FREAK KITCHEN, JUROJIN AND HAKEN
LONDON UNDERWORLD 12/11/10
To start the evening at the Underworld, Haken began their set at 7.10. I couldn’t get there until 7.25 so I only caught 15 minutes. I did at least witness most of “Eternal Rain” and all of “Aquarium”. This was the third time I’ve seen Haken this year and I have their album “Aquarius” so I’m used to them now. Straightaway I clicked on to their mix of classic and eccentric Prog. Because all the equipment for the other bands was on stage, the singer had barely a square foot in which to support the expansive music with gestures. His solution was to operate vertically, so at one point he disappeared and chose to do his gyrating on the floor. The sound quality wasn’t terrible but there were problems with the singer’s mic. “Aquarium” was magnificent and captured what Haken are about: a series of movements, “acts” almost, comprising different styles and moods. The Underworld has a decidedly “Metal” ambiance, so to capture the languid mood of a lazy day by the river is quite an achievement. Atmospheric keyboards, a controlled and patient drum beat and mellow guitar supplemented the singer’s soft tones. The pace picked up, as did the power and the level of emotion. I found out later that the bassist had come in only a week before, adding a further “challenge”, but if anything I felt the individual talents of the band came out better than on the two previous occasions I had seen them. Haken are not really a band for 30 minutes, or 15 minutes in my case, though and it would be nice to absorb their music over a longer set again in future as I had at ProgPower Europe. The band still got their message across well, and received a hearty round of applause at the end.
I saw Jurojin earlier this year in the homelier surroundings of the nearby Purple Turtle, where they put on a very good show. As a band they have a wealth of talent with rock musicians, a jazz bass player and a violinist to call on. To capture our immediate attention, Jurojin started with “The Scars”, a strong rock track. The bassist’s input added a colourful edge. “The Scars” led straight into “The Liar” so the powerful momentum was maintained. Again the track was full of energy, has a chunky background, has strong and memorable lyrics and good guitar solos. The set list was the same as the one used when I saw them before, with the addition of one track, but there was one difference – the quality. It was good last time but on this occasion the band were on fire as a unit and as individuals. The guitar skill on “The Liar” was to die for, a case of making it talk and extracting emotional statements out of the instruments. Tabla time next. After the warm-up which was as exotic as any track, we were treated to the highly emotive “The Equinox”. It’s a quieter song with the gentle sound of the tabla and the acoustic guitar generating a disproportionately powerful and haunting atmosphere. The singer’s voice is clear and here it matched the emotion of the occasion but what I couldn’t understand was why at the end there was such anger on his face. The funky and groovy “The Dreaming” followed. Like Haken before them, Jurojin are capable of creating seamless tracks with multiple elements. On “The Dreaming” jazz bass magic merged fluidly into a heaviness which later led to a magnificent soft ambient passage. The carefully thought-out structures feed the band’s musical talents. The singer then introduced a 19th century trade union folk song “The Blackleg Miner”. He introduced the electric violin player (in both senses, as it turned out, of playing an electric violin and being electric), adding “I am obscenely jealous of the jacket”. He was referring to the bejeweled purple outfit with long black shiny tassels that she was wearing. A rousing, tub-thumping trade union song was the ideal vehicle for the overtly dour singer who gave the song the dark passion it was intended to have. The violin added power and pathos. All in all, this was a good choice of song and an excellent interpretation. The singer announced the last song. Groans all round, to which the reply came “Thank you to the 3 who are genuinely sad”. “Joyti” is another multi-coloured, multi-cultural journey. Starting with a bass solo, we’re then transported to the East. The tabla injects the soul and feeling. The guitars and drums are the pump. The violin adds further exotic flavouring. We may have been in a concert hall in London but the spices could be smelt. The tabla took over and we were hypnotized for a few minutes by its mystical charm. The epic journey then took another twist, and crushing power surrounded us from all sides. It was a natural lead into the final section. The set ended with a thunderous crescendo of cultures and profound soulfulness. The Underworld was buzzing. Musically, Jurojin put on the best live performance I’d seen all year.
I must confess that I’ve never particularly been a fan of Freak Kitchen, tonight’s headliners. That said, I recognize that they’ve been around for years and have plenty of experience. Moreover, their style can be catchy, experimental and eclectic. It’s obvious from their recorded work that they have a developed sense of humour which can support a serious point. In spite of not being hooked on them, there was enough of interest for my expectations to be high.
A disco beat heralded the arrival of the trio. The bassist caught the eye with his dark glasses and riot helmet. “Let’s play some music, shall we”, announced the main man Mattias Eklundh of the “Viking hair with a mind of its own”. Without further ado, the band launched into “God Save the Spleen”. It was catchy, clean rock and corny. “Tip top” declared Mattias. “Porno Daddy” gave us some driving metal with a jazz feel in parts but this time with the guitarists duetting as vocalists. Our riot policeman-come- bassist Christer Örtefors encouraged us by example to bounce up and down to it. What was becoming quickly apparent was the huge presence of the guys in Freak Kitchen. “Speak When Spoken To” is a typically oddball song but for audience engagement, it gets 100 out of 100. It’s funky, easy to join in and we did. It was laugh a minute between tracks but also during them. “Chest Pain Waltz” was probably my favourite song of the night. I realized I was witnessing something special as we all enthusiastically joined in to the line “I’ve had all the shit I can take”. Freak Kitchen take the mickey but respect their audience with a combination of good, catchy and technical music and gentle humour. “Chest Pain Waltz” epitomizes this, having such a brilliant rhythm and masterful musicianship. Both Mattias and Christer meanwhile are great comedians. “Teargas Jazz” was played more seriously. The guitar work on it was as ever controlled and superb. “We’re having a great time .. are you going to have a strop and spoil it?”, enquired Mattias, whose slickness of tongue and delightfully silly vocal mannerisms made him a Swedish (and much improved) version of Norman Collier. “My New Haircut” has the beat of “We Will Rock You” – we all sang along: “I’m so proud of my haircut”. It was just a riot out there. When you’ve got the audience singing stuff like that, you’ve got something going. Mattias even made comedy out of changing guitars. But the technical skill was always present. “The Only Way” was sung by Christer whose clear voice fell between a Power Metal and an American Blues singer. As a track, it’s very funky. The guitar work was sublime and the drummer set the beat superbly. Mattias then reduced the place to utter farce by giving us, in his own style, a lesson in musical timing. Eccentric, unconventional, catchy, heavy, funny, mellow, jazzy … and that’s just one song. The action was non-stop. And there was plenty of chance to dance. Christer led “Razor Flowers”, something between a dance rap number and a thunderous song with a hunting beat and strong solos. The audience joined in the customary memorable chorus. Christer and Mattias pretended it was messed up but of course it wasn’t. Freak Kitchen are professionals and were just giving us another bit of knockabout comedy. Christer, always in riot gear, taught us some slick disco dance moves. He told us we would be deprived of exercise otherwise. We practiced our routines. A dance-rap resounded to help us. Christer then gave us some helpful advice: “If you ever see a guy on stage in riot gear, don’t ever do what he wants you to do”. It was then back to something more conventional with “Propaganda Pie”, another sing-a-long heavy rock number. I expected the classic, US style and hugely catchy and cheesy “Nobody’s Laughing Here”, and here it came. The set ended with “The Rights to You” and “Silence”. The thumping beat of “The Rights to You” brought out the moshers. “Silence” was anything but. For the last time, it captured the fusion of peculiar movement, technicality, eccentricity and limitless energy which we had seen throughout the set. Freak Kitchen just swept us along. They toyed with the audience and had us laughing throughout, but not at the expense of the core product. The music was infectious but above all they gave us fantastic entertainment. If Jurojin provided the musical performance of the year, Freak Kitchen win the entertainment award. What a great night out!
Andrew Doherty
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