ELEKTRISCH FESTIVAL!

At the end of January 2007 Major-Records released the second elektrisch! compilation with such illustrious acts like Goldfrapp, IAMX, Deine Lakeien, Client or Erasure. Every mix on the CD is an exclusive remix of the included song, which was never released before. To promote the release the Elektrisch Festival was introduced and all acts of the evening were present on the sampler with exlusive Versions of their songs (PURWIEN– Alle Fehler [Client-Remix], X-PERIENCE– Return to paradise [Promise-Remix], MECHANICAL CABARET– Disbehave [Mesh-Asbo-Remix], MESH - Step by Step [MECHANICAL CABARET - Extended Remix]).

Only one point worried me about the evening: Is it going to be a worthy evening? I had no doubts about the music, but I was worried about the crowd. Only four weeks ago the headliner of the evening, Mesh, already played in our sector and this fact really worried me. Will there be enough people or is this evening going to be a flop? But, to be honest, nothing of this materialized.

:: pics ::

Fog announced the stagetime for the first band and :: MECHANICAL CABARET :: from London entered the stage. Expectations were very high, because some friends of mine told me that their music is a mixture of Fad Gadget with the voice of Marc Almond (Soft Cell). But in fact, after a very short time, I was only upset about them.

A singer, who is definitely very convinced about himself, but who has in fact only a very thin voice (there where no similarities to the voice of Marc Almond, in my opinion the voice was closer to the voice of Darrin Huss [Psyche]) and who behaves on stage like he is a great performer (who he is not). That is not the kind of music I like to hear. Both of his band-mates stood still during the whole concert behind their keyboards, without any motion. When MECHANICAL CABARET started with a very gruesome version of Depeche Modes A Question Of Time, I mentally wished them goodbye and I went over to the bar for a beer. The last two or three songs I did not hear – and I did not want to hear – because I has a little talk with a friend.
Not my kind of music. But for god’s sake, MECHANICAL CABARET was the only disappointment for the evening.
Setlist: Disbehave, Cheap And Nasty, Nothing In Life That's Worth Having Will Not Be Taken Away, See Her Smile, A Question Of Time, When We Go, We Go Together

The second act for the evening were :: PURWIEN :: After two or three deep thoughts I realized why the name “Purwien” was ringing some bells in my mind. Christian Purwien was once the singer of the German-speaking electro-pop band Second Decay which had songs like I Hate Berlin, Der Nerv, I’m Leaving and Hinter Glass. For me, the old Second Decay-Fan, PURWIEN was the first highlight of the evening and they did not disappoint me by the musical aspects. But on terms of performance the show was a little bit disappointing.

The show started with beamer-projections and the voice of Andreas Fröhlich (???-radioplays) out of the off (the voice of Andreas Fröhlich guided the audience thru the whole PURWIEN set, like a red line). After the first spoken words the band appeared on stage and Christian Purwien introduced the band playing “Moderne elektronische Tanzmusik”. In my opinion the much was not so up-to-date because in every song was as slight touch of the eighties. But nevertheless, the music was quite danceable. PURWIEN started with the new songs, which will be included on their debut Eins, going to be released in March. The new songs did really well and PURWIEN really delivered a good show. The only negative aspect of the performance was Christian Purwien himself who always said “Thank you” in such a manner which really got on nerves. The new songs Für immer, Raum 12 and Alle Fehler (the first single of the new album, a duet with Joachim Witt) do have the potential for the dancefloors.

The set really made a big step forward, when Kaltes weißes Licht was introduced to the audience and the Second Decay art of the set started. The audience needed no further invitation and PURWIEN was rewarded with dancing and applause. I Hate Berlin was the highlight of the set. The only really disappointment was the mixing of I’m Leaving, one of the lower Second-Decay songs, but taken it literally PURWIEN left the stage afterwards. On a personal level, the band was the first highlight.
Setlist: Intro/Dummheit (spoken), Lauf der Zeit, Für immer, Bei Dir, Vielleicht ist es so, Raum 12, Alle Fehler, Kaltes weisses Licht, I Hate Berlin, I'm Leaving

Stagetime for :: X-PERIENCE ::, the co-headliner of the evening. Regarding commercial aspects definitely the most successful band of the evening. I think everyone is still able to remember their biggest hit A Neverending Dream which nearly got to the number one spot of the German charts in 1996.

After only a short break X-PERIENCE entered the stage. The disappointing thing was that no-one told the sound-technician the band was already on stage. The mixing of the first song I Feel Safe was horrible and no-one in crowd was able to hear the voice of Claudia Uhle. More disappointing was the aspect that the problem continued thru the whole set. The voice of Claudia Uhle – normally very soft and nice – stayed very, very thin during the whole concert. The second song already was A Neverending Dream. But even this well-known song was disappointing. But even the set of X-PERIENCE included a high-light: an acoustic version of the song Personal Heaven, which was co-penned by Midge Ure of Ultravox fame. This unplugged version of the song really was an eye-opener an the voice of Claudia Uhle really fitted and finally got the mixing it deserved. The song was followed by nice version of Million Miles, Poison Kiss and I Feel Like You. But none of the songs had the potential of being remembered. Sad but true. A really disappointing set. Only Personal Heaven showed the potential of the songs.
Setlist: Intro, Feel Safe, A Neverending Dream, Return To Paradise, Fireworks, Circles Of Love, Personal Heaven (Acoustic), Million Miles, Poison Kiss, I Feel Like You, Magic Fields

Now it was time for the headliner :: MESH :: Time for a special event. The concert in the Kulturfabrik should be taped for the future DVD by MESH, which will be released in June this year. The band was really focused on the event and started quit motivated. Even the crowd was enthusiastic from the beginning. The intro started and MESH entered the stage and started the set with the up-tempo-song Rest In Pieces. A perfect song at the beginning and MESH had the crowd on their side right form the beginning. Every song was underlined by beamer projections which fitted perfectly to the light show. It was very, very difficult to pick up one or two songs, marking them as the highlights of the show (besides my personal favorites Little Missile and It Scares Me.) The whole show must be seen as one, with enthusiastic crowd and a perfect mixing.

Stop!

There is one thing which has to be highlighted. During the song Friends Like These the band projected pictures by people in the audience on the stage-screen. That’s really a good way to say “thank you” to the crowd and all those who are supporting the band.
And another thing to be highlighted: the mixing of the old song from the Indie heydays. Now, with a new mixing and a much more powerful production, the songs are really becoming thin little gems.
Setlist: Intro/ Rest In Pieces, Petrified, Self Healing Lie, This Is What You Wanted, People Like Me, Leave You Nothing, Open Up The Ground, To Be alive, Little Missile, What Are You Scared Of...?, Fragile, Room With A View, Step By Step, Friends Like These, I Can't Imagine How It Hurts, Not Prepared, My Hands Are Tied, Crash, Can You Mend Hearts? // Firefly (Too Fast And Too Short), Confined, It Scares Me // From This Height