybe his answer was a little craftier than I had originally suspected. It wouldn't be until Suzuki took the stage later that day that it would occur to me he might have been referring to music as a languae - and his music being unlike any language spoken before.
The Sidetrack felt stranger than usual that evening. The handful of people hunched over their tables, dimly illuminated by the flicker of candlelight, did not know what to expect. Perhaps it was the most thrilling part of the experience: to be completely left in the dark as to what would come out of the three scheduled sets Suzuki would be playing with a few selected local musicians that night.
Part beatnik spoken-word (his pre-Can days as a street poet were strongly influenced by Kerouac's On The Road), part scat-singing à la Louis Armstrong, Suzuki's ramblings over a wave of experimental noise came as a strange tour de force. Deep in trance, convulsively throwing his long greying mane about as he clutched the microphone, Suzuki spoke-sung-screamed-whispered incomprehensively to a stunned audience that stared with an odd mixture of admiration and disbelief.
Musically, it didn't make much sense until late in the second set when drummer Ron DeJong finally led the makeshift band into a long-awaited rock-out, using his kit to give structure to what had been, until then, a rather disjointed venture. Lane Arndt, Nickelas Johnson, and Gavin Dunn gleefully accepted the opportunity to constructively use their guitars and, for a brief instant, true genius emerged.
Ultimately, it was a one-of-a-kind evening for music nerds, albeit one that probably left a few cold. It was also often beautiful, scary, and emotionally sung in a language that didn't need to be understood, but rather experienced in all its tribal, groundbreaking glory in a way that anyone could somehow understand.
François Marchand
Nothing is ever something. |
| Cult_Of_Frank |
Posted - 10/26/2005 : 09:41:18
Whew, I thought it was going to be something bad... what a relief!
 "Join the Cult of Frank / And you'll be enlightened" |
| BLT |
Posted - 10/25/2005 : 13:33:52
quote:
Originally posted by Cult_Of_Frank
I can't see the page linked, but I'm sure Doan is some sort of really nice sandwich or snack treat...
Here ya go, D[o/e]an.
 |
| Cult_Of_Frank |
Posted - 10/25/2005 : 05:16:03
I can't see the page linked, but I'm sure Doan is some sort of really nice sandwich or snack treat...
Sorry, Lyn!
"Join the Cult of Frank / And you'll be enlightened" |
| BLT |
Posted - 10/24/2005 : 10:51:28
quote:
Originally posted by Carolynanna
Did Dean just call me Caroline?
Them's fighting words.
In retaliation, you should call him Doan.
|
| Carolynanna |
Posted - 10/24/2005 : 08:52:25
Did Dean just call me Caroline?
__________
Don't believe the hype. |
| floop |
Posted - 10/23/2005 : 12:57:05
quote:
Originally posted by Cult_Of_Frank
Then it should be meh, eh?
"Join the Cult of Frank / And you'll be enlightened"
take off eh |
| Crispy Water |
Posted - 10/23/2005 : 12:57:03
I guess the stuff playing before the Damo show was a lot more varied and interesting, so maybe I should give it another shot before cutting them down too badly.
Nothing is ever something. |
| Crispy Water |
Posted - 10/23/2005 : 12:56:04
quote:
Originally posted by Cult_Of_Frank
Doesn't Victory Lounge have something on Wednesdays called I Am Damo Suzuki or something like that? Are they still around? Crispy? Caroline?
Indeed they do, and those DJs opened the show on Thursday. I Am Damo Suzuki is the name of a song by The Fall, and I'm not sure which inspired the name of the club night. I went to the first one last summer because they had it hyped up as the night to hear all this different music you never hear at a bar, but it was a disappointment. The night was pretty much all loud, noisy beat-crazed stuff that I think some people refer to as "electro punk" or something. There were a few good songs, but it wasn't what I had pumped myself up for.
I mean, with a name like that for their theme night one would think they might play Can or The Fall at least once. Maybe they do now, I'm not enough of a bar guy to find out.
Nothing is ever something. |
| Cult_Of_Frank |
Posted - 10/23/2005 : 12:52:06
Then it should be meh, eh?
"Join the Cult of Frank / And you'll be enlightened" |
| floop |
Posted - 10/23/2005 : 12:45:12
quote:
Originally posted by Crispy Water
quote:
Originally posted by floop
i've heard Mooney Suzuki..
eh
So what's the deal - is this a poke-fun-at-all-the-'nucks "eh," or is it an I-heard-them-and-it's-nothing-special "eh?"
Nothing is ever something.
actually it wasn't meant as a Canada burn, unfortunately.. i mean't "eh" as in, nothing spectacular. you know what i mean eh? |
| Cult_Of_Frank |
Posted - 10/23/2005 : 12:34:39
Don't worry about Winnipeg, the guy's not stopping in SK this time either, so... :)
Doesn't Victory Lounge have something on Wednesdays called I Am Damo Suzuki or something like that? Are they still around? Crispy? Caroline?
"Join the Cult of Frank / And you'll be enlightened" |
| HeywoodJablome |
Posted - 10/23/2005 : 12:28:41
I never heard this guy so I'll have to check him out. I like the Boredoms and saw Merzbow which kind of resembles your show review. Interesting stuff. |
| BLT |
Posted - 10/23/2005 : 11:43:03
Thanks. Sounds like a weird show. |
| Crispy Water |
Posted - 10/23/2005 : 09:59:33
Well.......okay.
I don't know how much can really be said about something like this; I'm sure I won't do it justice - one of those "had to be there" type events. We got there a couple hours early and the place was pretty dead. Damo showed up shortly thereafter and was looking around kind of laughing, perhaps at how empty the place was. Many minutes and many beers later they took the stage. The band was a bunch of young locals, a couple of which I'd never seen before. Two guitars (one pedal steel), a bass, a drummer, and a keyboard/sampler guy. By this time there were probably about seventy folks in the crowd - more than before, but whatever the count was it was the smallest crowd I'd ever seen at this club.
As stated, the show was free-flowing and as far as I could tell the music was completely improvised. The first five minutes or so the band was kind of meandering, trying to get their levels just right. The first set didn't quite hit me that hard. I think the performers were having a bit of trouble getting their feet underneath themselves. They took a break of about twenty minutes, and came back out on fire! The first couple minutes of their second set must have been somehow directed, as they came out with just the fastest, most rockin' tune of the evening. They just strode onstage, the drummer counted them in, and there they went. It had a good deal of the urgency most people associate with Can, and Damo was obviously enjoying himself a lot more this time around. There wasn't really any chat at the audience except at the end of sets, but his comfort level was indicated by increased play with voice and more relaxed body language.
I don't know, the fact that there weren't any songs I knew or could identify makes it a bit difficult to express what was happening when, but there are a couple of complaints:
1) one guitarist seemed to spend much of the evening toying with feedback, which is okay if it's not constant. The band didn't create much space for itself: for the better part of the show each instrument was going full-on and sometimes it just got a little too noisy to figure out what they were trying to do.
2) the singer didn't take many breaks either. Opportunities the band might have taken to explore an idea were probably lost on most of the audience because whatever they did, Damo was muttering or growling or chirping over. Oh well, I guess it was his show, and if you paid enough attention you could hear what the musicians were doing; I just would have liked to hear them wander a bit without the distraction of the frontman.
All in all, I had a blast, and the show was certainly unique. Anyone with interest in Can or the Suzukian one would be wise to make the effort, should your town ever be chosen.
Nothing is ever something. |
| BLT |
Posted - 10/21/2005 : 16:03:00
Pleeeeeeaze tell us. |
| Crispy Water |
Posted - 10/21/2005 : 15:56:12
The show went down last night, and it was absolutely crazy. I won't bother with details unless someone asks, but this was quite out there.
Nothing is ever something. |
| Crispy Water |
Posted - 10/21/2005 : 15:54:30
quote:
Originally posted by floop
i've heard Mooney Suzuki..
eh
So what's the deal - is this a poke-fun-at-all-the-'nucks "eh," or is it an I-heard-them-and-it's-nothing-special "eh?"
Nothing is ever something. |
| fumanbru |
Posted - 10/15/2005 : 18:38:23
quote:
Originally posted by Carolynanna
But I bet they won't go to Winnipeg because its just to dangerous,
what with all the gangbanging and such...
__________
Don't believe the hype.
i didn't realize winnipeg has a reputation for gangbanging. interesting. but there is a huge north american drag queen convention in the peg next weekend. first canadian city to host it.
"I joined the Cult of Frank/ cause I'm a real go-getter!" |
| floop |
Posted - 10/14/2005 : 16:33:44
i've heard Mooney Suzuki..
eh |
| Crispy Water |
Posted - 10/14/2005 : 14:33:45
Isn't there some new band called Mooney Suzuki somewhere? I know I've heard the name, anybody heard the music?
Nothing is ever something. |
| BLT |
Posted - 10/14/2005 : 14:32:43
Maybe Malcolm Mooney will tour the US at the same time. |
| Crispy Water |
Posted - 10/14/2005 : 14:27:25
On the show list on his website it looks like he hasn't done a run in the US since August 2002. Must not be crazy about the place, or maybe he just likes to travel a lot, I don't know. Kind of interesting, because he certainly gets around, and I would think there are a lot of old Can fans in the US.
Nothing is ever something. |
| ObfuscateByWill |
Posted - 10/14/2005 : 14:04:01
Why completely snub the US?
*Take a bite of the chocolate coffin. |
| Crispy Water |
Posted - 10/14/2005 : 13:39:34
For you Winnipeg folk:
I'd be upset if I were there, too. It's kind of a funny tour schedule though, no? Who the hell crosses the pond to play Waterloo but not Winnipeg? No Quebec dates, no Vancouver.
I have a feeling it's not something you enjoy that much if you're just showing up, though. That said, tickets for this Edmonton show are selling quite well, so there's gotta be something interesting going on.
Nothing is ever something. |
| Crispy Water |
Posted - 10/14/2005 : 13:36:08
I only know of Damo Suzuki as one of the vocalists from Can, they being one of my favourite bands in the history of all time. As indicated above, they were a huge influence on The Fall as well. To tell you the truth, I didn't even know Damo was still performing until my buddy called me about this show. The rest of the Can guys went on and continue on in music, but I thought it might be different with him because I think he just joined the band by chance - long story.
It looks like what he does is just go from place to place and a band of locals get on stage with him, then they just start playing. I talked to one of the guys who is involved here and he isn't even sure exactly what's going to happen. The whole thing is going to just be created in the moment, which very much appeals to me. Some nights it probably sucks, but I'm sure Damo has something in place to keep it from just falling apart.
Carolyn, if you're going to come, be prepared for something "different," as they say. And definitely make sure you let me know; there's no way we could not find each other at the Sidetrack!
Nothing is ever something. |
| Carolynanna |
Posted - 10/14/2005 : 09:08:56
I don't really know any Damo Suzuki, I should check it out.
But I bet they won't go to Winnipeg because its just to dangerous,
what with all the gangbanging and such...
__________
Don't believe the hype. |
| winnipegwantsfrank |
Posted - 10/13/2005 : 20:41:17
Winnipeg gets screwed again lol! Damo is the vocalist from Can, which I've never heard. But I have heard the Fall track, "I Am Damo Suzuki" |
| fumanbru |
Posted - 10/13/2005 : 20:37:55
WTF!! they're not stopping by winnipeg!
actually i've never heard of them. i'm assuming that they're pretty good.
"I joined the Cult of Frank/ cause I'm a real go-getter!" |
