Sunday 9 November 2014

Inside the world of deradicalising extremists

Blixa Bargeld: Pandora's Music Box Rotterdam (October 1985)

Pandora's Music Box Festival held in Rotterdam in 1983, 1984 and 1985 was truly one of the strangest, most amazing events I have ever been to in my life.
Held in De Doelen, on entering the complex in 1985 you were greeted by a woman in a fish tank of blue liquid dispensing cups of the stuff...

The line up in '85 included Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Woodentops, John Martyn, Defunkt, Butthole Surfers, Sonic Youth, Green On Red, The Long Ryders, Jeffrey Lee Pierce, Alex Chilton and Nico as well as Einstürzende Neubauten.
Funnily enough a year ago almost to the day I was being reminded of this fest as I was staying with Simon Fisher Turner's ex wife in Tasmania and she played keyboards with Simon at this. (They got to use the Butthole's strobe doncha'know...)
It was also nice to catch up with a few old friends from London who were playing like Rolo from The Woodentops and there was supposed to be two old band mates of mine playing with the Shockheaded Peters and when I saw Karl I asked about 'so-and-so' and was told that 'if I ever mentioned that khunt's name again...' I guess that particular line up didn't come to an end over musical differences.
There was about an hour to kill between the end of the night and the first train back to Amsterdam on the Sunday morning and I just remember people sitting absolutely gobsmacked at the great music and weird wonders that we had all been a party to.
Unfortunately the '84 event is mostly lost in my memory bank tho I still have somewhere my backstage laminated pass and while catching up with a friend of mine who was The Fall manager at the time I do remember MES being particularly volatile at the time.
Here are the lineups for
1983