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Posted in music | pictures on July 16, 2008
Dungen @ (le) poisson rouge, NYC - pics
words by Klaus Kinski, photos by Ryan Muir
Ever since a friend of mine played me the Dungen tune "Panda", the band pretty much immediately skyrocketed to the top of my list of bands whose records I will buy as soon as they shuffle off the presses and whose live shows I will catch when I can. I missed them when they were here for Siren, but saw them at Maxwell's back in July 2005, then again at Bowery in October 2005. I haven't seen them since that October 2005 gig, so when their intimate Le Poisson Rouge show was announced, I knew I had to be there, and was lucky enough to get a ticket.
I actually dug the vibe of the Dungen show more than I liked the performance itself (July 15, 2008). The room was teeny-tiny, comfortable, and sparsely attended. You could stand anywhere in the room and not be more than 10 feet from Gustav Ejstes (the brains, piano, vocals, guitar) and drummer Johan Holmegard (who sang back-up too). The event started as a listening party where they played the new record over the house system. The tracks I heard from the new record were, upon first listen, 80% compelling stuff and 20% throw away rehash. Definitely an album worth buying. However, I thought the songs the guys actually played live - tunes culled from records past and present - hardly worked as unplugged jams. Some things you just cannot unplug. It was definitely a show worth witnessing, but for me hearing the songs stripped down to drums and grand piano, or drums and acoustic guitar, really fell short. I am definitely looking forward to seeing them with the full band when they roll through town in the fall.
More pictures below...
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Posted on July 16, 2008 10:07 AM
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Comments (13)
completely disagree. I love the big, full sound Dungen usually brings, but I thought these songs worked extremely well stripped down. some worked better than others, but all in all i thought it was a solid show.
Posted by Anonymous | July 16, 2008 10:49 AM
Yeah, I agree with the first commenter. I was surprised how great they sounded stripped down... and definitely can't wait to see the full band fully rock it on tour!
Posted by NewmRadio | July 16, 2008 10:52 AM
Not related to the band....are the drinks here really expensive? I saw on the drink menu on the venues website that it looks like bottle service?
Can anyone give me prices on a beer/liquor drink?
Posted by Tom | July 16, 2008 11:03 AM
they tried to charge me $7 for a draft beer...luckily the show came with a complimentary drink.
Posted by Anonymous | July 16, 2008 11:34 AM
teeny tiny room but sparsely attended?
yikes
Posted by Anonymous | July 16, 2008 12:06 PM
12:06 it was sparsely attended because very very few tickets were available.
as for the show, i sympathize with Klaus. i was hearing the full orchestration of the songs in my head along with the piano and the drum. however, i think it's important to be able to enjoy things for what they are, without constantly comparing them to what they could be.
i enjoyed the show tremendously, and am even more fired up for their rumored october/november u.s. tour! great to see the creative genius behind dungen in the flesh.
LET'S NOT FORGET: they closed with a NAS song. "whose world is this? the world is mine, the world is mine..." classic.
Posted by duh | July 16, 2008 1:08 PM
Weird Al's looking good for his age
Posted by Anonymous | July 16, 2008 1:15 PM
I was thinking Geddy Lee
Posted by Anonymous | July 16, 2008 1:24 PM
duh works at kemado
Posted by Anonymous | July 16, 2008 2:09 PM
Dung en
Posted by Anonymous | July 16, 2008 2:26 PM
2:09 is unemployed
Posted by Anonymous | July 16, 2008 3:22 PM
Dungen is great. Glad I did not go to the show though as i would have been dissapointed with the setup as described. Full on is the only way to go with this band
Posted by A Manhattan Not Brooklyn Asshole | July 16, 2008 3:35 PM
hey 2:09
i don't work at kemado, but if you can hook me with up a job there let me know! i know my post probably sounded like shilling, but i meant everything i said.
Posted by duh again | July 16, 2008 4:48 PM