Ulrich Schnauss Roll Call

amazing night. thank you snailhook, for everything.

what was the name of the 3rd band? auburn lull or screen vinyl image? (I keep getting their names mixed up).

Yeah, this was an accurate summation of everything.
It was the first of my many trips to the Velvet where sound was a major issue. I definitely noticed that the left channel was either shot or getting there early on in the night and by Ulrich's set (which was beautiful from start to finish), there was little more than static coming out of there. Screen Vinyl Image's set sounded good from where I was standing but the monitors could've been a different story.

The show going as late as it did is about par for the course for the Velvet so I wasn't as phased by that as most seemed to be.
Oh and SVI played second while AL were the third act.

Originally posted by sweetcell:
executive summary: amazing music tonight, the enjoyment of which was pretty much ruined by the sound system.

way-too-long version:

we collectively psyched ourselves out about getting there before doors opened… i walked in at 9:10, and there were maybe 5 other people in the bar. nice to finally meet ms. moritz and jaguar. spent most of the evening with julian, miss p, and her associated roller-derby hangers-on.

luxa kicked things off around 10:45 - the bands were having issues during soundcheck, more on that in a minute. i really liked what luxa played, the edge-type delayed guitar over laptop-driven beat and pads for the most part. the third song that they tried playing had some Kid A/Amnesiac-type glitchy goodness as the backing track, but the band couldn't lock in - the monitor mix was horrible, so they stopped everything and made some mix change requests to the sound guy (not the first ones, mind your). whoever was doing sound seemed unable to do much, their second attempt at the song was abandoned as well. their fourth song started off real nice… but a minute in, 2 of the four people on stage threw down their instrument and gave up. apparently everything was coming through distorted to the point of being incomprehensible. the remaining two members tried valiantly to finish the song, but they eventually apologized and called it a night a few minutes later. bummer, 'cause i was really digging their music.

auburn lull and screen vinyl image was more of the same, although they both soldiered on and finished their sets. AL started out a little stronger than they finished. SVI was an amorphous but blissful sonic wash, the drummer (the only one of the night) was quite impressive. some of their music had a sigur ros'ish quality to it.

ulrich schnauss' set was beautiful. not quite sure how to describe it, he did quite a bit of genre jumping. IDM? neo-tangerine dream? electro dream-gaze? yes, i'm dancing for architecture here. but again, the sound was impeding on my ability to enjoy the show. the volume at this point was ear-splitting. luckily my faithful etymotics cut down some of the high-end distortion. more than one person left the room because it was too grating on the ears - and it wasn't thrash metal that was coming out of the PA, it was dreamy soundscapes. ulrich suffered from what i've christened "the velvet curse". because things ran so late, the crowd started to thin out before the headliner took the stage. he went on at 1:45, hard to expect 100% participation at the end of a work-week. ear-drum-piercing sound didn't help. buy the end of his set, around 2:30-2:40, the room was about a third full.

i really enjoyed all the music that was on offer tonight, or at least what versions of it made it past the PA. i'd definitely go see any one of these bands again. they did a test after ulrich left the stage, and the left speaker was shot. sound-man probably had to compensate by cranking up the right side all night long… = distortion. everyone has good nights and bad nights… unfortunately this wasn't a good one for the velvet's PA.

i sincerely hope we get a chance to hear these bands again. thanks for bringing them to DC, snailhook!

Nice to finally meet you, Jaguar! And I think I met Sweetcell or someone else with the same first name. We may have met at Yeasayer too?


Good to see that you were able to make it in, Lancha.

Anyone who missed out or looking for another run of this line up, they are playing tonight in Baltimore at The Metro Gallery. I promised a friend of mine, who coincidently happens to be another roller derby queen along with Miss P, that I would go tonight. Oddly, this gal was introduced to me by Ulrich the last time he was in town with M83. She and I have a mutual friend in London who also happens to be good friends and business associates with Ulrich. My circles continue to merge!

Then after the show, one of the guys from the 1st band, Luxa, offered to put me on the guest list for tonight. I've known this guy for a several years now and he's one of the guys who was involved with one of the radio stations that use to carry my old show, The Trans-Atlantic Underground. Last night was the first we've actually met. So, it's either do or die. Actually, I'm looking forward to the show since I really like all 4 bands.

Not much to add that wasn't already mentioned other than that Ulrich was so much better last night than when he opened for M83. Much fuller landscapes. Everything just came off so much better, short of the buggy PA. In fact, I thought that when he played the Black Cat, some of his songs were just a bit out of tune and/or synch. He had it together last night and it was beautiful.

Regarding the sound for the entire night, in general, if you used your selective hearing, the show wasn't as bad as it seems based on reading only but the PA did have it's faults which made it a bit less than a stellar night. I really felt sorry for Sam since it was obvious that some of this was out of his control. Just a shame that it had to happen on such a good night.

Julian, did I meet you? I don't remember doing so and I was looking for you. Was happy to finally meet Azaghal, Christine, Sweetcell and Miss P. (I hope I didn't leave anyone out.) I really love meeting people from my cyber life. Seems to solidify things more. Also, when attending shows in DC, I usually end up having to go alone not having like minded music friends up here. Once I get to the shows, when I know a good number of people, I don't get that alone in a crowd feeling. It's more like meeting up with friends at a party.

One other observation on the negative side: All the damned chatty women! From my vantage point, there were several women who would not STF UP during the performances. Very annoying, especially for someone like Auburn Lull. Either learn some show etiquette or stay home. Guess that's what happens as your niche favorites start catching on to the masses.

if i didn't already have plans, i'd absolutely go to b'more for the show tonight. i'd love to hear these bands again, it's a great line-up.

Originally posted by azaghal1981:
Oh and SVI played second while AL were the third act.
(…)
And I think I met Sweetcell or someone else with the same first name. We may have met at Yeasayer too?

SVI was before AL? huh. guess they reversed the order… i don't know either band well enough to recognize their songs, so i'll take your word for it.

yeah, that was me, nice to meet you (again - yes to yeasayer). when we chatted, it occurred to me for a second that you might be azaghal… but i thought it too much a long-shot. next time!

Originally posted by Jaguar:
One other observation on the negative side: All the damned chatty women! From my vantage point, there were several women who would not STF UP during the performances. Very annoying, especially for someone like Auburn Lull. Either learn some show etiquette or stay home. Guess that's what happens as your niche favorites start catching on to the masses.

yeah, the talkers were a real annoyance last night. during ulrich's set, i noticed those two over-dressed chatty-catties beside you. loved their rave-dancing BFs too :roll:

my biggest issue were the two douches by the back "bar" who yelled at each other for the duration of the show. they did not stop their conversation all night long. they had little interest in the music… my take is that shows like these are hyped by boards like this one, by newspapers, by blogs, etc and the show takes on an aura, that it's the in thing that night, you need to be there. but what happens when a person realizes that the hype doesn't match their expectations or preferences? ideally you give it a shot, or just leave. unfortunately, i think some people stick it out while trying to entertain themselves the best they can - by conversation. "what the hell, the music sucks anyways, i'm not listening so probably no one else is!". besides, they're usually to drunk to take much notice of their surroundings.

GRRRRRR. i guess i should partially blame myself for not going over and asking them to shut up or go somewhere else. yeay, blame the victim.

Originally posted by sweetcell:
if i didn't already have plans, i'd absolutely go to b'more for the show tonight. i'd love to hear these bands again, it's a great line-up.

Oh, too bad. Would be nice to see you again tonight. Hopefully soon but I can't get out as much as I use to. You should go to the Mahogany show on Thursday at the Black Cat. Similiar music. I'd love to go but it's highly unlikely I'll be able to go. Work sucks ass.

Originally posted by sweetcell:
SVI was before AL? huh. guess they reversed the order… i don't know either band well enough to recognize their songs, so i'll take your word for it.

Yeap. It was definitely Luxa/SVI/AL/Ulrich. SVI are 2 ex-members of Alcian Blue and Auburn Lull are very sleepy ambient Gazers akin to Hammock. All of these bands have been airing on Air Atlantic since the station went on the air now except Luxa who will be up there shortly.

Originally posted by sweetcell:
yeah, the talkers were a real annoyance last night. during ulrich's set, i noticed those two over-dressed chatty-catties beside you. loved their rave-dancing BFs too :roll:

Yeah, that was them!!! :mad: Actually, I really enjoyed watching one of the rave dancing guys. The man had ryhthm, style and obviously understood the music. Oh, and the guy knew how to dance and fist pump without poking your eye out with his elbow. Now, if they just leave the ladies at home for these kinds of shows.

Originally posted by sweetcell:
my biggest issue were the two douches by the back "bar" who yelled at each other for the duration of the show. they did not stop their conversation all night long. they had little interest in the music… my take is that shows like these are hyped by boards like this one, by newspapers, by blogs, etc and the show takes on an aura, that it's the in thing that night, you need to be there. but what happens when a person realizes that the hype doesn't match their expectations or preferences? ideally you give it a shot, or just leave. unfortunately, i think some people stick it out while trying to entertain themselves the best they can - by conversation. "what the hell, the music sucks anyways, i'm not listening so probably no one else is!". besides, they're usually to drunk to take much notice of their surroundings.

GRRRRRR. i guess i should partially blame myself for not going over and asking them to shut up or go somewhere else. yeay, blame the victim.

See, my take on this is that there are 2 kinds of show goers. One goes for the party and the people. The others go for the music. These are the serious music lovers. Unfortunately, that's not always a good mix. I do agree with you regarding the hype of the boards and such but that's the price everyone pays for fame.

which kind is sweetcell? hahaha. i kid i kid.

Originally posted by Jaguar:
See, my take on this is that there are 2 kinds of show goers. One goes for the party and the people. The others go for the music. These are the serious music lovers. Unfortunately, that's not always a good mix. I do agree with you regarding the hype of the boards and such but that's the price everyone pays for fame.

Mahogany are dreamy :) And they are opening for Lorelei!

Originally posted by Jaguar:
You should go to the Mahogany show on Thursday at the Black Cat. Similiar music. I'd love to go but it's highly unlikely I'll be able to go. Work sucks ass.

Originally posted by Jaguar:

Yeah, that was them!!! :mad: Actually, I really enjoyed watching one of the rave dancing guys. The man had ryhthm, style and obviously understood the music. Oh, and the guy knew how to dance and fist pump without poking your eye out with his elbow. Now, if they just leave the ladies at home for these kinds of shows.

you might have been looking at me. I was in a brown t-shirt and have a curly fro, and I was doing a small bit of dancing. I was to the left of the two ladies who were into it. They kept taking pictures of themselves every 30 seconds, it was quite odd.

Originally posted by lancha:
I was to the left of the two ladies who were into it. They kept taking pictures of themselves every 30 seconds, it was quite odd. [/QB]

Oh my god…


Are the BYT people invading Snailhook's shows?

Noooooooooooo!


What next? "Hey look at me! I was there!" pics from 611?

Originally posted by sweetcell:
executive summary: amazing music tonight, the enjoyment of which was pretty much ruined by the sound system.

way-too-long version:

words words words

That's just great. You'll write a novella about a guy whose name calls to mind a Metallica nasal cavity, but nay one word on the Butthole Surfers? Priorities, man!

Originally posted by Relaxer:
That's just great. You'll write a novella about a guy whose name calls to mind a Metallica nasal cavity, but nay one word on the Butthole Surfers? Priorities, man!

wow, someone asking me to post more… that's got to be a first :)

i didn't write anything about the surfers because i had nothing new to offer. everyone said what i was going to say: fun energetic show, kids were interesting but a tad distracting, and i really could have done without the gross-out projections or the 15-minute noise-jam that ended the show. happy now?

Saturday's show in Baltimore blew away Friday's show. Very happy I went. First off, I'm now a convert to the virtues of the Metro Gallery. Use to avoid the place because all the glass caused the sound to suck. They've worked around that, built a stage and tweaked the system and it's now about on par with your average smaller venue. Cool location. Still don't have a liquor license yet but they have a small variety of beers, wines and mixed drinks they give you for donations. You just drop whatever you want into the till. If that's not to your liking, you can bring your own booze. Supposedly, someone brought a whole keg to some other show! Of course, this is until their liquor license comes through. (Secretly hoping that takes forever! LOL)

Each of the bands played pretty much the same sets as on Friday except I think SVI's was a bit different. All sounded much better. In fact, SVI was the best I've ever heard them. I overheard someone else saying the same thing.

Besides the sound being much better, the Baltimore audience got treated to a little something extra that didn't happen on Friday. After the show, I was hanging around talking to various friends. Almost everyone had cleared out of the place and I too was just about ready to do the same until something totally out of the blue happened. Jake from SVI, Ulrich, most of the guys from Auburn Lull and Andy from Luxa got up on stage and provided us with a totally impromtu jam session. Quite a nice treat. In a few days, I should have a video link for this since The Metro is hiring Paradox Studios (I think that's their name) to film all of their shows. My battery died during my filming so I'll just wait for theirs. Besides, they have much better equipment.

-> Relaxer: Noses smell better than Buttholes. ;)

Originally posted by Jaguar:
Julian, did I meet you? I don't remember doing so and I was looking for you. Was happy to finally meet Azaghal, Christine, Sweetcell and Miss P.

We did not. I was informed yourself and DJ Moritz were in the building, but no one pointed either of you out. Oh well.

social connections fail :(

It was nice to meet Sweetcell, Miss P, Jaguar, and Guy Chadwick's Angry Neighbor.

I would've liked to have met Azaghal, Julian, and the other boardies who were apparently there. :( Ah well… maybe next time.

I believe was at the venue before anyone else (8:15, before the downstairs bar even officially opened!). I hung out until about 10, got my handstamp, and left for my other engagement of the evening.

I came back around midnight, in time to catch the third band and Ulrich Schnauss. I liked the show all right, but was too sleepy to enjoy it properly. Plus I think Ulrich is a bit more on the ambient side of the music spectrum than I prefer.

Anyways, I was glad I checked this one out.

Originally posted by Christine Moritz:
Guy Chadwick's Angry Neighbor.

was that him handing out flyers outside, after the show? just as i was walking away, i thought i heard someone mention "we fought the big one", but was too tired to go back in investigate.

Yes, it was. I was going to introduce you inside when he arrived but then either you walked away or conversations led us all elsewhere. The same guy who came up and talked to me before we went upstairs and were all standing around chatting.

Hoya, did you ever make it? If my source is correct, I heard they were turning people away later on.

hoya was not there on friday. and they did turn people away - the show sold out during luxa's set. i confirmed this with the doorman, as i had received several inquiries from boardees wanting to know if they should bother coming down - hoya among them.

yeah i was out with a bunch of people on friday, just wasn't going to work … oh well, next time …

Hey gang,

First off, Christine, it was nice to meet you too. Hope I get a chance to hear you spin sometime soon.

I did review Friday's show for BYT. You can check that out here: http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/live-dc/mega-shoegaze-extravaganza/

Thanks!
Rick