Le Guess Who? 2014 Preview

Utrecht’s Le Guess Who? Festival brings music from around the world (and right at home in the Netherlands) to venues across the city, Thursday-to-Sunday, November 21st to 24th:  ...
Le Guess Who? 2014 Preview

Le Guess Who? 2014 Preview

Utrecht’s Le Guess Who? Festival brings music from around the world (and right at home in the Netherlands) to venues across the city, Thursday-to-Sunday, November 21st to 24th:

 

Einstürzende NeubautenTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21st

Tivoli-Vredenburg Grote Zaal
20:30 to 21:30 – Music From World War I
21:30 to 23:30 – Einstürzende Neubauten

Now in their fourth decade, the (West) Berlin-born Einstürzende Neubauten helped forge both the industrial and post-industrial sound, like the Ruhr moving from coal to high-tech. They were using custom-built instruments (made from scrap metal and the like) alongside ‘traditional’ ones (not to mention having their own trademark logo long before Prince was ‘The Artist Formerly Known As Prince’).

Ekko
20:00 to 20:45 – The Walking Who
21:15 to 22:00 – Greylag
22:30 to 23:15 – Helado Negro
00:00 to 00:45 – Paus
Xiu Xiu01:15 to 01:55 – Tomaga

De Helling
Mouth to Mouth
20:45 to 21:30 – Carla Bozulich
22:00 to 22:50 – Xiu Xiu
23:20 to 00:20 – Silver Apples
00:50 to 01:50 – Ben Frost

One of the most successful post-punk experimenters has been Jamie Stewart, a.k.a. Xiu Xiu (QRO live review).

The GrowlersTivoli-Vredenburg Pandora
Austin Psych Fest
20:15 to 21:00 – Fumaça Preta
21:30 to 22:15 – King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
22:45 to 23:30 – The Growlers
00:00 to 00:50 – Tamikrest
01:30 to 02:30 – Loop

From Dana Point in California, The Growlers (QRO photos at a festival) mix major effects with sixties psychedelic rock to make ‘Beach Goth’.

These days, computers and synthesizers make it easy for anyone to do electronic loops, but back in the long, long ago of the nineteen-eighties, London’s Loop did their loops the old fashioned way. The group broke up in 1991, but saw their legacy and influence only grow bigger as circuits grew smaller, and last year they reunited to co-curate the final holiday camp edition of All Tomorrow’s Parties. Now they hit the festival circuit proper (QRO photos at a festival), and are a fitting act to close out the contribution to Le Guess Who? from Austin Psych Fest (QRO recap).

DB’s
LoopClub 3voor12/Utrecht
21:00 to 21:45 – Go Go Kill
22:30 to 23:15 – Rooie Waas
00:00 to 00:45 – Wolvon

DB’s Room Z
Club 3voor12/Utrecht
21:45 to 22:30 – The Afterveins
23:15 to 00:00 – Svãva

 

Bonnie ‘Prince’ BillyFRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22nd

Tivoli-Vredenburg Ronda
21:00 to 22:15 – Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy
23:00 to 00:15 – Dr. John & The Nite Trippers
01:15 to 02:15 – Brand Brauer Frick

Troubadour Will Oldham combines DIY lo-fi with folk sounds as Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy (QRO live review).

Dr. JohnThe doctor is in the house at New Orleans’ own master of the boogie woogie rock ‘n’ roll, Dr. John (QRO photos), comes to Le Guess Who?, who’s done everything from bring Mardi Gras and medicine shows to the psychedelic stage in the seventies to last May’s receiving of an honorary doctorate of in fine arts from Tulane (making him, as the university president joked, “Dr. Dr. John”).

Perfume GeniusTivoli-Vredenburg Pandora
20:15 to 21:15 – Perfume Genius
22:00 to 22:50 – Dean Blunt
23:30 to 00:15 – Iceage
00:45 to 01:45 – Parkay Quarts
02:15 to 03:00 – White Lung

Seattle’s chamber-pop artist Mike Hadreas comes to Le Guess Who? as Perfume Genius (QRO photos at a festival).

IceageCopenhagen’s punk rock outfit Iceage (QRO photos at a festival) deliver on record (QRO mp3 review), but struggle a little live (QRO live review).

Bringing grunge back has been the active Parquet Courts (QRO photos at a festival), who come to Le Guess Who? as ‘Parkay Quarts’ with their new in-between-albums album, Content Nausea.

Vancouver’s White Lung (QRO photos at a festival) bring some punk rock to Le Guess Who? (QRO photos at a festival).

White LungTivoli-Vredenburg Pandora Foyer
00:00 to 04:00 – Red Light Radio Party

Ekko
20:00 to 20:45 – Dracula Legs
21:15 to 22:00 – Viet Cong
23:30 to 23:20 – Ought
23:50 to 00:50 – Trans Am
01:20 to 02:10 – Torn Hawk
02:30 to 03:30 – Cut Hands

Containing half of Calgary’s defunct Women (QRO photos at a festival), Viet Cong (QRO photos at a festival) bring a “labyrinthine post-punk” to Le Guess Who?.

Viet CongVredenburg Leeuwenbergh
21:00 to 21:50 – Tape
22:30 to 23:20 – Rodion G.A.

De Helling
Mouth to Mouth
20:15 to 21:00 – Jenny Hval
21:40 to 22:30 – Xylouris White
23:15 to 00:00 – Sir Richard Bishop
00:30 to 01:20 – Father Murphy
02:00 to 03:00 – Prurient

Rudolf Magnus
Parquet CourtsMouth to Mouth
19:30 to 20:15 – Victor Herrero
21:00 to 21:45 – Leafcutter John
22:30 to 23:15 – Okkyung Lee

Moira
19:30 to 20:15 – Ryley Walker
20:45 to 21:30 – Plan Kruutntoone
22:00 to 22:45 – Broeder Dieleman

Rasa
21:30 to 22:45 – Ogoya Nengo & The Dodo Women’s Group
23:15 to 00:15 – Ukandaz
00:15 to 02:00 – Rebel Up

ACU
21:45 to 22:30 – Cristobal & The Sea
23:00 to 23:45 – Nouveau Vélo
00:15 to 01:00 – Thug Entrancer

SavagesGalerie Jaap Sleper
Denovali Nights
20:15 to 21:00 – Carlos Cipa
21:50 to 22:40 – John Lemke

 

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23rd

Bo NingenTivoli-Vredenburg Ronda
Mouth to Mouth
18:00 to 18:40 – Baby Dee
19:15 to 20:15 – Savages & Bo Ningen
21:05 to 22:00 – Wire
22:30 to 00:30 – Swans
01:30 to 02:30 – Autechre
02:30 to 03:30 – Funckarma (DJ set)

London’s Savages (QRO album review) teams up with Bo Ningen for their new joint record, Words To the Blind.

WireA founder of post-punk who started before there was even punk to ‘post’, Wire (QRO live review) have evolved from their early punk days in the late seventies to being some of the first to adopt electronics and synthesizers. There have been some serious hiatuses, but this century/millennium has seen them keep on strong (QRO live review), informing all about what post-punk should sound like on recent records like last year’s Change Becomes Us, 2010’s Red Barked Tree (QRO review), and 2008’s Object 47 (QRO review). They come to Le Guess Who? (QRO photos at a festival) behind the early compilation Documents & Eyewitness (QRO review).

SwansAn influential act that’s been a regular at the recent Primavera Sounds to the southwest in Iberia in both Barcelona (QRO photos at 2013 Barcelona Primavera Sound) and Oporto (QRO photos at 2013 Optimus Primavera Sound) is New York’s post-punk pioneers Swans (QRO live review). Fronted Michael Gira (QRO solo photos), Swans land in Utrecht behind this year’s To Be Kind and 2012’s The Seer (QRO review).

De Helling
21:00 to 21:45 – BRONCHO
23:30 to 00:30 – The Vaselines
01:00 to 02:00 – Cloud Nothings

The VaselinesEdinburgh’s The Vaselines (QRO photos in U.K.) were not known outside of their native Scotland until they found a high-profile fan in Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, who covered such songs of theirs as “Son of a Gun” (QRO video) on Incesticide and MTV Unplugged In New York (QRO DVD review), though it only led to a compilation of all their work in The Way of The Vaselines. But more recently the band (QRO photos) reformed & finally came to America (QRO photos in America), put out another compilation in Enter The Vaselines (QRO review) – and then the brand-spanking new Sex With an X (QRO review) & single “I Hate the 80s” (QRO video), following it up this year with V For Vaselines. And be sure to check out the cheeky Scots’ very dirty humor live (QRO live review), whether you’re a “Teenage Superstar” (QRO video) or “You Think You’re a Man” (QRO video).

Cloud NothingsYoung Dylan Baldi (QRO photos) throws back to music older than he as Cloud Nothings (QRO live review) with 2012’s Attack On Memory (QRO review) and this year’s Here and Nowhere Else (QRO review), and brings his power-pop to Le Guess Who? (QRO photos at a festival).

Tivoli-Vredenburg Pandora
19:15 to 20:00 – She Keeps Bees
20:30 to 21:20 – Sharon Van Etten
22:00 to 23:00 – Mac DeMarco

Sharon Van EttenWhile there’s a ton of stripped songstresses out there, one of the nicer ones is Sharon Van Etten (QRO photos at a festival), who evoked the sad strains of Appalachia on her debut, Because I Was In Love (QRO review), while 2011’s Epic (QRO review) made her the Brooklyn ‘it girl’ (QRO photos in New York), and 2012’s Tramp (QRO review) got her get even more acclaim – and attention (QRO photos). She’s even had a star-studded show in NYC (QRO photos), where she had special guests like Thurston Moore (QRO live review) of Sonic Youth (QRO live review) & Aaron Dessner of The National (QRO spotlight on). She comes back to Netherlands (QRO photos at a Dutch festival) behind her latest, Are We There (QRO review).

Some artists toil in obscurity for years, even decades, but Mac DeMarco (QRO photos at a festival) is only just old enough to drink, and already has his debut full-length, Mac DeMarco 2, and reputation for wild live shows (QRO photos at a festival) that brings him back to Le Guess Who? (QRO photos at a festival).

Mac DeMarco24-Hour Dronefest
00:15 to 01:10 – Tim Hecker
01:40 to 02:40 – Emptyset
03:00 to 03:45 – Open Zone/Open Drone
04:10 to 04:55 – Carla Bozulich & John Eichenseer
05:00 to 09:00 – House of Cosy Cushions

International ambient artist Tim Hecker comes to Utrecht to begins the 24-Hour Dronefest at Le Guess Who?.

Tim HeckerJanskerk
18:30 to 19:10 – Ela Stiles
19:30 to 20:30 – Hauschka
21:10 to 22:10 – A Winged Victory For the Sullen

Tivoli-Vredenburg Grote Zaal
20:15 to 21:00 – Son Lux
21:30 to 22:30 – Binkbeats

Tivoli-Vredenburg Cloud 9
23:00 to 23:45 – Homeboy Sandman
00:15 to 01:15 – Dorian Concept Trio
01:45 to 02:45 – JamesZoo live featuring Raphael Vanoli & Gideon Van Gelder
03:00 to 04:30 – Hieroglyphic Being

Juan WautersRasa
20:15 to 21:15 – Vintage Voudou (DJ set)
21:30 to 22:30 – Americao Brito
23:00 to 00:00 – Tabanka
00:00 to 02:00 – Vintage Voudou (DJ set)

Galerie Jaap Sleper
Denovali Nights
20:30 to 21:15 – Federico Albanese
22:00 to 22:50 – Sebastian Plano

Benjamin BookerEkko
Fuzzland
19:15 to 20:00 – Juan Wauters
20:30 to 21:15 – Deers
22:00 to 22:50 – Benjamin Booker
23:30 to 00:25 – Curtis Harding
01:15 to 02:00 – King Tuff
02:00 to 04:00 – traumahelikopter (DJ set)

The singer of Queens’ garage-folk The Beets (QRO photos at a festival), Juan Wauters (QRO photos at a festival) comes to Le Guess Who? behind his solo debut, N.A.P. North American Poetry.

The neo-garage of Benjamin Booker (QRO photos at a festival) isn’t that special, but is getting him attention.

King TuffKing Tuff (QRO photos at a festival) is a 1976 Camaro bathed in brown liquor and rattling with the sounds of dirtbag punk. He’s got a charisma that precedes him and 2012’s self-titled album (QRO review) to throw at you. It’s not exactly lo-fi, but he recorded it himself and sounds like something that crawled out of a garage, which is high praise indeed.

Dutch energetic garage band traumahelikopter combines lo-fi psychedelia and punk, but at home they close out Ekko with a DJ set.

traumahelikopterMoira
Fuzzland
19:00 to 19:45 – De SP Aties
20:15 to 21:00 – The Coathangers
21:30 to 22:15 – Dany & The Darleans
23:00 to 23:50 – The Intelligence
00:25 to 01:15 – Liquor Store
02:00 to 02:45 – ZZZ
03:15 to 04:00 – Chuckamuck
04:00 to 06:00 – Afterpartees (DJ set)

ACU
Fuzzland
21:15 to 22:00 – Yonatan Gat
22:30 to 23:15 – Far-Out Fangtooth
00:00 to 00:45 – The Parrots

 

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24th

tUnE-yArDsTivoli-Vredenburg Ronda
18:00 to 18:45 – Mdou Moctar
19:15 to 20:10 – tUnE-yArDs
20:40 to 21:20 – Baba Zula
21:50 to 23:10 – Selda featuring Boom Pam
23:10 to 02:00 – DJ Fitz & Grup Ses Beats

Oakland’s Merrill Garbus (QRO photos) got notice in the likes of Brooklyn (QRO photos) & Britain (QRO live review in London) as tUnE-yArDs (QRO photos outdoors), and then more and more fans behind her debut w h o k i l l (QRO review). She comes to Le Guess Who? (QRO photos at a festival) after this spring’s release of follow-up Nikki Nack (QRO review).

Owen PallettTivoli-Vredenburg Grote Zaal
17:15 to 18:05 – Owen Pallett
18:40 to 19:35 – Suuns & Jerusalem In My Heart
20:20 to 21:40 – St. Vincent

One-man instrumentalist Owen Pallett (QRO live review) has worked with acts like Arcade Fire (QRO live review), including doing the string arrangements on Funeral, Neon Bible (QRO review), The Suburbs (QRO review), and Reflektor (QRO review), but is also well known for his solo work, with 2010’s Heartland (QRO review) his biggest yet, though he had to drop the moniker of ‘Final Fantasy’ for legal reasons (QRO photos under that name at a festival). Just him and a violin on stage, he loops it through samplers & pedals, yet has been able to fill a stage (QRO live review) even at festivals (QRO photos at a festival). Pallett comes to Le Guess Who? behind his new In Conflict.

SuunsMontreal’s Suuns (QRO photos) teams up with Jerusalem In My Heart at Le Guess Who?.

After the one-and-only Annie Clark (QRO interview) made 2007 her break-out year, both as part of The Polyphonic Spree on The Fragile Army (QRO review) and with her own debut as St. Vincent (QRO photos), Marry Me (QRO review), she followed that up with even-better years (QRO spotlight on), gracing festivals (QRO photos at a festival), charming and surprising crowds with winning humor live (QRO live review), and bringing a stable of new songs (QRO live review). Those new songs, like “Laughing With a Mouth of Blood” (QRO video) and “Actor Out of Work” (QRO video) formed into 2009’s Actor (QRO review), which vaunted her into the even bigger time (QRO photos at a festival), including playing Lincoln Center (QRO live review) and other storied concert halls (QRO photos at a festival) & venues (QRO photos at Royal Albert Hall).

St. VincentAdmittedly, 2011’s Strange Mercy (QRO review) wasn’t quite as good, but then she teamed up with the one-and-only David Byrne (QRO photos at a festival together) for 2012′s Love This Giant (QRO review), and now the holy St. Vincent (QRO photos) comes back with a vengeance this year on St. Vincent (QRO review), and an absolutely stellar live show (QRO photos in Europe), with her platinum grey hair and mannequin moves shining outdoors (QRO live review outdoors), at festivals (QRO photos at a festival) and in the Old World (QRO live review in Europe). A must-see at Le Guess Who? ‘14 (QRO photos at a festival).

Steve GunnDe Helling
18:15 to 19:00 – Steve Gunn
19:30 to 20:15 – Amen Dunes
20:45 to 21:45 – Daniel Norgren

Ekko
16:30 to 17:10 – PC Worship
17:30 to 18:15 – PCPC
18:45 to 19:30 – Crows
20:00 to 20:50 – Sleaford Mods

Sleaford ModsCatch QRO Nottingham favorites Sleaford Mods (QRO album review) at Le Guess Who? (QRO photos at a festival).

Vredenburg Leeuwenbergh
15:00 to 15:45 – Lucrecia Dalt
16:15 to 17:10 – Maarten Vos & Greg Haines
17:40 to 18:30 – Wildbirds & Peacedrums

Lucretia DaltSoft-singer Lucrecia Dalt creates an atmospheric mix of lumbering drums and drawling guitar to an atmospheric mix.

Tivoli-Vredenburg Pandora
24-Hour Dronefest
Ashraf Sharif Khan09:00 to 09:35 – Heartsnatcher
10:00 to 10:45 – Ashraf Sharif Khan
11:15 to 15:30 – The Gaudeamus Drone Experience
16:00 to 16:50 – Dirk Serries
17:20 to 18:10 – Julianna Barwick
18:40 to 19:30 – James Blackshaw
20:00 to 20:50 – Steve Hauschildt
21:20 to 22:20 – William Basinski
22:50 to 23:50 – Stephen O’Malley
silence

Julianna BarwickLouisiana born, Missouri bred, but of course now living in Brooklyn, Julianna Barwick (QRO photos at a Brooklyn festival) mixes rural choir and modern looping.

In the early evening of the Dronefest is the acoustic twelve-string guitar work of London’s James Blackshaw.

Tivoli-Vredenburg Hertz
16:00 to 16:50 – Peter Walker
17:20 to 18:10 – Jozef Van Wissem

Galerie Jaap Sleper
15:45 to 16:30 – Tsui
17:30 to 18:00 – Norberto Lobo

James BlackshawDB’s
Fuzzland
15:15 to 16:00 – The Miseries
17:15 to 18:00 – Wreckless Eric
19:15 to 20:15 – The Monsters

DB’s Room Z
Fuzzland
16:15 to 17:00 – Movie Star Junkies
18:15 to 19:00 – Thee Oops

 

 

For festival website, go here: http://leguesswho.nl/

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