Klikofest: A Drunk Night Of Rock 'n' Roll

After a good Record Store Day this day was far from over. We were heading down to Haarlem to spend most of the night with beer and garage rock 'n' roll music at the Patronaat. In short: time for the Klikofest festival!

Klikofest at Patronaat Haarlem, April 20 2013



Little Barrie
I never heard of this band until I reviewed their latest album King Of The Waves, which is full of great rock songs. Although the sound is bad, too much bass and vocals hardly audible, the band give a good show. Singer and guitarist Barrie Cadogan is a typical British front man, a bit cocky but with some tongue in cheek. Drummer Virgil Howe is smiling throughout the whole performance while playing his tight grooves. The songs sound just as convincing as on their record. A good way to start off the night I'd say.
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The Jim Jones Revue
We seem to have gone back in time a few decades, which isn't that awkward at this festival of rock and blues. The many members of The Jim Jones Revue are wearing old fashioned rock 'n' roll suits. That's a good choice since it fits their music. Although well played it kind of gives you the feeling you're at your mom's prom night. It gets a bit weary in the end. Nothing a few more beers can't fix.
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The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Time for one of the headliners of the night. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion are the biggest band of the night and don't disappoint. Do they ever? Their performance is tight, full of energy and they fire off their blues rock like there's no tomorrow. Set in somewhat darker lighting for most of the show (very bad for pictures) their music grabs you by the balls and won't let go. Like their last album already showed: they are back stronger than ever!
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The Phantom Four
It's getting later and people start to leave. So I find myself at the front of the stage to watch one of my favourite bands from this area. Phantom Frank and his Phantom Four have parted with singer Rudeboy and are back to playing instrumental surf songs. Not just regular surf, but with a twist, mixed with worldy influences. Frank is playing the crowd with ease, putting a spell on everyone with his magical guitar licks. Or is that the beer talking?
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Traumahelikopter
Time to get down and dirty with this garage rock threesome who are taking our nation by storm. More and more people have left the festival by now, but the ones who remain still have plenty of energy left. A mosh pit is forming, which is a perfect setting for this band with their wild punk and rock songs. It's even enough to allow guitar player Daan van Dalen and singer Mark Lada to do some crowd surfing. Wild and dirty indeed!
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Then it's lights out for us. We decide to call it a day, or night actually and skip the rest of the program. This was one hell of a day that definitely went out with a big bang. I'm so there again next year

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The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion Come Back Hard

For over twenty years The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion have been making gritty blues rock mixed with several other styles. This resulted in many a good record. They also weren't afraid to experiment. In 2005 the threesome decided to take a break. Now they are back with a new record, Meat And Bone, the first one in eight years. And they want us to know they are back!

The John Spencer Blues Explosion - Meat And Bone (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)

The record opens convincingly with the hard rocking 'Black Mold' to be continued with an honest blues rock song 'Bag Of Bones' including the harmonica. But still these songs are just a warmup for the rest of the album. Because in 'Boot Cut' the band is really getting loose. An irresistible distorted bass riff is keeping the lovely rough song together, which is also provided with some spacy sounds. It is followed by a whole range of great songs: the swinging 'Get Your Pants Off' wíth cowbell and the nasty 'Strange Baby', the great 'Danger' that reminds of The Rolling Stones on speed now and then.

Only towards the end of the record is the band taking it a bit more slow in the ballad 'Unclear'. You need this break, because they have been rocking hard for nine songs straight at that point. The instrumental 'Zimgar', a somewhat experimental swinging song, is the worthy closing track. It's quite an insane ride the gents are treating us to. But it's one that stays interesting throughout. They are living up to their name, because the mix of styles with emphasis on great dirty garage rock, results in an explosive mixture beyond control. It is about to burst anytime and just has to explode in the end. Added to that is some healthy tongue in cheek.

Without a doubt it is fair to say that Jon Spencer and his Blues Explosion truly have returned. Their break must have done them well, because the threesome sound very energetic and convincing. At the end of last month they started a short tour in Europe, but unfortunately excluding The Netherlands for now. This is too bad since the new songs will most definitely go down well live too.



This review has been published on ROAR E-Zine in Dutch over here.

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