For a night filled with hard-hitting drums and crashing soundscapes I return to The Cluny where Cosial, Swine Tax and Personal Trainer perform at a more than sold out venue. Even though I was sad to have missed Cosial, I did arrive on time for most of the fascinating punk set Swine Tax curated. Their single ‘Screensaver’ is still stuck on repeat and their feral sound is one I can never get enough of!
Now for our headliner; if there’s anything Personal Trainer can’t do, I haven’t yet heard of it. No one can truly beat the stage performance of front man Willem, him and the band are radiating energy off the stage, into the ecstatic crowd. This bit of Amsterdam, these seven musicians should be cherished and protected, but I must admit that I might be slightly biased…
Their frantic and thunderous rock sound will be echoing in my head for days and I’m quite okay with that. Combine endlessly infectious rhythms with double drum rolls, superb bass lines, a bit of screaming and a whole lot of fun and you have Personal Trainer live. They’re explosive in every single direction and no matter what stage they play, it’s just that bit too small. Doesn’t bother them though, they’ll make do either way.
Nearing the end of the set Personal Trainer slow it right down for the sake of their overheated audience as well as their own band members. Smit’s voice gets the attention it deserves after which they quickly thunder on again for their last few songs. They even have to get back on stage for one more song, a genuine encore, which is something I haven’t seen in years! With this encore they end an evening that I will long after remember and would love to relive once more. Personal Trainer are a bit mad, but we know that only the best people are.
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