author: Guy
DEXTER JONES’ CIRCUS ORCHESTRA (swe) / HYPNOS 69 (b) in Sojo, January 15th
CONCERT REVIEW
It felt good to see so many people had turned up to watch Hypnos 69 deliver their first true headlining
concert at the Sojo. And of course, with three full-lengths and two ten inches out, it’s about time, too. As
far as the jam-based prog/stoner/psych-thing goes, this is as good as it gets in our little country and with
the release of their third (and best) album, the expectations were certainly immensely high. Fortunately,
these guys have been around for a while (a decade, in fact), have dealt with their share of the reality of
being a rock ‘n’ roll band and gradually became a live force that’s stimulated by its own performances. With a
determination to once again prove their stature as retro-rockers par excellence, they ascended the
stage, only to step off of it two hours later, sweaty, worn-out and revered by an audience that would eat
of their hands if they’d gotten the opportunity. While the focus lay on their recent offering, The Intrigue
of Perception, the band also revisited their other two albums. Even though I stated that Intrigue
is their best one yet (their most consistent, best-sounding and original), the material from Timeline
Traveller and Promise of a New Moon surely didn’t disappoint either. When the band kicked off with
“The Endless Void,” I thought for a minute that the ceiling was gonna come down, as their soundman intended
to create the best combination possible of loudness and clear sound for full impact. And indeed, songs like
“The Endless Void,” which get their strength and dynamics from the alternation of soft/loud parts should
be turned up loud. Singer/guitar player Steve jerked his guitar back and forth, squeezing out delirious riffs
and solos, drummer Dave and bass player Tom once again proved to be a combination of power and
precision, while sax/mellotron-player Steven Marx added his impressive antics to the set and occasionally
even stole the show by honking, squeaking and blowing lines as mesmerizing as Steve’s advanced guitar style.
After a hard-rocking start, the guys sought out an alternation of exciting energy bursts and atmospherics.
Of course, with the extended nature of many of their songs, you weren’t in for the immediate gratification
of DJCO’s set, but it became clear very soon that most people in the audience knew exactly what to
expect and knew the songs by heart. Hypnos 69 have found their audience and it seems to expand by each
concert, which is promising. Anyway, another highlight in the set was the hard-rockin’ “Twisting the Knife,”
probably the most traditional song on their latest album, but exactly the kind of stuff that ensures the set
doesn’t lose its momentum if they’d decide to let the muse of jammin’ take over for a while. Even better was
their cover of King Crimson’s awesome two-parted epic “Starless.” While Marx’ mellotron-parts and Steve’s
almost unreal guitar tone managed to evoke the atmosphere of the original’s first half, the performances by
the rhythm section where equally amazing, certainly when the first part (with vocals) transformed into the
angular second part with its spastic bass lines, awkward drum rhythms and increasingly seething guitar parts.
It takes gusto and talent to pull off something like this and I really wonder how many Belgian could deliver
a result with such a degree of credibility and magnitude. Pretty amazing. The set then continued with
Promise’s highlight, “Burning Ambition,” which perhaps would’ve been even more amazing if they’d
cut down the calm middle part a bit and let the scorching riff the songs begins and ends with do the dirty
work. Next up: the ferocious frenzy of “N.O. Mustang,” and “Third Nature” - simply the prettiest song
they’ve ever come up with – which guided them to the end of their set. The encore (well yeah, what else did
you think?) had the band turn op the intensity another notch, with an energetic version of “Good Sinner –
Bad Saint” (with funky guitar solo) and the massive rumbling of “Voodoo Dancer,” delivered at a crushing
volume level. Because I’ve seen this band play several performances over the past year, they didn’t really
surprise me anymore, but in their case, that’s a good thing. Hypnos 69 always delivers. They are
extremely gifted musicians with a passion for playing music and giving their 100% on stage. Again, their
fondness of epic lengths might some time getting used to, but if the audience on that particular night
freaked out en masse, it can’t be that hard to get into. They’re more focused, confident, sharper
and, yes, better than ever and that implies their shows are as good as the retro-thing gets in Belgium.
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Even though the last few Orange Factory-concerts at the Sojo weren’t exactly delivered by the most
compromising bands out there (whether it’s the psychedelic jam-rock of Los Natas and Colour Haze, the
doom-metal of Place of Skulls or the ridiculously heavy sludge of spacedoom-sorcerers Ufomammut), there’s
sometimes a band with a much lighter and accessible approach that fits in equally well. Last year also brought
us Orquesta del Desierto and Brant Bjork & the Bros, for instance, and while Dexter Jones’ Circus Orchestra
might lack the exotic flavour of the Desert Orchestra or the lazy pothead-groove of BB & The Bros, it
would’ve been a blast to see those three bands on the same bill, as they all share a love for laidback
seventies rock, melodies reminiscent from a time when it actually mattered and yeah, that carefree vibe
that makes you proclaim their music is the summer soundtrack. Even in January. Although the band seems
centred around bass player/vocalist Tia (the real Dexter Jones was only the manager of a previous band),
the “orchestra”-part is derived from the fact that the band played with no less than FOUR guitarists, one of
which occasionally switched to keyboards. Still, despite all these strings and amplifiers, the band’s music
never descended into a murky wall of sound. No plodding grooves and decibel-torture from these guys, but
finely crafted rock instead. There are hints of 60’s psychedelica, of ‘70’s blues-rock and perhaps even of
Southern-rock, but essentially, this is a straightforward rock band with concise song structures and choruses
that are often catchy as hell. Initially, the band’s sound didn’t live up to the striking image of 5 people
standing in a row, but gradually it became better, different players became discernible and everything started
to flow. Even though their website suggests they only played about two dozen shows before they arrived at the
Sojo, they already had the confidence (not the self-satisfaction) that’s required to charm a venue of
acid rock buffs. The band tore through most of their debut album, including the irresistible single “The
Losers Are Back in Town,” the bluesy “Fools in the Band,” the fuzzy guitar blanket of “And God’s Laughing,”
“Infected Grounds” with its rumbling percussion, the playful “A Farewell to the Rotten Pack,” and I could go
on and on. DJCO is a band that has a sound of their own, but also songs that are strong enough to prevent
the set from descending into monotony. The band also played some new material (“We Don’t Care” is one, if
I remember well) that sounded as good as the material from their debut. Dexter Jones’ Circus Orchestra is
not the kind of band that’ll give you the “WOW”-sensation, because they probably sound too conventional
for that, but the good thing is that they do this traditional style of rock with intelligence, impressive
songwriting chops and a fresh approach that makes ‘em instantly likeable. If you appreciate a combination of
warm guitar tones and appealing melodies and are on the lookout for that “Hey, I didn’t know they still made
records like this!”-feeling, you might like ‘em plenty, just like me.