Noise Live Concerts

[Goat93]

Noise scene is so much smaller than punk. Punk is also most of all youth culture, where music is one side, but basically includes tons of "summer punks", who come and go. Noise tends to be something where you come and stay.

The Noise Scene is not so Small. Surely smaller as Punk, but maybe its an other Point, why Concerts are so Rarely. Viewing Northgermany, there are Lots of People who listen to Noise, but don't go to Concerts at all. Maybe the Music is in their opinion not good on Stage`? Only when really Big Names Pops up, there are more People. But also only at the "Rare" Gigs, not when the Group/Project are several Times in the Town. For example, nearly all Noise Concerts here are between 10-40 People, a Whitehouse/BDN Concert in Rostock have had maybe 100 or 250 People. Only in the East/South are more People to Visit Shows (Genocide Organ ect. ect).

I'm also tired of some People hiding behind Laptops, maybe the "Show" Element is gone missing in Noise?

[Ernpe]

I believe it is quite different here in Finland. I've been at noise shows at Turku, Helsinki, Pori and Lahti yet seen very much the same faces around. On the other hand, I've quite often went to a show with some friends who, though enjoying noise live, are hardly interested in listening to it at home.

In Helsinki we have punk shows every weekend. It is not rare at all to have one or two gigs at weekdays and three or four at weekend. Yet there seem to be enough (diverse) audience for such. The difference to noise is huge, as said in quote above.

Big names are always big names, no matter the scene. There are plenty of people who would go and see Merzbow playing but who have zero interest in what is relevant in this time and place. Try replacing Merzbow with say Slayer, Discharge or Mayhem and you'll get the point.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

I think the difference is size over here can be simply measured:
Noise band of any scale. Be it small or be it legendary "founding fathers of genre", you have less people than punk show or any band really? As I mentioned, I feel punk is even more of social network and lifestyle as well as bar background music. Weekend punk gig in helsinki - you got bar full. I assume regardless who plays. It's about hanging out amongst many other things.

To me, it is perfectly healthy situation, that noise would remain genre of fanatics. The same guys who buys, listens and makes noise, visit the shows. Added with some curious visitors and live sound appreciating people.  
I don't think it's needed that one values live moment based on how many bar regulars or how many people who don't give a fuck happen to be around making crowd appear bigger than it really is.

I have played noise for audiences ranging from... I guess 1 to c. 300 ? I don't think it mattered much which size audience there was.

I think one of the reasons could be that a lot of noise shows are better as idea than as reality. Most often you compromise with volume, technical aspects such as being unable to fully do your best in live situation, visual dullness (mentioned computer live gigs etc), and so on.  When all elements work, noise shows are great and most likely could attract more crowd.
But if all elements are compromised, you know it COULD be great, but.... under the circumstances, only in your own mind. For anyone curious or half-interested it might appear as "is THIS it?!" Seen so many noise shows which surely ain't representative of what really good live show is.

You can ask did the artists bother to rehearse their possibilities to perform loud live noise? Have the organizer or bands brought enough amp power? Is the soundman cooperative or trying to sabotage entire evening. Is the visual presentation a man in bar corner with macbook in his lap? And so on...  

Noise shows with zero budgets, there's very little to do.
I guess the healthy thing has been in Finland the established SICK network which is suitable to co-operate in matters of organization, promotion, amps, video technology and such. Making it little bit easier to pull out shows which attract 30-100 people without it all being one guys personal sacrifice of funds, energy and time. Now it's more collaborative effort, where ideas can be realized pretty decently. Although one could say it's still live & learn situation.

Talking of that, Finns can next time enjoy live noise in Helsinki 20.4. bunker (Roman pilates (canada harsh noise), Umpio, Halthan) and then followed by.. was it 25.5. lepis (grunt, bizarre uproar, etc). I guess advertising happens when all 100% confirmed.

[tisbor]

Yeah, compromise with volume and retarded sound guys is the worst thing..i played and saw many gigs totally ruined by these elements.
Noise at low volumes has absolutely no sense of course, and i feel ashamed when it happens because it turns my favorite music into utter shit.
Harsh noise doesn't need much more than a decent, loud amplification - i wonder why sometimes this is so hard to get.

For anyone curious or half-interested it might appear as "is THIS is?!" Seen so many noise shows which surely ain't representative of what really good live show is.

<---- this is maybe the worst part

[andy vomit]

Yeah, compromise with volume and retarded sound guys is the worst thing..i played and saw many gigs totally ruined by these elements.

i played a show in the basement of a bar while a bluegrass band was playing upstairs....  the soundguy kept turning me down, and i kept turning myself up.  i got as loud as i could on my end, and he just turned it down more.  the fucking stage monitors were louder than the main PA.  horrible. 

[RyanWreck]

I'm also tired of some People hiding behind Laptops, maybe the "Show" Element is gone missing in Noise?

I would love to go to as many Noise/PE/Industrial shows as I could but we get nothing out here in Arizona, and if there is something advertised as "Noise" it is usually some hippy or hipster "avant garde" shit that is just horrid (the last show I saw was advertised as "female fronted drone and noise" but it ended up being some wannabe Bjork shit all done on a laptop and an acoustic Guitar). I still try to check everything out when I hear of a show even though I know that 9/10 times it will be one of those "sorry-guys-I-have-to-be-home-early-tonight" shows, just complete shit that has nothing to do with Noise/Industrial/PE. It is very rare that a good artist(s) come through here, by rare I mean like there are years between a good project coming through.

[Zeno Marx]

Noise tends to be something where you come and stay.

maybe in the past it was like that.  Likely has as high a turn-over rate as any other smaller music/art community and set of genres.

[RyanWreck]

^ I would agree with that. Actually, these days I definitely think it has a very high rate of people dropping in and out because of labels like Youth Attack!, Hospital and such bringing in a lot of people who wouldn't generally listen to Noise if it wasn't related to other artists they follow who are not Noise. It's kind of "trendy" with a lot of hipster hardcore and metal guys right now too. (I hope with the Funeral Stench I didn't contribute to any of that but I'm sure I am at fault as much as any label and that is why I shut that shit down a year ago.)

[Goat93]

Don't think thats the Labels like Hospital and others are the Problem. Its more, that these brings new People along, since they can hear/look there directly what Noise is. Think that this Cyber/Dark Techno Stuff is a Bigger Problem, since they call themselfes already Noise/Industrial without any Connection. Have had often that someone throw around with this Words and when Listen to Noise, He/She rejected and don't like this Unhearble Shit Music, can't be Noise, since Straftanz, Terminal Choice whatever is this.

Such Bands, like Combichrist, plays Shows with 1.000 or More People easily, think thats why Mortiis changed his Music so dramatically haha

But i think there is a Separation at Live Concerts, i know several People listening to Noise but have no Interest to go to a Concert besides the Big Names. Otherwise i have some People who doesn't listen to Noise and come along to Shows...

[kettu]

I couldnt find the one I was looking for but this is fairly close.

Ive been thinking of the video aspect of noise shows and how they correlate with what the guy is doing. you cant really tell if your only supposed to look at the video and what the guy is doing is irrelevant. especially if nothing of intrest is happening or the act has no charisma.

recent BU show had video,performance and live noise and it was almost overwhelming to take it all in at the same time. his curse and blessing was that all elements were top notch. I would have only watched the vid and the cunnieslapping if the noise making wasnt also intresting to see.

another expample is seeing those grunt sampler shows with video. videos were there to be seen but the act it self was entertaining too because theres a big guy wailing about and shouting but there was hardly anything to see as far as the art of noise making was concerned.

im sure some kind of line can be drawn between clearly good and clearly bad but theres some grey there that if someone is not really doing anything of intrest why not play from behind the screen. too impersonal? but why be seen if your only pushing play for example.

[Ritual]

A really good solution to this was when Moljebka Pulse played in Stockholm this winter. Clearly, as a drone/dark ambient act nothing very interesting happens on stage, even though a large portion of the sound is made live. They had set up their gear behind a curtain of a semi-transparent fabric. Before the show started you couldn't see anything, but when a video was projected on the curtain you could see through it somewhat, so you could see the people playing as silhouettes. I thought that was quite clever and effectful.

[tinnitustimulus]

Noise scene is so much smaller than punk. Punk is also most of all youth culture, where music is one side, but basically includes tons of "summer punks", who come and go. Noise tends to be something where you come and stay.

The Noise Scene is not so Small. Surely smaller as Punk, but maybe its an other Point, why Concerts are so Rarely. Viewing Northgermany, there are Lots of People who listen to Noise, but don't go to Concerts at all. Maybe the Music is in their opinion not good on Stage`? Only when really Big Names Pops up, there are more People. But also only at the "Rare" Gigs, not when the Group/Project are several Times in the Town. For example, nearly all Noise Concerts here are between 10-40 People, a Whitehouse/BDN Concert in Rostock have had maybe 100 or 250 People. Only in the East/South are more People to Visit Shows (Genocide Organ ect. ect).

I'm also tired of some People hiding behind Laptops, maybe the "Show" Element is gone missing in Noise?

Recently there has been some sort of disconnect with scenes here it seems, multiple shows on the same day and then weeks of nothing. I had to miss Jason Lescalleet recently so I could open for Rodger Stella/Hollow Bush, I couldn't help but think how great it would have been if they combined the headliners for one show(they both enjoy tape loops so much). There certainly some sort of microcosms formed from past drama or preferences, but there only 50 people tops usually if everything is kept together with booking. You know, the academics, the pe/industrial crowd, the fake techno crowd, the noise rock crowd etc. I would like to say harsh noise crowd but that would be like 5 people at this point.

Oddly enough, last time merzbow played here, none of the other usual heads were there, despite the large venue being filled over a couple hundred people, which i thought was interesting. maybe it was because there was a drummer with him?

Even though I admit most of social life evolves around these things ( I go to school and work, no time for anything else really) it seems like social cliche is more important than actual taste which i find unfortunate.

[tisbor]

Oddly enough, last time merzbow played here, none of the other usual heads were there, despite the large venue being filled over a couple hundred people, which i thought was interesting. maybe it was because there was a drummer with him?

I saw almost the same thing happen here in Italy - lots of people came to his show, including quite a few noise musicians/fans of course. It was funny to see some totally out of place faces and hear comments the likes of "oh i totally love Merzbow, he's so great". His set was so-so mainly because of low volume and gear problems but i must hand it to the crowd of non-aficionados for not leaving the room for the whole hour.

More recently, i saw Giancarlo Toniutti's set in a nice deconsecrated church. Good mix of field recordings, metallic sounds and rumbling low frequencies - having not followed his career besides "La Mutazione", it was a good surprise.

[Cementimental]

There are loads of noise shows all the time here in London, from super serious old school PE/Industrial big events to noise rooms in squatparty raves to academic/highbrow/laptop meetings and workshops in art spaces to no-nonsense proper harsh noise in the basement of a pub type things. Almost too much on some weeks, and there seem to be small sub-scenes which don't really cross over as much as they should and often organise clashing events on the same day because they don't keep up with each other's activities. In recent years (as opposed to when I first moved here and sometimes would be one of like 3 paying audience members at a really great show) there's usually a decent to good turnout for most things, also girls and various people other than industrial/noise nerd guys often turn up. :)

It's good!