2011-07-16 DE – Cologne - Tanzbrunnen
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Deine Lakaien - Die Krupps - Tanzwut - Samsas Traum - Zeraphine - Melotron - Staubkind - [X]-RX • Hocico - Suicide Commando - Leaether Strip - In Strict Confidence - Grendel - Frozen Plasma - Winterkälte - Mind.In.A.Box - Klangstabil

[Sebastian] Pasta2Go. Now in case you’re wondering if the author of this text is completely nuts I can assure you he is and he’s not ashamed of showing it. Well, during our preparations for AMPHI FESTIVAL we encountered Pasta2Go and figured it should be part of the introduction and a recommendation to the AMPHI FESTIVAL organizers to keep such little lunch packages for busy photographers at the press tent. Anyway, that and a few other things set the right mood for this first day of AMPHI FESTIVAL that we hoped would go with as little rain as possible.

:: pics ::

[Sebastian] Actually the first thing raining down on the audience was :: [X]-RX :: who, I suppose, were chosen to rip the entire area out of sleep. The side effect was the cyber Goth fraction dancing heavily at this early hour to the torturing bass drums of the two guys on stage. Offering tracks with titles such as Tanz Schlampe or Virus Infect they kept that particular group on their toes, while people like me tried to figure out how the hell someone could actually and voluntarily listen to that stuff, which, for me, lacked any sort of content.
Setlist: The Update, Push It!, Tanz Schlampe, Virus Infect, new song, The Doll Underground, Stage 2

[Niggels] The first day at Staatenhaus was committed entirely to the electronic side of music and covered a wide range of influences from experimental to industrial over to the harsh and the poppy. This promised to be very interesting. So it seemed a bit wrong to me that :: KLANGSTABIL :: were to open the second stage of the first day of AMPHI FESTIVAL, not just because I'm a fan of their recent works but also as their popularity seems to be rising since Math & Emotion and the following singles. However, KLANGSTABIL were surely a nice addition to the festival's line-up, especially as they are not the typical stereotype Goth or EBM band. Actually their gig at AMPHI was a first for me as I had never seen them live on stage before.
Setlist: Math & Emotion (The Square Root Of One), Push Yourself, Perdere Per Vincere, Twisted Words, You May Start, Math & Emotion (The Square Root Of Three), Lauf, lauf

[Niggels] It's funny what they sell you as “Goth” these days, as :: STAUBKIND :: are rather conventional Rock/Pop with German lyrics and, admittedly, a slightly melancholic undertone. But then STAUBKIND never claimed to be Goth, yet they find their approval of certain parts of this scene. Perhaps the presence of handsome boy Manke plays a role here... STAUBKIND look like a Pop act and sound like a Pop act, nothing wrong about that but on the other hand their music is hardly inspiring or overly remarkable. On the plus side of things, STAUBKIND delivered a very professional and routine performance at the AMPHI at this festival. Songs like Königin or Ein Traum der nie vergeht are pure, guitar-driven and radio-friendly Mainstream Pop with touchy-feely lyrics. STAUBKIND did have their own audience at the AMPHI FESTIVAL, which just proves that sometimes anything is accepted as “Goth” or “Dark” as long as image and marketing are right. Technically very good performers but what was the point again?
Setlist: Intro, Königin, Viel mehr, Halt mich, Zu weit, Dein Engel schweigt, Meine Lügen, Ein Traum der nie vergeht, Mein Herz

[Sebastian] My first band at Staatenhaus this day and one of my favorite ones already :: MIND.IN.A.BOX :: I wondered if they could improve their performance, based on their past live experiences. The sad bit was, while Roman or Adam actually did move a lot more, Stephan positioned behind a tower of gear at the front didn’t move a lot, really. Another thing marring the experience this time was a sound engineer who obviously couldn’t manage to get a proper mix of the sound done at the venue. The result was the drums covering almost everything and all the inventive sound bits, details and melodies were drowning in the mix. If that due to the acoustics in the hall I don’t know but the sound was crap nevertheless. The choice of songs was nearly the same as on other shows and I was very pleased to hear Fear live again and Change for the first time ever. Glad to see they’re gradually including different songs in the setlist. Really loved the show except for the mentioned points and so did many of the attendees.
Setlist: Remember, Fear, Stalkers, Certainty, Light And Dark, Identity, Change

[Niggels] :: MELOTRON :: vocalist Andy Krüger is somehow “East Germany's Dave Gahan”. There's a striking resemblance between Krüger and the famous Depeche Mode front man, and watching Krüger live makes clear where he got his inspirations for his dance moves. Anyway, MELOTRON's version of synthesized Pop is surely glossier, neater, and less Rock than Depeche Mode. Instead, MELOTRON often combine their catchy Pop tunes with the heavy dance beats of Future Pop, and live they spice up their synth sound with additional live percussions and little gimmicks like an accordion. Their cover version of Rio Reiser's Menschenfresser demonstrated that MELOTRON is not only influenced by electronic pioneers and songs like Der Anfang or Das Herz show that they have the right touch for a good melody. On the other hand there are songs like Kindertraum where the cheese factor is on an absolute maximum, which spoils the fun if you ask me. Sound-wise, MELOTRON's music wasn't that well mixed - surely not their fault as it was the same for many bands of the festival - and Andy Krüger unfortunately didn't have his best day in regard to his vocal performance. But those who were strong enough to withstand the high cheese factor were rewarded with an entertaining gig and two new and yet unreleased songs from the forthcoming album. MELOTRON finished their set with a slow version of their club hit Brüder, a somehow bold step as they could have played it safe by doing the anthemic club version of this song. All in all MELOTRON was surely not a highlight of the festival but at least a nice addition to the line-up for all lovers of catchy Synth Pop.
Setlist: Intro, Love Is Calling, Der Anfang, Menschenfresser, Das Herz, Stuck In The Mirror, Vaterland, Kindertraum, Brüder

[Niggels] Pure noise and an orgy of light - that's :: WINTERKÄLTE's :: gig at the AMPHI in short. Although there were lots of Techno-ish beats as well, and a scarce use of the video screen behind the two protagonists, one on the drums and one behind a keyboard. At times behind the keyboard, as he was moving a lot! All instruments' signals were apparently sent through at least a dozen of distortion effects to create the brutal assault on your nervous system that is WINTERKÄLTE live. The flashing LED strobe lights would put you over the edge, finally, and the fans either joined the mosh pit at the front or stared at the stage as if they had been hypnotized. I could swear they actually were! WINTERKÄLTE often put the label “progressive” to their music but I wonder how progressive a music project band can be which sounds live almost exactly the same as ten years ago (when I witnessed a WINTERKÄLTE show for the first time) and which delivers in their set 5-minute sonic attacks at maximum volume which in the end all sound alike. Anyway, forget the “progressive” thing and appreciate WINTERKÄLTE simply for what they are: A sonic attack on body and mind, which is quite a change to the sweet Pop melodies catering the masses at the main stage of the AMPHI. It is a good thing to have a band like WINTERKÄLTE at a festival like this. But you either give in to this rhythmic noise, or you go.

[Sebastian] My next appointment at the main stage was :: ZERAPHINE :: who were just about to start their show with the recent album’s opener Nie Mehr Allein, by ZERAPHINE terms a quite harsh effort. I just discovered something during their show. I still like the music, I really do. Not the most ambitious ever heard, but its rock solid and still better than many other bands. The thing is though that the show really lost its fascination and that is due to it being devoid of any surprising elements. It’s you know what you’re getting when attending a ZERAPHINE show. For some that’s a good thing because it proves reliability. On the other hand it’s just getting boring over time. They hardly ever deviate from their scheme. They should consider becoming a little more unpredictable when it comes to their performances. Otherwise I fear people will stick to their CDs in a long run. But maybe I’ve become a dinosaur clinging to the old virtue of diversity. So what’s the bottom line: Music: Great! Performance: Expandable!
Setlist: Erwachen, Lieber allein, Be My Rain, No More Doubts, Out Of Sight, Rain Falls, Inside Your Arms, Still, Tomorrow Morning, Louisa, I'll Follow You, Ohne dich, Die Wirklichkeit

[Sebastian] Next one for me ventured into poppier regions with :: FROZEN PLASMA :: The show took off unpretentious with the intro to The End announcing the show and the guys appearing on stage where Felix would soon start running up and down, always eager to get the audience involved into the show. Sadly, the vocals weren’t on par at all moments with his fitness. Responsible for that were a bad vocal mix and maybe a bad day on Felix’s side. He can do a lot better. Anyway, enough criticism or else I’m going to get burned. Amongst that collection of well-known songs you could find a new one with Deliverance that always kept both eyes fixed on the dance floors and had a bunch of good melodies, Condense off the first album which I can’t recall hearing live already at all, and one of Felix’s own songs from the new album with The Muse, suiting the sets direction perfectly. Solid performance, but there was lots of room for improvement! Have seen them doing it a lot better.
Setlist: The End, Deliverance, Condense, The Muse (Felix Marc Cover), Irony, Murderous Trap, Warmongers, Tanz Die Revolution

[Sebastian] So Alexander Kaschte and :: SAMSAS TRAUM :: were up now at the main stage. With them came a kind of humor you either like or not. The music seems to share an equal fate with most people and the genre hopping of Mr. Kaschte surely isn’t up everyone’s alley either. Before we get to the interesting part but we start off with a little of the music being played, because that’s what this is about after all, isn’t it? Ein Name im Kristall opened the show in the current metal fashion, whereas Fick Mich Noch Fester roused quite some Agonoize associations with me. In-between songs, Alexander would revive an old tradition of throwing stuff into the audience or utilizing anything but subtle irony. The peak of disgust he reached when he would throw a sweaty t-shirt into the audience. A sweaty t-shirt in itself isn’t the disgusting part. He would give the t-shirt to a girl, asking if she wanted a little more sweat in it. She obviously gave the wrong answer since Kaschte really enjoyed rubbing the thing in his armpit. I’m going to leave it up to you to judge the mind-set of audience and artist here. Musically, apart from that, it was a flawless show with a good amount of audience participation, as well as old and newer songs.
Setlist: Ein Name im Kristall, Fick Mich Noch Fester, Für Immer, Stromausfall im Herzspital, Endstation Eden, Heiliges Herz, All die toten Spiegel (new)

[Niggels] As quickly as :: GRENDEL :: entered the stage they had to leave it again - right in the middle of the first song there was a electrical power breakdown! After some irritation the band left the stage and it took a while until the crew was able to solve the problem. But at least GRENDEL could go on with their show in the end. Some mean old bastard remarked later sarcastically that the moments of silence was probably the best about the gig but the GRENDEL fans surely would not agree here. Performing as a four-piece with shouter VLRK, a keyboarder, a drummer (electronic drum kit of course) and a guitarist for some songs, GRENDEL delivered a compact set with songs mainly taken from the 2007 album Harsh Generation and the Soilbleed EP but also presenting a new song from the forthcoming album. However, “new” isn't the attribute I would personally attach to GRENDEL's music and performance. While their music is admittedly a solid piece of workmanship, their style is on the other hand not that original. Trance layers, four-to-the-floor Techno beats, shouted vocals, stereotypical movie samples - there are simply too many bands with the same formula. This recipe is probably good enough to spawn a few club tracks but for one hour of entertainment, be it a live show or an album; it is in my opinion simply not enough to keep up my interest. Maybe it's just that I saw too many live gigs of electronic bands that all had a similar sound and setup. Anyway, the fans seemed to love GRENDEL's show, and some perhaps didn't care too much about the music anyway as long as they can dance to it - which would be the only explanation why some Cyber Goths decided to go through their dance routines to GRENDEL's pounding beats in a hall next door, where they of course couldn't see a single thing of the show and where the sound was even worse.
Setlist: Intro, Harsh Generation, Void Malign, One.Eight.Zero, Soilbleed, Dirty, Hate This, Zombie Nation, Chemicals + Circuitry, Shortwired, new song

[Sebastian] It is an open secret, really that I’m not much of a fan of the bagpipe-inflicted stuff :: TANZWUT :: are exhibiting during their concerts usually. Also it’s still a mystery to me what the fascinating bit about all this is, but one thing’s a fact: It works, and it works really well. Otherwise there’d be no rational explanation for all those people in front of the main stage at the time and hanging on the words of front man Teufel, bringing the devil into the paradise of Cologne to bring the healing over everyone with the following show. That guy always keeps running from left to right and if the audience had their way they would’ve done the same thing. But there was this little problem of colliding with people who just wanted to pass. Anyway, for those interested in this kind of music it was definitely the place to be and they visibly enjoyed every second.
Setlist: Toccata, Ihr wolltet Spaß, Im Labyrinth, Meer, Merseburger Zaubersprüche, Lügner, Wächter, Bitte Bitte, Vulkan, Teufel im Paradies, Arzt, Nein Nein, Schattenreiter

[Sebastian] Before that show I heard of many people really looking forward to this one, especially as a young lady. Well, I just hoped they’d get a better sound than previous bands so people were able to fully embrace the sound of :: IN STRICT CONFIDENCE :: Didn’t work out a 100% I have to say, but it’s been a little better than before. My Despair was meant to be the show’s opening and did it properly with a good balance of melody and a doze of harshness. It was followed by Promised Land which did benefit a lot from Nina’s vocals, if only they had been a little louder. It seems to be she’s constantly holding back and I don’t see the point in having a classically trained voice and not using it properly. I mean, seriously, picture Set Me Free with her full vocal range. Dennis wouldn’t stand a chance, no offence. With Silver Bullets they delivered another floor cracker. A little more movement to suit the song’s direction wouldn’t have hurt. Unfortunately, I couldn’t watch more of the show as I had to jump back to the main stage to catch the other half of the Tanzwut show.
Setlist: Intro, My Despair, Promised Land, Seven Lives, This Is All, Forbidden Fruit, Set Me Free, Away From Here, Silver Bullets, Engelsstaub, Zauberschloss

[Niggels] I was a little surprised that :: DIE KRUPPS :: got the co-headlining slot at the main stage of the AMPHI on the first day of the festival. Brilliant band, so I'm happy for them, but to be honest I would have guessed that a band like Tanzwut, who played before DIE KRUPPS, would be more popular among German Goth crowds. However, this is surely no complaint - that the gig of DIE KRUPPS was overlapping with the ones of Leæther Strip and Suicide Commando at the Staatenhaus was on the other hand indeed a little frustrating. Anyway, after a short intro Jürgen Engles and his band mates rushed on stage and started with the energetic Hi Tech Low Life. There was a good fan crowd in front of the stage who was into it from the start, and with smashers like Isolation and Crossfire DIE KRUPPS quickly won over those who just were to take a glimpse at the Düsseldorf legend, and also those unlucky Suicide Commando fans who weren't allowed to enter the packed Staatenhaus. The sound left a bit to desire for (again!) but the energy of DIE KRUPPS and Jürgen Engler's engaging stage presence made up for it. Als Wären Wir Für Immer and Beyond represented the new material from the latest EP, while the rest of the set was dominated by the band's output from the 1990s. As a best-of set was announced, some fans might have hoped for very old gems like Volle Kraft Voraus but the classic Germaniac and the Visage cover Der Amboss were just as captivating. To The Hilt and the hymnist Fatherland, probably the biggest DIE KRUPPS hits, saw an audience in high spirits before we got to hear Wahre Arbeit Wahrer Lohn for the first time this weekend, though this wasn't clear yet when DIE KRUPPS performed it. There was a surprise in store for all those who would also attend the Nitzer Ebb show the next day but not even DIE KRUPPS knew that when they hammered the high-speed beats of Bloodsuckers into the round to finish their fabulous performance. The gig does get a few points off for a rather average sound (as mentioned before, a general problem at this year's AMPHI) but in the end it was one of my personal highlights of the festival.
Setlist: Intro, Hi-Tech Low-Life, Isolation, Crossfire, Als Wären Wir Für Immer, Beyond, Der Amboss, The Great Divide, Germaniac, The Dawning Of Doom, Metal Machine Music, To The Hilt, Fatherland, Wahre Arbeit Wahrer Lohn, Bloodsuckers

[Niggels] Two years ago, Claus Larsen aka :: LEÆTHER STRIP :: made a first appearance at the AMPHI, which was exciting news for all EBM-heads as it was one of the first LEÆTHER STRIP live gigs in almost 20 years. Back then Larsen performed alone on the main stage, just him and some equipment in the sunlight. It was great to see him back on stage but I have to admit that in the end I wasn't too overwhelmed by the performance itself. This time LEÆTHER STRIP played indoors at the Staatenhaus and he brought his partner (and husband actually) Kurt to play the keyboards. The effect of these two details was quite considerable! LEÆTHER STRIP's music works so much better without sun light, and Claus Larsen didn't look as lost as on the huge main stage in 2009 and obviously felt much more comfortable on stage - perhaps also thanks to the numerous gigs he played since his last AMPHI gig. Starting with 1990 track Satanic Citizen, LEÆTHER STRIP was about to not just play a live gig but also to make a musical statement, intentionally or not. But after seeing so many modern-day EBM/Electro bands at the AMPHI as well as many other festivals and concerts LEÆTHER STRIP demonstrated where the likes of Agonoize, Combichrist, Grendel, Hocico etc. pp. got their ideas from! Outsiders might claim that LEÆTHER STRIP does sound almost exactly the same as some of the mentioned acts but this is actually the point, but the bulk of the songs LEÆTHER STRIP performed at the AMPHI date from 1989 to 1992. This should tell you something about how “progressive” most of today's so-called Hellectro/Aggrotech acts are! And while all the copycats and epigones do their best to fit overused clichés and hollow stereotypes Claus Larsen fills his songs with life and identity - not bad for a chubby, middle-aged dude and a keyboarder who looks like retired maths teacher! From the debut single Japanese Bodies to the club classic Strap Me Down to the title track of the 2008 album Civil Disobedience to the cover version of Soft Cell's Sex Dwarf as the show closer, LEÆTHER STRIP delivered a stripped-down but storming show. Quite impressive, despite the lack of any show effects, videos or any other gadgets. Or because of the lack of them, at last someone who trusts the strength of his compositions enough to abandon all “shock value” effects! The only sour note was that LEÆTHER STRIP played at the same time as Die Krupps at the main stage - still want to kick the arse of the guy who decided this!
Setlist: Satanic Citizen, Turmoil (Fuel For Fascism), Civil Disobedience, Black Gold, Black Candle, Strap Me Down, Adrenalin Rush, Evil Speaks, Japanese Bodies, Sex Dwarf (Soft Cell Cover)

[Sebastian] Right in time for this day’s headliner on main stage the weather god had decided to open heaven’s floodgates and dress the environment in an autumnal fashion. Nothing to hinder anyone from enjoying every single bit of the :: DEINE LAKAIEN :: show, starting with On Your Stage Again off the new album Indicator. The big open air stage had its advantages for their show, especially when it comes to Alexander’s expressive performance that didn’t suffer a bit from the summer flu he caught. Next they switched to an earlier effort with Into My Arms, an equally fascinating and haunting pleasure, just as Where You Are or a classical of their repertoire Forest that made you almost forget it was raining. The rain didn’t make it particularly easy for you to make any notes at all. But in situations like that the text feature of your mobile really comes in handy. Well, it’s easier to handle than a notebook while you’re holding an umbrella, isn’t it? As on the last shows I’ve seen the guys were supported by a few guest musicians on stage (Tobias “B.Deutung” Unterberg on violoncello and Yvonne Fechner on violin) who were showing as much commitment as the main actors on stage. As much as I loved the show I needed to get somewhere warm and dry, which made the Staatenhaus the perfect place. Apart from that I could catch a little bit of the Hocico performance as well who were just playing at the same time.
Setlist: On Your Stage Again, Into My Arms, Over And Done, Where You Are, Gone, Europe, Forest, One Night, Blue Heart, Return // Colour-Ize, Fighting The Green, Reincarnation, Love Me To The End

[Sebastian] With the show of DEINE LAKEIEN; the first day at the main stage had found its end. It’s been a mixed day, regarding the choice of bands playing there. Seriously, we really need some new bands appearing on festivals. Why is it so hard to just take a risk and invite over one or two rather unknown bands that could bring a fresh wind into the dark scene’s musical landscape? More than the ever rotating line-up carousel.

[Fee] When :: SUICIDE COMMANDO :: started their great show we were already done. The weather made me nearly collapse. Johan van Roy began his show with Severed Head, a song of his latest album. I like the song, the audience did too. But I remember not many visitors singing along. This just changed when they played Dein Herz, meine Gier. It’s a bit older song and so I think more known. The video just fit to the lyrics and Johan was doing a great show. With his serial killer smile he made the perfect bridge between lyrics and the blood-filled videos. The audience enjoyed the show and when the band started playing Bind Torture Kill, the whole Staatenhaus was dancing and screaming the lyrics. The show finished with See You In Hell after the audience wanted an encore. In my eyes there was no better song to finish a show that made me and all the other people there sweat. A little minus was the sound at the Staatenhaus. Whenever a band started there were sound problems. As well the music sounded creepy the more away from stage you watched the show.
Setlist: Severed Head, Hate Me, Death Cures All Pain, Dein Herz, Meine Gier, God Is In The Rain, Cause Of Death: Suicide, Time, The Perile Of Indifference, Love Breeds Suicide, Die Motherfucker Die, Bind, Torture, Kill, See You In Hell

[Fee] For me, every :: HOCICO :: show is something special and a highlight of every festival. I can remember only visiting AMPHI FESTIVAL because of them. When Erk Aicrag from HOCICO entered the stage after singing Breathe Me Tonight behind the stage, the audience screamed for more. It’s always the same thing: HOCICO’s playing a festival and so many people are there to see them. It doesn’t matter what time and what place, the audience is always so energetic. They sing, scream, dance. I can’t remember any other fan audience doing this with this intensity. The younger fans liked the newer songs such as Bite Me or Dog Eat Dog, the older fans preferred Instincts Of Perversion or Forgotten Tears. So the setlist included a good mixture of new and old songs to satisfy everyone. On stage Erk Aicrag was like a tornado. He always is and he blew his audience away. When he wants people to clap their hands, they’ll do it. When he wants people to jump, they’ll do it. Absolutely fascinating. Of course they had these TV screens on stage and played videos on it. My personal favorite is the video for Tiempos De Furia where a little clown is dancing an then gets attacked by dogs. I missed Racso on stage though. He wasn’t even playing at Wave Gotik Treffen and we hoped he’d be back at AMPHI. But he wasn’t there, but replaced by Grigory Feil who is also playing keyboards in Rabia Sorda. Hopefully Rasco will be back later this year, we miss him. Racso not being on stage is the only little minus I can tell.
Setlist: Breathe Me Tonight, Flesh To Lacerate, A Fatal Desire, Where Words Fail, Hate Speaks, Dog Eat Dog, About A Dead, Bite Me!, Spirals Of Time, Altered States, Untold Blasphemies, Twist The Thorn, Tiempos De Furia // Forgotten Tears, Poltergeist // Bloodshed

[Sebastian] So after even the day’s last band had completed their set and people were streaming towards the exit we were just starting a little late birthday celebration with the crew and some friends. Thanks for that again. Was great and no of course we didn’t drink any alcohol…
[Dajana] Yep, Happy Birthday Sebastian, I hope you had a fabulous weekend though :)

 

stories © Sebastian, Niggels, Fee • photos © Daniel Horlbogen & Dani Vorndran