Traumkapitän
release review by disagreement
												
It
is common practice in Luxembourg when a band releases their CD, they
organise a release party, invite befriended bands and make it a
festival. Yet Traumkapitän are different from any other local band, and
therefore their release show had to be different. They also invited
musicians, but to share the stage with them, so that the nine core
members were augmented by eighteen more artists, making this
twenty-seven people on stage. Therefore it was logical that they needed
a big location, and the aesthetic yet austere charm of the newly opened
culture centre opderschmelz was just the ideal place for this event. It
would have been even better to have this show on a weekend night, but
organisational constraints didn\'t allow for that.

It\'s funny when you consider that Traumkapitän was founded by the second guitarist of brit rock revivalists Metro, especially since the guitar only finds its way quite rarely into their sound. Starting at half past eight, the first set of the concert concentrated on the songs from the debut CD "Virtue Comical", which was still unknown to the people, but those who were already at one of the collective\'s previous shows knew what to expect, only they got so much more this time. I admit, the evening started on a wrong note, with guest violinist Roxanne Birch – the daughter of local rock legend Chris Birch – performing a badly done vocal part, and the first song also had the sound engineer struggling to give every instrument the transparency it needed, but those problems were soon under hand.
Christian\'s vocals are of course the centre of attention in Traumkapitän\'s sound, and his eccentric piano playing underlines the schizophrenia of the music. Backed by a truly hardrocking rhythm section, consisting of Chris Belardi (Chief Mart\'s, The Carps) and Luc Caregari (Something Under My Bed), the music was never permitted to drift into cheesy artiness. Saxophonist David Fettmann is another fine addition, as his free-jazzy technique makes for grating moments that remind of Van Der Graaf Generator at their best. Cellist Olivier Lefèvre adds dark moods, while Pol Belardi\'s antics on the vibraphone are out of this world, putting a layer of chilly club jazz ambient to the sound. Christian Neyen\'s on the electronics adds discreet touches when needed. And then there were the eighteen guest musicians, whose parts were discreetly but intensely integrated into the overall sound. At times they didn\'t have much to do, but then there came outbursts when everyone played together, making for a cacophonous big band sound that reminded of the best jazz rock from the mid-Seventies.
After one hour, we got a half hour break, and then the band was back for the second half, just like a regular football game… ok, their teams are only eleven men strong and also only play two halfs of forty-five minutes. Which proves that Traumkapitän are working harder. Again they continued with their abrasive sound that knows how to switch effectively from sparse minimalism to seemingly overcharged avant prog in no moment at all. All of this was backed by a bizarre projection courtesy of video artist Anne Lindner. Sometime in the first set, there was a dance performance that went unnoticed mostly because the dancer was on the same level as the audience.
Between 100 and 150 people showed up to this free show on a Sunday night. Not bad, considering the circumstances: Coheed and Cambria played finally at the Atelier, after many postponements, and Mutiny On The Bounty were opening for them. Also some people might have preferred watching Germany beating Poland. But the eclectic audience enjoyed this show, which in my subjective opinion is the best concert so far of the year, and maybe the best performance I have ever seen from a local band.
Sure enough, there are already many people who start bad-talking Traumkapitän. But let\'s face it: this always happens when someone dares to try something new. Not that their thing is strictly new, but instead of inspiring themselves by the modern sounds of today, they dig deeply in the British avant-garde scene of the Seventies, citing icons like Robert Wyatt, Fred Frith and Carla Bley as their influences. And how many people are still familiar with them? Portions of the show were filmed, and it remains to be hoped that Traumkapitän decide to release this on DVD, because it was a truly stellar moment of local rock history.

\\\'Grenzenlos...!? Sans Limites...!?\\\' Exhibition
with Anne Lindner, Benjamin Gilzmer, Lilli Erbel, Sarah Wolf, Stéphanie Siebering, 
Aurelien Filiali, Pia Robledo, Jennifer Klees, Frédi Veith. We will be exhibiting in 
Saarbrücken: 
16.05.2008 - 22.05.2008 
at the Kultur- und Werkshof Nauwieserstrasse 
SAARBRÜCKEN