Momentum

support Incredibly Close + The Black Leaves + IndianCowboy + Fair Enough Martian
author MH date 10/03/12 venue Voxhall, Århus, DEN

When I agreed upon this evening to be the center of my first gig review, I was expecting a night packed with hard rock and heavy metal. But reality is that Emergenza is a competition for all genres of music in the Danish underground, so the evening consisted of a pretty wide variety of genres from R&B to heavy metal. To be honest I wasn't very stoked when we arrived at Voxhall and realized what we've gotten ourselves into, but prejudice is there to get smitten down with full force, because the evening ended up being full of pleasant surprises and pretty decent shows. The first thing that happened when we arrived was that the lady behind the desk handed over a voting blanket with each band on the list along a short description of the genres. The idea was to cross off at least two bands you wanted to send on to the semifinals in the competetion for getting a chance of performing at Taubertal Open Air festival in Germany

Fair Enough, Martian

I wondered if this band is relevant for Rockfreaks.net since they play something that I'd call singer-songwriter pop, John Mayer style. But since the cosy atmosphere caught both me and MST's attention, I decided to count them in for a review. Not much happended on stage during these 25 minutes, but given that this is probably not a genre where much really can happen on stage apart from delivering the music with a fervor, it turned out to be quite refreshing to experience a new form of concert. The bass player was stationed at the back of the stage almost along line with the drummer which I found very odd, if there is a greater meaning for that position and anonymity I am not certain, but it did not do any good for the concert experience. The pianist and singer/guitarist on the other hand raised the experience a bit as they radiated a rare confidence despite the fact that the only people who ventured up front was us photographers. But it seemed like everyone in the room was appreciating the music and the singer's pleasant vocals.

6

IndianCowboy

According to our voting blankets IndianCowboy just play simple "rock", though there is certainly a grungy feeling to it. Heavily tuned yet melodic riffing, groovy bass and drums, on top of that the singer provided some great vocals fitting perfectly for the genre. It took about 5 seconds for this band to invade the stage as well as the audience. The lead singer had his own party going on, at every chance he got he danced and jumped around like a horny gorilla, and no, that is not an overstatement or exaggeration, he really did jump around with an immense energy that can easily be compared to a wild animal, which was truly awesome and provided even more intensity to the experience of the already energetic music that so wonderfully filled the venue with joy, dance and partying. It was obvious that every member of the band enjoyed taking on the stage at Voxhall, they did not waste a single minute given to them, and even got the arrangers to fall a little behind schedule because they wanted to play one last song, which at first wasn't accepted, but as the audience booed at the decision they were allowed to play that last song. This was not only a great performance far beyond most underground shows I've seen, it was also the highlight of the night given that I discovered an awesome band that I'm willing to listen to at home, and I hope you Rockfreaks readers will check them out and share this discovery with me!

The Black Leaves

Now for something a little more touchy feely, the alternative rock band The Black Leaves took on the stage with an incredible empathy and honesty for what they do, and yet they also delivered a festive show. Their leadsinger possesses an incredibly characteristic voice, he is also one of their two guitarists, and he made sure no one in the audience ever got bored. He jumped off the stage two times during the show, one time to wander around the audience playing guitar, another time to make the audience sing along with him. The atmosphere was amazing at all times and as you laid your eyes upon the stage, whoever you looked at of the band members, you could see that each one was enjoying what they did with a passion that also affected the audience, especially the bassist was expressing an extreme joy and happiness standing on the stage. They also had a sax guy stationed at the left side of the scene who unfortunatly is the only one whose performance I can put a finger on as he most of the time just stood and waited for his turn to play, but that is looking critically on it as a reviewer , because all in all the show was great and I was pleasantly surprised and entertained all the way through the set both during ballads and the more energetic songs. And I hope they one day will rise above the underground surface and show more of Denmark what they are made of.

Incredibly Close

After a quick burger break while the R&B band "Spoken Flow" was performing it was time for the most different act all night. The lead singer who was also the pianist was extremely charismatic and sensual on stage, she fired up a nostalgic feeling with her big and beautiful voice. Dressed in a skin tight black dress and bloodred lipstick she looked like a Bond babe while she was singing, which was probably the whole idea since the music they play is some kind of melodic surf rock that fits her 60's-70's diva-style perfectly. Technically everything seemed flawless, as all the songs were well composed and everyone in the band are great musicians without a doubt. But it did not seem like a band playing together since the singer stole all the attention with her extreme charisma, which neither the bass player nor guitarist had a chance to live up to, even though I have to admit that the bass player had a groovy attitude as he danced around looking like he was happy to be there. People also rattled up front and danced happily through the whole concert.

Momentum

This was what I was really here for. Even though we don't know the guys they are the ones who so generously gave away two tickets for us to come and review their show this Saturday night. Despite a night with great surprises, my metal heart still hungered for some good old Heavy Metal to wrap up an interesting night. Indeed, Momentum plays good old heavy metal, something I dare to compare to bands like Manowar. The lead singer Troels has great powerful vocals that works perfectly with the music. It was obvious that Momentum have put a lot of thought into making their performance appear as a group and not just a bunch of guys looking all introvert with each of their instrument. There was not a member stationed at the same part of the stage for very long time, the movement and collaborations between each member was incredible and something you rarely see in metal bands these days, especially underground bands. Sadly this night had a lot of influence from friends of the bands. And as the last band, as well as the only heavy metal performamce a lot of people already packed up and left the venue before Momentum went on stage, so they did not get the attendance and recognition that they truly deserved. That however didn't stop the band from delivering a great performance for the remaining audience. Nothing was taken for granted and Momentum ended the evening with one hell of a performance. I wish more metal-heads will attend to their shows in the future so they can get a real heavy metal atmosphere from the audience, more headbanging I command yee.

8

Even though I was a fool and forgot to bring my good camera lens, I had the honor of both reviewing and taking photos. The rest of the photos from the show can be found here.

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