Van der Graaf Generator, Nuremberg Hirsch, 1 April 2007

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Back from a trip to Nuremberg to see the debut performance by the new trio line-up (Hammill, Banton, Evans) of Van der Graaf Generator.

It was a spectacular evening. Wow, this band is loud. The venue helped, being a slightly tatty rock club in an unprepossessing part of town, in the middle of an industrial estate. This was a band that was planning to take care of business in no uncertain terms, and so they did. There was less of the quiet-loud dynamics of the 2005 reunion and more of a full-on aural assault, which was absolutely fine by me.

Clearly, they had to revisit the songs in order to fill the gaps left by the absent saxophonist. To my ears they mostly accomplished this by giving Hugh Banton a lot more to do. And he was more than up to it – his organ was utterly transcendent. The other revelation was Hammill’s guitar work. It was incredible. I wouldn’t be so bold as to suggest that he’s been practising, but there was a fluidity and an angularity to his playing that I had never heard before. I’ve never understood why he has given up the electric in favour of the acoustic in recent solo shows, but he’s more than making it up for it now. Evans, of course, was an immense presence on the drums, his playing an extraordinary mix of aggression and complexity.

This band not only rocks, it also grooves. There was an irresistible pull towards movement and swing. Devastating.

Anthony Braxton, Vienna Porgy & Bess, 15 February 2007

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Had one of the most inspiring evenings of live music of my entire life last night – a performance by Anthony Braxton and his group at Porgy & Bess. Superlatives fail me on this occasion. We were seated right in front of the stage, just a few feet away from Braxton. The sextet played two hour-long sets (the passing of the hour being noted by an hourglass) of music filled with daunting complexity and joyous freedom. Braxton communicated with the rest of the group in fascinating ways, telling them (I’m guessing) which numbered sections to play by holding his fingers up, and writing numbers and symbols on a small whiteboard which he held up for them to see. The group – double bass, percussion, violin, tuba and trumpet – were utterly responsive and intuitive. And when Braxton reached for his saxes and unleashed one of his fearsome solos, you simply never wanted it to end.

Peter Hammill, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 4 October 2006

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Back from a flying visit to London to see my all-time no.1 musical hero Peter Hammill at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. My first solo (as opposed to VdGG) PH concert for some time, I think. As ever, he was an extraordinarily compelling live presence, filling the hall with his unique voice and stretching every vein and sinew to near breaking point with the dark, tragic intensity of his songs.

Old hands like me complain about the predictability of Hammill’s live set these days, but it’s salutary to remember that the man had a near-fatal heart attack just a few years ago, and that we are privileged to see him on the stage at all. He’s spectacular, incomparable, the greatest and most moving genius of song in the world.

Sunburned Hand of the Man, Vienna Fluc, 10 September 2006

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Rolled along to the Fluc last night to see Sunburned Hand of the Man.

This was my first visit to the Fluc. It’s unusual in that gigs there are always free. It wasn’t a particularly conducive venue, if I’m being honest. The location, right next to Praterstern station, seemed to attract rather a lot of flotsam; I saw a guy pepper spraying two others with whom he was having an altercation. And the large window behind the stage made watching the band somewhat surreal. On the other hand, the place was full of beautiful people, so who am I to complain.

As for Sunburned, they were great, as expected. The last time I saw them was at the Cinematheque in Brighton, on (so their website tells me) 1 June 2004. That gig was fabulous – barely advertised in advance, it had the air of a private party, an impression not dispelled by the nine-strong band getting resolutely into the groove and steadfastly refusing to get out of it. The onstage wrestling and other antics were all part of the band’s determination to play as though their lives depended on it.

Last night’s show wasn’t quite as impressive, inevitably so given that there were only four of them onstage this time. But still, they made a huge impact with their writhing, tribal percussion, paint-stripping guitar and great blats of noise. I chatted briefly to John Moloney afterwards – one of the nicest, friendliest people you could wish to meet. And the onstage quip about tonight’s band being called “Sunburned Hand of the Third Man”, made with the Riesenrad in full view through the window, was priceless.

There’s something wholly refreshing about Sunburned. They are a band utterly without pretension and artifice. They take the time to talk and listen, and they produce and sell a series of limited, intensely desirable LPs, CDs and CD-Rs that encapsulate their desire to create a relationship with their audience that is tangible and precious. They seem to tour incessantly – their gig schedule is punishing. So I hope they return someday.

Jesu, Vienna Szene Wien, 22 May 2006

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Went to see Jesu at the Szene last night. Jesu is mostly Justin Broadrick, formerly of Godflesh. They were a band that passed me by, so I’m playing catch-up.

The band also included Ted Parsons, formerly of Swans, on drums. (Did I see him drumming for Swans in the 80s or 90s? I have no idea.) The music was great. Huge thickets of noise from Broadrick’s scything guitar, Parsons’ funereal drums and Diarmuid Dalton’s rumbling bass. The band seemed vexed by the noise they were creating, as though they were looking for a way out of the place in which they were trapped. Scrabbling up a high wall and constantly falling down again. No light.

The support band was also Justin Broadrick, this time as Final. Final is a laptop drone thing. I saw him doing this as support to Jarboe last year in London. It went on for too long then and it went on for too long now.

Donaufestival 2006

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Went to the Donaufestival on Saturday night. This was the last night of the festival, held in the town of Korneuburg, half an hour away from Vienna by train. The venue was a building in an old shipyard on the bank of the Danube – very blasted-picturesque.

First up were the No-Neck Blues Band, one of those groups whose name I had often heard but had never previously listened to. Their set was pretty interesting. The barefoot Japanese singer created a great racket with various cymbals and metal objects strewn on the floor, and later had fun throwing a bunch of oranges into the audience. (Does this betoken a trend? I recall the two male ornaments at a Coil gig at the Festival Hall wandering naked around the audience handing out apples.)

Things did get a little unsavoury when the blond college boy-type percussionist stripped naked and threw most of his clothes into the audience before smearing himself with fake blood. But for the most part NNCK created a highly enjoyable freeform improvisational squawk. I can’t help feeling however that Sunburned Hand of the Man do it better.

Next were the Kammerflimmer Kollektief. They were a lot more considered but still managed to impress with a version of Terry Riley’s In C plus a bunch of shorter pieces. The saxophonist and double bass player kept things bubbling along nicely.

My main reason for going was to see A Silver Mt. Zion, and they didn’t disappoint. It was heartening to see Efrim engaging so warmly with the audience after hunching himself over his guitar so often with Godspeed. he’s not exactly Warren Ellis yet for between-song monologues, but he’s getting there. The harmonised vocals were deeply affecting, and the string section, guitars and drums were perfectly co-ordinated to form a huge firestorm of collective energy.

I was very pleasantly surprised by how popular ASMZ were (and I think the band themselves were a little taken aback by it as well). Every song was rapturously received and they played two lengthy encores, throwing the schedule for the rest of the evening out of kilter. So, a late finish and a 2am return to the city (thanks, Walter).

Going to concerts here is such a pleasure after years of suffering in London. Venues are well run, ticket prices are reasonable, security is unobtrusive, PA systems sound great, people are cool. Bring on more.