The Ex

Since emerging from the wreckage of Amsterdam's first-wave punk scene in the late '70s, The Ex has loudly repudiated the pretensions of rock and pop culture, while carving out a rep as one of the more ingenious groups on the planet. Fiercely independent, the guitar/bass/drums/percussion/vocals quintet has appeared on more than a dozen albums and a dizzying array of hard-to-find singles on tiny Dutch imprints, including its own DIY label. Irrepressible lefty propagandists, the players are renowned for their politics -- especially their alignment with the European squatters movement -- and a willingness to push their vision beyond the usual serrated bar chords. Over time, the group has collaborated with art-punk weirdos Dog Faced Hermans, avant-garde cellist Tom Cora, and the 20-piece Ex Orkestra for a sound that's a rare crossbreed of art, noise, and activist ethos.

Lex van Rossen

Details

Wednesday, June 27, at 9 p.m.

Tickets are $12

621-4455

The band also performs with the Black Heart Procession and Erase Errata on Thursday, June 28, at 9 p.m. at the Great American Music Hall, 859 O'Farrell (at Polk), S.F.

Tickets are $12

885-0750.

Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St. (at Texas), S.F.

Related Content

• Dutch Marijuana Tourism to End in 2013
  December 16, 2011
• Kim Alter Exits Plate Shop, Oakland Gets a TacoBike, and Place Pigalle Returns
  May 24, 2011
• Saturday Report: Where to Go on Day 2 of Beer Week
  February 11, 2011
• Snow Daze
  November 30, 2011
• Who Can Help San Francisco's Cycling Conditions? The Dutch
  September 20, 2011

More About

• Amsterdam
• Tom Cora
• G.W. Sok

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Music Newsletter: Keep your thumb on the local music scene with music features, additional online music listings and show picks. We'll also send special ticket offers and music promotions available only to our Music Newsletter subscribers.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

The Ex's latest album, Dizzy Spells, pits burly guitar riffs against quirky, sometimes odd-metered rhythms for a hard-hitting syncopated mix. Artful without being arty, the music grooves on its own terms -- danceable in a sinister-yet-fun way, with a deep sense of melody and great Dutch accents. The lyrics are also a thing of single-minded beauty. "Town of Stone" proffers a classic rebuke of the status quo: "No chance to wait for things to change/ Unless buildings get hit by planes/ No chance to stop this money vulture/ From turning bullshit into culture." On "Walt's Dizzyland," singer G.W. Sok rails drolly against the entertainment juggernaut: "Are we fucked? Are we nice?/ Are we ducks? Are we mice?/ Are we men? Are we mean? Are we living?" For the Ex, living truly means to fight the corporate culture-mongers every day of the week.