Toronto’s The Crooked are on the upswing, having supported global rock acts like Pop Evil, Royal Tusk and Danko Jones in the last year.
By Noel Maurice
This fiery alternative band are now in Germany on their first European tour. We catch up with J.C and Neelesh, and ask them about their plans.
indieBerlin: You guys will spend two weeks in Berlin. What brought you here?
Neelesh: It made sense. I lived in Berlin for four years and drilled deep into the scene. So when I joined the band in Toronto, the timer began ticking until we came ‘back’ to Berlin. That idea grew into a two-week stint, playing different venues across the city. We later confirmed shows in Northern Germany, and two festivals in Norway. A tour was born.
indieBerlin: Do Canadian bands dream of Europe?
Neelesh: Oh, totally. There’s a romanticism that North American bands have for touring Europe. I guess it’s the mirror image of how bands here feel about touring the States. Everyone wants to do it. But Europe was always much closer for us. I’m from here, JC toured here twice before. Hell, most of us were even born here.
There’s a romanticism that North American bands have for touring Europe
indieBerlin: What strikes you as different about German audiences?
JC: In my experience, German audiences tend to open their minds much quicker to new rock music than crowds back home. People in Germany who don’t know you are already energetic – they bob their heads, jump around and look for ways to connect with you. It’s pretty cool.
indieBerlin: Berlin is known as an artist’s haven. How do you think your music will relate to audiences here?
JC: Berlin embraces the weird. Our music is weird by design. Yes, we play loud, hooky rock, but we also experiment with dissonance, exotic instruments and genre-bending. Hopefully this resonates with the avant-garde in this city.
Berlin embraces the weird. Our music is weird by design.
indieBerlin: What can Berlin audiences expect to see?
JC: A throbbing rock show, just like we do in Canada. We perform a dynamic set, with explosive highs to quivering lows. Peaks and valleys, y’know. We’ve also thrown in some covers – a couple from back home, and even one in German!
Neelesh: Yeah, it’ll be sweaty. We need to punch hard. Toronto has been kind to us, but in Berlin we have everything to prove. Come and see us do what we do best.
Catch The Crooked at one of their following shows in Berlin.
19.06 – Wild at Heart, Kreuzberg
20.06 – Hansbach Bar, Friedrichshain
21.06 – Garage Pankow, Fête de la Musique, Pankow 17:00
21.06 – Freizeithaus Balzerplatz, Fête de la Musique. Biesdorf 21:00
27.06 – Sage Club, Mitte
