Presented by Rockfact Music Club & IRON-T21

Rockfact Music Club, Münchenstein,  Switzerland – 06.04.2024

The genre stoner rock was created at the end of the 80’s, beginning of the 90’s. Although a lot of time has passed since then, there’re still active bands worldwide and practice this kind of music. The group Carson announced a gig at Rockfact Music Club and Gentle Beast was added as local support to the program. Stoner rock events don’t take place often in Münchenstein. I made the decision to go there and support these Swiss bands. Gentle Beast was on stage at 8:45 pm. I experienced this stoner rock band from Basel as support of Disillusion and was looking forward seeing them again. The lights went out and „Asteroid Miner“ soun-

ded. The music was very powerful and obscure, carried by dragging riffs of the guitarrists Manu Ciofalo and Janek Huschke. Singer Timo Dinter put all his emotions into the vocals and seek contact with his musical comrades. Black Sabbath and Monster Magnet were present as well Doom and Sludge passages added variety to the sound and generated suspense. „Hit The Spliff“ was next after „Joint Venture“. And anyone who experienced this band live knew what would happen. Timo grabbed a dummy of a huge joint, lift it into the air, hit it around and onto the stage floor without hitting his colleagues. In addition he acted like he would smoke the spliff but it was part of the show and very original. This action was well-received with  applause because you don’t see that every day. My personal highlight. The cover version „Green Machine“ from the legendary Kyuss was played as last song. They had put the pedal to the metal and a strong metal influence was noticeable in the riffs. Timo couldn’t longer endure on stage and stepped down to the audience and rock out with the fans one more time. The complete set was performed and they obtained a lot of applause from their fans for their good appearance. Setlist Gentle Beast Asteroid Miner Planet Drifter Toxic Times Lodestone Joint Venture Hit The Spliff Voodoo Hoodoo Stoned Witch Caterpillar Endless Green Machine - Kyuss After that, there was a short break before headliner Carson entered the stage. The power trio from Lucerne with singer and guitarrist Kieran Mortimer-Jones from New Zealand was  previously unknown to me. That’s why I was very curious about their show. The time had come at 10:05 pm. An intro sounded and the performance started with „And his bone“. In contrast to the support, this band had more speed, which was reflected in the structure of the songs. The sound reminded of a mix of Stoner rock with Grunge influences. The voice of Kieran Mortimer-Jones fitted perfectly. He kicked ass with guitar solos beside his good vocal performance. Bassist Elina Willener provided the groove and seemed to be in a kind of trance during the performance. She provided the base for the hypnotic rhythm together with drummer Jan Kurmann. The opportunity was seized to promote their album „The Wilful Pursuit Of Ignorance“ from 2022. Older songs got played either. The band presented itself absolutely profesional and like a well-oiled machine. The elegant play of light allowed the music to unfold even more. After "I Guess", the trio left the stage. The audience persisted and demanded an encore. For this reason Kieran, Elina and Jan returned on stage and played the two encores „The Last Laugh“ and „Gimmie“. The spectacle had come to and end and the three musicians said goodbye to the crowd with a smile. They made a very good impression at their first show in Canton of Basel-Country. I really must see this trio live again. Setlist Carson Intro And His Bone Drown The Witness Too Far Pissing In The Wind The Itch Wishing Well Dirty Dream Maker Siren The Wilful Pursuit Of Ignorance I Guess The Last Laugh Gimmie You could buy T-shirts, CD’s and vinyl records at the merchandise stand of both bands after the concert. The bag with the Carson trademark caught my attention immediately. I have never seen such an article at a merchandise stand before. From my point of view, it was smart to present something different to the spectators. Engineer Slingi was responsible for the powerful sound and Carole Baysang took care of the light. Many thanks for your contributions to a great evening of stoner rock. Livereport by Dominic Latscha