tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234367972888614314.post308338013009436263..comments2023-10-15T10:50:44.330-04:00Comments on Wounds of the Earth: Review of Unter Null & C/A/T tour @ the High Dive, Denver COwoundsoftheearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00075772746524733255noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234367972888614314.post-16680778878108423782008-08-14T13:10:00.000-04:002008-08-14T13:10:00.000-04:00Looks like I'm a few weeks late for all the action...Looks like I'm a few weeks late for all the action (story of my life). But I can't help but agree with you on all fronts, here. And hey, at least you were sympathetic, I don't see why there's so much griping.<BR/>The first thing that gets me going is the fake-blood-and-fairy-wing fetish thing. "Played out" is a generous understatement. Is this supposed to scare people or something? If you're that freaked out by blood, especially FAKE blood, maybe you haven't been beaten up or injured enough times. That's not a provocation, I'm just saying, it is as fake as it looks. I've seen plenty of the real thing both on and off stage and I don't particularly care much for either. <BR/>Granted, I find it maybe a step too far in an altogether worse direction, S.P.K. ate sheep brains onstage. Genesis of Throbbing Gristle genuinely and entertainingly mutilated the SHIT out of himself onstage. Coil did blood enemas. Of course, much as I respect the aforementioned acts, these kind of antics are indeed WORSE, but at least they are not watered-down play-acting like this. We all know how retarded the whole performance art thing is by now, but at least it was genuine and not a run-of-the-mill Goth-Topic ad campaign. <BR/>I am just as guilty as many electronic acts on the backing-track thing. I trigger them as samples and I organize them in real time, but there is live playing. Getting electronic music to be more live is much easier now, though, even if you are just one person. I have an RC-50 I use now in live performance to layer loops in real-time. I like it almost more than my multitracker, because I can PLAY instruments onstage to create my backup track, rather than press a fucking button.<BR/>No less, all the above-mentioned acts are decent enough on record. They at least sound good in the studio, which counts for enough. And I feel like a total GIMP for having BOUGHT a keyboard stand now, that guy made an awesome live prop there. Mad respect.Mic Litterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05227660304710894114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234367972888614314.post-20724054258032040842008-07-23T15:13:00.000-04:002008-07-23T15:13:00.000-04:00i might as well chime in here since i was the keyb...i might as well chime in here since i was the keyboardist for UN:<BR/><BR/>like you stated in your "review", due to labels not giving SHIT for tour support and the insane cost of gas these days, its no wonder why bands only have 2-3 people for live shows.<BR/><BR/>you have to take into consideration everything that goes into touring:<BR/><BR/>gas (or transportation in general)<BR/>food<BR/>shelter<BR/>paying other members<BR/><BR/>and lets not forget if anything goes wrong (blow a tire for example), the cost to fix that.<BR/><BR/>now, as far as performing, i cannot comment on who was playing what and what was not being played, but what i CAN tell you is is that when i was in the band, we played everything we could (we dont have more then 2 arms) and obviously the rest was backing tracks.<BR/><BR/>and with this being said, when i start doing shows (possibly next month..), i will probably only have 2 people as well.<BR/><BR/>it sux, it really does, but with the way the music industry is and the way our world is, its kinda hard to support 3-4 people in a band on tour.<BR/><BR/>-SinUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13065827112466536619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234367972888614314.post-24537409773175449042008-07-21T10:38:00.000-04:002008-07-21T10:38:00.000-04:00Well, obviously this guy is entitled to his opinio...Well, obviously this guy is entitled to his opinion. That's fine. I, personally, was far more interested in the multiple comments I got from other people in Denver, CO who had a great time (many who had seen me in other cities, with a different live line-up also) and said it was one of my strongest performances they'd seen.<BR/><BR/>The reality of things is... neither my label (Crunch Pod) or Alfa Matrix (Unter Null's label) are in the position to give their artists "tour support". That happens on MAJOR LABELS that have thousands upon thousands of dollars to throw at their bands for promotion, tours, press, etc.<BR/><BR/>Even as signed acts in the "industrial scene" many bands, like UN and myself, go out on tour and hope we can break even on expenses and usually supplement this by selling CDs or T-Shirts so we have gas money, food money, etc. while on the road. I know in my case, I pay for my merchandise out of my pocket, in advance so I saved and worked overtime in the months leading up so I could INVEST money to have more merchandise to sell at the shows on this tour.<BR/><BR/>I guess my main point in response is that the financial climate sucks right now. It's hard and it's amazing any bands are able to tour at all. We pulled it off and unless I missed something, will not LOSE MONEY on this tour, which in this scene is definitely counted as a "win".<BR/><BR/>FWIW, I've had a three person line-up for C/A/T since 2007. However, I had personal conflicts with a keyboard player and then my fiance, who was our live drummer, was diagnosed with cancer (which is now 6 months later finally in remission, thankfully). So, granted, my live line-up for this tour was a little different than previous shows and tours... but this tour also has hit far more cities than anything I've done before... and I think there is an obvious correlation there.<BR/><BR/>I can't totally comment on Unter Null since I'm just a live keyboard player and I honestly don't know if she will come here to add to this but... hopefully that adds a little more insight to my side of things.<BR/><BR/>-Ben<BR/>C/A/TAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234367972888614314.post-35851644531538086702008-07-21T09:01:00.000-04:002008-07-21T09:01:00.000-04:00if you don't like this review, please feel free to...if you don't like this review, please feel free to write a better one.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234367972888614314.post-88320137212171346192008-07-21T03:23:00.000-04:002008-07-21T03:23:00.000-04:00Thank you for reading and leaving feedback. As the...Thank you for reading and leaving feedback. As the writer of this article I am more than happy to discuss any concrete point you mentioned that you feel is unfair, although you have not drawn attention to any.<BR/><BR/>My support for my arguement that people who get booked as "bands" ought to play their music live in a transparent and engaging way is the fact that I, who am a self produced, unsigned artist, toured this winter and got myself who is in a band few have heard of 22 dates in cities all across the United States. I even got booked at the church in Dallas- which was a pretty big suprise to me! More info on this tour can be found at <A HREF="http://www.myspace.com/bajskorv" REL="nofollow">http://www.myspace.com/bajskorv</A><BR/><BR/>For that tour, I, who work full time in the service industry, played an Akai ax-60, a waldorf microwave I, a waldorf pulse +, a nord lead 2, mixed backing tracks, and had 44 minutes of self edited synced video, fog, and strobes. I had absolutely zero label support and very little assistance with publicity. <BR/><BR/>If I was able to do that and I was able to put together a good show with live instruments and compelling visuals, I fail to see how well known, signed artists, who MAKE MONEY off their music, can deliver so little to fans.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06418793670220718137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234367972888614314.post-4840578727781718502008-07-20T20:16:00.000-04:002008-07-20T20:16:00.000-04:00absolutely horrid review.absolutely horrid review.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234367972888614314.post-8834002462474201702008-07-20T04:18:00.000-04:002008-07-20T04:18:00.000-04:00as a review reviewer, you fail to support your arg...as a review reviewer, you fail to support your arguement.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234367972888614314.post-80764700885986496452008-07-18T19:25:00.000-04:002008-07-18T19:25:00.000-04:00as a reviewer, you fail.as a reviewer, you fail.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com