Cecilia::Eyes / The Scrap Dealers

Trix, Antwerp 16/04/2014

Due do some personal issues it's been a while since I went to a concert but I really didn't want to
miss this one.  After all, Cecilia::Eyes is a highly praised band on Merchants Of Air.  Their 'Disappearance' album was one of the best records of 2014 and we had a very nice interview with them.  So when I saw they were about to play in one of my favorite venues, Trix, I couldn't resist.  I jumped on the bus, along with my wife and a friend.  

When we arrived at Trix, we noticed some young (and lesser young) girls, camping in front of the venue.  From conversations in the café, we learned that they were there to see Indochine on Friday.  However, they've been camping on the sidewalk for days, since Tuesday to be exact.  Nobody seemed to know why.  Indochine must still be a huge band.

The Scrap Dealers

Anyway, let's talk about The Scrap Dealers for a while because actually, they deserve it.  I never heard of this band before but, as you might know, I always try to see the support act(s) and I think more people should do that.  It's a sign of respect towards the artists and it might be a pleasant discovery. 

That is exactly what The Scrap Dealers were, a pleasant surprise.  These youngsters from
Liège (Belgium) can be described as a shoegaze band at first, because that's what they were doing during the opening song, gazing at their shoes. Maybe they were a bit nervous but it was pretty funny to witness that.

The Scrap Dealers

However, as the gig proceeded, The Scrap Dealers seemed to drop the nervousness and started to open up.  The set evolved into an energetic blend of post-punk, grunge, stoner and punkrock, covered in a thick wall of sound and with some surprising vocals.  In 'I need You Tonight' they even reminded me of Virgin Prunes, a bity weird but powerful.  I know the title because I bought the LP afterwards and this is one of my favourite songs, both live and on the album.  In all, this was a very decent set, highly energetic and often pretty intense.

Cecilia::Eyes did exactly what I suspected, enchant. As I said in the opening paragraph, I haven't been to concerts in a while.  One of the reasons is that I missed the 'kick' that I used to get when I watched a band.  This is  partially because our government wants to regulate everything towards absolute dullness, resulting in low volume and well, a smell of fresh air on an indoor rock concert.  These should smell like sweat, beer and smoke.  However, I'm rambling again. Cecilia::Eyes brought the kick back, in full force.

The band opened with 'Default Descent', immediately followed by 'Lord Howe Rise'.  This set the tone for what was about to become an awesome concert.  The post-rock these guys create works perfectly on stage.   As their dreamy sounds filled the bar, more and more people were coming in to take a look at what was happening one stage.  And there was indeed something to see.  At times, they incorporated a little show-element, which was pretty cool.  Often post-rock shows can be static but here you could feel the pleasure and intensity they played with.

Cecilia::Eyes

Cecilia::Eyes

This was a great evening, filled with surprises, atmosphere and emotion. Once in a while I noticed I had goosebumps and at one point almost a tear in my eye.  Yes, they were that good, both bands were. Nights like this are what the world of music needs.  They keep it fresh with new bands popping up everywhere.  Some will 'make it', some won't but we all have a few good times along the way.  Now on to Dunk!Festival where I hope Cecilia::Eyes will truly explode.  And we better keep an eye on The Scrap Dealers as well, because that's some nice scrap...


Serge

Cecilia::Eyes