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Kantine, Cologne, Germany
1st November 2005
KMFDM, Panic DHH & Y-Luk-O

KMFDM are doin’ it again! After they have neglected their home market Germany for many years (KMFDM was founded in Hamburg in the mid-80s) they toured European clubs once more less than a year after their 2004 “WWIII” tour – including 10 gigs in Germany. Reflections of Darkness joined the KMFDM “Hau Ruck” Tour 2005 in Cologne, where the European tour has been launchend.


Y-Luk-O

One of the special guests on the current KMFDM tour is Y-Luk-O, an Industrial/Electro project founded 2000 in London by Leonardo von Leibnitz and Yluko and completed by Siegfried Grampe, who joined the band in 2003. http://www.yluko.com

Music
While critically acclaimed for their diversity and blend of various styles (the band even mentions New Metal as an inspiration) and acknowledged by other musicians including big names such as “Kirlian Camera”, “In The Nursery” or “Front 242” (who all already did a remix for them), Y-Luk-O still is rather unacquainted by the public. Which is a shame as they have a lot to offer musically; and they already released three albums, the most recent being “Elektrizitätswerk” released this spring.



Performance
Y-Luk-O live are backed up by a drummer and an additional guitar player to make up a quintet. For their live show supporting KMFDM they chose the more upbeat and danceable tracks from their backcatalogue. Vocalist Yluko, a massive, muscular guy, was running from one edge of the stage to the other pretty energetic. Unfortunately the venue was half empty, and the complete audience lingered in the second half of the venue, staring at Y-Luk-O’s performance from a 10 meter safety distance. Somehow disrepectful as Y-Luk-O gave their best, and even a bit stupid as the sound in the back half of the location was by far muddier and full of echoes while at the front of it was pretty powerful and clear. And, admittedly,  very loud! I hope that Y-Luk-O gets better responses from the crowd at the further shows with KMFDM as they really deserve it!

Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 6
Sound: 5
Light: 4
Total: 6 (5.95)




Panic DHH

Panic DHH is the band of Alec Empire’s guitarist Robbie Furze, who formed the band in 2002 together with keyboarder and programmer Antti Uusimaki, who worked with big names like Brian Eno and Barry Adamson before and had a few releases on his own on the Ninja Tune label. Panic Drives Human Herds – the full name of the band – are signed to Digital Hardcore, Alec Empire’s label, and are one of the more Metal and Punk oriented acts in the label’s roaster. http://www.hatechannel.com



Music
As aggressive as their name is the music of Panic DHH. Furze lets out his Punk and Metal roots with this band, combined with Uusimaki’s electronic soundscapes. The result may be called Industrial Metal, if you want, but the Digital Hardcore/Atari Teenage Riot background is always present in Panic DHHs sound. The band is completed by Juliet Elliott, one of the few female guitar players in the (Industrial) Metal genre, and drummer Adam Lewis.



Performanc
The stage looked much more crodwd than the space before it. Just as during Y-Luk-O’s performance most people prefered to stay in the back of the club – close to the bar and next to the merchandise stalls. By the way, while KMFDM may not attract masses to their shows in this part of the world but rather a flock of die-hard fans, they still sell shirts and stuff like nuts - thanks to the excellent trademark design and to the fact that it’s been hard in Europe to get one’s hand on KMFDM merch for such a long time. Anyway, Panic DHH played their set of songs in front of 10 to 20 people in front of the stage and the rest in the back of the room. And they were pretty loud! Being not familiar with their debut album (released in 2004) I can’t compare their live performance to Panic DHHs studio sound. But for my personal taste it was a bit over the top with all it’s displayed aggressiveness and noisiness. I for one would have preferred it if the electronics in their music would have been a bit more audible. Anyway, I wasn’t dissatisfied with the band’s performance. Perhaps not exactly my cup of tea but nevertheless a quite professional gig!

Rating
Music: 5
Performance: 6
Sound: 6
Light: 6
Total: 6 (5.6)




KMFDM

KMFDM (which stands originally for “Kein Mitleid für die Mehrheit” – No Pity For The Majority – and not “Kill MotherF*cking Depeche Mode” or whatever) was founded in 1984 in Hamburg. But the band moved soon to Seattle, USA, as the Industrial Metal outlet was by far more successful in the US and signed to Chicago-based label Wax Trax. With their unique intermixture of Dance/Electronics and Metal they soon became pioneers of the Industrial Metal genre and since the early 1990s KMFDM was often named together with “Ministry” and “Nine Inch Nails” as the three-piece which spearheads the new Industrial Metal genre.
While gaining huge success in America they stayed some sort of insider’s tip and cult band in their home country Germany. Despite touring extensively the US, shows in Europe were quite infrequent. While they filled 3,000-4,000 capacities in North America at the peak of their career, they had to stick to smaller clubs when they toured Europe. However, the last years saw more KMFDM touring Europe than ever before. After last year’s tour accompanying the album “WWIII”, the band around mastermind Sasche Konietzko and female vocalist Lucia returned to Europe with their new album “Hau Ruck”. http://www.kmfdm.net
By the way: If you surf the net you will find many funny answer to what the acronym KMFDM might mean. On http://www.sonicenvelope.com/thread2.html you will find a summary of a contest run by the band’s label Wax Trax in 1993 with over 1,200 entries! The page features funny meanings like “Kick My Favorite Drinking Machine“, “Klingons March Forth During Missions”, or “Karl Marx Found Dead, Masturbating”



Music
Heavy guitars, heavy drums, heavy electronics, demanding vocals and provocative lyrics – this is KMFDM, especially live. In a live setting KMFDM lay more stress on the heavy guitars which is somehow a little bit a shame as their electronic grooves are so alluring. Anyway, most bands who combine electronics and guitars are a lot rockier when they play live. KMFDM created an enormous wall of sound live with Metal guitars which mowed down everything in front of the PA - quite impressive and very, very loud. Unfortunately it was too loud, so that at times the sound was a bit muddy. Sometimes maximum volume is *not* the best.



Performance
The setup of KMFDM’s show was quite interesting, with vocalist Lucia Cifarelli and  Sascha Konietzko each behind a desk at the edge of the stage, which looked like a lectern  and featured a laptop, keyboards and other electronic equipment. Guitarists Jules Hodgson   and Steve White were on their fleft and right sides, respectively. Drummer Andy Selway was of course in the back behind his kit and strangely separated by a huge glass panel from the rest of the band. The function of this glass panel wasn’t quite clear, maybe it should generate certain light effects or, more jokingly, it might be there to keep him safe from the rest of the band. Anyway, KMFDM had a great lightshow indeed with lots of varilights and lasers. Truly looked great!



KMFDM started with “Hau Ruck”, the namegiving song of their last album, and continued with a 60 minute set consisting mostly of rather new material from their last three albums. While Sascha stayed behind his desk and performed in a super cool manner, singer Lucia soon left her desk to give the audience a treat! Somewhere between Riot Girl and Catwoman she performed aggressively and seductively, and obviously she didn’t mind that the place was half empty. Which got the die-hard fans in front of the stage going.
To be honest, it would have helped to get myself going a little more if KMFDM would have included a few more classics in their set. Actually I’m not too familiar with their last two albums and I had a feeling that many people came to KMFDM’s gig to hear more of the old stuff from the good old days. The band’s stage appearance is entertaining and their wall of sound quite impressive, sure, but what about classics like “Juke Joint Jezebel” or “Light”? After a solid 60-minute set, KMFDM returned for an encore which gave consolation to the old fans; especially with the excellent live renditions of “DIY” and “Megalomaniac”. Great show, indeed, but I hope next time there will be more classics – and more people at the show! I guess KMFDM live in front of a packed house would be a REAL blast!



Setlist
01. Hau Ruck (taken from the album "Hau Ruck", 2005)
02. Son Of A Gun ("Xtort", 1996)
03. Free Your Hate ("Hau Ruck", 2005)
04. Every Day's A Good day ("Hau Ruck", 2005)
05. Terror ("Nihil", 1995)
06. Mini Mini Mini ("Hau Ruck", 2005)
07. Inane ("Xtort", 1996)
08. New American Century ("Hau Ruck", 2005)
09. Real Thing ("Hau Ruck", 2005)
10. Adios ("Adios", 1998)
11. Waste ("Symbols", 1997)
12. Last Things ("WWIII", 2003)
13. A Drug Against War ("Angst", 1993)
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14. WW III ("WWIII", 2003)
15. Attack/Reload ("Attack", 2002)
16. Megalomaniac ("Symbols", 1997)
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17. DIY ("Adios", 1998)

Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 8
Sound: 7
Light: 9
Total: 8 (8.4)



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