Few people are here to see the crushing powerplay of Bossk opening proceedings, but everyone’s here, as it were. The thing is that nobody’s interested. Really, they’re not. Blueneck play next: everyone knows that they’re playing, but they’re being paid no attention. It’s fair when the British duo stomp offstage at the end of their set.
Blueneck’s lush brand of atmospheric post-rock (as if there’s any other kind) needs to listened to. You know the deal with this stuff: it’s gently undulating and purely instrumental with eager dynamics and walls of warm, fuzzy sound twinkling overhead. As with the rest of the genre, though, you really need to be in the mood for it.
Another critical factor in the ignorance of the aforementioned acts tonight is that everyone’s here for Cult of Luna. But the lights are turned off and people seem more preoccupied in not tripping over unseen obstacles on their return from the bar than actually witnessing the splendour of the Swedish doom merchants.
Sadly, the devastating energy of their startling crescendos and giddying explosions of sound just aren’t evident tonight. Everything they do seems lacklustre and fails to fully capture the attention of their audience.
It seems folly to suggest that they have just one trick in their arsenal of lulling you into a cold, Nordic sense of security before startling your senses with overpowering massiveness, but there really is only so many times you can do it before it seems calculated and… dull? Everyone’s lost interest again now anyway.
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Yeah, its a shame whats happend to Cult Of Luna. The Beyond and Salvation (to a lesser extent) were really good, but since then they've just become less interesting. A pity.
I remember seeing them once in Leicester a few years ago and the guitarist punching this guy at the front in the face for constantly twatting around! Wild.
totally spot on
Nothing about this show seemed to click, it's a shame since the other times i've seen them they've been fantastic.
I get the feeling there's a clash of ideals going on; some of them look like they still want to do the 'dark & mysterious' image of their tours with isis & dillinger (when there was so little light and so much dry ice that you could barely see them), but other members look desperate to be seen - johannes throws more rock god guitar shapes every time i see them...
Can I just add
that Blueneck have a singer who sings on the majority of their songs.
I really enjoyed the whole night though, seen all three bands before and will hopefully see all three bands again in the future.
have to disagree on a few points
considering it's been over a months since the gig will do my best to remember...
think half the problem with people missing Bossk especially was how early they were on. half the venues in london seemed to have woken up to the fact that the whole point of late drinking licenses is to put bands on later (so you can go home between work and gig) whereas others, like the underworld, have bands finished up by 10.30 at the latest. i missed them for a start and i was there about 8.30.
cult of luna... thought they were magic. i did go stand right at the front of the stage though so i could avoid the chattering and yes, frankly dissentrested masses. the thing is they may look like a hardcore band but they're really not, not remotely. because of bands they've toured with and the (musical) company they keep that's there main fanbase. musically they're close to Angelo Badalamenti then your average tight jeaned waistrel.
they're basically the type of band who you want to see sat down in a concert hall with a stunning PA so you can get all the subtleties from all the different dynamics, textures and colours they get. if nothing else, just switching on and listening to a single note with the amps they play would be enough beauty in the sound to keep me occupied for hours. the problem is the Underworld just isn't the kind of venue which can pull that off, and the crowd aren't the type who even if they did would sit and listen.
maybe yes, as a "spectacle" it wasn't all that, but that had more to do with things out of their control then the amazing music they were playing on stage.