On Stage: Mauro Pawlowski & Braaknoot Ensemble @ Paradiso Tolhuistuin

At the end of the sixties Dutch musician Boudewijn de Groot released Nacht & Ontij, a very experimental album that people found really hard to like. However now it is regarded a classic. It is a story about a witches' sabbath, backed up by music and songs, or actually the whole album is one piece of music. Now Mauro Pawlowski and the Braaknoot Ensemble are performing this musical piece, half a century later.

Mauro Pawlowski & Braaknoot Ensemble at Paradiso Tolhuistuin, December 13 2018

It feels a bit weird writing about this in English, since Boudewijn de Groot and his work are such a big part of Dutch musical history, but are probably not known outside the low lands. I already saw this performance at the Into The Great Wide Open festival earlier this year, but because we met some friends at that moment I couldn't really pay attention. Tonight I can really focus on this show that was orchestrated for the Motel Mozaïque festival and is now touring around some clubs. Mauro Pawlowski is probably best known for his time as guitar played for dEUS, but is no stranger to experimental music.

He has gathered a group of skilled musicians around him to play this crazy story of a gathering of witches. Belgian actress and singer Lore Dejonckheere is the one that had to study all the lines of the story, but is exactly right for the story telling and vocals. The rest of the band are playing the mysterious music backed up by even more psychedelic and strange visuals. In these mostly dark surroundings the group create a sinister atmosphere that totally fits the subject.

It works very well and the musicians pull you into this dark and mysterious world with exciting music that sometimes is whisper-soft but then swells up to rocking and thundering levels. It proves what a talented musician Boudewijn de Groot is, who happens to be in the audience tonight as well. He must have felt proud of his amazing music and of this fantastic group playing his cult piece in such an epic way.



All Pictures

Official Website | Spotify

Read more!

ITGWO 2018 Day 1 + Day 2

The summer is coming to an end and although that is bad news for me, the good news is that we get to go to that lovely festival Into The Great Wide Open on that beautiful little island. This year they have lined up another crazy load of amazing bands, so it promises to be a good edition again.

Into The Great Wide Open 2018 Thursday August 30

The first day started out as a simple warm up but although it still isn't a full day, it has turned into a nice start of the festival with a couple of great bands.

Dijf Sanders

The stage in the woods is still at the same lush place as the past years. Belgian musician Dijf Sanders kicks off the festival here and it is still a bit quiet between the trees. Sanders’ music is a good fit at this beautiful place. Warm vintage electronics are mixed with samples and sequences. A sax player adds variation to the mellow music. It isn't a crazy wild party but it’s a nice start of the festival.

Official Website | SoundCloud | Facebook | Spotify

METZ

Now it’s time to pick things up and the Canadian noise trio will exactly do that. I love this band who play a loud mix of noise and punk. Their songs have powerful grooves that will nail them into your ears and head. In this dark small venue they are at the right place and give a blistering performance that goes down well with the people that can handle it and stay in there to watch.



Official Website | SoundCloud | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Spotify

Braaknoot Ensemble & Mauro Pawlowski

Dutch artist Boudewijn de Groot made quite a number of records and tonight the Mauro Pawlowski and his Braaknoot Ensemble play one of his most experimental ones Nacht & Ontij. To be fair I didn’t see the whole performance because I spent most of the time chatting to a friend (at the back). But what I saw was quite interesting and well performed by these group of very good musicians. Visuals at the back are effectively supporting the experimental music. It is a remarkable show in a great setting between the trees in the dark.

Official Website | Spotify

All Pictures Into The Great Wide Open 2018 Day 1

Into The Great Wide Open 2018 Thursday August 31

After a good start, the second day has a wonderful sunny start and we are ready for some more music. And beers I guess.

Altin Gün

What better way than to wake up with Turkish psychedelic rock? The Dutch band Altin Gün have reworked Turkish psychedelic music from the sixties and seventies into groovy and catchy dance tunes. Singer Merve Dasdemir is smiling when she sees the whole field dancing like true Turkish people and for a moment we are attending a wedding party in Istanbul. This group are a bunch of very fine musicians who are kicking us off in the most festive way.

Official Website | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

White Denim

I know I’m going to love the next performance on the field with this amazing band from Austin. They use classic and Southern rock als a basis for their music, but build all kinds of styles on it. The result is a crazy ride with a band that is excelling in mind blowing solos, twists and turns. The band is taking the field by storm with a rock show that has an enormous tempo and blistering power.

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

Dylan Leblanc

On the beach Dylan Leblanc has already started his set. At the front people are dozing off sitting down on the beach, listening to the mellow sounds. His set is heavy on slow roots and country songs and the beach and the sun are the perfect setting for this. It is a bit too slow for me though, but the environment makes up for that.

Official Website | SoundCloud | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

The Posies

Time to pick it up a notch again and nineties power rockers The Posies are waiting for us indoors. In the dark they are firing off compact rock songs with great ease. The band is celebrating thirty years playing together which has turned them into a tight band. Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow are alternating on vocals and both are singing really well. There’s a jolly mood on stage and it turns the show into a cheerful one. Although Stringfellow invites us all for a swim tomorrow morning I think I have to pass on that one.

Official Website | SoundCloud | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Spotify

Johan

What is there to say about Johan, the band that I’ve seen so many times and love so much? I would have expected more people to come watch as their music is a perfect match to this festival. Their songs are simply gorgeous and the band is getting better and better after playing many shows since their return. Singer Jacco de Greeuw’s voice sounds good today and I find myself completely lost in their wonderful music.

Official Website | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

Pip Blom

Dutch talent Pip Blom is turning the beach stage into a garage rock party with her young band. While the sun is setting and the sky is showing amazing colours with purple dots of clouds, Pip is bouncing her blonde curls with a huge smile on her face. This is how garage rock is supposed to sound: a bit dirty and sloppy, but in a good way. Her vocals are sometimes a bit lazy which gives her music that extra dimension. This is a nice beach party with a lovely young bunch of musicians.



Official Website | SoundCloud | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Spotify

John Cale

Legendary The Velvet Underground member John Cale is playing the main stage in the dark. Visuals at the back are supporting his experimental songs. Cale and his band are playing very focused, making sure all the layers of the songs are coming out well. It is definitely intriguing but it is a bit too difficult for me and most of the audience.

Official Website | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

Róisín Murphy

Irish singer Róisín Murphy takes us into the night after that with her modern disco tunes. She’s a great performer with quick costume changes and a lot of activity. She’s constantly moving around stage, dancing to her clever pop songs. The show never stops and before you know it, she has left the stage. The show is clearly well choreographed which leaves not much room for improvisation. Murphy also seems to play it on auto pilot which takes away the spontaneity. Nevertheless it is a nice end of an amazing day where we got treated to unexpected sun shine.

Official Website | SoundCloud | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Spotify

All Pictures Into The Great Wide Open 2018 Day 2

Into The Great Wide Open 2018 Day 3 + 4

Read more!

On Stage: Gruppo di Pawlowski @ Paradiso

Last year Mauro Pawlowski announced he would be leaving dEUS, one of the best rock bands from Belgium. It wasn't a nasty break-up at all, but a friendly one. It was time to move on for the guitarist and focus on other projects. In April we saw a new release for Gruppo di Pawlowski, In Inhuman Hands, the second album by his own experimental rock group.

Gruppo di Pawlowski at Paradiso Amsterdam, May 10 2017

Anyone who came to see this band because they are into dEUS may have been in for a surprise, since this band is nothing like it, although you can find some elements in common if you look well. Pawlowski restricts himself to vocals here, where his band play freaky rock songs with odd time signatures, sudden stops and rhythm changes. Now and then it reminds me of Primus, especially in the songs that are heavily based on the grooves played by the rhythm section.

That in itself already isn't for everyone and Pawlowski spices things up even more with weird vocals, screaming, and freaky dancing and poses. His serious face while doing this is pretty hilarious sometimes, but you can see there's plenty of tongue in cheek. But don't put off this music as a gimmick, since the band does play very well and inventive.

Not all songs are equally good and some don't seem to go into any direction, but the ones that do come together turn into tight and groovy rock songs with enough hidden surprises to stay interesting. Pawlowski sometimes points to one of his band members to let him start off a solo. This music is partly improvised, which explains why it doesn't always work perfectly.

Pawlowski suggests to end the first encore in an anti-climax, and they play a cheesy slow song. He invites a friend over to finish the song and a small person with a big beard climbs the stage. He starts crooning to the song while taking off his clothes. When he's butt naked the band returns to play a second encore. It's a fitting end for a strange but interesting band.



All Pictures

Official Website | Spotify

Read more!