On Friday, I managed to go back to one of my favourite ever venues after a 2-year abscence. Kafe Kult is an allround awesome place - cheap beer, slightly off decoration and DIY through and through. The fact that it's a bit of a mission to get to only adds to the community feel - you have to care enough to venture out there, but the few times I've been it was packed anyway.
I was mainly there for Trip Fontaine, and fuck, they were well worth falling asleep on the bus home for. They play a really well-balanced and well-informed mix of classic Emo, 90s Alternative and Post-Rock. That reads like a really dull and conservative combination, but Trip Fontaine (yes, named after a character in that film I still can't decide whether I like it or not) are aware that those genres are often beset by a lack of humour and melody, and infuse it with plenty of both. As a massive fanboy of Mario Basler, hearing a song named after him is pretty sweet - especially when it sounds like a more mellow Dismemberment Plan.
Live, they do that thing of switching instruments around between the members, which again I can't decide whether it's showing off or kinda cool, but I guess it helps to illustrate that they all know their shit. They're on a fairly extensive tour of Germany right now, but alas no UK dates. For shame.
Photo credit: Redfield Records
