25th january @ NBI: GAY BEAST (us) + Human Elephant (us, berlin)

Formed in 2005 and renowned as Minnesota’s premier agit-prog queer band, Gay Beast cuts a careening groove between the prickly corners of tunefulness and musical density, danceability and controlled chaos. On Second Wave, their sophomore effort and first release on Skin Graft Records, the trio lets fly with utopic visions of second-wave feminism, exposing a mood-swinging musical reach heretofore unheard. It is the first time for Gay Beast in Berlin.


quotes:

"There's a lot of No Wave comparisons in noise rock, but Gay Beast are one of the few that I think really carries the torch. Second Wave is sort of like being overwhelmed by anxiety at a really fun party. Less abrasive than Child Abuse, more melodic than Lake of Dracula, they share with them a love for angular arrangement, their disjointed compositions utilizing jarring synth, discordant saxophones, and twitching guitars to a rich and intricate effect." better than sex

„If handled correctly, Gay Beast should tap into, then later usurp, the whacking off of outfits like Hella or Lightning Bolt or Deerhoof, or at least play in the same league.“ dusted

“Gay Beast are one of the few bands i’ve seen around that are seriously challenging the form and content of modern rock music. Their compositions and execution are ambitious and effective. A truly unique and weird band.” Weasel Walter

"Gay Beast's ecstatic rockers are more intricate and technically difficult than they seem. Some of their songs straddle the line between rock and noise, but the shrill feedback is always calculated, and the fuzzed-out bass, synced up with frantic drums, provides a constant, highly syncopated backbeat." flavorpill

"Formed under the premise of making queer-political music more ambitious in arrangement than their previous bands", Minneapolis based Gay Beast is a guitar/synth/drums trio that creates a fractured form of dance music melding the ugliness of Arab on Radar with the disparate sound jumble of Palais Schaumberg." (aka schaumburg) wfmu

"Cue up side A of Gay Beast's new self-titled 7", "Multi-Purpose Anti-Form," on the record player, and prepare to be greeted by 10 minutes of bestial noise rock and artistic vision, a cacophony that is both challenging and, inexplicably, almost dancy. Think somewhere between Battles, Shellac, and Le Tigre, with more emphasis on the first two." citypages

"stew of mental math, noise-rock assonance, and bone-deep pop sensibility" citypages

"Second Wave relates to second-wave feminism, and the songs include portraits of different feminists." dan luedtke, gay beast, in brooklyn vegan



Human Elephant is a meanwhile six-piece band from berlin, gathering around chicago born john donald. loving tv personalities, their sound and attitude though resembles more something between joy division and velvet underground.


quotes:

"die band dspielt ein konzert wie es anfang der achtziger hätte stattfinden können. hätte. nur viel konzentrierter.." not stated



decks: rsrc residences et al.



date: jan. 25th, 9pm
venue: NBI, Schönhauser Allee 36



links:

gay beast myspace
human elephant myspace
playing field blog