Damo Suzuki Network, ArtaxMission @ Rocket Bar,Adelaide, (16/02/07)

Sun 18th Feb, 2007 in Gig Reviews

One of the truly great characters and influential musicians of avant-garde rock music graced the Adelaide club scene on Friday night, and the expectant crowd was not to be disappointed. Damo Suzuki, best known as the lead vocalist of 1970’s German rock band, Can, who were one of the most respected and cutting-edge bands in Germany at the time. The sound that Can and other kraut-rock bands of the 1970’s had a major influence on groups like, Sonic Youth, The Pixies and My Bloody Valentine and can still be heard in music today, as demonstrated by Adelaide band, Artax Mission who brilliantly supported Damo Suzuki with a compelling blend of distorted guitars and psychedelica.   

The performance that Adelaide witnessed was something rather different. Whilst, there was still traces of Can in Damo Suzuki’s performance, the sensibility of the artist these days lies more in the realm of progressive improvised rock rather than Can’s psychedelic kraut-rock. Amazingly backed up by an immensely talented group of Adelaide musicians, Damo Suzuki captivated the Rocket Bar with two sprawling pieces of purely improvised music. At times closer to classical music than to rock music, the band created constantly moving and changing soundscapes to which Suzuki wailed, growled, screamed and sang (distorted) beat poetry over the top of. The music was constantly evolving with the band able to change from chamber rock to hard rock and back again with fluidity and ease.

With each piece being close to an hour in length the performance was at times challenging to get through but in the end this minor distraction had little to no influence on the spiritual journey that Suzuki and his band provided for the audience. The performance for the greater part was engaging and an amazing musical experience. Although I am sure not to everybody’s taste, one thing that any self respecting music fan would have to credit Damo Suzuki for is originality and character. In an age where the vast majority of bands and artists performing music either fit into the broad umbrella of ‘indie-rock’, heavy metal or rock, Suzuki and his band produced something beautifully unique and provided what I feel was a breath of fresh air for concert goers and one of the best musical experiences of 2007 so far.