A stag night party is leaving the venue as I arrive. Something’s obviously wrong, and quickly I learn that The Good the Bad have cancelled their gig because the drummer is ill.
Later, one of the band’s guitarists tells me that the drummer broke his finger three weeks ago and was still not able to play. “We had all hoped it was possible till this very evening,” he says. “I flew back from the States for this!”
We conclude a big drink is needed.
None of the usual crowd have shown up, and the place is close to empty just ten minutes before Howl Baby Howl, the other Danish local band, are due to go on stage. One reason could be the football match between Italy and Germany.
Howl Baby Howl (Jeppe Brix Sorensen on vocals and guitar, Silas Hagemann Tinglef on drums, and tonight, guesting on bass, Anders Christensen from Asteroids Galaxy Tour) open the night in darkness, playing ‘Trash and Broken Pieces’ to a sparse, inactive audience, lined up six metres away from the stage.
It’s a shame so few people are here because this young band are so good. I’m not easily impressed, but the first time I ever listened to them, I thought: “These guys rock!”
They take their inspiration from a wide source. From the great American icons to progressive English rock bands, and even closer to home, and do it in their own very sensuous, unpolished, unashamed way.
But they’re not as strong live as they are in a recording studio, despite great songs, catchy riffs, and a chemistry that makes them so unique. It’s seems to me, that the distance they keep from their audience keeps them from the success, which they as an act deserve.
Tonight it’s like Howl Baby Howl are taking us along on an introverted dark route to stardom. With strong songs like ‘A Place in the Sun’ from Kids of Caos, and ‘You Know That I Would’, which is one of my favorite songs from their second album Now the World Belongs to us, this duo really has the potential to kick it far over the edge of the stage and make it through to the other side.
Howl Baby Howl then finish up with the uncontrollable (Primal Scream-ish) 'War Wave nr 1' and a cool edition of 'Carolina', before leaving the stage.
Thee Oh Sees (John Dwyer, vocals and guitar, Brigid Sawson on vocals and keyboard, Petey Dammit on guitar and Lars Finberg on drums) deliver an energising set of high-speed ‘60s-inspired surf-punk garage rock. Within just their first song, 'The Dream', with characteristic high-pitched vocals and yelps, the Californian four-piece's spark off a dense, mental dance frenzy that shows no signs of abating, as they continue with a concentrated sequence of catchy songs including ‘Contraption/Soul Desert’, ‘Tidal Wave’, ‘Enemy Destruct’, ‘I Was Denied’ and many more.
We rarely have concerts this energetic and fun in Copenhagen. The audience goes into an instant symbiosis with the music, like it’s the hit they’ve all been waiting for. The place transformed into a big surf wave, and we left with the feeling that summer had finally arrived.
