The Ex

saw getatchew + ex when they were in chicago...last year i think? it was AWESOME and they had a fire dancer. great great show.

also if anyone can recommend an album or compilation it would be much appreciated.

the Ex have covered a LOT of ground, so I usually suggest people get the Singles. Period., comp, which collects most of their singles/EPs from 1980-90. also, they recently released a 30th anniversary comp of some of their own favorites from their oeuvre, but I haven't seen a track list to judge that. I am sure it's great, though

otherwise, my favorite Ex records are Joggers & Smoggers, And the Weathermen Shrug Their Shoulders, or Pokkeherrie. or whichever one of their records I happened to play last.

get the collab with Getatchew, also! so good!

"also if anyone can recommend an album or compilation it would be much appreciated."

Aural Guerilla is still my favorite.

cool thanks everyone for answering, i am definitely going to the show. i'm downloading singles and the getatchew album, which i think will make up for most of what they are going to play. i was reading an interview with the band, where they were like "yeah, we just found this 78 year old ethiopian saxophonist and we have no idea why, but every time we play with him it's just the great fucking music ever." funny how they even they were surprised at how well the collaboration worked out.

how was the show?!

saw 'em with Getatchew Mekuria at the Polish Combatants Hall.... so damn good.

Been listening to the new double disc comp "30", goddamn this band is awesome.

yes they are. didn't know that comp was out, looks like a good overview.

last friday they played with han bennink in Antwerp, Belgium. At the beginning of 2009 they released a dvd of their Convoy tour that is pretty good.

saw them years back i wondered why deerhoof who i had a soft spot for at the time were supporting the ex who i misunderstood to be vaguely dreary / arty herky-jerky agit-prop squat-punk, and DAMN! if they did not blow me totally away - funkiest thing i ever heard - a scratchy jitterfunk bulldozer like nothing on earth ! totally unstoppable !

http://www.theex.nl/img/flyers/BrassUnboundflyer800.jpg

^ this is basically gonna blow stuff up isn't it?

holy crap!

omfg i would kill to go to one of those shows.

Who are Roy Paci and Walter Wierbos?

Man - this better come to the states.

Tickets are like £7.50 for this I think which is pretty incredible (probly has some arts council funding but whatevs)

that is basically guarnteed to be spectaculicious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BVmqs0MpRM

This is going to rule

The song in the video above is fantastic. Those rolling rhythms are kinda like a post-punk Tony Allen.

Roy Paci - Sicilian trumpeter. Was the the Ex Arkestra a few years back and now is famous in Italy through his ska band. He played with Mike Patton in his Italian pop project.

Walter Wierbose - top European improv trombonist. Worked with the Ex before.

The horn section alone would make for a brilliant gig. The Ex + free jazz is pretty much my idea of heaven as far as live music goes.

Here he is with Patton. Appreciate Patton's not to everyone's taste, but his Italian production pop romps are good fun and Paci gets a cracking solo at the end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm4Zg_tW8l4

Thanks Stew. Hugely excited by this, bring it on already.

Just bought ticket numbers 6 & 7 for this, band outnumbering the crowd at this stage.

and i was worried that the glasgow gig might sell out!

Well that was for Brighton, think we might be on the slack end of the ticket-buying spectrum.

don't worry, the Brighton noise scene hipsters will be along to fill the place up nicely on the night

Roy Paci was in Zu too, about a decade ago mind. Looking forward to this, I prefer The Ex with collaborators tbh, the best time I ever saw them was with Tom Cora (RIP).

oh, man. I never heard that tom cora had died! that's a bummer.

I see shows coming up in chicago and knoxville on their myspace page... hope some more US dates pop up.

Glasgow was sold out, but they've been given a capacity extension. Don't delay in getting a ticket!

Er, if I may be utterly shameless...

http://www.list.co.uk/article/23101-the-ex-and-brass-unbound/

I hope this configuration gets to the US/West Coast.

me too!

http://downloads.pitchforkmedia.com.s3.amazonaws.com/Ex%20-%20Maybe%20I%20Was%20The%20Pilot.mp3

new song from their upcoming 7" (due out Feb 15th according to the site)!!!!!!!!!!!!

anyone else really miss Sok?

Of course!

yeah, same here. :-/

bought my tix from tickets scotland this lunch time, nos 174 and 175 - the CCA's gonna be crowded

the canadian centre for architecture?!??!

The new song is great imo.

Well, that was absolutely incredible. The horn section was on fire, while The Ex themselves were just fantastic. Having never seen them before, I can't compare Arnold De Boer to Sok, but he did a great job up front. Katherina's drums drive the whole thing, while Terrie and Andy use their guitars as percussion instruments as much as melodic vehicles. I danced my ass off and got quite excitable and vocal in my appreciation. Oh dear...
Zun Zun Egui and Tattie Toes were great too, but The Ex & Brass Unbound too it to another level. One of the best gigs I've ever been to.

I second this assessment.

Nice. I'm going on Weds.

yeah - saw the first show in bristol and just ... amazing. has the new frontman only been involved for a year? had he played with them before at all?

really tempted to try and see them again in london. are there still tickets for that?

A friend in London bought one from We Got Tickets this afternoon following my ravings, so there should still be some left. You've got John Butcher supporting as well, you lucky people.

xx-post. Arnold De Boer is also in Zea and toured Ethopia with The Ex a couple of years ago, so he's been connected to them for a while. He already feels like an integral member doesn't he?

London tickets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZLYfouoCbA

^ Not too shoddy. Guess they'll be properly warmed up before they hit Brighton tomorrow.

That clip will almost certainly have my head in it at some point

Wow, I like Zea, but they're the least ILM-friendly band ever*, had no idea there was any crossover!

* OK, so ramshackle indie with brash synths and funny/quirky 90s-indie-referencing song titles is probably loved as much as it's hated, but it's very vocally hated, and I'd imagine quite far from what anyone on this thread likes about the Ex...

Apparently I need to kick myself for not seeing Zun Zun Egui when they've been in town a few times, then?

yeah that's one of my faves, also search out the still-not-reissued Ethiopian tape they did with Han Bennink:

https://www.discogs.com/release/11791431-The-Ex-Han-Bennink-Ethiopia-Tour-2004

(the A-side hasn't been reissued, the B-side is a comp of their current-at-the-time material)

Thanks for the tip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL9BrZ-zUpQ

haha he is the best - there's an anecdote from the Ethiopian tour journal about him playing a chain link fence

One of favorite live Bennink bits was seeing him playing the drums with a burning paper grocery bag, then stuffing the smoldering remains in the hi-hat and making smoke rings with it

The Convoy Tour DVD has some great Getachew action plus a lovely bit where Han Bennink is near silently practicing his drum rudiments on the tour bus at dawn while everyone else is fast asleep.