Thanks to ianmacd for sharing his master on Dime.
http://www.grauzonefestival.com/
RECORDING:
Type: Audience master, recorded 4 metres back from the left PA stack.
Source: Factory-matched pair of Schoeps CCM 41V microphones (DINa mounted) ->
Marantz PMD661 recorder with Oade Concert Mod
(-18 dB gain/44.1 kHz/24 bit WAV)
Lineage: Audacity 2.0.2
* normalised to 0 dB
* applied minuscule amount of variable amplification for consistency
across recording
* added fades
* split tracks
* converted to 16 bit
-> FLAC (compression level 8) [libFLAC 1.2.1 20070917]
Taper: ianmacd
SET LIST:
01. [06:50] Swamp Thing
02. [05:12] A Person Isn't Safe Anywhere These Days
03. [04:48] Looking Inwardly
04. [04:05] Perfume Garden
05. [05:16] Monkeyland
06. [04:39] In Answer
07. [02:37] I'll Remember
08. [09:32] Soul In Isolation
09. [05:08] Singing Rule Britannia (While The Walls Close In)
10. [08:00] Caution
11. [08:52] Second Skin
Total running time: 65:00
NOTES:
I have no patience for festivals any more; at least, not the huge outdoor
kind. For your more civilised indoor affair, however, I'm still willing to
make the effort. Events such as Crossing Border, Cross-linx, Motel Mozaïque
and Le Guess Who can be very rewarding, providing the opportunity to soak up
multiple bands in a single evening, both scratching the itch to catch
long-time favourites and exposing one to the work of artists that might
otherwise go undetected for several more years.
Tonight, we add a new event to the short list of worthy festival causes. This
one is called Grauzone and tonight is its very first edition.
The organisers of Grauzone have this to say about it:
"GRAUZONE is a young and ambitious, multi-disciplinary festival. The
festival will present the best in 'new wave' music and art: with a musical
spectrum spanning synth pop, electro, cold/darkwave, post-punk, death/goth
rock and more; while featuring films, exhibitions and DJ's.
GRAUZONE is a one-of-a-kind festival that unites the best of past and
present, of fame and obscurity; where classic influential bands perform
side by side with young upcoming acts."
Sounds good, doesn't it? Well, it does if you happen to find yourself plotted
somewhere along the axes of that musical spectrum, and I certainly do.
As it turns out, In the course of the evening, I actually never get to see the
media room, any of the films being screened in the cinema or any of the
lesser-known bands performing in the Oude Zaal. It just so happens that all of
the bands I want to see this evening are playing in The Max, one after the
other with short enough breaks that I'm not inclined to risk sacrificing
taper's pole position for the sake of satisfying my curiosity elsewhere.
So, for me, it may as well be a normal gig with three bands on the bill,
albeit one with unusually generous support slots lasting an hour.
Second up this evening are The Chameleons, nowadays operating with
singer/bassist Mark Burgess and drummer John Lever as the sole survivors of
the classic line-up. This fact is reflected in the use of the moniker
Chameleons Vox or even Chameleons V.
Whatever the incarnation and name, this band are the main reason I'm here this
evening. I like A Certain Ratio and dig Echo & The Bunnymen even more, but The
Chameleons have a few songs in their bag of tricks that never fail to produce
that spine-tingling gush of 'Fuck, yes!' every time I hear them.
'Looking Inwardly' is one of those songs. Right from the intro, as the jangly
riff that is the song's bedrock gathers steam and slides into place atop the
crescendo of rolling drums, my blood rushes and my pulse quickens.
The band sound terrific. From the first effects-drenched notes of 'Swamp
Thing' until the end of the set, just over an hour later, the excitement never
lets up. I'm struck by how many English-speakers there are in tonight's
audience. I suspect a lot of people have flown over for the gig.
'Singing Rule Britannia (While The Walls Close In)' is seized upon by Burgess
for an impromptu lyrical medley, featuring brief chunks of The Clash's 'White
Riot', Joy Division's 'Transmission' and The Fall's 'Rebellious Jukebox' (and
possibly even others I didn't recognise).
We are treated to 65 minutes of flanger/chorus bliss, and that in spite of a
late start. The set closes with 'Second Skin', whose plaintive mood makes it
the perfect song to leave on.
Even without the inclusion of 'Up The Down Escalator', I'm more than
satisfied. "We want more", shouts someone on behalf of the rest of us, but
there's simply no time for more. The room is already running behind schedule
and the stage must now be reconfigured for the evening's headliners.
The recording is all I had hoped it would be. If you've already sampled my
recording of Echo & The Bunnymen's set, you know what awaits you. If not,
samples are provided to help you decide whether this is worth the share ratio
depletion for you.
gvBRRcy6azY
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