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Apparently DIE ARZTE (May 17, Apelsin, 20:00) are one of the world’s best known German punk bands. I guess that just shows you how little-known German punk bands are, outside of (and probably inside of) Germany.

I was trying to think of what JOE COCKER (May 17, Kremlin Palace, 19:00) songs I actually know, and it looks like I’ve just heard him belt out covers of popular songs. Not that that’s a bad thing, his gritty voice is pretty memorable and alright, but I don’t know that I’d want to see him in a huge hall. A small pub – sure.

Last thing up this fortnight is the most oversold DJ on the planet, PAUL OAKENFOLD (May 17, Gaudi, 23:00). I actually got dragged to see him a few years ago, and it was one of the lamest things I ever saw. Oakie absolutely doesn’t give a shit, just walks up to the decks, presses play, and goes back to chat with hangers-on. Still, the kids ate it up, but the kids suck.

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Deus

Somehow we missed the whole buzz around Belgian alt-rock band dEUS when we were in college, but we did always know of their existence. Apparently they still exist twenty years on, and are popular enough to move from B2 to B1 for their second Moscow gig. The band is touring in support of its recently-released fifth album, "Vantage Point." Drawing influences from sources as wide as The Velvet Underground, Captain Beefheart, Charles Mingus and Leonard Cohen, dEUS have become Belgium’s best-known and awesomest export since waffles.

Goose

It’s probably not surprising that a generic-enough name like Goose is taken by everyone from an Australian funk band to a Thai post-rock band, to a dark ambient project by some Eurofag. However, this Goose is from Belgium, and drew early influence from AC/DC before listening to electronic music. Now they run hand in hand with folks like Soulwax, Shitdisco, Simian Mobile Disco and Does It Offend You, Yeah? They describe their sounds as an intense duel between Kraftwerk and Daft Punk at a Benelux campsite, and who are we to argue with that?

Black Devil Disco Club

Originally started in the late 70s as Black Devil, the French disco combo managed to put out an earth-shattering journey into the deepest of electronic disco. Then it went out of print, became extremely rare, and was only able to be heard when dorks like Chemical Brothers sampled it. What’s interesting about the old stuff is that it was pre-MIDI, pre-computers – only cheap synths, tape loops and a drummer. Fast forward a decade or so, and one of Black Devil’s original members, Bernard Fevre, got the old records reissued on Aphex Twin’s Rephlex label, and has started issuing some new stuff as well. The thing is: the sound is so old school, nobody can tell if it was recorded last year, or thirty years ago.

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