The last few days the Bean and I went to see three cool bands and one band with a whole lotta attitude play in the Melkweg. Wednesday was Good Shoes and The Rakes night. We always have so much fun at The Rakes’ gigs, part of that is due to the crowd’s crazy energy and the singer Alan’s excellent moves. They may not have taken Holland by storm yet, but the fans they do have here are hardcore. I thought I loved their music, but the audience, including the Bean, LOVES them. And deservedly so, their new songs sound even better live and for a smallish band they put up an amazing show.

Check out The Bean’s review of their latest album Ten New Messages.
Watch the concert in full over on Fabchannel.

We were so lucky to have Good Shoes support The Rakes, as they are a 100b New Band Day favorite. It’s nice to see a band who is still genuinely surprised to see people singing their songs back at them, but they seemed way more comfortable being on stage now than the first time we saw them last year. I’m still amazed at how these boys manage to create a new exciting, poppy but arty sound that’ll have you dancing on the ceiling like a bad Lionel Richie flashback.

   Good Shoes - We Are Not The Same

Yesterday it was Maxïmo Park’s turn to dazzle us, but first we had to get through the support act, Hasselhoff. We always support the support even when their music is not our thing at all. We actually thought that the band was good at what they do, so it wouldn’t have been so bad if they didn’t have more bravado and hubris than ten Howlin’ Pelles combined, except without the irony and good music. They came off so contrived, it got a bit painful to look at them.

Maxïmo Park more than made up for the support. They’re the kind of band that’s great on record, but really blows your mind live. Their energy and enthusiasm is contagious and they always make us feel like it’s the first time anyone has ever appreciated their music the way we do. The audience sang, danced and screamed along with Paul Smith like he was their cult leader. We’ve seen them play a couple of times now and they’re always a concert highlight for us. Here is a new and an older favorite of mine:

   Maxïmo Park - Nosebleed
   Maxïmo Park - Fear Of Falling