#aestrid

Æstrid - Box (Function Records, 2012)

“Brynhildr”, by FLOWERZZXU on DeviantArt.

You may know that quite often, I go to gigs alone, simply because it’s still better than not going at all. But that makes me appreciate it even more when a concert trip includes meeting up with dear friends, especially in a beautiful city like this:

(there are some more photos here if you care to take a look)

Btw, it basically was a meet up of Snow Patrol fans, so if you are also one, I strongly recommend you to give Brother & Bones a listen as they seem to be a thing for us ☺

After having spent the afternoon strolling through the medieval city centre (wearing t-shirts in the sun on October 18th!!) and the evening at a lovely restaurant, we went to the venue before the doors opened. However, some hardcore fans were already there resp. arrived shortly after us, so that the two first rows were filled from the beginning. Admittedly, it was not that difficult as Podium De Kelder is a rather small venue (capacity ca. 350) with a tiny stage.

Support came from Aestrid, a local post-punk/krautrock band. Hm. I’m a bit torn here, tbh. Because throughout the whole set, I had the feeling that I COULD really like it, if only… if only a) I could hear the singer’s voice and b) the songs would be a tad shorter. Turns out I was right as back at home, I listened to their latest release No Map Or Address which is really quite good. They probably extended the songs for the live set because on the album, they don’t seem too long at all. There were however other elements of a good live experience, i.e. energy and passion and above all, a most excellent drummer. Hope it’s not just because of the small stage that they had him at the front because it was really fun watching him. Well – drummers probably don’t get enough credit in general…

For those of you who don’t yet know Brother & Bones, they’re a five-piece alternative rock band from London. They have so far released three EPs, the latest one a live recording, and their debut album is due for early next year. They’re already quite well known in Holland and so they played three gigs in a row there, including material from the upcoming album.

I’m really glad I took this opportunity to see them NOW so that in the not too far future, I’ll be able to say: „I saw them in the days back when…“ Because they’re going to make it big, I have no doubts about that. All the necessary ingredients are there: catchy sing-along rock songs with touching lyrics, great stage presence and interaction with the crowd – and the fact that they’re five good looking chaps doesn’t hurt either ;) I was however too close to the stage to get the whole band on one photo and as for the drummers (yes, plural!), my poor camera had no chance to cope with the bad light.

(more photos here)

Brother & Bones are also very appreciative of their fans, they didn’t make us wait long for the encore nor for getting autographs and photos after the gig and they took the time to talk to everyone. My friend from Sweden had traveled to London last month to see them, but then the concert got canceled because of jury duty. When Rich (the lead singer) heard that story, he even offered her a signed A4-photograph for free – so nice!!

You may know that quite often, I go to gigs alone, simply because it’s still better than not going at all. But that makes me appreciate it even more when a concert trip includes meeting up with dear friends, especially in a beautiful city like this:

(there are some more photos here if you care to take a look) Btw, it basically was a meet up of Snow Patrol fans, so if you are also one, I strongly recommend you to give Brother & Bones a listen as they seem to be a thing for us ☺ After having spent the afternoon strolling through the medieval city centre (wearing t-shirts in the sun on October 18th!!) and the evening at a lovely restaurant, we went to the venue before the doors opened. However, some hardcore fans were already there resp. arrived shortly after us, so that the two first rows were filled from the beginning. Admittedly, it was not that difficult as Podium De Kelder is a rather small venue (capacity ca. 350) with a tiny stage. Support came from Aestrid, a local post-punk/krautrock band. Hm. I’m a bit torn here, tbh. Because throughout the whole set, I had the feeling that I COULD really like it, if only... if only a) I could hear the singer’s voice and b) the songs would be a tad shorter. Turns out I was right as back at home, I listened to their latest release No Map Or Address which is really quite good. They probably extended the songs for the live set because on the album, they don’t seem too long at all. There were however other elements of a good live experience, i.e. energy and passion and above all, a most excellent drummer. Hope it’s not just because of the small stage that they had him at the front because it was really fun watching him. Well – drummers probably don’t get enough credit in general...

For those of you who don’t yet know Brother & Bones, they’re a five-piece alternative rock band from London. They have so far released three EPs, the latest one a live recording, and their debut album is due for early next year. They’re already quite well known in Holland and so they played three gigs in a row there, including material from the upcoming album.

I’m really glad I took this opportunity to see them NOW so that in the not too far future, I’ll be able to say: „I saw them in the days back when...“ Because they’re going to make it big, I have no doubts about that. All the necessary ingredients are there: catchy sing-along rock songs with touching lyrics, great stage presence and interaction with the crowd – and the fact that they’re five good looking chaps doesn’t hurt either ;) I was however too close to the stage to get the whole band on one photo and as for the drummers (yes, plural!), my poor camera had no chance to cope with the bad light.

(more photos here) Brother & Bones are also very appreciative of their fans, they didn’t make us wait long for the encore nor for getting autographs and photos after the gig and they took the time to talk to everyone. My friend from Sweden had traveled to London last month to see them, but then the concert got canceled because of jury duty. When Rich (the lead singer) heard that story, he even offered her a signed A4-photograph for free – so nice!!

[gigya src="http://www.mixcloud.com/media/swf/player/mixcloudLoader.swf"…

So for this week I want to take you all to the small city of Soest in the Netherlands where the band Aestrid resides. This Dutch band creates a very dreamy, noisy form of music which sound like they are coming from factory floors where old instruments are still lying around, old Moog keyboards, piles of electronics, you know, stuff like that.

This band should release it's second full length within a reasonable amount of time (I guess this year), but for now you can check out their first full length on spotify.

Aestrid – The Echo Resistance