OFF: Mouse On Mars (Not Uncle Sam...)

[Chris Warburton]

Well, I might have missed out on the Hawks (but not too much, judging by
the reports so far), but a surprise 'phone call from a mate resulted in my
joining a surprisingly large and enthusiatic crowd to see Mouse on Mars on
Sunday night at Media in Nottingham.  I'd only heard an odd track or two
before, but I was WELL-impressed.  I suppose this German trio are what
nowadays is called "Post-rock".  Being unkind, first impressions were
"They're no Can", but who is.  They definitely owe a great debt to the so
called "krautrock" era, and their opener reminded me a little of Tortoise &
Bark Psychosis.  This should be enough to whet the appetites of all the
fans of electronica on this list, and anybody who likes the occasional
electro/techno excursions of HW should check them out as well.  Real drums,
basses & guitars help to give the music a more organic feel, and they know
how to "rock out" rather than just relying on drones and pulses.
Unfortunately the gig had been re-timed to start and finish earlier than
was originally advertised, and we missed the support acts bar about 5 mins
of F/X Randomiz - who also sounded interesting.  The venue itself was
pretty extraordinary too, having been designed to put a VERY modern club
into the shell of a listed building without spoiling the internal
architectural features.  It was also my first experience of a designer
toilet *g*.

Cheers,
ChrisW
ObGig: See above!!!

"a cynic is a man who when he smells flowers looks around for a coffin" -
Bierce