deaf by the deaf

Crossing border 2010 started with concerts of three bands, which were to represent The Hague at
SXSW (South by Southwest) festival in Austin, Texas in march.

The deaf were on this blog before
http://findmypicture.blogspot.com/2010/04/new-york-dolls.html

Spike van Zoest (gitaar & zang), Janneke Nijhuis (bas & zang) en Kit Carrera (drums) richtten in 2007 The Deaf op. Het doel? De beat terugbrengen in Den Haag. En dat lukt. Niet alleen onze eigen beatstad maar heel Nederland wordt getrakteerd op vuige rock, overgoten met een dosis garage punk en rock-’n-roll. Met een nieuw bandlid (Maurizio Pinna, toetsen) en de eerste cd op komst zijn ze klaar voor de doorbraak.

Het is je vergeven als je een voor de hand liggende, zij het oppervlakkige vergelijking maakt met Anouk wanneer je frontvrouw Suzanne Ypma aan het werk ziet.

Kijk beter en je ziet dat deze band veel meer te bieden heeft dan de krachtige vocalen van een blonde vamp. Pitch Blond zet live een ijzersterke performance neer.

Ypma leidt de band op een persoonlijke en enthousiaste manier en tussen basgitarist Vincent van Haperen en drummer Jim Geurts stuitert de energie heen en weer.

Muzikale apen.Samen opgegroeid.Spelen met elkaar.Natuurlijk.Een muzikale viering van vrienden.Op het podium.Samen opgegroeid.

In het moment.Ongeforceerd.Eigen.Een dynamisch ritueel.Toegankelijk.Positieve energie.Songs.Voodoo drums.Blues.Grooves.Rock.Riffs.Organisch.Modern.

The dutch citations are from crossing borders website

We are here because of all the madness in the world....

Music with a message..... Nneka in the Paard, 10.11.10

Nneka gave a concert in the paard in memoriam of Nigerian activist Ken Saro-Wiwa who was hanged by the Nigerian government for his campaign against the conduct the big oil multies in the Niger Delta.  
http://www.cleanthenigerdelta.org/

Nneka Egbuna (born 24 December 1981) is the daughter of an Anambra state-Igbo Nigerian father and a German mother. She was born and raised in the Delta region of Nigeria, and went to the primary school of the Delta Steel Company, then the secondary school at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. After relocating to Hamburg, Germany, at the age of 18, she pursued a career in singing alongside a degree in Anthropology. She now divides her time between Nigeria and Hamburg. She sings in both English and Igbo.

Her lyrics reflect much of her history and life in Nigeria as well as her time spent in Western Europe. Her songs stress the issues of capitalism, poverty and war and are often loaded with moral and biblical messages and references

This was obviously not very well understood by the audience of the Paard in the Hague, who did not show big interest in any third world problems in general or the environmental catastrophy created by the big oil companies in the Niger Delta. Sometimes they were so loud that it was even difficult to hear Nneka if you were standing in front of the stage   

I did not understand why she calls herself a hiphop singer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-eUlEKsWLc