London
8 November 2019
Berlin-based avant-garde guitarist Caspar Brötzmann is back in London, touring as Caspar Brötzmann Massaker, his cult power-trio featuring bassist Eduardo Delgado-Lopez and drummer Saskia Von Klitzing. Always a favourite of the experimental guitar crowd, he arrives after having supported SunnO))) in Europe and is having a resurgence of interest due to Southern Lord reissuing the majority of his back catalogue.
Kowä Axis, the solo project of self-confessed Brötzmann fanatic James Barry, open the evening. Standing alone, with a rare Super-Sonic guitar (complete with lovely reverse headstock), we’re treated to a minimal introduction of sorts, a dissonant, heavily distorted “devil-chord” played repeatedly. He’s brought the heavy artillery this evening, doubling a Marshall stack with a Mesa Boogie on the opposite side of the stage, which is brought to life a few minutes into the repetition of aforementioned “evil” chord, doubling the volume and cruelly reminding me that perhaps it wasn’t such a clever idea to leave ear protection at home.
Clearly enjoying being engulfed in his own heavily down-tuned noise, Barry then proceeds to create soundscape after soundscape, utilising various effects, bridge manipulation and tremolo arm to add to his sonic palette. Perhaps most enjoyable is when we’re treated to something that can only be described as “standing helplessly as a distant storm slowly closes in”, the high-end of his signal is removed / reduced and we’re subjected to some insane sub-bass rumbling, causing the floor and our chest cavities to shake. It’s a riveting start to the evening.
Cutting a tall, imposing presence on stage, with his Germanic looks and shirt unbuttoned almost to the waist (I believe he also was rocking a medallion), Brötzmann teases ambient sounds out of his Stratocaster, gently tapping the reversed headstock to create atmospheric drones alongside feedback from considerable stack of Marshall amplifiers and speakers. The strings behind the nut are played gently to increase the buildup before the trio lock in (Delgado-Lopez and Von Klitzking having waited patiently to enter the fray), playing a heavy, almost industrial groove that gets the whole room bouncing.
Brötzmann’s playing style is utterly unique, and rather than playing standard chords, he favours a more fluid style of moving over the fretboard, combining hammer-ons alongside effortless slides up and down the neck, all the while using his whammy bar to manipulate the sound. The whammy is easily accessible due to his Strat being a left-handed model, played upside down, in the same way as that other guitar maestro Jimi Hendrix, with whom he has been compared. What is surprisingly noticeable is just how much fun is being had on stage. While Brötzmann is allowed to play in his almost free-form style, the bass and drums keep everything as tight as tight can be, in a manner similar to Shellac in its machine-like precise rhythm. When the time comes for a change, the trio then make eye contact and trade knowing smiles, clearly enjoying themselves hugely. This positivity rubs off on the crowd at Oslo (which is disappointingly only half-full) and the more the gig progresses, the more animated the crowd become, everyone completely lost in the music and throwing odd dance shapes, pumped fists and the obligatory devil horns.The trio finish up their set which a stunning rendition of “Massaker”, which is beyond heavy and has the room in absolute euphoria. The band wave a humble goodbye and then it’s all over. A talent this unique is deserving of a far bigger audience, so next time he’s playing a show near you, do yourself a favour, get yourself a ticket and get down the front.
-Stuart Low-
