So I have been slacking off big time. Probably because I have been out shows on a more frequent basis then actually sitting down to write about it. Nonetheless, here’s the first review I am doing that actually features local artist.
It has to be said that I have not ventured into Laundry Bar for more than a year. It’s great that they are still doing shows for local bands here ( hey, ive played here twice) but something about the venue that feels so impersonal, so not audience friendly at all. Maybe because I find the layout to be a complete mess. Add to the fact that, over time, it was increasingly obvious that the acts playing there were not something I was into. So lo and behold , I saw the flyer for this event, moreso that these are the bands that I would not have thought to be “Moonshine” friendly.
First up, Janitor. Actually this was the band that made me crawled out of my self imposed Laundry exile and braved the brain numbing traffic jams of Persiaran Surian. I caught wind of this little known band earlier this year when some of their live performance videos started popping on Youtube. They really blew me away with their Sonic Youth/Jesus Lizard / Swans hybrid, what with long sprawled out drones and dissonant noises. Really, noone else is doing this right now here in KL at least and thats exactly what we need; diversity. To me, this band is so not Laundry material and thats a good thing! You can tell that they were nervous, but they did not disappoint. Launching into an almost 10min one note drone, probably confusing regular bar patrons, things got heavy really fast. And then it was an aural assault of discordant noises, one after another, tethering at the edge of chaos, so much so the soundman apparently asked them to tone down. Definitely a band to watch in the future. Here are some short clips of Janitor and you can find out more about Janitor here
Next were my favourite shambolic noisy rock and rollers The Maharajah Commission. Fronted by the equally shambolic but totally unsober troubador Azmyl Yunor, these dudes never play bad show ever.In typical Azmyl fashion, the songs are preceded by (the seemingly meaningless at first but totally makes sense in the context of the songs) a short speech, introducing each songs. The tight rhythm section kept Azmyl and the rest from slipping into total annihilation of the audience although I must say, I am pretty disappointed Azmyl did not roll around on the floor. Anyway, great act this and seemingly underappreciated. Here are some short clips and find out more about Maharajah Commission here.
Lastly, a relative unknown band called J.M.S was up ( at the time of writing they still do not have a Facebook page). Kinda surprising when I found out that the dude fronting the band was a guy I knew who used to come to my semi regular radiohead cover tune jamming days many many moons ago. I guess the only way I could describe their sound was a mix of Muse, some The Bends era Radiohead, mixed in with some Pink Floyd and maybe even The Verve. Heck, even on of the songs they played, I could have sworn it was something out of DSOTM ( Great gig in the sky piano riff there fellas? haha), Very tight unit and although Im not a fan of histrionic vocals ala Mat Bellamy, I think they are a very promising band with some good songs in their repertoire. Here are some short clips of J.M.S in action. I will have to find out what J.M.S stands for …
So yes, I said lastly even though there should be one more band on the bill. Unfortunately, I would have had a long day the next day, so I bailed early. Sorry Deepset fans!
Till the next show.
Emancipationdissonance 