Long Weekend Roundup (10.23 - 10.26)

Thursdayiamyank, Manoya, Wattican Punk Ballet @ G3, 20:00.
Three really different bands, meaning very different live experiences and musical genres from ethno-freak-punk-rock to trap, hip-hop and downtempo.

We are not sure, that the Pope would dance to Wattican Punk Ballet, but we would encourage everyone else to do so. Gayane and Karen Arutyunyant (both ex-Deti Picasso) mix the Tiger Lilies-like theatricality with their very own freak-dance-punk style. Dance rock, funky disco dance, energy, Guy Fawkes masks. We think that Bertolt Brecht would like it.

Manoya is Enikő Hódosi, who you should know from bands like Occam, Neo or Underground Divas.
On her albums, folk, experimental electronica, soul and noise whirls in a sensual, melancholic way - but the personality (and positivity) of Enikő always shines through. Iamyank is an up-and-coming Hungarian producer, who is into big city melancholy, moody electronica, post-dubstep and genres like that.Saul Conrad, Fancy Dress Party @ Hátsó Kapu, 20:00.
A talented singer-songwriter, sparse chamber folk and intimate lyrics about our deepest and most intimate thoughts.

Saul Conrad is what Xiu Xiu would be if they had grown up listening to the folk music of Boston. And just like them, Saul Conrad is an unconventional songwriter too. While his basic specs as a musician aren't unique (his touring band is just him and his guitar plus an additional vocalist), it doesn't take a lot of listening to realize that he's different. You won't hear a lot of rhymes in his lyrics, for one thing, and if you like to cling to hooks and repeated choruses, well, you're out of luck. But his songs are still full of stripped-back folk gems with a country bent and deeply personal lyrics. Something you won't see or hear every day and perfect if you have a hangover because of the alcohol you consumed on the eve of October 23.

Poster Urban Outfit 10th Birthday Bash: Groove Chronicles - Noodles @ Toldi, 23:00.
For a long time Groove Chronicles were responsible for creating some of the finest garage music ever set to wax, pushing the 2-step sound and bringing darker shades of colour to the fledgling genres' palette. For the tenth birthday party of the hippest clothes shop in Budapest, one half of the duo, Noodles, will hold a masterclass in UK garage and 2step.

Both as a duo and individually, both artists (El-B and Noodles) have produced and released some of best UK garage music around. After they broke up, Noodles started his very own label, DPR and helped Zed Bias and Steve Gurley release their revolutionary music. When he is behind the decks, he plays his own hybrid sound incorporating elements of 2step, soulful house, r&b, jungle, and breakbeats, on top of bottom-heavy bass lines. Many DJs prefer to spin their own music, but that isn't something that should bother us in the case of this 2step-legend: anthems like Stone Cold or Angel Body still blast out from the speakers with such an energy that it could be the mid-90s again.Farbwechsel Jam Session @ Lärm, 23:00.
Synthetisers we would make sweet love to - and by "making love" we mean playing acid house, Detroit techno, vaporwave, krautrock-electro and a lot more. This night will surely melt your brain.

Farbwechsel is currently the hottest Hungarian label, that specialises in opium-house, wretched acid-techno and other underground styles. All of the members are die-hard fans of synthetisters, and they are especially drawn towards analogue ones and all the beautiful, weird and mesmerising sounds they can produce. However, this will be the first night they jam as a Farbwechsel Synthcestra, so we have no idea how this musical journey will end.

Wedding Acid Group presents visceral, playful and hypnotic live acid from Újpest, one of Budapest's working class districts. WAG's unforgattable performances are pure synthfetishist joy: they transform the dance floor into playground. Wedding Acid Group is the trio of Keresztes Lóri, Balla Zoli and Leidal András, their debut cassette was released by the capital's leading new school electronic music label, Farbwechsel.FridayMáté Mészáros: Hinoki @ Trafó, 20:00.
Destruction, re-creation, never giving up. Máté Mészáros transforms these terms into body movement and a special play, peeling you to the core.

The play of Máté Mészáros, the latest member of the Belgian Ultima Vez company led by Wim Vandekeybus, focuses on the trinity of mortality, destruction and re-created realities. As his partner, he's chosen Hungarian dance artists who've either studied in foreign dance institutes or who are currently working abroad. A special constellation and a challenge for dancer and artist alike.Dansmusiq Presents: Gilb'R @ Toldi, 22:00.
Gilb'R is a man of many projects: Versatile Records label boss, half of Chateau Flight with I:Cube, producer of The Big Crunch Theory with Lisa Li Lund, member of Aladdin with Nicolas Ker, rising solo producer and encyclopaedic DJ.

When someone sticks with a certain kind of activity through its highs and lows for the most part of his life, you can definitely call it a passion. With Gilbert Cohen alias Gilb’R, you might even have to speak of a calling. From his days as a musical programmer and DJ for the legendary Parisian station Radio Nova, to his productions, remixes and partnership with I:Cube as Chateau Flight and maybe most importantly with Versatile Records. Continuously playing versatile DJ sets from Brooklyn to Budapest and back again, you can catch him playing heavy techno and house sets as often as free-spirited dance music affairs, and if the vibe and place is right, all of it thrown together in one melting pot. According to music journalist wisdom, Gilb’r is simply what they call a DJ’s DJ.Elvis Costello Solo In Concert @ MüPa - Palace Of Arts, 19:30.
Elvis Costello has followed his musical curiosity in a career spanning more than 28 years. He is perhaps best known for his performances with The Attractions, The Imposters and for concert appearances with pianist Steve Nieve.

Looking back at his 40-year career so far, it is no coincidence that Elvis Costello is regarded as one of the most influential performers and songwriters of recent decades. His provocative attitude and debut album linked him to England's punk rock movement, but with his backing band The Attractions - and in collaboration with other performers - he has also made important contributions in the genres of pub rock, ska, country, pop, soul, jazz and hip-hop. To date, he has released more than 30 albums, and has worked with big names such as Paul McCartney, Bill Frisell, Burt Bacharach and The Roots.Cid Rim, Mongoose, Aafro @ A38 Ship, 23:00.
Sophisticated electronics with a free-jazz twist. The drummer of The Clonius and one of the most talented producers hailing from Vienna,

Clemens Bacher comes to get you prepared for Dorian Conrian Concept Trio's concert in December. (He is banging the drums in the band.)

Starting out behind the drums of Vienna’s JSBL, Cid Rim has been playing with The Clonius and Dorian Concept, keeping him constantly exposed to hip hop varieties and electronic sounds that challenge his deeply ingrained socialisation with 70s funk and free-jazz. His own music has taken some remarkable twists and turns, deeply indebted to the love of the classic drum break yet unafraid to venture into de-programmed beats and shifting chords. Always exploring new sonic gates while keeping the sound in the community, Cid Rim first released on Affine Records, before signing with Glasgow/London’s LuckyMe for his self-titled debut album and follow up EP Mute City.

SaturdayHelmet - Betty 20th Anniversary Tour @ Dürer-kert, 19:00.
Page Hamilton's band celebrates the twentieth anniversary of their classic album, Betty, with a special tour when they play the full album and some other classics. Being one of the heaviest bands on Earth, they will surely crush your skull.

Billed as the “thinking man’s metal band,” Helmet provided an alternative to the grunge bands coming out of the US at the time with their clean cut aesthetic and raw, unrelenting, propulsive sound. Betty came on the trails of the band’s first mainstream success, 1992’s Meantime. The cut “Milquetoast” became a music video staple on MTV and the album was critically praised for its genre-defying exploration into jazz, blues and improvisation. As music writer Darrell Bassett wrote upon the album’s release: “the thump and grind of Betty fully reflects the seemingly meaningless forces that shape our hi-tech existences, the inner pressure that waxes and wanes as life’s pace explodes exponentially and its occasional moments of grace. Betty is a surprising album, one which grows as it unfolds its subtleties.” A prophetic statement if ever there was one.

The Robert Cray Band, Ripoff Raskolnikov @ Akvárium, 19:30.


Whether he’s playing straight-up house-rocking blues or pouring a heartfelt ballad into your ears, you can already know after a second, that it is Robert Cray behind the guitar and the mic. The iconic musician of the modern blues scene will play his unique blend of soul, gospel, Americana blues and funk in Budapest for the first time.

With five Grammy Awards, 15 nominations, thousands of sold-out performances and millions of record sales worldwide, blues-rock icon Robert Cray is considered by many music critics to be one of the greatest guitarists of his generation. In the April 2011 issue, Rolling Stone credits Cray with reinventing blues with the release of the album Strong Persuader in 1986: “…distinct razor sharp guitar playing that introduced a new generation of mainstream rock fans to the language and form of the blues”. Since then he has gone on to record 15 Billboard charting studio albums and has written or performed with such artists as Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan and John Lee Hooker. Cray is one of the youngest living legends to be inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.ANEZ - Listen Closely album launch concert, the boy and the tele, DJ Legars @ Kontra Club, 22:00.
Anez is a Hungarian electronic duo, transforming Björk's dreams into music. Ethereal electronic soundscapes, Björk-like vocal, collaborations with poets (an album together with Karafiáth Orsolya), and dub.

Anez will present his second album, Listen Closely, which was inspired by metropolises like Tokyo or Madrid. It's like a collage of feelings, pictures, vibes and memories that we connect to big cities and the people living there. You get the feeling you've heard these songs before, but actually this is the first time you'll hear these fragile gems. Afterwards, a Hungarian singer-songwriter who follows in the footsteps of Elliot Smith and the likes, and DJ Legars will play.Claudia B @ PRLMNT, 22:00.
When it comes to techno and house, there is no DJ like Claudia B - her deep and hypnotic sets are unique in every sense and she looks beautiful behind the decks too.

Claudia Bayer aka Claudia B is one of the most talented Hungarian DJs, and his DJ sets are legendary - deep, hypnotic, full of the freshest house and techno cuts and well-known classics that makes the speakers explode. But the aformentioned things doesn't mean that our beloved DJ likes to play it safe, no! She's always up for new styles, interesting selections and extraordinary releases. So it's safe to say that this will be a memorable set!SundayLay-Up! - Alpár (Live), Swain, Atomik @ RoHAM Bar, 19:00.
Some late-afternoon dubtechno, ambient and synth jams with one of the founders (Alpár) of the aformentioned Farbwechsel label and his friends.

Kosmische musik for afternoon chill: don't dance but sit down on a sofa and let the music take you to a whole new galaxy - the soundtrack will be made of deep house, pulsing dubtechno, acid and ambient. Your ears will surely love it and let's not forget that every Lay-Up! comes with real eyecandy visuals. A laid-back way to spend the last day of the week.Accept - Blind Rage Over Europe @ Petőfi Music Hall, 19:00.
One of the biggest European heavy metal acts, Accept, is coming to Budapest to celebrate the release of their fourteenth studio album, Blind Rage with the Hungarian metallers.

The Germanic Gods of heavy metal return with another soon-to-be-classic slab of Teutonic terror! With a new vocalist (Mark Tornillo) comes new power, and that seems to be perfectly true to the German legends: Blind Rage is their third album in five years!

The band’s creative streak has delivered a thunderstorm of riffs, only one Wolf Hoffmann is able to set aflame.

The sound couldn’t be better: homogenous and authentic, dynamic yet versatile. So, everything is together for a real oldschool heavy-metal night - don't miss this chance to rock out!Rotten Roots, Leftovers @ RoHAM Bar, 20:00.
One of the most promising Hungarian garage rock bands will kick out the jams on a merry Sunday night for your head-banging pleasure. Before them, Leftovers will ask you the question: how about some rock and roll?

A little bit of this-and-that: The Mars Volta, At The Drive-In, The Killers, the last two or three albums of Arctic Monkeys and many rock and roll bands of the 60s and 70s like The Velvet Underground. If you blend these things together, turn up the volume and make this noisy, you get Rotten Roots. As you can see, they have everything that it takes for a rock and roll band to be exciting and fun: hammering drums, British accents, volume and even a bit of rapping (thank God they are far from being nu-metal). Sometimes they get noisy, sometimes melodic, but at the core, it's the good ol' rock and roll that everybody likes.