Matrix, Bochum, Germany
12th April 2013
Mesh, Torul, Elace
Finally, MESH were back on the road to present t heir new album live in extension and as chance had it quite a lot people knew and came expecting a huge celebration. The show was supported by TORUL and ELACE.
Elace
Hailing from Hamburg, ELACE came into being in 2010 when three trained musicians met and the chemistry matched right away. Currently, the trio is still working to give their debut album the perfect sound. ELACE consists of Andrew Kohlar (vocals, synths, guitar), Daniel Zielonka (drums) and Franziskus Schuhmacher (guitar). http://www.elace.me/ / https://www.facebook.com/ELACEband
Music & Performance
First band of the evening were ELACE from Hamburg which at least to me were a blank page at this point as for many others as well. Common to their music is a downright melodic appeal and acoustic drums with rocking guitars. To picture those songs would actually be sounding rather electronic would take a lot imagination. As modern as the sound was, a strong 80s feeling was resonating within at all times while the three guys were completely sunken into their music. Franziskus was hardly in the same dimension with the rest of us while playing the guitars and Andrew more than once started dancing vibrantly to the music. So all in all a nice opening on the road to MESH.
Setlist
01. Konstantinopel
02. Marching
03. On This Day
04. We'll Meet Again
05. Home
06. A4
07. Can't Breathe No More
Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 7
Sound: 7
Light: 7
Total: 7 / 10
Torul
TORUL is based on Slovenia and in the 1990s already gained some recognition but would be putting out an evergreen with the ‘Waterproof Theme’ from 2002. TORUL released quite some stuff afterwards but apparently that wouldn’t reach this tracks status. That was subject to change with TORUL returning to the spotlights and releasing new material around 2011 with a single, an EP and the album 'In Whole'. Their sophomore release on Infacted Recordings has just been released a few days ago with 'Tonight We Dream Fierceley'. TORUL consists of Torul, Borut Dolenec and Jan Jenko. http://www.torul-recordings.net/ / https://www.facebook.com/torul
Music & Performance
Except for the single in 2011 ,TORUL and me had kinda lost touch in a musical way, so I was pretty much curious how things turned out since then, and I gotta say I was amazed. Not entirely by the sound. Little too much bass there in, but particularly by singer Jan. That guy has a seriously huge vocal presence on stage while acting completely unpretentious at that. It is a natural fit for the music which for the most time kept a clubby vibe, even on the down-tempo tracks. A special treat for the audience, who'd have happily kept on dancing eve-rafter was included with a graceful cover version of 'Mad World'. There was little interaction with the audience all together since there was hardly a break in-between tracks. Nevertheless, the trio managed to set the crowd on fire a little. Exactly the right temperature to be treated to MESH now. 
Setlist
01. The Sun
02. Try
03. The Fall
04. Still Here
05. All In
06. Mad World
07. In Whole
08. Where The Nights Start
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound: 7
Light: 7
Total: 7.8 / 10
Mesh
MESH is a Synth-Pop outfit from Bristol, England, founded in 1991 by Mark Hockings (vocals, guitars, keyboards, programming) and Richard Silverthorn (keyboards, programming); during live performances they are supported by Richard Broadhead (keyboards, backing vocals) and Sean Suleman (drums). The roots of MESH can be clearly targeted in the 80s Synth Pop, influenced by bands like DEPECHE MODE and the like. The band was formed in 1992 releasing their debut, the ‘Fragile EP’, under the moniker of their own label Tolerance Records but re-issued in Europe early in 1996 on Memento Materia with some additional tracks. From there on you could almost see the popularity of the sympathetic British guys grow. If they played in small clubs at the beginning they could now fill bigger and bigger venues. Also the sound has very much developed through the years and those almost mandatory DEPECHE MODE comparisons are relics from the past by now. The band’s latest full-length album in a long line of successful releases is called ‘Automation Baby’ released in 2013. http://www.mesh.co.uk/ / https://www.facebook.com/meshtheband
Music & Performance
It was about time MESH hit the stage because people were getting more excited by the minute while the air quality decreased by the second and the heat increased. Well, at least now there was a little distraction when after the introduction 'Adjust Your Set' started the show finally with a pounding beat and a lovely melody that got the crowd dancing. Marc as always walking from left to right is less the performer than other of its peers are but always makes up for it with a passionate vocal performance. Next was the title track off the new album with a taut drum foundation and exactly what I imagined happened: People were going crazy all over the place. To every track change this time there was an artificial voice , naming the album and the according track number of the song, in this case “Who Watches Over Me?, Track 2” in other words 'Leave You Nothing' followed by a wild celebration, not as wild as with 'Crash' of course which came upon very early this time around. 
You might have figured by now that MESH treated their audience in the packed Matrix club to a very mixed bag of songs from nearly every album in the band's history. Something from 'Fragile' would be nice, too. Whatever time-frame you were finding yourself in, it was like reuniting with an old friend. I for one hadn't listened to 'Not Prepared' in ages, but I was so happy to hear it and it brought back so many memories of past times. . Close towards the end of the set came 'From This Height' . Strange how the B-side of a single turned out more of a crowd pleaser than the actual track itself, including sing-along . MESH disappeared from stage after 'Taken For Granted', but not for long.. The encore started with a bang and 'Born to Lie' to culminate in the evergreen 'Friends Like These'. Still hadn't enough? Mesh had another one up their sleeves. For that Mark switched to the opposite side of the room to present 'You Couldn't See This Coming'. You couldn't see him, really but at least the vocal mix was made so you could clearly hear him.
It was a very, very cool show indeed from all of the bands. I just can't help thinking that at this particular night this club has become too small for MESH. The air quality was abysmal and the fact they still let people smoke in there didn't help much either. The organizers should at least find a better solution for that.
Setlist
01. Intro / Adjust your set
02. Automation Baby
03. Leave You Nothing
04. This Is the Time
05. Crash
06. Never Meet Your Heroes
07. What's owed to you?
08. How Long
09. Room With A View
10. You Didn't Want Me
11. Can You Mend Hearts?
12. Just Leave Us Alone
13. It Scares Me
14. Everything I Made
15. Step By Step
16. Not Prepared
17. When The City Breathes
18. From This Height
19. Taken For Granted
---
20. Born To Lie
21. Friends Like These
---
22. You Couldn't See This Coming
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 8
Sound: 8
Light: 8
Total: 8.3 / 10
All pictures by Daniela Vorndran (http://www.vorndranphotography.com / http://www.black-cat-net.de/ / http://www.myspace.com/vorndranphotography / http://www.facebook.com/blackcatnet)
Comments powered by CComment