a throat tumor soon to meet the laser's wrath. Think Tom Waits meets Ted Hawkins meets Nick Nolte with a guitar. Death and women and God and poverty and politicians are all fodder for his canon, but mostly death and women. Michael's latest record (a hit in Holland, where he now resides) is called "Immaculate Deception"; his performances of new songs like "Growing Up Too fast" and the title track were as chilly and as brutally honest as it gets. Even Ange Boxall sitting watching couldn't make a bright and shiny concert out of this.


Links:

Ange Boxall
www.ange.live.net.au

Michael de Jong
www.tornadoconcerts.nl



Bürgerhaus Stollwerck, Saturday, August 19th

Tens of thousands flocked to Cologne on Saturday, drawn by the newest-latest-coolest-hottest names: Hypetraxx and MC Rene & DJ Tomekk, Kickzone and Electrobunker. Some of these were techno-parties, others hip-hop events, and I'll surely be damned if I can ever tell the difference or if there were people or machines involved. The concert at Stollwerck, on the other hand, was a third-ring, non-turntable event. Five bands, dozens of guitars, young men whose faces light up at the sight of a Marshall. Bright kids with ear plugs in their pockets, just in case.

The third band on the bill was already well into their set when I arrived, woozy from various hot and cold beverages and the first half of "Rob Roy" on TV. (Having caught some of the sound check that afternoon, I decided five hours of grinding axes would be about two hours too much.) Naked Lunch's good, grungy groove provided an instant lift. The guitar and sax opus they closed with was a nice bit of apocalyptic soundtrack music, setting the stage for Soulmate, whose vociferous fans were in abundance and anxious to knock the daylights out of one another. From a safe if stodgy spot on the gallery above, I watched the mosh, in particular a tawny girl in a fire-engine red T-shirt who was mixing it up with the big boys. Both Naked Lunch and Soulmate are German. I mention this only because it's hardly worth mentioning anymore. (Pop quiz: did you know that Guano Apes and, er, Lou Bega are from Deutschland?) Naked Lunch: good. Soulmate: better.

Non-Germans Jimmy Eat World headlined, and by the middle of their exhilarating set, a mix of brand new songs, recent semi-hits and others dusted off for a singles compilation, I understood why. The room had emptied some, but was in noticeably better spirits. Boys and girls were moving, but did not seek to punch each other out. Jimmy Eat World closed out the night with "Blister": not their best song, perhaps, but popular enough to have several hundred fans accompanying Tom Linton on his pained "How long would it take me to walk across the United States all alone?" refrain. Those who thought these Arizonans wimped out on their last Capitol release are advised to get out and see the boys play.

All in all, this was working-class rock at its melodic best. The bands needed showers. The kids seemed happy. Hugs and kisses all around. The author spent his two-minute walk home thinking about how to close this article.

Emo-core will never die, or something like that.


Links:

Soulmate
www.soulmate.black.de

Jimmy Eat World
www.jimmyeatworld.net

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