RSD 2012: The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

I guess Record Store Day is kind of like Christmas to me: the records are the presents and the record stores with all the music lovers and musicians are like a big family. First I went to buy many of the special releases. After that I went hopping around to see the bands play.

Fortunately the stores aren't really wide apart in Amsterdam, so it was easy to visit Fame, Velvet Amsterdam, Concerto and Record Friend. This way I got to see many bands: after buying a lot of records, I caught one and half song by Face Tomorrow, who were kicking off early, Maurits Westerik of GEM while queuing to buy some more records, Wooden Saints whose individual members were spread all over the country at ten record stores, Houses, Jungle by Night, Case Mayfield, who was doing eleven store gigs at one day, and Bombay Show Pig. Thanks all for great day!

Face Tomorrow, Record Friend

Maurits Westerik (GEM), Concerto

Wooden Saints, Velvet Amsterdam

Houses, Velvet Amsterdam

Jungle By Night, Concerto

Case Mayfield, Concerto

Bombay Show Pig, Velvet Amsterdam

All RSD Pictures

Read more!

Houses Blow Away...The House

Having seen this new band from Amsterdam a few times I am impressed by the quality of their songs and convincing performance. After releasing an EP last year Houses signed a record deal and are now releasing their début album Clean Life. So we headed to their release party in Paradiso.


Houses at Paradiso Amsterdam, 19 September 2011 (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)



And that new album sounds great. It holds a few songs from the EP but for the rest they are all new songs. It breaths the same atmosphere as their live performances: dynamic warm songs with the powerful vocals of Ella van der Woude. The front woman of the band is definitely the one that carries the band on stage. That's not any different tonight. She's the one in the spot lights. Her charismatic appearance together with her great voice draws most of the attention. She impresses even more when she walks away from the mic in 'Black Clothes' and sings a few lines without it.



But the rest of the band should not be forgotten. All are skilled musicians and are important building blocks for the sound of the band. The heavy Hammond sound, the playful guitar licks that sometimes turn into walls of noise and the solid bass groove. And last but not least the great drum sound of Tobias Ponsioen. His drumming style is solid and loose and he knows what a song needs: soft cymbal ticks and a whispering snare in slow, quiet parts, and heavy beats with rolling fills in loud parts. This all adds to the dynamics that are even more evident on stage.

With a sold out room full of fans it turns into a strong performance. The band members seem to be overwhelmed themselves by this response, although this is not directly obvious on stage. There they put down a professional, focused and convincing show. Houses prove tonight they are more than ready to play larger clubs in the low lands. Their international sound and skills should get them far. The future is looking bright for this promising band.

Official Website | MySpace | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Spotify

More Pictures
Read more!

Liberation Day Ends In Tropical Party

Dutch Liberation Day on the 5th of May is a bank holiday only once every five years. So this year I had to work and couldn't see any of the bands that were playing during the day. But at night I went down town straight away to check out some of the bands playing in the evening.

Ten Tempiés
We kick it off with this band that is playing a mix of rock, ska with a latin-american flavour. The songs are in Spanish which isn't a surprise since singer Maurino Alarcón is originally from Chili. It gives the songs an extra touch. I don't speak Spanish but I read that the lyrics are about social abuses and injustice. Their music reminds me of a band called La Pegatina that I saw on Lowlands last year. It is hard not to move your booty to this music.



Case Mayfield
This singer/songwriter was warming up the crowd for Happy Camper in April. It isn't a big crowd watching which probably has to do with the location. He only plays three songs but once again I'm impressed with his singing and quality of his songs. Afterwards I heard he wasn't feeling too good about himself and his performance at all. Imagine when he is. I hope he will bring out a record some time soon.



Houses
After seeing them as a support act in the Melkweg earlier this year I was curious if a second performance would be just as interesting. And I'm not disappointed since they are playing a tight set. Their songs sound interesting enough and I would love to listen to more of their music. They are working on their first album right now and it should be out in September. I'll be sure to catch that one.



Jungle By Night
These young guys are the ones to close the stage at the Nes square. They have been able to reach out to quite some people in the past months. Many have heard of them by now and the small square fills up quite quickly. And they know what everyone needs right now. Within no time they have everyone moving and the warm night turns into a tropical party. The boys are loving it and it's great fun to watch them play and enjoy their catchy afro beat tracks. It's impressive that such young musicians are working on afro beat jazz songs and can turn it into something modern that appeals to so many people.

And so this year's Liberation Day ends like it should: with a great party.

More Pictures.

Read more!