Crippled Black Phoenix

[Dajana] It’s Vision time. Club Sabotage to be exactly, hosted by the Visions Magazine. While the Club Sabotage is about to host CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX tonight ;) I actually was meant to attend the show of the grand master of electronic sounds around the corner but was moved to the show in Cologne next day. Woohoo an unexpected time frame. Found best use ;) After two years and another great record I finally can adore CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX once again. And rock out, afterwards, it’s Visions party…

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[Dajana] After a quick flying visit at Die Burg we entered the FZW Club where Bochum-based band :: MILHAVEN :: kicked off the evening. Instrumental Post Rock with typical loud-low-dynamics, epic guitar walls and wonderful melodies. Surprisingly they only played one song from their current EP Automata and left their latest self-titled full-length completely aside. Instead they used songs from the debut and the following EP. Music is perfectly made to close your eyes and to dream off. Post Rock as its best, even if influencing idols such as Explosions In The Sky might shine through quite often.
[Bert] MILHAVEN actually do everything right. Dramatically built songs, thrill and dramaturgy, varied and versatile and played with high skills and sophistication. The one hitch is - and that is not meant to be as a reproach towards MILHAVEN, it’s a general thing in this genre – instrumental Post Rock does not have a “face”. This kind of music you might have heard umpteen times, and blindly you would not recognize the band behind. Normally an inspiring show as this one would immediately give me reason to buy their CDs. I did not. Sorry. Just take German band Dear John Letter, they ain’t any better or more innovative at all, but they have a singer, what happens too seldom at this kind of music…
Setlist: Oh, Great Pacific, The East Is Red, Lord Of Birds, DRZ

[Dajana] Quick change-over I use to exchange the tokens we got splashed out for free at the entry. Jagermeister-token. Since my mates did not want theirs I took them all and annihilated them. Triple treatment. Ice-cold *laughs* Life is great, isn’t it? Time has come and :: CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX :: set in with Troublemaker, the opening song from their newest masterpiece I, Vigilante. Right from the beginning atmosphere in the club was as intensive as possible and much emotional. This music is just magic. Singer and guitarist Joe Volk then introduced the new faces behind drums and keys and explained why cellist Charlotte could not be there either. It seemed that Volk fancied the pronunciation of the keyboarder’s surname he repeated several time with a dramatic face: Miriam Wulff. He scored with that. At all I had the feeling that CBP don’t take themselves too serious and also like to tease the audience, which did not went down that clearly coz of slang and dialect and the typical British humor.
That CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX is not a band but a collective should be known, consisting of various (known) musicians and contributor spanning bands such as Mogwai, Portishead up to Electric Wizard and Iron Monkey. Musically CBP went through all their records but also presented two brand new songs (The Heart Of Every Country, Release The Clowns) - to be released sometime next year with the new record - that promise another great work. CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX played full two hours closing their set with the epic Burnt Reynolds. If there were some thinking about how to realize the choirs in the song… no problem… the crowd did. And they did a fucking great, a gooseflesh causing job! Unbelievable! Even the band was speechless. Instead of “we want more” shouts the audience went on with the choir chants and so got the band back on stage for more. That was truly awesome. And since then I don’t get this song out of mind anymore. Whenever I start to hum, be sure it is Burnt Reynolds.
[Bert] Yes! That was for sure one of the best shows in 2011. And competitors are numerous. Why is that? Because we got a band unbelievably likable as well as close to the audience, you also could mix with an anarcho punk band (if you are deaf), would the music be not rooted in 70s influenced classic Rock/Prog. In addition we got an extraordinary great selection of songs offered, played with a proper portion of filth. Singer Joe seemed to be shy and stiff in the beginning but then warmed up and even revealed some entertaining qualities. By the way, Justin Greaves is such one cool and asskicking guitar player. If you then get presented such epic masterpiece like Burnt Reynolds… causing a gooseflesh-like atmosphere… it’s hardly to top at all. That has been the most entertaining 2 hours for a long time. Really, really awesome! Grandiose! Next time CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX come around I join in, of course!
Setlist: Troublemaker, Fantastic Justice, Goodnight Europe, Song For The Loved, The Brain/Poznan, Of A Lifetime, The Heart Of Every Country, Release The Clowns, 444, We Forgotten Who We Are, Rise Up And Fight, Burnt Reynolds // Time Of Ye Life, Bella Ciao!, Burning Bridges (outro)

[Dajana] Was the Westend Festival already great a couple of days before CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX topped it easily. For me definitely the second best show in 2011! With Godspeed You! Black Emperor still on #1. It was an incredible evening, a breathtaking and hauntingly beautiful show. Heart and soul got touched. Deeply!