Best Live Performances

[Potier]

A few selected ones that are memorable:

2006-05-04 Thee Silver Mt. Zion Orchestra & Trallala Band - Frankfurt, Germany, Brotfabrik - First and only time to see them before ever seeing Godspeed which happened a few years later. Smaller venue, audience in awe from what I remember, first you could hear a pin drop and then people got ecstatic, spent pretty much the whole entire day at the venue with beer and food since I arrived way early, great memory.

2006-09-12 Mogwai - Dresden, Germany, Alter Schlachthof - First and only time seeing one of my all time favorites. Mogwai fear Satan as an encore. Enough said.

2006-12-01 Bardo Pond - Berlin, Germany, Festsaal Kreuzberg - First and only time seeing a band that means so much to me...to this day. Utter bliss. Jam-packed venue. Essentially a wall of guitar noise with a flute and an almost angelic voice in the mix. I wanted to crawl into the PA. I wish I could see that band more often...

Guess 06 was a great year...lots of firsts.

2008-04-05 Shitstorm Noise Festival - Vivo Media Arts, Vancouver, Canada - just a few months after moving to Canada, first introduction to live noise performance, memorable maybe 30 second performance from The Barracks of Afghanistan, Taskmaster, Rusalka, Oscillating Innards, Tunnel Canary, too much weed...a PA speaker on fire thanks to Flatgrey, a microphone shoved inside female reproductive organs (Ghost Taco), I'm also sure I brought bed bugs home from staying in a seedy hostel...branded into my memory.

2012-08-24 & 25 Victoria Noise Fest - Open Space, Victoria, Canada - last edition of this great fest, I was late to the party for years, Victoria knows how to organize a festival, got disciplined for bringing my own beer, Xome played, I played a set that was way too short, great trip all around, cannot beat Victoria in the summer.

2012-11-30 to 12-02 Extreme Rituals: A Schimpfluch Carnival - Arnolfini, Bristol, UK - I will never forget this event. Just so happened to line up with the dates for a visit with family in Germany, cheap flight got me to London, train ride to Bristol where I'd never been before, really enjoyed the city, Arnolfini was the perfect venue for this, all day Schimpfluch video screenings, performances from the whole Schimpfluch Crew, Bryan Lewis Saunders spoken word and video performance made me nauseous, so did Eb.er with his offering that truly was a ritual for all senses, total overload of inspiration. To this day I tell everybody about this and will likely do so until dementia gets the best of me.

2014-12-15 Emptyset - Institut fuer Zukunft, Leipzig, Germany - part of a Raster Noton Showcase also involving Diamond Version and Grischa Lichtenberger, great venue, great trip to take shortly before Christmas, Emptyset was simple, to the point, strobe lights and minimal video, shit grin and awkward dance moves. Early morning train ride that followed the show was a treat as well.

2016-08-12 & 13 Amplified Humans Festival - Yellow Cab Building, Dayton, United States - much has been said and written about this fest, another summer holiday trip for me exploring beautiful Ohio, when does it ever happen that members of the audience get put up in someone's house for the duration of a fest? - testament to noise as a community, this was special all around, Dilloway taught everybody a lesson in tension, essentially all out harsh noise all the time, too much beer, great conversation, great weather, will fondly remember this for many years to come. Hoping for a second edition.

[absurdexposition]

2012-08-24 & 25 Victoria Noise Fest - Open Space, Victoria, Canada - last edition of this great fest, I was late to the party for years, Victoria knows how to organize a festival, got disciplined for bringing my own beer, Xome played, I played a set that was way too short, great trip all around, cannot beat Victoria in the summer

A great weekend indeed. And LOUD. Ron knew what he was doing for sure. I feel like Xome was the loudest, I remember being outside when he started and just being like "jesus christ...".

The Rita and Sick Buildings sets were highlights for me. The week leading up to the fest was also great, with driving Winters in Osaka to a few gigs around BC.

[Strangecross]

Sects Providence basement maybe 2014?
Hyper sexual performative noise with appropriate blasting of harshest possibility on this 'PA' Included amplified bowl  with pearls being spit into from the performers mouth and some mirrors being broken.

No Fun Fest Highlights of what I was able to see were: Kevin Drumm, SJ, Keiji Haino, Incapacitants.
It was almost too much for my little brain, I was absolutely assaulted by the uncompromising acts, have not seen anything like it since.

Crank Sturgeon Gallery around the way from RRR. 2008 or so.
Crank was putting carpet in a toaster and turning it on. I think George Costanza was there taking notes on paper and reacting audibly.

I saw a lot of great shows at Monkey Mania in Denver. Friends Forever being added to a bill was always a lot of fun. Sonic Youth and Wolf Eyes collab was such an internal moment. Walking into a Dave Phillips show while people were running out in tears was something I will never forget. I think the harshest set with most attitude I ever saw there was Kites.

Fest I forget the name of in Chicago with Rusted Shut, Air Conditioning I think a crazy person who was on a very negative trip wandered in off the street and did guest vocals for Rusted Shut at one point? I think he had a gun.

Nice to see Black Dice make some lists, very jealous that I never got to see them.

[Bruitiste]

Most of the best concerts I've attended come from twenty+ years of going to the Victoriaville fest (FIMAV).  Not a ton of noise necessarily, but a couple stand out:

-Kikuri (Keiji Haino + Merzbow) was great, this was the recording of "Pulverized Purple", better in person.  Any Haino set over the years has been a highlight.
-Borbetomagus + Hijokaidan set, which ended up on CD as "Both Noises End Burning".
-The Boredoms with a three-drummer lineup, fantastic.

[Potier]

One more thing:

Peter Brötzmann - has been outstanding every time I have seen him with whichever musicians he was paired with.
Most outstanding was the Full Blast performance I witnessed in 2011 at the Edmonton Jazz Fest. Three quarters of the audience had no idea what hit them.
Full Blast certainly is an accurate name for that band. I hope this man lives forever.

[Duncan]

So many great experiences but with drink/drug addled scatterbrained memories...I'm bad at the dates and remembering things but I'll try

Fests:

No Trend, London 2005(??) - First real noise show I went to, first time meeting other people who made/listened to noise. No idea how it would stand up now but it was thrilling at the time.  Massive delays so people doing 2 min sets. Power cut, flooding, just chaos.  Filthy Turd smearing himself with mud from a lunch box and smashing up a cymbal. Monopolka jumping off his table. Fuck Buttons before they got big playing that same song over at every ATP/Supersonic and in shit channel 4 programmes. Green Mist drunk as fuck drinking lighter fluid (mid set?). Just lairy, drunk, good willed ruffians having a great time everywhere in a tiny room. Life changing tbh. There was another one the year after which was cool but doesn't hold quite the same memories.

LAFMS Festival, London (2011?10?) - Loads of pretty amazing US acts plus some Japanese in London over a few days. Really good vibes throughout. Raionbashi & Kutzelina were brilliant I recall.  Incapacitants hampered by low volume but Hijokaidan sorted it out the next day. Just wild insanity, finally.

Schimpfluch Carnival, Bristol (2012) - mentioned by someone else earlier. Daniel Lowenbruck & Leif Elggren was one of the best things ever. Alice Kemp. TNB & GX. Dave Phillips. Sudden Infant & Ute Waldhausen slapping each other semi nude. Went alone but hung out all weekend with great people.

Rammel Club Weekender, Nottingham (2012) - Had the benefit of being a much more small, scummy, intimate feeling than the other bigger fests those guys were putting on.  I remember a triptych of John Wiese, Dieter Muh and Cheapmachines in a row making me want to just give up music. Probably the best Spoils & Relics set I've ever seen either - they were joined mid set by the guy who ran/runs the bar doing a grotty poem and as he walked off the intensity of the set just ramped up without any of them even looking at each other. Complete listening and intuition. Insane.  Too many other great sets to mention that day really. Blood Stereo were killer that weekend. Notable also for being Sleaford Mods first show. Who knew.

Colour Out of Space - been to a lot of these and they're always essential, highlight of the year/years events without fail. Never a weak one.  In no order and picking from across maybe 5-6 editions highlights would be: Dilloway, Alvarius B, Jerome Noetinger, Logos Women, WOL, Alessandro Bosetti, Id M Theftable & Crank Sturgeon, Trevor Wishart, Red Brut, Ernie K Fegg, Myriam Van Imschoot & Doreen Kutzke, Jennifer Walshe & Tomomi Adachi, Peter Fengler, Vom Grill...fuck. Looking back over the lineups I wish I could go back again and watch some of the stuff I drunkenly zoned on but you're only young once.

Stand alone shows:

I can't list them but basically every time Dilloway has come to Brighton it has been a master class. Played with him 3 of the 6 or 7 times I've seen him and learnt important lessons each time.  The first was when I was still finding my feet sound wise and played a completely abhorrent set of the most half assed bullshit ever, blaming the (admittedly terrible) PA and my shitty equipment for my lack of talent.  Right before he was due to play he realised all of his gear was fucked for some reason and without a moments hesitation or whining he proceeded to do an absolutely flooring set with somebody elses gear that sounded immense. Never made excuses again after that.

Lots of local gigs have the mis/fortune of being really poorly attended in Brighton but enough people want to come along to hang out meaning some very great international acts have performed great sets to almost nobody such as Id M Theftable, Crank Sturgeon, Taco Bells, Avarus, Jaap Blonk, Airway (to about 9 people, seriously) and more than I can recall.

I'm bad at this but will try to remember some more.

[Baglady]

This list could probably be filled out with a dozen more, but these come to mind immediately.

Treriksröset - 2008, Jönköping, Sweden. My first harsh noise gig. Or at least the first I can remember. Maybe four or five in the audience me included? Eternalized on the 2018 cassette on Hatband.

Händer Som Vårdar - 2013, Röset Festival, in the forest in Sweden. Just a really really good gig. Unlike his cassettes, this was very noisy. Great rowdy audience too, beercans flying.

Kakerlak - 2017, Gothenburg, Sweden. Nolan played a fantastic and largely unprepared set in the tiny Heinz Hopf rehearsal space. Starting out super intense and building from there. Pummelling.

Altar Of Flies - 2017 or 2018, Gothenburg, Sweden. Opening act before the Skull Defekts farewell show. Huge stage (biggest indoor venue int town if you don't count the sports arenas), super sound. Could feel my bowels moving while Gustafsson crawled around underneath his table messing with his gear but in full control.

Paranoid Time - 2019, Summer Scum, Cincinnati, USA. As a perennial fan, this was euphoric for me. Amazing gig, and great crowd as well. The finale is hard to forget. Wasteland Jazz Unit was fantastic during this festival as well.

Testicle Hazard - 2020, Gothenburg, Sweden. Approx 55 minute set in a theatre with super comfy seats, excellent loud PA etc. A horizontal hailstorm of a million electronic sounds. Not a one dull second.

[holy ghost]

One more thing:

Peter Brötzmann - has been outstanding every time I have seen him with whichever musicians he was paired with.
Most outstanding was the Full Blast performance I witnessed in 2011 at the Edmonton Jazz Fest. Three quarters of the audience had no idea what hit them.
Full Blast certainly is an accurate name for that band. I hope this man lives forever.

I saw play a duo set with Heather Leigh on pedal steel. It was interesting and great to see a master at work but definitely “not my thing” in terms of sound. Would love to see him play with a sick quartet of some kind in a more “traditional” free jazz context.

Anthony Braxton a few years ago in Montreal was a true highlight. What a great group!

The first time I saw Sissy Spacek with Wiese/Mumma/Mike Du Bose was PHENOMENAL. Great set, super loud and they just killed it.

I have never really clicked 100% with Pharmakon on record - they are just fine recordings - but wow she was great live. In your fucking face, angry as all hell. It was a great show.

Ornette Coleman I saw about 10 years ago - very good set with all the “classics” plus some out there violin playing. Awesome to see his son Denardo on drums.

Magma was top notch. First time Vander was all sick and shit and the place was packed, a year later only about 1/3 the people were there and they KILLED IT. Top 10 show for me.

The Rita a bunch of times - at the new defunct Coalition was a total trip. The perfect place to witness that.

Biggest regret is not taking the time off to go to America and see Ramirez/Vomir/The Rita/JHS on this last tour. Seeing Vomir and wearing the garbage bag and drinking 2000 beers would be a life changer.  

[aububs]

Colour Out of Space - been to a lot of these and they're always essential, highlight of the year/years events without fail. Never a weak one.  In no order and picking from across maybe 5-6 editions highlights would be: Dilloway, Alvarius B, Jerome Noetinger, Logos Women, WOL, Alessandro Bosetti, Id M Theftable & Crank Sturgeon, Trevor Wishart, Red Brut, Ernie K Fegg, Myriam Van Imschoot & Doreen Kutzke, Jennifer Walshe & Tomomi Adachi, Peter Fengler, Vom Grill...fuck. Looking back over the lineups I wish I could go back again and watch some of the stuff I drunkenly zoned on but you're only young once.

i've been to a few of them too and one of the performances that always sticks out for me is Henri Chopin. i don't remember what year it was but his set was amazing and the crowd was going absolutely nuts for him. also remember kommissar hjuler & mama bar singing that "in the mighty jungle" song over and over again until i wanted to kill myself. really annoying and good set.

[Duncan]

i've been to a few of them too and one of the performances that always sticks out for me is Henri Chopin. i don't remember what year it was but his set was amazing and the crowd was going absolutely nuts for him. also remember kommissar hjuler & mama bar singing that "in the mighty jungle" song over and over again until i wanted to kill myself. really annoying and good set.

Yeah, the Chopin one was sadly the year before I went. Will forever be gutted I couldn't see him.  I really dug that KH&MB set, so dumb, but so right. Sometimes the weirder more performative stuff happening on a Sunday is ideal cus the 2 days drinking previously have really broken you down to receive it fully. I guess that set was one such occasion but I could have the days wrong. I remember being wasted and falling asleep a few times during that which made it all the better to wake up to.

[Bloated Slutbag]

2016-08-12 & 13 Amplified Humans Festival - Yellow Cab Building, Dayton, United States

Did a double take thought I read that Yellow Cab played the fest. That would be a thing. Oh damn just realized I popped the same dumbarsed crack the last time Being played Tokyo (fret not, karma definitely got me before the evening was through). Yellow Cab, fuck. I think I described them to Being Itself as more wheee than whooo, well ya know a bit less verbose in person it seems.

My most memorable show is all of them with Incapacitants. But special mention for Incaps @ venerable 20000V in Tokyo probably late 1999...where Koji Tano RIP dubbed me the honorary third member of Incapacitants and I almost got pushed through the ceiling(!) by ecstatic nutcases going berserk at the stagefront. Was accused of being a performance artist by legit cutie with whom I was in no condition to reciprocate okay there's the karma. Later, I got a lift home by the cops in a bodybag, the best way to travel don't knock it till you try it. Woke up to a note on my door courtesy landlord, "You are terminate. Move out ASAP". Still have the note. Good times. Um, the uh noise was good too.

Also, everything with Robochanman, with and without chaperone. Also unquestionably Japan's greatest living audience member.

[Duncan]

^^^More tales of on the ground japanese noise shows if you'd be so inclined please.

[theotherjohn]

My first noise and experimental show/festival. I'd read about the previous INSTAL where Jandek played live for the first time and saw that he was going to be present at this one too. Given I'd just started studying at a university which wasn't a million miles away travel-wise, had never visited Glasgow before and I'd just been bestowed with my first student loan, I couldn't say no. Barely knew much about the line up before I went and left the festival with a pretty good primer on experimental music, ears ringing with tinnitus, and a backpack full of Hijokaidan and Henri Chopin CDs. Most of the performances had the audience politely sat down, but when Hijokaidan played (their first UK performance) to close the Saturday night, you better believe that there was a moshpit! Too bad there's no video footage of that, although the Arika website does hold a considerable archive of photos, video and audio from all the remarkable events they put on - hours/days worth of sonic and visual delights to be found if you dig deep: http://arika.org.uk/archive/