Crystal Castles

The Year in Review: Best Concerts of 2013, Denmark

/ Alan Kortbaek / Leave a comment

The Year in Review: The top 10 gigs of 2013 in Denmark 

1) Sigur Ros, Roskilde Festival, July 6

I didn’t see Sigur Ros, I experienced Sigur Ros. The Icelander’s music is some of the purest, soul-searching music you will find for miles around; a trance-like journey that rekindles deep-hidden fond memories with an edifying caress that no other band can muster. Sigur Ros were shamanic at their show at Roskilde.

2) Charles Bradley & his extraordinaires, Lille Vega, June 17

The Screaming Eagle of Soul rocked Denmark to its core on his encore at Lille Vega this year. For a man in his sixties who only just rocketed to fame, Bradley’s teary, nervy, sweaty, emotional soul trip is the story of a man who made it in America, after decades of bad luck and strife. James Brown would be proud.

3) Crystal Castles, Store Vega, March 2

Crystal Castles pulled off a seismic show at Store Vega towards the end of the winter, a chaotic, cathartic experience that saw lead singer Alice Glass crowd surf her way to what looked like the middle of the audience at Store Vega. I have never seen anything like it before or since

4) Modeselektor, Store Vega, Feb 14

Berlin’s Modeselektor have been making music since the wall came down a good while ago. As driven today as they were back then, the electronic duo are a symbol of the German capital and frontrunners in the world of electronic music. Props for their party-starting credentials and props to Vega for a very well organised show (which included an ‘artist chat’ session in ideal bar).

  1. Chinese Man, Roskilde Festival, July 4

French turntablists Chinese man were on cue at their show at Roskilde Festival, taking the audience on a journey through dubstep, drum & bass, hip hop and everything in between with a prowess that made it seem as if the genre of turntablism has been around since the dawn of time. Witty, daring and exceedingly cool.

BEST OF THE REST

  1. Shantel & The Bucovina Orchestra, Lille Vega, Nov 28

  2. Reptile Youth, Lille Vega, March 8,

  3. Of Monsters and Men, Roskilde Festival, July 5

  4. Tame Impala, Store Vega, Aug 9

  5. Animal Collective, Roskilde Festival, July 4

Crystal Castles, Store Vega March 2013

/ Alan Kortbaek / Leave a comment

Chaotic, cathartic and over as soon as it started

There are some concert experiences that one remembers for months after they are over, and there are a select few that one will remember for many years. Crystal Castles’ show at Store Vega Saturday night was of the latter category: a seismic, purely cathartic experience that will live on in the hearts and minds of everyone who attended the show.

Toronto duo Ethan Kath and the extraordinary Alice Glass have made quite a name for themselves over the last few years with their wild live shows and blend of experimental electronica cast in a melancholic, contemplative frame. The fact that they’ve toured with Nine Inch Nails, a band renowned for their chaotic concerts, is a testament to the band’s party potential.

The pair came on stage rather late, to a crazed crowd who were there for the exclusive reason of bringing down the Store Vega roof.  Two songs in and Alice Glass was soaring on the tips of outstretched hands all the way in the middle of the sea of people at the venue, a screaming child drowned in a maze of strobe light chaos, flanked by twisted experimental beats. While most shows usually start off slowly before reaching a climax, Saturday’s performance began with a cataclysmic storm that simply had to gear down soon after the onset, if for no other reason than for singer Alice Glass to catch her breath.  Songs such as the dreamy ‘Celestica’ and signature hit ‘Not in Love’ kept the crowd on their toes, as did the addition of a manic drummer who pounded the stuffing out of his percussion kit at the back of a stage ablaze with fluorescent flashing shades  from the strobe lights.

Much like a tropical storm, the torrent was over as soon as it started, as the show grounded to an abrupt halt with no time for an encore (nor any need for one). It’s seldom that one experiences a cathartic transformation of the sort that Saturday’s show provided. I could barely hear myself think in the swirling vortex of the performance, a spinning concoction of chaos that took the crowd on a journey of epic proportions. Crystal Castles are one of the names to watch out for at Roskilde this summer, and if Saturday’s show is anything to go by, their show will surely be a memorable experience.