Adam Green: dt. Fazit

Adam Green ist in erster Linie ein Assoziationsbündel. Er versteht es, das Absurde mit dem Seltsamen, das Tragische mit dem Zynischen, die Erkenntnis mit der Verblendung verschmelzen zu lassen. Seine Worte und Musik fühlen sich richtig an.
Live ist Adam Green ein gewiefter Entertainer. Gemäss Interview-Aussage (s. Video) sind ihm Konzerte eigentlich lästig; oft geniesst er es dann aber doch mehr als erwartet. Er versucht die Leute zu unterhalten, ihnen "eine Show zu bieten", wie man nicht sagen sollte. Und das gelingt ihm immer wieder mit bestechender Treffsicherheit.
Der Live-Performance-Überbau bringt die immanente Unruhe seiner Lieder zum Ausdruck. Das im Stillen angelegte Chaos bricht gelegentlich aus - ohne dass sich etwas verändern würde.
Vielleicht ist die Selbstzerstörung inszeniert, vielleicht imitiert er Doherty/Barat ("I adore these guys", sagt er selbst), vielleicht geht es ihm wirklich schlecht.

Adam Green "goes with the flow"

I have to write this while it's warm: Adam Green Concert in Zurich tonight. Was an explosion, that's what it was. High expectations, always exceeded (so far 5 shows seen); this one best ever. Communication with crowd, bandleader, feeling/vibe of creativity tangible. Talking about that, crowdsurfing (three times), first time after second song. Standing on top of someone, realizing there is huge video beamer, knocks head on it, goes down, more crowd surfing. Touching naked ugly belly. Weird dancing (alright, that's usual). Reason that started craziness (maybe?): sound mixing bad, first song way too loud. Green repeatedly gesturing for lower volume. Losing microphone while crowdsurfing. Playing few songs from new album. Starting a song (solo, acoustic (nylon string), intermezzo thing he always does) - song was "You Blacken My Stay" - stopping suddenly after a while: "i'm not feeling this, let's get the band." audience: "BAND". no drama/diva thing. Pure emotion, no, strike emotion. Pure crazy, brilliance, exuberance. "Going with the flow", he says at one point (wouldn't have used it for title otherwise, too corny). Huge noise/feedback outro/end/orgy thing. Sexual vibe. Starting with attire: Adam in leather jacket, no shirt underneath, tight 70s (waist-cut, flare) jeans. Sweats almost immediately from beginning. Flirts with hottest girl in front row. Soon starts making out with all sorts of people in the front. Long french-kisses. Mutual, mostly. More crowd surfing.

Let's not forget: the music is great. Not just great in relation to everything else. He's improved/refined his songwriting (more obvious on disc than live). Raw energy from band. Weird characters. "John Whiskey Wiley", "Dr. Omar Fuck" (keyboards, Green says: "My own personal phyisician" (guy looks like jesus) "Thanks for that heart transplant man". The music is really good, louder, more beat focussed: drums starts most songs with driving rock-thing and then blends into song. Free improvisation on setlist. Songs interrupted by microphone/DIY incidences. A lot of interaction with crowd. For example:
-Green: "I need five bucks, like franken, what's it called. Need to buy some water, man, water."
-guy from audience throws a handful of change on stage.
-Green looks puzzled, holds up a coin "how much is that?"
-people look at size and guess: 1 or 2
-Green looks at coins on stage "that's an insult. what's all that, like half a buck?"
-Green picks up coin from stage, puts it in his mouth, rolls it around with his tongue, says "it tastes really good now" (coin or mouth? i ask myself)

More music. Always talking, always music. Punk style pogo dancing in some songs. Both hands up clapping stadium rock style for other songs. Band looks on worried/enthused/amuzed/entertained/worried/professional and adapts/enhances/enables all the impromptu craziness.

So much more. Big thing: tells story of how he went to the lake of Zurich. There was a swan, Green threw an apple at/to him. Corrects "him/she/it, yeah it". Swan gulped down the apple whole. Green concludes (traditional story telling, build-up): "and now there's a swan here, that's gonna wonder for the next, like, 10 years, when it's gonna get another apple". Parable? Just a coincidence? Storytelling skills wow.
So much more. Always crazy, but in this concert he went over the roof, so much going on. Yeah, forgot about the whole "sexual orientation thing": also kisses a guy (shortly, quickly). for first encore comes back wearing shirt from concert venue, tries to tear it open hulk-style. fails, looks at label, where it was made. Expects "made in Switzerland", finds "made in India", says "India. I don't even know what that means." Pulls stretched out collar down over shoulders, dances mock-gayly. Says "I'm not that strong, like you guys. I'm a sissy". Pulls down collar to expose nipple. "But you can still suck my tits". Guy in back yells "you wish". Adam laughs, says "who was that, what, him, no wasn't even him, that guy over there, dunno, you're my favourite gay guy."

Wow, too much blogage already. So many more stories. Will keep them coming. Good night.
And you, Adam Green, take care. Recover from divorce. Keep on going the way you are. Just one thought for future concerts: everybody make sure there's no fire (or flammables) near stage. He might burn the house down and self-sacrifice someone.

Kurzbeitrag #6: "Variations on a girl"

Die Schwerkraft bewegt mich, hält dich fest.
Sie besorgen die unmöglichsten Ausfälle und erwarten keinen Dank dafür.
Süssestens errötet, den Blick im Traum der Ferne zugewandt.
Rumor.
Wer kennt sie nicht? Die Augenblicke der Projektion?

Kurzbeitrag #5: Trinkspruch

Wir stürmen und betrinken uns,
und laufen nie Gefahr,
was Schaffenswertes hinzukriegen
und bleiben an der Bar.

Short-post #4

Don't shoot for the stars - unless you have a spaceship.

Kurzbeitrag #3

Pathos ist Zynik ohne Selbsterkenntnis.

Short-post #2

I repel them folks of lowly standards.
Nothing good is what I want.
Be gone be gone.
Return tomorrow.
For another round of plenty.

Shorter statements for quicker times

One of my (very) few readers recently advised me to keep my posts shorter. No one wanted to read that much on a blog. Guess he might be right. Although, sometimes you have to take a rambling as far as it can go. I will however compromise by starting a series of very short posts. (This introduction should not be counted towards the length of this first short-post). Here goes #1:

The asphyxiation of yesterday's mind.

UK in Bildern

Es folgt eine Auswahl von Fotografien, die im Anschluss an den Skandinavienaufenthalt im 2006 entstanden sind.

"Glasgow Glass"


"Tate Smudge"


"London Parallels"


"Picadilly Grey Snap"

Poetic spam ad

While failing to find my post-lunch work motivation, I stumbled on this comment post. At first I thought it to be a pseudo-poetic comment on the music interview the comment related to. Then I recognised it was actually a spam/ad-thing. Poetic nonetheless.

Here it goes:

Over counter muscle relaxer
Carnival cruise deal
Carnival cruise line cruise
Cheap carnival cruises
Carnival cruise discount
Best price cruises
Carnival cruise holiday
Carnival cruise

Well, maybe not. However, substitute "carnal" for "carnival" in some places and sth. else for "cruise", you've got yourself something. Not much of anything, but that has to be enough for this averagely grey Tuesday afternoon.

In dubio pro Toco

Ein kleiner Auszug aus meiner gedanklichen Tonschleife:

"Im Zweifel gegen Zweisamkeit und Normativität."
(Tocotronic, Im Zweifel für den Zweifel, 2010).

Die Kritik am allzubekannten Abwehrreflex, den man Teenagern zubilligt, der nachher aber abgelegt werden soll, wird durch die Erwähnung der Pubertät in der vorhergehenden Zeile antizipiert und insoweit entschärft.