Bands: Heavy Feather – Riot in the Attic
Date: 05/09/19
Location: Steinbruch, Duisburg
Promoter: KL Concerts + Promotion
Do you know these days – you’re sitting on your couch, listening to your inner voice to get to know what is missing. Often, it’s just a mug of coffee, food or maybe a beer. Yesterday, though, I was in need of some live music. So I checked on the internet what was going on and the computer told me… not that much – but in a location not that far from home, a concert of a Swedish band playing some 70s retro rock supported by a local act which plays a mixture of Grunge, Stoner- and Hard Rock was planned.
To be honest, I never heard of one of these bands before, but this does not scare me off. Price was at 14€, if I go to the cinema I pay the same, and if the movie sucks I leave… It’s the same here. No expectation, let’s see, what these bands got. My evening started with a long relaxing shower, a little too long, because I missed my bus… hence I needed to walk to the location, nearly 4 km, and I did it in nearly one hour, including a stop for buying two beers.
I was right on time. Bought another beer in the Steinbruch, and got a seat between the front of stage and the merch. Three guys entered the stage, drums, bass and a guitar, of course, while the guitarist was the main singer as well. These guys are Riot in the Attic from Cologne. They gave us a diversified show, with some real hard-hitting tracks, and other ones with more melody. I think their self-description fits very well, I needed to think of Soundgarden‘s Black Hole Sun for example, which triggers a similar feeling. Somehow I can hear a little Guns’n’Roses in their music as well, especially on their record from 2017 Under The Sun to which I am currently listening to while writing. I feel a little sorry for the band because I think that they were a little to “hard” for the audience. There were a few who couldn’t handle them, exactly the same people who were nearly stunned as the band played “Don’t Let Me Down” by The Beatles. They even forgot the lyrics, from a great song by a great band that some of them might have even seen live once… Yeah, I want to say, that it was a quiet, old audience, Nonetheless Riot in the Attic gave their best, and really had some fun on stage. Nice guys!
20 minutes later Heavy Feather entered the stage, looking very 70s, but still not costumed. That’s fine for me. Okay, guitar, bass, drums, and a blonde female front singer… This constellation reminds me, of course, of the Blues Pills. The are a lot similarities in the music, but the biggest difference is the singer herself. Lisa Lystam, the voice of the Feathers, uses her voice more in the style of Janis Joplin for example. She can sound loud with her natural distortion during refrains and other important parts, but often she uses the more spoken-like style of singing, which is, in my opinion, characteristic for Janis Joplin. Pill’s Elin is a great singer as well, but she uses a totally different style. So Heavy Feather aren’t just a Pills copy… This is very important to me here!!! During the show Lisa told us that the show in Duisburg is their first show of their little tour, as well as their first show ever in Germany. That made it something special somehow, I think, not just for the band, but for the audience as well. From that moment on, the audience woke up a little, what was really great for the feeling in the room.
The band played their whole 2019 album “Débris & Rubble” as well as some covers and a completely new song, which was a really great one. It was called “Lovely, Lovely, Lovely” and used this Joplin-Style even more than the songs on the album. Liked that very much. It was a really great show and exactly what I hoped for: Some great music, some beer, and I went home with two new CDs. Thanks to both bands for this nice evening!
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