Meneguar, Woods @ Kulturbunker, Cologne

I guess that's what you call "to chill out" at a show. Yesterday saw yet another wonderful BBQ at the Kulturbunker in Cologne-Mülheim. The 50 Food Combo did this before and it's always a very nice and tasty experience. Some people showed up, they had tables and chairs on the rooftop and everybody was in a good mood. The food was great, although I only dug into the grilled veggie stuff. Oh, and there was a show taking place as well.
I can't remember the name of the first band, from what I heard they were German and played what I would consider to be old school screamo. You have to be considerate with how you label musicn nowadays so everybody understands what you are talking about, right? Had I said "screamo" everybody below the age of 25 would have thought this meant those horrible chartbands who play this crappy metal stuff with screaming vocals, hard and loud guitars and face paint all over the place. No, this band tried more to sound like the mid to late 90s version of screamo. Quiet parts which burst out into chaotic riffs with desperate screams (hence "screamo"). Still I didn't really get into it. That kind of music was never really my cup of tea and I am not that knowledgeable when it comes to grading performances like that one yesterday but I somehow felt bored.
That changed with the second band, Woods from NYC. Their setup for the show looked very interesting. Most of the instrumentation was simple: drums, guitar, bass, singers. But there was one guy who stood in front of a table with lots of technical equipment like foot pedals and - and that was what surprised me most because I'd never seen anything like that before - a mixing thing where you had two tapedecks instead of two turntables. Most of the time it was plain and simple yet wonderful and nice popmusic which because of the voice reminded me a little bit of Neil Young. But when they got into those long and epic parts which they streched on and on and on, that's where it got really interesting. The sounds the tapedeck guy created where fascinating. I could have watched this and listened to it for hours, but at some point they had to stop unfortunately. Great band, although I don't think this will work for me on a record.
Meneguar were up next and they blended into the middle of the two previous bands. Slightly chaotic with a hint of nice melodies. This wasn't your average chaoscore, this was a little bit more interesting. This is music I can listen to perfectly while watching the band play, but I don't think I'll ever buy a record. It had the groove and the melodies for a nice concert experience and that was enough for me yesterday. Combine that with the atmosphere for the BBQ outside on the rooftop, the company of nice people and friends and there you have a perfect summer evening in Cologne. What else can you wish for?