“If I was a rich man I’d buy flowers everyday/ but I am a poor man, so I pick them on the way”. How could you not fall in love with a song that has lyrics like this? The band behind the song is Young Rebel Set, between six and seven british youngsters who seem to have spend a lot of time in pubs, listening to their parents record collections on their i-pods. Nevertheless, the hit “If I Was” helped the band to get sold out shows even without an album released. Signed to the german indie label Grand Hotel van Cleef, they seem to have found the right partner to spread their easy to connect music. The debut is in stores now, time to go onm the road.
The venue - zakk in Düsseldorf - at this thursday night is packed with people of ages from early 20’s to mid-40’s. After watching two proper Indie Rock bands, Pickers and An Horse, the audience starts to get excited to see the main event. Young Rebel Set are one of the coming bands of 2011, you could really guess that, from the reactions. Even if most of their songs sound like cover versions, without being one, the crowd celebrates, dances and shows lighters in the air. One time you’ll remember Johnny Cash, another song might even recall “Silvia’s Mother” by Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show, but somehow eveything’s ok. When “If I Was” finally is played in the middle of the set, everybody joins in. After only two serious tours, Young Rebel Set reached a level, where the audience can perform a choir and sing the hit song on their own. A Pub Rock band at it’s best, but what comes next, after the hit has lasted some years?
The good thing about the concert is, that Young Rebel Set prove to be a really entertaining and comtagious live band. Sophisticated music lovers might point out that originally bands don’t sound like this.
Siskiyou is a new project from the wide variety of the Vancouver music scene. Colin Huebert used to be a member of the acclaimed Indie Pop band Great Lake Swimmers. In collaboration with his former bandmate Erik Amesen who still plays with the Swimmers and the filmmaker Karolyn Keir, Huebert now releases a quiet folk album on Constellation Records.
Everything started with the songwriter sitting in his living room, recording songs and sketches with nothing more then his voice and an acoustic guitar. These rough recordings were the corner stones. For the final arrangements the two other bandmembers added instruments like trumpets, banjo or percussions to give the songs more space and a wider sound. Siskiyou is lo-fi folk at it’s best with passionate lyrics and catchy, modest melodies. Sometimes upbeat and euphoirc like in “everything I have” sometimes fragile and soft with lullabies like “hold it in” or “it’s all going to end”. In various moments the voice of Colin Huebert recalls memories of Bon Iver, another name that pops into mind is Nick Drake.
Siskiyou leave an imprint by quiet sounds. The tragically “big sur” is a nearly eight minutes long ballad with a sour quintessence: “let’s party all night long”, sings Huebert with deep bitterness in his voice and he keeps that feeling when the final track “brevity and insult” ends a very intense album.
european tour dates
07.11. Colmar (Fra) - Le Grillen 08.11. Paris (Fra) - La Maroquinerie 09.11. Orleans (Fra) - L’Atelier 10.11. Toulouse (Fra) - Le Cri de La Mousette 13.11. Bordeaux (Fra) - Le Saint Ex 14.11. Leiria (Por) - Teatro Miguel Franco 19.11. Madrid (Spa) - Moby Dick 20-11- Montichiari (Ita) - Galeter 22.11. Pegognaga (Ita) - Arci Casbah 23.11. Ariano nel Polesine (Ita) - Porcupine 26.11. Fribourg (Swi) - Fri-son 27.11. Utrecht (NL) - Kargadoor 28.11. Brussel (Bel) - Cafe Walvis 02.12. Berlin (Ger) - NBI 03.12. Göttingen (Ger) - The Living Room Society 04.12. Offenbach (Ger) -Hafen 2 05.12. Leipzig (Ger) - Paris Syndrom 06.12. Vienna (Aut) - Fluc 07.12. Fulda (Ger) - Kuz Kreuz
