Live Review: Orange Factory Fest

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ORANGE FACTORY FEST: Hypnos 69 / Nick Oliveri / Brant Bjork & the Bros.

July 16th, 2004.

De Bunker

Party time! Originally, it was the intention that Mondo Generator would be the headlining act of the Orange Factory Fest (Oliveri and Bjork had a great time in April and wanted to come back), but because the greediness of the Pukkelpop Festival people got the best of them, Mondo Generator wasn’t allowed to perform, making Bjork & the Bros the headlining act. That needn’t imply a disaster of course, as Bjork’s last visit in the Sojo was a downright triumph and bound to end up in a lot of people’s end of the year-lists. Hoping a sizeable audience would turn up (after all, this is the festival season and there’s a limit to the amount of money people can spend), the Orange Factory gang moved to a bigger venue nearby, where three acts intended to rip things up.

It was a kind of special night for Hypnos 69, sort of… The night was also supposed to be the release party for their third full-length and the boys were there alright, armed and all, but not the CD, which is gonna come out soon. Anyway, the jamming trio who recruited sax player Steven Marx last year kicked off their 90-minute (!) set bathing in psychedelic, multi-colored projections that fitted their music perfectly. One guy once wrote that “(…) Hypnos 69 deals, as their name partly suggests, in extended work-outs that are heavily indebted to acid-rock, space-rock (where’s the exact difference with acid-rock anyway?), prog-rock and early hard-rock or, to keep it short: anything recorded between 1968 and 1975 that involves mastodon guitar freak-outs, a mind-expanding atmosphere and a rhythm section that alternately make you shake your ass and your head dazzle with their complexity” and that’s still very much the case. The combination of all these elements is of course proof of the fact they’re a contemporary band, but it does seem as if they haven’t heard any music that was released after 1975 (which is not the case, because they’re also a bit indebted to Norwegian band Motorpsycho, probably the smartest pseudo-revivalist band Europe currently has). Aided by Marx on a whole bunch of tracks, the band tore through their first two albums and delivered several cuts from the new album as well, highlights being a splendid version of the extended “A Neverending Enigma” from Timeline Traveller and the hard-rocking “Burning Ambition” from last year’s Promise of a New Moon. The new songs didn’t seem like a departure from the older stuff, but the presence of the new member hints at a slightly different style of songwriting. I guess we’ll have to wait and see, but it’s a fact that Hypnos 69’s live show was much appreciated by the audience that was smart enough to recognize a talented band when they see one.

It’s still a bit weird to see Nick Oliveri alone on a stage with only an acoustic guitar. Unfortunately, Oliveri didn’t seem to know what he was doing up there either, as he brought his bottle Jack Daniels along just to make sure he’d play a rather sloppy set. While his performance at the Sojo three months ago wasn’t spectacular by any means, he made quite an impression on most people (“He really can do it on his own!”). This time around, he played a much sloppier set, which was basically the same as the previous one, including most of the in between songs-banter. I don’t really mind that an artist doesn’t hit those strings as he should – a live setting, where everything can and should happen, shouldn’t be compared to a studio recording – but when he’s on auto pilot (unintended pun), you just feel so stupid for not stepping outside with a beer. “I Want You to Die” and “Wake Up Screaming” (a Subhumans song) sounded pretty cool, but once he discovered the projection of William Burroughs and dancing, half-naked girls behind him on the wall, his set seemed to disintegrate a bit, as “Detroit” (again, dedicated to his grandfather) and “Another Love Song” weren’t half as imposing as the previous time. It was a nice touch to sing most of “I’m Gonna Leave You” in Spanish and you’d have to be a maniac to fuck the excellent “Auto Pilot” up. Luckily, the set again ended with an impassionate take on Roky Erickson’s sinister “Bloody Hammer,” but all the while you couldn’t be sure whether it was the whiskey, sincere passion or the desire to act outrageous that fueled his set. He could’ve done much better.

If you read my review of the previous show by Brant Bjork & the Bros (one of those gigs that offered everything you crave, an unforgettable coup and one of the best gigs I’ve seen the past few years), you’d know that I went to Glabbeek with pretty high expectations. Those were only half way met, which means it was pretty okay, but in another league this time. I have no idea what the reason is, but it must’ve been a combination of several factors: first of all, the venue was no match for the Sojo. The sound was okay, but whereas the Sojo is this low-ceilinged dungeon, De Bunker is a wide and high hall that makes it harder to channel all the sound into one direction. If there weren’t as many people in the Sojo, we would’ve been pinned to the goddamn wall by the sheer power of the sound. It was, like, the ultimate heavy psychedelic experience, your bones rattling with the massive volume. This time around, you’d have to get really close to the band (read: first three rows) to get an idea of what that sensation feels like. Brant Bjork On top of that, there’s also the fact that they were in the middle of a tour – and I bet even Bjork himself is not gonna deny this – and not at the end of it, a show where they had to deliver the goods for one last time in a crazy atmosphere in which anything can (and did) happen. The performance itself was pretty good, though. They kicked off with the trippy “Lazy Bones” that launched into the riff-fest “Automatic Fantastic,” but whereas the song should cause the entire venue to bang their heads like maniacs (‘cause it’s like, an über-groove), it only made you shake your ass slightly. The band seemed to have a lot of fun, came up with more minimalist funk from the Californian desert (“I Miss My Chick”), the unstoppable autobiography “Low Desert Punk” and the hilarious “Monkey Boy,” during which Bjork – always the gentleman - expressed his appreciation for the Belgian opening act. Next up were a the poppy “My Ghettoblaster” and Keep Your Cool’s “Rock-n-Rol’e” that resulted in something that sounded like a (nice) improvised jam. Michael Peffer banged the drums like there was no tomorrow, Cortez once again proved he’s the classy sideman par excellence, bass player Dylan Roche did his statue-act again (how can he not move while laying down these grooves?), and Oliveri jumped on stage again when “Hydraulicks” transformed into Kyuss’ “Gardenia.” Oliveri wasn’t the last guest to appear on stage – they’re touring with Mondo Generator, remember? – as Alfredo Hernandez (yes, the one who replaced Bjork in Kyuss and who was announced by Bjork as “My number one hero”) switched to drums during two more songs from the Che-album (a trio of Hernandez, Bjork and Unida-bassman Dave Dinsmore): “The Knife” and “The Day the Pirate Retired,” with Dave Catching replacing Cortez on guitar. After that, things became a bit catchier again for a while – “Johnny Called” – but like the previous time, the band ended the two-hour set with the extended jam of “Sounds of Liberation.” Even though Bjork’s latest album has been out for a few weeks, he didn’t seem to think it was appropriate material to play in this setting, as there were only two songs I didn’t recognize and they certainly were among the evening’s more mellower songs. I heard the new material is often acoustic, so let’s hope an acoustic tour is in the works. Anyway, the band played a fine set that only didn’t manage to have the same impact as before, but those who stuck around were rewarded by a fine little bonus: Mondo Generator. Even though their ferocious stoner-punk was something entirely different than Bjork’s mellow desert rock, it was quite a blast, as the band tore through “Eccentric Man” (an oldie by British band The Groundhogs that wound up on one of the Desert Sessions albums), Kyuss’ “Allen’s Wrench” and one song I hadn’t heard before. Catching was his usual cool self, bass player Molly McGuire rocked as if it was her last show and Hernandez kept the groove going. Oliveri just stood there and screamed, but it sounded swell, ending the evening on a raucous note. All in all, the Fest was a success that would’ve been even more fun if Oliveri had gotten his act together and the whole thing had taken place at the Sojo, because as far as sound and atmosphere goes, that’s still #1.

Cool extra: the presence of the Malleus-gang, who make all the nifty Orange Factory-posters and brought along a shit-load of psychedelic poster art. They’ll be back on September 24th, when they’re performing with Ufomammut at the Sojo. Where’s your agenda?