mercredi 10 Sep 2008, 16h13m

Tue 9 Sep – My Kappa Roots & Charles Frail. Sub071, Leiden.

As Coach Bertels cycled from the lab to his cube, Valerie sang the nicest tunes.
On his doorstep Bertels gently removed the note that should have informed the guy who checks the block heating meters. Did the simple message on a piece of paper do its magic? There’s just one way to find out…. Waiting for what lies ahead. In the meanwhile Bertels starts his routine by powering up his PC, radio and ceiling fan. The balcony door is opened and a fresh beer will never ever return to the fridge again. Sitting in his media chair, Coach Bertels controls himself via a vast network of communities and false promises to those who want to hear. Tring! The doorbell rings twice… (has nothing to do with Guru Seb) Must be the meter guy demanding access to the little gauges hidden in bedroom and living room. And indeed it is the meter guy, rushing in laser guided, straight to his precious meters and out on the streets again. Not at all amazed by the mess in Bertels cube, or the three nude hot ladies on the couch performing Bertai. This guy must have seen stuff beyond the imaginary, has no fear for black holes, no desire to understand the Large Hadron Collider, no goose skin to scratch: he has become a trespasser in Bertels world!!
With utility needs settled and dismissing the girls by closing the tab, Coach is ready for the search. The search for the perfect speaker grille. Last weekend the limo was almost wrecked in an attempt to get a grip on the rear deck in order to mount some serious speakers underneath it. For that simple job, the entire backseat had to be dismantled in 5 parts. It looked like a narcotic search in some eerie country. But in the end the damn deck was out of the automobile and rectangular openings were cut out. After mounting, installing and testing the system, everything was placed back again. It was at this point that two huge holes could be seen in the rear deck from the outside, and it occurred to Bertels that ethics were at stake. To prevent further image damage, some surround speakers with the right measurements were selected online and had to be bought right away in a so called old fashion “street deal”, in which two parties meet and transfer goods for money. Destination: Alphen. Within two hours Coach Bertels returned to his cube and found his tummy roaring. After the burger he left for The Black Tower for two nice independent sing and songwriter performances. As usual the gates were closed from the inside, so the secret door-light had to be used to get in. It struck Bertels by surprise to see the Sub in an empty state. Only Dickies, Leon and Dread were there to welcome the Coach and provide him with the necessary beers. The stage had to be rearranged for better video contrast, so a lamp was positioned on a stool.. Problem solved.
Dickies became a bit uneasy based on the not yet gathered crowd and decided to trust on Leon’s advertisement skills, resulting in pieces of paper with clues to a concert near Central Station. Still not at ease he took a broom and wiped the floor clean from cigarette butts and beer bottle caps. Bertels was informed that next Thursday is gonna be insane, as too much people want to witness the We vs Death and Moi le Voisin show. So Bertels will be there well on time! The cleaning had effect as a dozen people showed up. And halfway the night that number was well doubled. Unfortunately Roy Santiago had to cancel his show due to illness. Luckilly another quitarman was found as a proper replacement. Charles Frail has a high trembling voice with build in reverb, like a really old lady imitating a theremin device. Perhaps his show was one of a few, based on nerve scan and stiffness readouts. The music was tiny, the singing creepy and the lyrics unhearable. Actually a whole new fresh aproach ;-) My Kappa Roots had a better (Scottish?) theory on this: let the guitar speak, apply simple words to the air and act loose by drinking a bottle of rosé wine. Good act, fine atmosphere. After the performances Bertels decided to buy CD’s from both artists. Charles had a home made EP on CD, personolised with a piece of cloth sewed into a sleef or CD container with little buttons on it. Real cute! The Scotchman had a full album for sale showing the remains of the legendary Dodo and the tiny bone that’s missing from it. In the afterchatter a bright advertisement idea came up to promote the Sub. Another great night at the Black Tower!