Black Box Revelation Are Thinking Big

A few weeks ago Black Box Revelation, a Belgian duo, released their third album My Perception. It has been recorded in the USA and they were even able to hire Alain Johannes as a producer. It's clear they are aiming to conquer the USA as well with their blues/rock sound. It makes sense to compare them to The Black Keys who in the same set-up play similar music. Black Box Revelation are a bit more rough around the edges though. It finally was time for their postponed show 5 months later and to hear the new songs.

Black Box Revelation at Melkweg Amsterdam, October 26 2011 (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)



But first we were going to check out support act Automatic Sam. I listened to some of their music before the gig and was interested in seeing them play. They didn't disappoint a bit. The band played their hard rocking songs with heavy grooves convincingly. Good honest garage rock crafted from granite with stoner influences. I will definitely follow them more closely from now on.



By the time the main course is ready to be served, the small venue has filled up nicely. The sound is good and the duo is looking focused. The new songs aren't that different from the older material. They are nicely mixed throughout the set. Although they are only with two musicians the songs and sound never gets thin.



Drummer Dries Van Dijck has a large sized drum set and produces a big sound with his heavy grooves. Singer/guitarist Jan Paternoster has several amps to create a wall of guitar sound. It all soungs nice and rough. But sometimes the songs sound alike a lot, which causes the set not to have enough variation. They play a long encore that's the most interesting part of the set. Here the songs do have more variation and it immediately makes it more exciting. It's going to be interesting to see if they can make it internationally.

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Setlist
1.Mad House
2.Rattle My Heart
3.Bitter
4.Gravity Blues
5.I Don't Want It
6.High On A Wire
7.You Got Me on My Knees
8.I Think I Like You
9.Never Alone / Always Together
10.White unicorns
11.Skin
12.Shiver
13.My perception
14.Sealed with thorns
Encore
15.My Girl
16.Do I Know You
17.Sleep While Moving
18.Love Licks
19.Set Your Head On Fire
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Chickenfoot Are Having The Time Of Their Life

The members of the super group Chickenfoot truly found each other. Drummer Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and former Van Halen members bass player Michael Anthony and singer Sammy Hagar were jamming together on a regular basis a few years ago. One thing lead to another and to record their first album they also got one of the best guitar players in the world to join, Joe Satriani. According to themselves, it's really a band the guys want to have fun with. This was already clear on the first record, but especially at the live shows. And now there's even a follow up named III as a joke.

Chickenfoot - III (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
And this time they had a lot of fun again, so much is clear. Like their début it turned into a typical classic rock album, which is not a surprise considering the musical background of the musicians. This doesn't result in memorable songs, in fact all rock clichés are used. But they are convincing and played with lots of enthusiasm. Once again it's refreshing to hear Satriani play normal rock riffs, without the endless fiddling. Which can be nice once and a while for the ones who are into that, but his playing is much more balanced this way. Now and then he's allowed to go wild, and he's doing that in a great way, like in the first single 'Big Foot'.

Of course the songs are full of Hagar's cries like "yeah!" and "ohw!". The song 'Up Next' is even overloaded with them. This is a bit too much sometimes and can turn into a nuisance. But 'Dubai Blues', a great rocker that is right on the spot, compensates completely for it. Everything is kept together skilfully by Smith and Anthony. There's also an attempt to dig deeper: in 'Something Going Wrong' about the environment, and in 'Three And A Half Letters' about an Iraq veteran looking for a job. It feels a bit awkward, because the lyrics are too simple for that. The band probably didn't want to make it too difficult and heavy.

Don't expect any new findings from Chickenfoot's second coming. These are a band and album that have fun written all over it. Straightforward rock songs, played by great musicians. And that can be damn fine now and then.

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

Listen to 'III' on Spotify.

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Felabration: Celeberating Fela Kuti

October 15 is Fela Kuti's birthday. He would have turned 73 this year. To celebrate that event and his music, Dutch afrobeat band Jungle by Night invited Seun Kuti, one of his sons, to celebrate his father. He brought Egypt 80 with him, one of his father's former bands, that he fronts nowadays. One thing was for sure: we were going to shake our booty!

Felabration: Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, Jungle By Night at Paradiso Amsterdam, October 15 2011

Sean Kuti & Egypt 80 (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
One of the members of Jungle By Night introduces Seun Kuti to open the night. Backed up by his father's old band he is wasting no time. They start playing a great set of afrobeat, the music his father created in the 70s. There's hardly a better genre to spark an African style birthday party. The swinging songs, enthusiastically played by the old and young musicians of Egypt 80, have everyone moving within no time.



Seun Kuti proves to be a skilled sax player and a charismatic front man. And no Kuti without politics, so Seun gives a little speech about Nigeria and Africa in general. Just the way his father would have liked it.

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Jungle By Night (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)

His father would have approved of the young band Jungle By Night as well. To see his music so alive a few generations later, surely would have pleased him. And once again they show why they are one of the most exciting live acts in the low lands at the moment. Every time I get to see them they look more confident and relaxed on stage. Their music is more on the jazzy side of afrobeat which is definitely the most appealing side for me.



After an hour there's a break after which they return for another set. I was expecting maybe a jam of some sort with Egypt 80 or at least a guest appearance by Sean Kuti but none of this. But nothing can spoil this great party.

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When I get home late at night I even get to see the Dutch baseball team win the 2011 World Cup. A night I will always remember.

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