Four memorable concerts from local bands: Zurich
Last week was a tough week and it didn’t help that I also lost a bit of motivation for the blog and for making music, plus I’ve been having some technical problems with my laptop but hopefully those days are in the past now.
When the weekend rolled round, everything was looking a lot more positive and I went to the Mord Fuzztang and Holzerhurd concert as part of the city of Zurich’s Stadtsommer festival not knowing what to expect, especially with the rain throughout the day.
The show (and evening) turned out to be excellent in the end - there was a big turnout despite the weather and it was nice to see new and old faces that helped kickstart my momentum for Reverb Dream again.
During the evening, I also had the idea to think of my four favourite experiences from Zurich bands in the city and these are the concerts I wanted to share with you.
(Whilst finalising the article, I am also curious if there are others out there who would like to share their favourite concerts from their local bands - let me know if you would like to contribute to this potential series too!)
Vague Visions / Shadowplay (Joy Division Tribute Party) / X-TRA Musikcafe / 23.11.2024
The Shadowplay evening was organised by the team from Alles Post- MusikFest! which also featured Jëkoff Sedofski, ANGER MGMT and myself as part of Radio Isolation (a one-off cover band for the evening).
I was really blown away by the set - not only for their takes on the Joy Division covers but for the overall sound, it was unrelenting and overwhelming, filled with distortion, reverb and controlled noise. It must also be said that the mixing and the quality of the sound in the venue was superb. The performance gave me a lot of hope for the band and I can’t wait to see how they develop in the future, especially finding out more about their writing process since then.
They released the double A single Sadism/Mirror in February of this year (and Mirror featured on the Spring 2025 playlist) and upload concerts to their YouTube channel, including their set at this year’s Changeover Switch Festival in Belgrade.
R. Daneel Olivaw / Tiny Desk / Kauz / 20.03.2025
This was concert was part of the monthly Tiny Desk concerts which is currently on a summer break. The idea is that the band plays half a set replies to questions from the audience and then plays the second half of the set. It was also hosted in the lower floor of Kauz, which is more home to dance music, but provided a cosy, intimate for the setting.
I had discovered the band towards the end of the year and really enjoy their two releases, rdo and Deimos Phobos, and had them on repeat quite often. The song, Malagón Amor, would also appear on the Winter 2024 Playlist. I wasn’t sure what to expect as they had only released four songs but the band did not disappoint. Their krautrock grooves were infectious that evening, so many wonderful twists and turns throughout the songs and the unreleased material was as equally as enjoyable.
If you want to catch them live soon, they will be supporting King Buffalo at Plaza this Thursday (31st July).
Mord Fuzztang / Stolze Openair / Stolzewiese / 21.06.2025
Following this concert at Stolze Openair, I had to check out Mord Fuzztang for the second time in two months at Stadtsommer. Although, I really, really enjoyed the performances from Batbait (interview here), whose new songs I’m looking forward to a lot already, and from Mount Jacinto (interview here), whose concert reignited my spark to listen to throughout the summer holidays, it was Mord Fuzztang that was the highlight of an exceptional evening.
As mentioned in the interview with the band, I always had a lingering memory of how great their performance at Variété in 2022 was in the dimly lit venue. It was definitely worth the wait to see Mord Fuzztang the second (and the third time) round. It was an intense set, with the band throwing new, unreleased songs into the mix, that drew the crowd in from the start and was a tour de force right until the very last note.
The band still have a few more dates lined up this summer including the 15th edition of Nox Orae.
Far Coast / Kombinat Festival / Waxy Bar / 15.03.2025
After mistaking Ueli Dutka for someone else at the Kombinat Festival and starting a conversation about his musical projects, Ueli would go on to be one of the first interviewees for Reverb Dream. At the time, he was preparing the release of Time and Space from his solo project, Far Coast. I was in attendance for the record release party at the Waxy Bar at the end of May 2024 and was impressed by how the music came out in a live setting. Later on in the summer, I was able to catch his band, Dawns Mystery, at an unexpected concert - due to the short notice and the venue, the Bierstube Scheidegg in Wiedikon - which was an unforgettable evening.
However, it’s back at the Waxy Bar (rest in peace), where my third and favourite performance took place. At 4pm with the crowds arriving for the festival, with the opening slot and the only show where there is no other band performing at the same time on a different stage, it was down to Far Coast to kick off the festival and they started it in style. The five on stage functioned as a very solid unit, allowing them to jam out the songs in warm, psychedelic haze capturing the audience’s attention the whole time and bringing smiles to their faces. Far Coast really set the mood for the festival and can’t wait to see them back on stage soon.
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