dredg

Last week I went to a concert at the Melkweg in Amsterdam on the recommendation of my friend Martin, who had a few months before gone to see this band and had been blown away by them.
I had already heard the music and was a little concerned that it might be a little to proggy sounding for me.
But first I must mention the opening band Miss. Antartica who I thought were quite good, they reminded me of a nice Placebo. No one else who was there with us thought they were any good but I guess that is what makes the world go round, the simple fact that we are different.
The singer of Dredg has one of those very high voices like he might have taken classical training and then to watch him on stage was like someone had torn a page from the Jim Morrison book of stage craft. And dam near impossible to take photos of cause he is constantly moving with an energy that that of an autistic child.

The rest of the band (guitar, bass and drummer & keys) were all intense guys in their own right and seemed to be set apart from one another. There was no interaction between any of them on stage aside from the guitar player facing the drummer once in a while but he could have easily been listening to his amp, they did their parts and that was that. The singer also played a slide guitar set on a table, he teased the strings with different objects such as a drum stick and what looked like a knife. But this allowing him to not at all interact with the audience.
The show was quite good there is no denying their talents, and entertainment value was high. At the very end of their set they have their 2 roadies come on and start disassembling the stage as they are playing. The drums get taken away, the bass guitar and then the guitar and the singers mic when all their is left is the drummer (without drums) playing his piano with single minded intensity.
I think it is good to get a taste of new music once in awhile and I am glad I went on a Tuesday night to see them. I will probably not again but not because they were bad but because they did not grab me like they could have.
The opening band was a Dutch one that is worth mentioning. They reminded me of a nicer Placebo, and I thought they had something to bring to the club as well.