WATER DAMAGE (US) + HOWIE REEVE (SC) + DJ SL’OCCII

the mighty WATER DAMAGE embark on a UK / EU tour bringing their incredible noise / drone / repetition jams to Amsterdam for a second time. Following their brilliant show in OCCii in November 2024, the group will return to serve up another magical musical treat for a lucky public. A four page spread in the Wire magazine recently brought the group to the attention of a worldwide audience, and 2 appearances at Le Guess Who? festival in November 2024 cemented their reputation as one of the best live acts anywhere! This show is not to be missed!

There is something really special about music based on drones. Whether it’s the vocals of Pandit Pran Nath, the ARP 2500 of Eliane Radigue, or the nearly-blown amps of Sunn O))), by changing the listener’s focus on details to one that favors flow, drones are uniquely capable of transporting our brains far far away. The music of Water Damage, the loudly droning Austin collective is a goddamn splendid example of how the process works. Using the motto, “Maximal Repetition Minimal Deviation,” Water Damage create glowing fields of drones that pretty much suck you right in and boil you alive. They prefer if each of their sonic ideas takes up a whole reel of tape, and once they start they don’t look back. Everything proceeds towards an imaginary end point that is only achieved when the tape starts flapping.

The members are all vets of various projects – Spray Paint, Black Eyes, USA/Mexico, more eaze, Thor & Friends, Marriage, Swans, SUR, Astral Spirits Records, among others. Their approach to the form is less front-loaded than most of their peers, and the surface of their sound is sometimes ruffled by aural events of an un-drone-like nature. But the main gush is usually a blend of harmonic tones and textures pointing towards a goal that is just out of ear-shot, just over the next bluff, and perhaps forever just beyond our reach.

HOWIE REEVE (SC, Red Wig records)
Unconventionally structured songs on acoustic bass that plough their own furrow in order to try and navigate the world we live in – tender, explosive, running a gamut of emotions – vulnerable, oblique, generous, human.

Last album, with Andy Kerr on four tracks: https://howiereeve.bandcamp.com/album/leaf-in-fog

Two reviews of latest album Leaf in Fog:

“I remember on the first listen being struck by its angular post-punk explosions of noise, but when I came back to it, and still every time I’ve listened to it since (now countless times), it’s the delicacy and beauty woven throughout that more and more shapes the album for me.”
Soren Brothers, Ur Audio Visual

“this is a beautiful record, a fine set of songs, observations, drawings, not sketches, proper drawings, strong drawings, they sound like delicate drawings, they’re not, these are strong drawings…like looking at the secrets in a good sketchbook…Some of it experimental, well unconventionally detailed rather than experimental…” Sean Worrall, Organ Thing

I have collaborated with Mike Watt (Minutemen/Iggy and the Stooges), Andy Kerr (NoMeansNo), GW Sok (The Ex) and many others.

“Unplugged-punk genius Howie Reeve is a linchpin in Glasgow’s DIY community…a breathtaking bass player.” (Nicola Meighan, The Herald)

“Howie Reeve is a unique and singular figure in the current British underground. Having spent over 20 years playing in a number of key Glasgow bands, since 2012 he has been performing solo on acoustic bass guitar, delivering a fragmented and dexterous music that takes in post-punk, avant-folk and free jazz. Increasingly turning to songwriting, he further engages audiences with cryptic, intimate and unsettling lyrics.
Resolutely DIY in his approach to music, he lives in Glasgow but appears to be perpetually on tour, whether in the UK, Europe or Japan.” (Chris Joynes)

poster artist OLI HEFFERNAN

Presale/door prices adjusted: our events are set up by volunteers in favour of supporting DIY touring acts, but it is getting ever more risky to plan and book events – please support the community and buy your tickets early!