Front 242 - Covenant - Deathstars - Viva La Fête - Diorama - Zeromancer - Girls Under Glas - Aesthetic Perfection - Jesus On Extacy - Scream Silence

[Psycho] At first some concerns about the weather were reasonable, but after a few slight showers sky cleared off and let sun shine on us ;) As for the festival area, the shopping mall got extended and it was almost inevitable to buy anything ;) But most of all we got stuck at the Met booth with cooled cherry Met… yummmmm.
The Amphitheater itself doesn’t need to be introduced anymore. For me it’s on of the best festival locations in Germany. Not too big, good sight from everywhere, good travel connections, nice ambience and enough room for camping and parties ;)

:: pics ::

[Psycho] For some reason Dani was much in a hurry so that we started early and arrived the festival area one hour prior its opening band *yawns* Hey, some healthy long sleep is important to me… ;)
[Dajana] Dani is always in a hurry ;) We should have gone through with the Burger King idea… hahahaha. Oh, just to mention: again NH and Reflections Of Darkness joined forces, at least for ride sharing ;)

[Psycho] At least Dajana had now some time for breakfast before :: SCREAM SILENCE :: were about to enter the stage and to open the BLACKFIELD FESTIVAL.
[Dajana] *urghs* Had on-call nightshifts, so hardly some sleep, what didn’t get me out of bed any faster… And just to mention: to let SCREAM SILENCE opening such festival is like casting pearls before swine. This band deserves so much more! So!
[Psycho] Luckily the band did not take it to heart and played a short but very enthusiastic gig. Tracks like Harvest and Creed kicked ass even at this early hour and let the few people dance, despite the little rain. Great show, great kick-off.
[Dajana] I agree. I just had wished that SCREAM SILENCE would play a brand new song, since they are locked in their studio for months to record the 2008’s follower of Apathology.
Setlist: The Vitriol, Harvest, Creed, Above And Within, Athanasia, Elegy

[Psycho] At :: JESUS ON EXTASY :: it got rainier what seemed to hold people off from the festival ground. Well, they did not miss anything good. JOE had a lot of problem to rock the crowd. Ok, Dorian is live not really the best singer, but the rest of the band put their shoulders to the wheel. It did not work. The show was so so, let it just slip our mind!
[Dajana] To be honest I found the show really bad. I do not think that JOE put much energy into their performance. They acted lethargic, unmotivated and sort of bored. And Mr. Deveraux’s singing service was just terrible.
Setlist: Change The World, Beloved Enemy, Assassinate Me, Alone, No Gods, Direct Injection, Church Of Extasy, Neochrome

[Psycho] Now we got the final wake up call with :: AESTHETIC PERFECTION :: What on CD sounds like well-done but not so much inventive EBM, emerged live as a stirring and highly energetic performance. Fronter Daniel Graves has seemingly some Punk roots he lived out on stage and thus energized the crowd. Suddenly the round was well filled and the crowd dancing. I for sure did not expect this, it was such a surprise!
[Dajana] Ditto. For me the act of the day ;)
Setlist: The Violence, The Great Depression, Schadenfreude, Pale, The Ones, The Siren, Living The Wasted Life, Spit It Out

[Dajana] Next up was :: GIRLS UNDER GLAS :: with tunes I knew… but where from… something known… it’s on the tip of my tongue? Ah… got it… Madonna’s Frozen??? What misled such old and established band like GIRLS UNDER GLASS to open its set with a cover version of a Madonna song??? The Hamburg-based Goth/electro act has brand new songs ready like We Feel Alright, which would have fitted much better to open with, or the snappy Du bist das Licht. Instead boredom arose. The show was pretty lame and unemotional. Sorry.
Setlist: Frozen, Ohne Dich, Never Go, Die Zeit, Feuerengel, Down In The Park, Erinnerung, We Feel Alright, Du Bist Das Licht

[Psycho] It’s always difficult with :: ZEROMANCER :: I somehow get the impression that the guys annihilate themselves between the wanted and expected commercial success and the realization of their musical visions.
Additionally bass player Kim Ljung was so ill that the band was close to cancel their appearance. A decision by hair. They played, and how! These five Norwegian cats almost burst into their show, melted with the crowd and delivered one of their best shows ever! The guys had so much fun playing there, it was just awesome. Fans got a best-of set with old and new stuff like Clone Your Lover and It Sounds Like Love [But It Looks Like Sex] and freaked out, powering the band to even more. Oh, btw. perfect example what an experienced singer with an urge to move can cause…
After Doctor Online was played the show was over, way too short of course, but ZEROMANCER got a hell of a feedback. Seriously, I did not expect the band that strong and stirring. For sure the highlight of the day!
Setlist: V, Doppelganger, I Love You, Clone Your Lover, Need You Like A Drug, Sinners International, Ammonite, Hate Alphabet, It Sounds Like Love (But It Looks Like Sex), Photographic (Depeche Mode cover), Doctor Online

[Psycho] Now switching over into completely different world. After such killing electro-rock show :: DIORAMA :: took their course way quieter. Torben Wendt and his mates in fact opened themselves musically over the last years but generally they follow quieter and more contemplative paths. It doesn’t matter, they have a lot of great songs under their sleeves, and generally it was a good live performance, but after Zeromancer DIORAMA acted too statically to get me thrilled. Solid show, nothing more.
[Dajana] I actually like DIORAMA’s newest record Cubed and think that its tracks went down really well. But it also revealed that older songs cannot keep their level of… let me call it snappiness.
Setlist: Child Of Entertainment, Kein Mord, Ignite, Record Deal, Stereotype, Advance, Why, Synthesize Me

[Psycho] Now we come to the big unknown. I have never heard of :: VIVE LA FETE :: before. Hailing from Belgium, this act seems to be adored by Karl Lagerfeld, which is not really a recommendation, if you ask me. Well, and then two wispy guys entered the stage, followed by a big bass player and a woman I run out of words here ;) to blow us away with kitschy Pop, as they said. It reminded me of a not too bad but definitely adventurous mixtures of early 80’s Wave and much of NDW, combined with a very trashy stage performance ;) It was not bad, but for sure a matter of taste. I at least still don’t know if I liked it or not ;)
[Dajana] Same here. Hardly to describe what I felt during their show. Ms Els Pynoo had something of a slutty bitch but with some sort of… cute and likable touch? Sex appeal? Provocation? Same goes for the music. Awesome screams btw… Strange, crazy… hell yeah, liked it ;) Vive la fete!

[Dajana] Little break, short talks and back to the stage to welcome Swedish :: DEATHSTARS :: Last year I saw them on tour with Diary Of Dreams and they played exactly the same setlist today. Not really inspiring. I know they have some more songs to offer. As for that the make-up was much better ;) The black metal band of the festival… hehehe. Stylish Goth’n’Roll, serving all clichés but the entertaining way ;) For some reason Mr. Whiplasher sank his micro anywhere between stage and speakers, so did Diorama’s Torben some time ago too ;)
Setlist: Night Electric Night, Motherzone, Semi-Automatic, The Mark Of The Gun, Tounges, New Dead Nation, Chertograd, Blitzkrieg, Blood Stains Blondes, Cyanide, Death Dies Hard

[Psycho] I think there is no need anymore to introduce :: COVENANT :: Everybody who’s involved the Electro/Gothic scene should have seen them at least once. Professional and with easiness the Amphitheater got converted into a huge dancefloor. Singer Eskil Simonsson once again looked like escaped from a chichi disco in Mallorca and offered a multifarious blend of electronic music.
It seemed like the older songs worked a little better, but also new material went down well. Bathed in glistening sunshine, COVENANT did it up. Entertaining show!
[Dajana] Regarding the response I’d say COVENANT was the real headliner of the first day. And, as for me, the show was much better than the one at last year’s Amphi Festival.
Setlist: Intro, Stalker, 20hz, Dynamo Clock, Invisible & Silent, If I Would Give My Soul, The Men, Ritual Noise, Improve, Call The Ships To Port

[Psycho] Time flies. With the last sunrays an EBM institution entered the stage :: FRONT 242 :: Well, before we had to wait a little… But then Jean-Luc de Meyer and R23 got of the grid at full throttle. Both guys were permanently moving and wanted the crowd to move too. The show was pretty dark, traditionally this act performs without a bigger light show (*grrrrr* yes… they do so – Dajana). A best-of show was announced and so classics such as Quiet Unusual, Welcome To Paradise and of course Headhunter were played. But, there was also some weaker material that scaled down the mood a little. Well, at the end it’s a matter of taste, isn’t it? Im Rhythmus bleiben was played and FRONT 242 finished their set. 15 minutes prior the deadline (11pm). WTF? Starting later – closing earlier? Ok, the dudes came for an encore (Kampfbereit) but a 90 minutes headlining show it was not! Insofar an ambivalent matter
Setlist: Body To Body, Together, Moldavia, Tragedy For You, Circling Overland, No Shuffle, Headhunter, Triple X Girlfriend, Quite Unusual, Funkadafi, Lovely Day, 7 Rain, Religion, Welcome To Paradise, Take One, Im Rhythmus Bleiben // Kampfbereit

[Psycho] As usual for this festival area we got swept out quickly and the after show parties started. Not really appealing and so we left towards home. Luckily we could wrench a half hour from Dani’s time schedule next day ;) Yes, it was a great day! :)

story • Psycho & pics • Dajana