Amsterdam concert watch

Dagens facebook meddelande till en grupp av 20 personer:

Except for jumping between having tonsillitis (two weeks ago) to a cold (current), I also do some music listening on my spare time. Thus, I have taken it upon me to browse through the concert calendar in Amsterdam and come up with some pop shit worth shaking some money, and ass, too.

I’ve already gotten tickets for the Wolf Parade and Tv On The Radio shows in December, and will probably get Fuijya & Miyagi tickets this week. I buy my tickets at the Waterlooplein post office (mostly because it’s nice hearing the old postal employees saying “what was the name again? Tv On The Radio?” and then shaking their head in disbelief over the “crazy youth”). There are also other locations around the city where you can buy tickets I believe, those that know can post tips in this thread.

All right, over to the music:

Fujiya & Miyagi – Paradiso – Saturday – 18th October – 8 Euro
Straight outta England; plays funky repetitive white electropopmusic with a funky touch, not too far away from the likes of LCD Soundsystem and the amazing Hot Chip. When they are good it’s super catchy, especially in songs such as Collarbone, Ankle Injuries and their new single Knickerbocker, other times they run a little on empty. Will probably be a really nice concert with some funky dancing to kick in the Saturday with, and, it’s damn cheap too. They have a new album out which is supposed to be great, listen to them here:
http://www.myspace.com/fujiyaandmiyagi

Johnossi – Paradiso – Thursday – 6th November – 8 Euro
Swedish rock duo, amazing live band. With electric or acoustic guitar and a crazy drummer they create a much bigger sound than you would think two people could manage. This is not White Stripes blues drenched primal rock, this is more poppy, especially in their outstanding song Man Must Dance from their first album, but they know how to rock out as well, in songs such as Execution Song and in their gritty Party With My Pain they actually do sound, eh, like the White Stripes.
http://www.myspace.com/johnossi

Hot Chip – Melkweg – Friday – 14th November – 15 Euro
If you see one concert this fall, this should be it. I’ve seen them two times before (in Amsterdam and San Francisco), and it’s all out dancing to one of the most interesting electropop bands around. With three great album, from the softfunky sounds of Coming On Strong - which sounds like Prince playing in a sandbox with some white nerds – via the eclectic Warning with hits such as Boy From School and Over And Over – to this years Made In The Dark, it’s all pretty much amazing. Live they turn up the danceability and shake it in front of their small audio equipments, just five nerds going nuts pretty much. Outstanding songs include, except for the already mentioned, The Beach Party, Shake A Fist, The Warning and the ballads (yes, they do those as well, not that often live though) We’re Looking For A Lot Of Love and Colours. You really don’t want to miss this, Friday night’s does not get much better in November.
http://www.myspace.com/hotchip

Wolf Parade – Paradiso – Tuesday – 2nd December – 16,50 Euro
No doubt on of the best Canadian band around. After sounding like a fiercer and more restless Modest Mouse on their excellent debut Apologies To The Queen Mary - ripping through the songs with the same energy as Arcade Fire – they just released their second album. This time they have a bit of a softer sound, making it more diverse and interesting. It’s a varied journey; from the poppy start of Soldier’s Grin through the piano riding angst chorus of California Dreamer it’s a dramatic trip into how good contemporary indiemusik can be when it wants to. The minimalist song Fine Young Cannibals also deserves mentioning. With songs like Shine A light and the stubbornly drums of You Are A Runner And I Am My Fathers Son from their first album, this has the potential to be a great live show.
http://www.myspace.com/wolfparade

Tv On The Radio – Melkweg – Wednesday – 2rd December – 12,50 Euro
Broke though in 2003 with their haunting and brilliant song Staring at the Sun, and kept it up through songs like Wolf Like Me. A New York band that plays what some people like to call arty rock. It’s not that straight forward, but the two singers make sure that you don’t stop listening. They are masters at creating this weird atmosphere in their songs which is very captivating. Their new album is their most accessible yet - sounding more positive and poppy - specially in the brilliant opener Halfway Home, which sounds better than everything Bloc Party tries on their last album. Tv On The Radio are experts at shifting from dense moods to funky Prince only to go nuts with some harmonies seconds later. It’s all very exciting. I’ve never seen them live, but rumours are they play a crazy live show. They also lived in Berlin for a while, don’t really know what affect it had on them, but judging on their new album, I would say it was a good choice.
http://www.myspace.com/tvotr