On September 22nd, Brant Bjork has released the live production record entitled “Europe ’16”, which encapsulates the spirit of Woodstock as well as the gratitude that European fans show throughout live performances. There is such a difference between American crowds and European crowds at live concerts. European crowds have a sense of unity and camaraderie at live shows and intense audience participation whereas American crowds are too busy being on their damn cell phones to actually be in the moment and to enjoy the performance. “Europe ’16” captures the spirit of Woodstock in this live production.
Picture desert rock, a touch of grunge, some stoner rock, and a mix of guitar licks that combine the distorted fuzz of Jimi Hendrix with the insane soulful solos of Stevie Ray Vaughan and you get Brant Bjork. Brant Bjork is starting to make waves in the music world as they have shared the stage with Royal Thunder in the United States on previous tour. The live production album starts off with the track entitled “Buddha Time”. “Buddha Time” immediately sets the tone for the live performance as it starts off with an intense, yet sludgy jam session as daisy chains are made and a message of free love is preached about in this setting. The guitars are distorted, the rhythm section is multi layered between the bass and almost tribal thunder beat of the drums. Brant Bjork has that voice that is soulful yet is gritty as if he smoked a pack of cigarettes and drank a fifth of Jack Daniels before performing. The blues in this is absolutely lush and soulful.
“Controllers Destroyed” allows for the audience to explore another element of Brant Bjork. That element has somewhat of a stoner vibe in the beginning, by somewhat I mean a total stoner vibe, as the tempo picks up it has that desert grunge driving beat feel to it. The rhythm section once again stands out as it provides that backdrop for the music of Brant Bjork. The focus is completely on the musicianship and what I appreciate about this live production is how well its mixed and mastered. You only hear the audience when there’s an instrumental break or at the end of the song, and that tells me that the audience is completely immersed in the arrangements and musicianship of Brant Bjork.
This live production really showcases the prowess of Brant Bjork and I would venture as far to say that this is that groundbreaking live production album that will really get him noticed in a similar fashion that Peter Frampton’s live album was groundbreaking in “Frampton Comes Alive”. It really showcases the personality of the music, the appreciation of the audience that they are witnessing something truly groundbreaking and intense, and that Brant Bjork is going to be a major player in the blues rock/stoner rock genre for years to come. This album gets 10 out of 10 stars from me! Here is the track listing below. Step back in the time machine and rock out to Brant Bjork as soon as possible!
“Europe ’16” by Brant Bjork
- Buddha Time
- Controllers Destroyed
- Humble Pie
- Stakt
- The Greeheen
- Lazy Bones- Automatic Fantastic
- Stokely Up Now
- Dave’s War Dave’s Peace
- Biker No. 2
- Freaks Of Nature
- Low Desert Punk
- Let The Truth Be Known- Jumpin’ Jack Flash
Brant Bjork will be touring Europe this fall in support of this album. Check out the tour dates below.
Wednesday, September 27th- Folken in Stavanger, Norway
Thursday, September 28th- John Dee in Oslo, Norway
Friday, September 29th- Sticky Fingers in Gothenburg, Sweden
Saturday, September 30th- KB18 in Copenhagen, Denmark
Sunday, October 1st- Logo in Hamburg, Germany
Monday, October 2nd- UT Connewitz in Leipzig, Germany
Tuesday, October 3rd- Forum in Bielefeld, Germany
Wednesday, October 4th- Melweg in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Thursday, October 5th- Effenaar in Eindhoven, Netherlands
Friday, October 6th- Up In Smoke in PratteIn, Switzerland
Saturday, October 7th- Colossal in Aschaffenburg, Germany
Sunday, October 8th- Botanique in Brussels, Belgium
Monday, October 9th- Ubu in Rennes, France
Wednesday, October 11th- Kafe Antzokia in Bilbao, Spain
Thursday, October 12th- Cave 45 in Porto, Portugal
Friday, October 13th- RCA Club in Lisbon, Portugal
Saturday, October 14th- Caracol in Madrid, Spain
Check out “The Greeheen” video by Brant Bjork via Napalm Records
Check out Brant Bjork at the following locations:
www.facebook.com/BrantBjorkOfficial
