The Pumpwerk in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, is by far one of the best venues here in the north for a show like the one of THE CRÜXSHADOWS. Anyone who already has seen them playing live will agree that this is the perfect place for Rogues performance. There are lots of things to climb on and to jump from. Plus, the restaurant next door is really delicious. Even if it took quite a while until we got our dishes so we nearly missed the start of the opener EGO LIKENESS that evening.

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:. EGO LIKENESS ~ is a talented band from America’s east cost, the area around Baltimore. Their electronic, dark Trip-Hop fitted quite well to the sound of the Crüxshadows.
The duo Donna Lynch (beautiful voice) and Steven Archer was just supported by a bassist on stage, no other additional musicians. Really impressing beside the music is the fact that Steven draws and sells his artwork at their merchandize stand. During the Crüxshadows gig some of his dark sketches were displayed beneath their albums. They are definitely worth a look (or two). Their set itself was limited to about 30 minutes, which was a pity because the audience called for encores. So they finished with the song Isabel, one of the songs based on a novel. Isabel is a protagonist of Donna’s not yet published book “The Good Mothers”. Good set just way too short.
Setlist: Second Skin, 16 Miles, Hurricane, Aviary, Blind Arms, Hydra, Above The Soil, Isabel

:. THE CRÜXSHADOWS ~ kicked off their set 30 minutes later. Before the show rumours were afloat that the gig might be delayed because the band forgot one of the notebooks in a hotel in Düsseldorf, where they stopped on their 30 hours trip from Portugal to Germany. Anyway, an express courier solved that situation on time. The band itself didn’t seem to be much exhausted after such a long journey. As always, Rogue started the gig in the back of the hall walking through the audience to the stage, equipped with two torches in his hands and a wireless headset. So he climbed on every step and machine part in this old factory building. Dancing, screaming and joking with some blokes in the audience, always trying to stay in touch with the crowd. He talked in German and danced with lots of people to CRÜXSHADOWS’s songs. As a result of Rogue’s performance one really can say the gig took place in the hall (not on stage). Rogue was supported by Rachel McDonnell (as always) on violin, George Bikos on guitars, Trevor Brown on keyboards and two stage-dancers: Sarah Poulos and Jessica Lackey (also the CRÜXSHADOWS road manager). The gig ended with the audience dancing on stage to the final song of the main set. 3 encores followed. Quite interesting is that they never used a setlist for their shows. I never noticed that before when I saw them live. The only list that exists can be seen on the computer on stage.
Besides, the band has just released a DVD called Shadowbox which was filmed in a huge aircraft hangar during a show at last year's Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig. This concert is about 120 minutes and is full of all-time CRÜXSHADOWS classics like Winterborn, Marilyn My Bitterness and many more.
Setlist: Annabel Lee, Foreverlast, Tears, Dragonfly, Deception, Eurydice (Don’t Follow), Helen, The Edge Of The World, Return (Coming Home), Citadel, Winterborn (This Sacrifice), Binary, Resist, Marilyn My Bitterness, Monsters, Go Away, Cassandra

Anyways, CRÜXSHADOWS shows are amazing. It was really a great live performance. If you have the chance to see them live, don't miss it!

story & pics © Guido Rangnitt