Club: Red 7
Address: 611 E. Seventh
Date: Saturday, March 18
Showtime: 9:00 p.m.
There's this strange thing about real top bands. They are going round in this invisible circle. Then they're 'in', and then they're 'out, and then they're 'in' again. And so on, it's sheer magic! Most of the time there's a three-year period between being hip and un-cool. Look at the careers of the Stones for instance or Van the Man and Neil Young to proof our point. Okay, it's official rock science now. In the Netherlands 'pure-pop-for-now-people' band Racoon is living proof of this theory. At the time of its recording debut on a sampler among lots of singer/songwriters (Characters, 1997), Racoon was tipped as a hot and upcoming duo. This state of hipness was taken to the next level with the official debut album Till Monkeys Fly in 2000, now as a full band. The hit single Feel Like Flying became an instant radio classic, which it still is.
In 2001 with the release of second album Here We Go, Stereo the Racoon train to success more or less abruptly stopped. It culminated in being deleted from the roster of its previous (major) label. 'Bye, bye trendy geezers, it's over now. You can go back to your daytime jobs.' But look what happened: snatched up by indie PIAS, the band is back in the spotlight with the release of Another Day in 2005. And what a comeback it is! Again produced by former Urban Dance Squad drummer Michel Schoots, the album serves as a jukebox full of hits.
Semi-acoustic pop ballad with a folky edge Love You More ended up at number 4 in the year-end singles chart. Released as a so-called Dual Disc with an audio side and a DVD side, featuring the videos of all three singles taken off the CD. As an added bonus, these videos together made up a short movie of about 15 minutes. It was premiered at the Dutch film festival in Utrecht. It was followed by a 40-minute acoustic set in a local cinema. The current status of the album at home is platinum, acknowledging sales in excess of 70.000 copies. So far for the albums, you should check them out on stage. That's where singer Bart Van Der Weide's showman talents work best. He's the king of true interactivity. At home the band, consisting of skilled musicians pulls in large crowds. Small wonder: they're hip again.
BAND INFO
contact: Inge De Bruyn / Gentlemanagement
phone: +32 9 234 1400
cell: +32 4 7768 6305
e-mail: inge@gentlemanagement.be
website: www.racoon.nl