So many gigs and so little time

Hoping that Rock Werchter will be better organised than Rock im Park was, we feel the need to head to smaller venues- to enjoy the actual gig and in order to keep sane. The big crowds make it so hard to enjoy the music, which is why we enjoyed Cane Hill in Trier that much. Why they only supported is beyond us, but so are a lot of things.

Before heading to Belgium we are making our way to the Batschkapp to see Stone Temple Pilots on 26 June. Be there, unless of course you go and see them the night before in Cologne at the Live Music Hall. Their European tour continues, so if you can, you should check them out.

Werchter next for Rockculture and friends and we will actually be leaving Werchter early, mainly because Lamb of God are back in Frankfurt. They play Batschkapp on 01 July. Check out their other dates on lamb-of-god.com though

Some may call them conceited, some may call them genius, we just call them Royal Blood. First time heard about them was through MUSE and supporting Foo Fighters at Fenway Park. They started out as a unique kind of band, their attitude may or may not have helped them along the way. There comes a time in every band’s life though, when you have to be humble. I will observe their attitude and their live set on 23 July in Wiesbaden at the Schlachthof or on 24 July in Hamburg at the Grosse Freiheit 36….

Royal Blood (Photo credit Joeseth Carter)

A band who have always had fun with what they do are The Damend. We are super excited to see some headline shows from them again. They play

Schlachthof, Bremen on 30.07.2019 and

Stollwerck, Köln on 01.08.2019

That is us done for July. Catch more from us next week. Over and out.

Nx

SPRINGing into Action

After a long hibernation it is time to hit the clubs, concert halls and festivals again. 

We are going to start slow, but strong with Trixie Whitley honouring her commitment to do the shows she had to cancel last year. The Belgian Boss Lady is taking her new album “Lacuna” on road with her and true to her form and cosmopolitan genius, she will mesmerize you with her very unique mixture of Soul, R’n’B and Indie Rock. Little Shalimar’s epic sound on her new album will hopefully be translated into something magical in her live shows.

German Dates are as follows:

21.05.2019 Frankfurt - Brotfabrik 

22.05.2019 München - Orangehouse 

- and then back again in the autumn-

07.11.2019 Köln - Studio 672 

08.11.2019 Berlin - Musik und Frieden 

 

Always quite fond of geeky guitarists and clever musicians here at Rockculture, we will of course be seeing Trivium on their very short tour of Germany in June. We can’t wait to hear their eighth album “The Sin and the Sentence” live, but we have to be honest…we are actually a little more excited about Cane Hill supporting them on both of their shows. 

Cane Hill’s last German tour was amazing- lesser than Witt having his Morrissey T-Shirt stolen in Cologne. Bands like Cane Hill and While She Sleeps, who will only support their Hamburg show along with Power Trip, leave us in awe, never getting tired of delivering metal at its best.

Go see them

18.06.2019 Hamburg – Markthalle (with Cane Hill, WSS & Power Trip)

19.06.2019 Berlin – Kesselhaus (with Cane Hill) 

 

One of our absolute favourite bands is coming back to Germany for an exclusive concert, we are assuming they loved the German fans that much. And to be fair, they’ve been good to SWMRS, but SWMRS have been good to their fans.

SWMRS’ new album “Berkeley’s on Fire” is part of our daily playlist, the influence of Tom Morello is more prominent than that of The Ramones, but whoever thought punk rock is just a matter of three chords better listen to SWMRS. Pure punk rock class!

If you are quick enough, you may be lucky enough to grab your ticket for 

25.06.2019 Düsseldorf – Zakk

 

Another favourite act here at Rockculture- actually, one of the really, really deep routed LOVES here at Rockculture, are coming to Germany for a one-off gig, as well.

Alice in Chains always stood out in the grunge scene in the late 1980’s and all through the 1990’s, also because they never really fit into any one compartment. Layne Staley’s voice mesmerized millions. His untimely death almost killed the genius of what Jerry Cantrell and Sean Kinney had created with it. In finding William DuVall, the band have come back around. Following their epic success of their numerous Grammy nominations, platinum and gold records of the 1990’s, their album “Black Gives Way to Blue” featuring William DuVall as their new singer put them back on the map. Alice in Chains’ latest album “Rainier Fog” has truly manifested them as one of the finest rock bands ever.

See them live, with Special Guests Black Rebel Motorcycle Club in

04.06.2019 Hamburg – Stadtpark Open Air

 

Gee, and if you fancy a little lighter fare, here’s one more American band we really love, coming to Germany for an exclusive concert. I am sensing a trend here.

With their fifth album “Social Cues” Cage the Elephant are touring the European festival circuit and are playing

11.06.2019 Berlin – Musik & Frieden

Most of the bands mentioned above will also be at a festival near you during the summer, so be sure to look out for them!

 

THOUGHTS AND STUFF

It has been a while. Personal reasons. But also just really depleted of news. Then all came at once.

Bury Tomorrow- “Black Flame”!!!!! How did that happen? I told you ages ago that they are the best new metal band to look out for, but since hooking up with Sony they really have taken it up a step. Not a lie. Cannot wait to see them this month or in December, depending on when I can get there, how often I can get there, you get the picture.

Bury Tomorrow are of course touring with Cane Hill, who I thought were okay until they released their new album “Too Far Gone”……so epic. And them in combination with Bury Tomorrow at a show may make a headbanger or two happier than Larry.

And to top it all off, have you listened to “Royal Beggars” off the new Architects album “Holy Hell”? Where are they coming up with the lyrics and the tunes?

It cracks me up to read that Jordan Fish from BMTH says that there isn’t enough rock music out there to stream. In his recent interview with Mark Sutherland from Music Week, he was talking about how Bring Me the Horizon are one of the few bands who make an impact on streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. Sure they have four million plus monthly listeners on Spotify and “Mantra” has become indeed a MANTRA on streaming services worldwide (it has sold over 50.000 copies so far), but to say that others are “generally bad” is really a bit rich, when Ricky Martin could always come back and have a say about how the “Livin’ la Vida Loca” was used in certain rock songs. Jordan Fish is a superior songwriter in his own right, no doubt, but there are rock bands out there who just don’t get the chance to be heard.

Saying that I am deeply grateful for Bring Me the Horizon to have introduced me to YONAKA who have been going for a while, but without their epic support slot for BMTH, I would have not listened to. Now that, my friends would have been a grave loss. They are a lot more rock than other bands with a female singer and they have an uncanny feeling of Siouxie of Siouxie and the Banshees, not a compliment given lightly.

Watch and listen, download, buy, stream. They are bubbciliciously yummy

youtube.com/channel/UCzBddYqg5UYiz3U6EhwDCEA

No, there is music out there and I love it when bands are able to adapt to new styles and take inspiration from other genres and artists (see BMTH), but also While She Sleeps. Have you heard “Anti-Social”? They are such an epic band and if this twist doesn’t catapult them to where they should be, I would be more than disappointed.

youtube.com/watch?v=22CmxMJU2V0

Loz doing what he does best. Photos of this show, amongst others, were taken by ARTUNOTTER.SMUGMUG.COM for ROCKCULTURE®, but in case you want to buy any prints, hit that webpage up.