Antigel - REVEREND BEAT-MAN

 

REVEREND BEAT-MAN

H - (Doors: H)

Alhambra Room, Geneva

With his raging and extravagant one-man band, the Reverend has been preaching his trashy blues gospel for over 40 years with unwavering belief.

Dressed as a pastor, a lewd look on his face and a strand of hair stuck to his shaved head, Beat Zeller (his real name) sings in his rocky voice of fiery and satanic tales against a background of trash blues riffs and primitive beats. The boss of Voodoo Rhythm Records (Bob Log III, Delaney Davidson) and leader of The Monsters has been showcasing his spellbinding charisma on the international scene for more than 40 years, delivering possessed sermons to the point of losing his voice, and converting new followers wherever he goes. A disciple of Howlin’ Wolf and Hasil Adkins, he hoarsens his strings and hammers his bass drum, hooting and whispering like a Tom Waits from beyond the grave, alternately threatening and exulting, cajoling and hypnotising. A fan of gut-wrenching garage rock, the truculent Beat-Man knows better than anyone how to strip every piece of its finery to keep only a magnetic and terrifying bestiality. Rock’n’roll power at its finest.

Alhambra Room, Geneva

Built between 1918 and 1920 by architect Paul Perrin, this film theatre, originally called Omnia, boasted the country’s first sound cinema installation as early as 1928. It also hosted numerous shows and concerts. Premonitory! Unfortunately, this cosy venue was destined to be demolished to make way for a car park… But, phew! classified as a historical monument and defended by many enthusiasts, it was saved with an ambitious objective: to reconcile the heritage aspects of the site with the requirements of a contemporary concert hall. Carefully renovated, the new 750-seat modular space, in metallic and red colours, was inaugurated in 2015 and is a real showcase for today’s music.

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