Review: Dinosaur Jr + Built To Spill

Dynamo, Zurich 20th May, 2010 An impressive crowd came to this impressive riverside venue to see the triumphant Built To Spill take up what many regarded as a ‘support slot’. However, the fact was that the Idaho rockers filled Dynamo for their set, an quite wonderful 45 minutes or so that concentrated more on glories [...]

Review: Johny Dowd

El Lokal, Zurich 19th May, 2010 Perenially underrated and not getting any younger, Johnny Dowd remains an enigma to even the few who are aware of his wild, rather disturbing talents. The withered, hunched figure of the 62-year-old sits as he performs, surrounded by his four-piece band. His Southern Gothic is a mix of grubby, [...]

Review: Rufus Wainwright

Kaufleuten, Zurich 16th May 2010 “You’re all Swiss, so you understand depression,” quipped Rufus Wainwright as he began the second half of his first ever concert in Zurich. He was referring to the first half of the show, where he performed in semi-darkness dressed like the evil Queen from Snow White, playing the entirety of [...]

Review: The Brian Jonestown Massacre

Abart, Zurich 29th April, 2010 Twenty years after Anton Newcombe first put the Brian Jonestown Massacre together, and six years since the release of the landmark documentary DIG!, that allowed Newcombe and his band a notoriety the didn’t really seek yet helped their career anyway, and the one thing you notice about their current incarnation [...]

Review: Yeasayer

12th March, 2010 Exil, Zurich You never really know what is going to be popular in this strange city. In the past year, all of the Juan Maclean, White Denim and Sleepy Sun have endured shows where it seemed like just a couple of dozen people showed up. All pretty successful bands with global recognition. [...]

Review: Helgi Jónsson

by Tim Curtin 9th March 2010 Abart, Zurich After the first act disappears into the crowd and the tech crew finishes preparing the stage, I make my way to the middle of the throng at Abart, but I still can’t spot Helgi Jónsson.  Then he pops up from his crouch, a happy, boyish smile on [...]

Review: So So Modern

Provitreff, Zurich 15th February 2010 Anyone who saw New Zealanders So So Modern touring their first album Friends and Fires would have witnessed a thumping, brutal electro-punk band finding their feet as an ensemble. They were a fascinating bunch then; amelodic, driven by chaos and often descending into sheer white noise. For all the volume [...]

Review: Wolfmother + The Black Angels

Volkshaus, Zurich 28th January 2010 To those who prefer their rock ‘n’ roll minus the abundance of cliche that follows Sydney’s Wolfmother around, this bill should have been the other way around. Volkshaus was a hazy, throbbing, sweaty, smoky mass of fans for the Australians’ headlining performance, and the hirsute foursome duly indulged them. Oh, [...]