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introEssigfabrik, Cologne, Germany
4th November 2015
IAMX – Metanoia Tour

IAMX is an electro project founded by mastermind Chris Corner in 2004 in London which has undergone many different transformations, especially in the line-up. Nowadays, the German Janine Gezang (synths, bass, vocals) and the two Americans Jon Siren (drums) and Sammi Doll (synths, vocals) accompany Chris Corner on his tour through the anxieties and pleasures of humankind. As already mentioned in our preview, IAMX have been absent off stage for some while due to Corner's critical health. That's why the excitement was all the greater. With their new record ‘Metanoia’ (which is Greek and means “changing one's mind”) in tow they graced Cologne's Essigfabrik on a mild November night on 4th November 2015. http://www.iamxmusic.com / https://www.facebook.com/IAMXOFFICIAL

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Music & Performance
Sex, violence, pleasure, social criticism projected on four canvases, inducing anxieties and desires all the same. Stomping, impelling industrial beats paired with melancholia and longing. Deflecting the gaze, making the crowd the focus of the show: IAMX are back in big fashion, putting effort into every single detail of the show. Lavishly chosen videos for the live projections and coating every song in a new, harsher armour made for many surprises – the band seems to be on their way to strip off their softer attire which the angry, merciless ‘No Maker Made Me’ off the new record emphasises perfectly. Nevertheless, the bittersweet tinge of melancholia, anxiety and longing prevails and this is what sets IAMX apart from many other musical acts which are either/ or: Chris Corner and his circus have created their own world in which anger and melancholia have an equal position and which they perfectly know to transform into a musical dimension. The rearrangement of every song made the show the more special and the spell was broken at the latest when they intonated ‘Spit it Out’.

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Throughout the whole course of the show, the band was mostly cloaked in shadows, making the light show and the live projections the more powerful. As already mentioned, the band put the focus mostly on the crowd: the lights were often set on the audience, giving the show almost an atmosphere of a club night and there were many people dancing frantically and bopping their heads while IAMX were smashing their show of extravagance on stage. Long moments of clapping and cheering delayed every next song but IAMX had nothing but gratitude to show in return. The chemistry between the band members couldn't be better either, and Janine Gezang deserves a special shout here out for her never-tiring effort to animate the crowd with gestures and smiles – and I think she won everyone's hearts at the latest when she enthusiastically proclaimed that her mum was in the crowd. I am sure she did nothing but make her proud. Neither were there any embarrassing incidents caused drunkenness which have dominated their shows in 2011: IAMX have probably never been happier and Chris Corner was able to captivate the crowd with his beautiful, beautiful, goose-bumps-inducing voice and overwhelming stage presence.

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At times, their extravagantly organised show reached the dimension of DEPECH EMODE (at least for me) with the difference that this show was mostly set up for the fans. Being it Chris Corner asking for the beer of a fan and painting some of his “children” as he enjoys calling his fans nowadays or Janine and Sammi equally animating them: Despite all the anxieties and trouble the band has undergone in the past years, they had nothing but love to give to those who have supported them for so long. To be honest, I am suffering from withdrawals already. This show was beyond perfect and the love for the detail was truly astounding and heart-warming.

Setlist
01. I Come With Knives
02. The Alternative
03. Happiness
04. Mercy
05. No Maker Made Me
06. Volatile Times
07. Tear Garden
08. Oh Cruel Darkness Embrace Me
09. Spit It Out
10. Bernadette
11. Surrender
12. After Every Party I Die
13. Aphrodisiac
14. Your Joy Is My Low
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15. Bring Me Back a Dog
16. Kiss + Swallow
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17.I Am Terrified

Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 10
Sound: 10
Light: 10
Total: 10 / 10

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All pictures by Daniela Vorndran (http://www.vorndranphotography.com / http://www.facebook.com/blackcatnet)



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