“This veritable fountain of surprising and wonderful acts poured forth more bounty in the shape of two wildly differing bands. But isn’t that this venue’s secret? ”
“This veritable fountain of surprising and wonderful acts poured forth more bounty in the shape of two wildly differing bands. But isn’t that this venue’s secret? “
TV Buddhas & Stoma – Sub 071, Leiden 08/07/08
Ah Sub 071, what would we do without you? This veritable fountain of surprising and wonderful acts poured forth more bounty in the shape of two wildly differing bands. But isn’t that this venue’s secret?
Another surprise was in store for this reviewer. The stage, which had only recently (and hilariously) failed to accommodate Calvin Party in their entirety, had been “creatively managed”; the members of Stoma, a funky three-piece from Rotterdam were each apportioned a separate place; drums taking up the old stage, the multi-pedalled bass player finding himself on top of the gantry-cum-equipment closet, and the mix-man/player of found sounds being dealt the short straw on the main floor-space. What this created was a veritable chamber of sound with the audience nestled into crannies or sloped uncomfortably between the musicians, unsure on where to rest.
Not that Stoma gave the crowd a chance to relax. Their muse can be described as Zappa meets DJ Shadow, gawky beats doing battle with samples and restless drumming. Sometimes things get heavy, or things get funky. It’s all part of a potent stew. Sometimes things veer towards jazz-funk, or noise (just at the moment when you wish they’d give the jazz-funk a rest). Being eclectic is the key. Luckily they steer just about clear of being self-indulgent, which is precisely the sort of vice that kills off outfits such as these.
TV Buddhas hail from Tel Aviv and are a two-piece. And for them, it is all about drums, guitar and primal rock and roll. The singer-guitarist has a good line in running into the audience, though his attempts to whip the essentially placid chin-strokers at Sub071 were always doomed to relative failure. Still, the music was fantastic, always on-the-edge, drawn out rock and roll, their muse finding individual expression somewhere between Eddie Cochrane and Ash Ra Tempel. And just as the drummer seemed on the point of passing out; the gig finished. A great concert.
Seriously, you must get down to Sub071 this summer, it could be the cure for many ills.
Words: Richard Foster