Ulrich Schnauss released one of the more textured albums of 2007 with "Goodbye". I had my concert calendar circled for a long time when I found out he was playing the Detroit Bar. I thought I could catch the Shins at the Greek theatre and make it back to the Detroit Bar in time but cancelled those plans when I found out Film School would be opening.
It is no secret that I like Film School. After seeing them destroy Spaceland and ignore noise ordinances at Fingerprints, I was ready for another dose of textured guitars and swirling keyboards. The icy cinematic keyboards of "Garrison" filled the Detroit Bar as Film School took the stage. Film School wasted no time as they launched into the hypnotic "Compare". Dave Dupuis (Guitars) made his guitar sound like a hovering helicopter as James Smith (Drums) furiously propelled "Sick Hipster Nursed By Suicide Girl" which ended with a extended blast of feedback. Greg Bertens (Vocals/Guitars) showed his sense of humor by taking off his jacket to display his Germany shirt as a tribute to Ulrich Schnauss. "Two Kinds" was next and Jason Ruck (Keyboards) dialed up a soothing synth strings patch as Lorelei Plotczyk (Bass) launched into the grooving bass line. They played a large selection of songs off their outstanding second album "Hideout" along with "Sick Of Shame" and "Deep Lake". They are currently on the road now and you can read their blog here.
Ulrich Schnauss falls into the category of you have to experience it in order to fully appreciate it. I could tell you how mind altering this show was but you really had to be there. Ulrich Schnauss combined the musical elements of M83, My Bloody Valentine, Asobi Sesku and Kraftwerk for a night of sheer ear bliss. Ulrich had his Apple laptop setup with Ableton Live 6 running as he triggered loops and stacked dense keyboard samples on top of each other. It was ironic to see a Dave Smith Evolver rack unit in his setup since I bumped into Dave Smith the day before at the Download Festival. Behind Ulrich was a projection screen with various visuals that complemented the music well. If their was an album that was meant for headphones, it would definitely be Ulrich's latest release on Domino records "Goodbye". When Ulrich comes back for another tour, do not miss his show.
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