When You're Strange (2)

You know that wild mountain nation on the rise of going home

It was one of those hot humid evenings at Amsterdam’s legendary Paradiso small room upstairs. Blitzen Trapper… that band name alone made us sigh a little. Upon seeing their logo on the shirts at the merch stand, we asked each other ‘Why did we get here early again?’

Ferdinand, my friend and fellow member of our indie folk band Alasca, and I had bought tickets for Rogue Wave. Support acts were usually a waste of time in our experience.

Thanks to Ferdinand I knew Rogue Wave’s gorgeous album Asleep at Heaven’s Gate by heart now, but Blitzen Trapper? We hadn’t looked up their MySpace (yeah it must have been that era still) or anything. We should have been drinking another beer at a terrace now.

We were wrong.

After seeing Blitzen Trapper that night, we made sure to come in on time and see the supports. Just to be sure we didn’t miss anything as epic as this.

Never again, however, were we surprised by a support as much as that night.

Woof & Warp of the Quiet Giant's Hem

They entered the stage looking like Amsterdam’s ruffled pigeons. They came on and we joked that this must have been the only shirt they had been wearing for the last two months. Judging by the worn quality of the shirts this was probably true.

They took their time to set everything up and tune their guitars. Since we were close to the front of the stage, we had a good look at their instruments. We noticed that the electric guitars were duck taped in places. I still don’t know why. To enhance their look? This couldn’t be good. The front man sure seemed the confident type though.

1, 2, 3, 4! In a matter of seconds these scruffy guys took us to the most mysterious mumbo jumbo land of well executed loudness that I have ever encountered. It was intense, it was well played, the breaks blew our minds and amidst the chaos that their first songs were, we could not but conclude that these were great songs.

I think these songs musts have been:

Woof & Warp of the Quiet Giant's Hem, Miss Spiritual Tramp and Devil’s A Go Go.

The red-haired four-eyed bearded afro giant on lead guitar looked so fierce. So fierce. Ferdinand and I tried to tell each other how much we enjoyed this, but this hurricane of sound made all we said unintelligible, so we just stood there banging our heads, laughing at each other.

And then around the 4th or 5th song, their front man, Eric Early, grabbed a piece of wood we presumed they called an acoustic guitar where they came from and he started to fingerpick delicate Dylanesque songs on it. But they were his and they rang true. Never had I seen a band dare move from ear piercing brilliance to this type of songwriter performance in a matter of seconds and pull it off.

Secret weapons: well-written material, eagerness, wild dynamic differences and a bummy look.

He played Lady on the Water in this part of the show. And by how impressed I was, I am quite confident that he already played Furr as well, but I’m not sure…

Futures & Folly

Anyway, the rest of the set they showed a diversity in sound and talent that we had never expected to see. From any band. Really, it was that good. And with each song we saw that these guys were living it. They were this music. All was one.

Towards the end of the set, the songs became louder again, but the set didn’t dip. They kept our attention with their quirky tightness. Highlights that I’m sure they played were Wild Mountain Nation and Sci-Fi Kid, The Green King Sings.

Mind blowing is the word I would use. Blitzen Trapper blew our minds that night. We didn’t know one of their songs and they made us instant fans.

We bought the album (check it out yourself below). I even walked out with a Blitzen Trapper shirt with that ugly logo, ha! I still wear it sometimes and I cherish that night and the memory when we drove home with this amazing discovery under our belts; a record so strange and so good that we couldn’t stop smiling.

PS.

I spoke a friend last week and as we were discussing music, I told him I was writing this article and a bit hesitant he asked me: Blitzen Trapper… Strange?

It’s true. And quite remarkable: after their successful Furr from 2008 they decided to settle down more and more on a middle of the road AM radio type of style.

They even started to look a bit slick (not kidding). Not bad music by any means, but never again did they return to making music as exciting and remarkable as this.

Unfortunately.

So if you know Blitzen Trapper, but you don’t know their early strange lo-fi brews, make sure you give them a listen!