by Mark

For those who have never heard of K’s Choice, allow me to introduce them to you. For those familiar with their 90s hit “Not an addict” and sort of lost track, let me re-introduce them to you. K’s Choice is a Flemish band, with siblings Sarah and Gert Bettens at the core. In case you were wondering, despite a hiatus, both singer Sarah and brother Gert (guitarist) continued making music.

In the past they’ve opened for Alanis Morissette and Indigo Girls among others, and toured with Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair caravan. K’s Choice has released six albums, excluding the 2001 live album (simply called “Live”) and a Best Of compilation (10: 1993-2003), with “Little Echoes” being the most recent one. That album can be best described as an unplugged remake of a collection of songs off their album before this last one (“Echo Mountain”), with a few covers and a couple of new songs. If you love harmonies, then you should definitely give “Little Echoes” a listen.

A stripped down version of the band (Sarah, Gert, and keyboard player Reinout Swinnen) is currently touring western Europe, and I attended their January 27th concert. It was all about harmonies – more prominent than on the album. Combine those with Sarah’s husky voice, and it’s guaranteed to give you goosebumps.

Granted, some people say the songs’ lyrics tend to be very simplistic, and cheesy at times, but it’s part of their charm.  And you know what? Sometimes beauty lies in simplicity.

Speaking of charm, the Bettens siblings are very approachable; even after all these years in the music business they take time out to personally say hello to their fans, sign autographs, and pose with them. I love that they interact with their fans (during show as well) and acknowledge them, too. I’ll never forget that afternoon in Berlin, Germany (years ago) where a friend and I got the chance to see Sarah and her band (this tour was to promote her first solo album “Scream”) sound check and have a little meet and greet. I’m a shy guy with a soft spot for Sarah, so imagine when I finally got the courage to step up to say hello to her. Later, my friend and I managed to get second row spots, and when Sarah spotted me she looked me straight in the eye and nodded. It took a moment for me to realize she had spotted me, and nodded to acknowledge it. I think I peed myself a little then.

Anyhow, I digress. K’s Choice is not just hugely popular in parts of western Europe; they also have a huge following in Israel. If you haven’t checked out their music, go to their website: www.kschoice.be – or better yet: search the internet for (live) video clips. You’ll notice the band knows how to rock out, too. Sarah likes to interact with the audience (she’s come along way: she used to be very shy, and sing with her eyes closed and not moving around on stage). If you get the chance to see them live: go! I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

by Mark

Gotye’s currently over taking the airwaves all over the world, or so it seems. “Somebody that I used to know” is catchy in a different way, and once that song has lodged itself into your brain chances are it’s going to be hard to remove it. He managed to snag the #1 spot in several countries on this side of the Atlantic, and when I got word he was coming over for some concerts in 2012, I jumped at the chance to get tickets to one of his shows.

The first I ever heard of him was about half a decade ago through an uptempo song entitled “Learnalilgivinanlovin”. It channels a Motown-like vibe, and is unlike the other songs on the album.

His latest album (Making Mirrors) was proving to be quite a hit outside his home country Australia, and Wally de Backer aka Gotye (pronounced the same way as “Gaulthier”, the French designer) decided to put a band together to start touring. Gotye played three shows in three different cities in The Netherlands, and all were sold out.

A young British lady called Gabrielle Aplin opened the show: all of a sudden there she stood in the left corner of the stage with her guitar. Besides her own material, she played a cover, too (Lana Del Rey’s “Video games) accompanying herself on the piano. Halfway through the song she got a terrible coughing fit, and I felt sorry for her. You don’t want that to happen to any singer, right? She apologized and told the audience she was “a bit ill”. Musically, it wasn’t completely my cup of tea, but I sure give her an A for performing while being sick.

Gotye kicked off the February 17th show with “Eyes wide open”, and played almost all the songs off his last album.

I’m a bit of a music nerd, so – in case you’re interested – I got that evening’s setlist:

Eyes wide open

The only way

Easy way out

Smoke and mirrors

State of the art

Thanks for your time

Don’t worry, we’ll be watching you

Somebody that I used to know

Save me

Heart’s a mess

Bronte

In your light

I feel better

Learnalilgivinanlovin

The one song that gave me goosebumps was “Bronte”. Gotye announced it as a “quiet song”, and after some hushing sounds from some audience members to make people stop talking, it was quiet in the venue. A huge white screen in the background was showing a beautifully animated clip to accompany the song. Those of you who have the album with the DVD have seen it. If you haven’t, look it up on YouTube, and you won’t be disappointed. Really. Enjoy.

I love where the talented Aaron Alvarez went with his submissions to the borkedplanet guestweeksapalooza! Come back everyday to see each of the Obscure Gentlemen drawn in a different style. Today we have - Jama in J. Vasquez style. Thanks so much for these!

This is just a tiny tip off the spoon full of awesome that is The Obscure Gentlemen, go forth and explore:

The Obscure Gentlemen

The Obscure Gents on Twitter

Go give these guys a LIKE on Facebook!

Not all comics have the awesome talent of someone like Aaron Alvarez drawing for them. Go stalk him on twitter why don’t you?

I love where the talented Aaron Alvarez went with his submissions to the borkedplanet guestweeksapalooza! Come back everyday to see each of the Obscure Gentlemen drawn in a different style. Today we have - Trevor drawn in R. Crumb style. They just get cooler and cooler too! Thanks so much for these!

This is just a tiny tip off the spoon full of awesome that is The Obscure Gentlemen, go forth and explore:

The Obscure Gentlemen

The Obscure Gents on Twitter

Go give these guys a LIKE on Facebook!

Not all comics have the awesome talent of someone like Aaron Alvarez drawing for them. Go stalk him on twitter why don’t you?