Fuck websites!
we're on
FACEBOOK.
Woehoe, The Apemen still
exist! This was my very first thought when i noticed the poster
announcing their concert at the VUB. It always was pretty unclear
if they had split up or not. I never saw the Apemen live before,
but from what I've heard from other people and from what their
records suggest, they're a wild fuckin' bunch of talented punksurfers!
And yes indeed ... this gig was clear proof!>Arriving at 9.30 in this
dark bunker at the VUB campus, that most of the time is used
for stupid student activities such as 'cantussen' and 'thé
dansants', people were only just preparing the lights and PA
for the concert. Even then i got a slight impression that most
students from Brussels sleep between 8.00 AM and 5.00 PM and
go out at 0.00. At 11.00 the support act got on stage, and i
really can't remember much from their show (not even their name
pops in mind, i think it had three words in it). They played
some kind of simple and loud crossover with real stupid breaks
and samples. When they announced their last song, they finally
got some applause!Some people already getting
nervous and some a bit drunk on the cheap but type of 'rioolwater'
beer, the bar was serving, finally at 0.00 the Apemen entered
the stage. They didn't wear their legendary ape masks, but instead
were identically dressed with ballroom outfits. From the first
minute on, you could feel the electricity in the air. I can't
remember the song they started with, but they played for about
an hour, their first encore dured half an hour and their second
a quarter of an hour, and all of the songs were brilliant! Toronado,
Surf Dracula, Shake Your Hoover, Baha-ree-ba, De Wip, Cor Steijn
Rides The Wild, their Spanish version of The Trashmen's King
Of Surf... and many many others. At a certain point Don Porro
and Dr. Private even were playing their guitars on top of the
bar in the back of the club. This was a very huge and successful
'surffeest' with almost everyone dancing to these delicious tunes. The Apemen's sound is incredible. Mike Rosema plays his drums
real fast and messy, and there seems to be a lot of noise and
fuzz on the guitars, but the songs always end up melodic. The
real surprise however is the way Appie Happy Organ plays his
instrument. This guy must be the best organ player in the genre! At 1.45 the Apemen finally ended their set, and we immediately
departed to Antwerp because some of us had to go to work the
next day. We lost our way in Brussels, but we didn't mind that
much. At 2.30 we hit our beds and dreamed intensely about surfboards
and real punkrock!